Chapter 1737 - 1736
A new figure. Taller. Androgynous. Their body shimmered like a glass prism, refracting color and light in every motion. Their voice rang like two notes in harmony.
"You've crossed."
Jude stepped forward. "Who are you?"
"I am the Threshold," they said. "I open what cannot be forced."
The others gathered close, watching the being with reverence.
"You are not the first to touch the heartstone," the Threshold said. "But you are the first to pass together. As one."
Sophie furrowed her brow. "What does that mean?"
"It means," said the Threshold, eyes glowing, "that you are now part of the source. And the source will shape itself around you."
"Will we live here?" Lucy asked.
"You will live
through
here," they replied. "This place is not a destination. It is a vessel. You shape its future."