Chapter 1508

The pool became a tangle of limbs and breath, a braid of souls and desire. Jude didn't know who he was touching anymore. It didn't matter. They were all one body. One rhythm. One song.

He came with a cry that echoed through the cave, and as he did, the tree in the other chamber pulsed with light. The buds began to bloom.

Each one burst open, revealing soft, glowing flowers - twelve of them.

And from within each flower, a shape began to grow.

Small. Round. Alive.

Not children.

Seeds.

Embodied light.

Afterward, they lay tangled together in the moss near the pool, their bodies slick, their skin glowing faintly. No one spoke. There were no words left. Just soft touches, slow breaths, fingers laced.

Rose turned her head toward Jude.

"We've become."

He closed his eyes.

And held them all.