Chapter 1602

The darkness didn't frighten him. It wasn't the absence of light - it was the presence of something older, deeper. It wrapped around Jude like velvet, weightless and dense at once, humming softly in a language that pulsed against his ribs. He floated again, suspended in that soundless space, but he wasn't alone. One by one, they entered.

Lucy's hand brushed his first, her fingers curling around his in the dark. Then Rose, her breath hot against his shoulder. Emma followed, her body pressing to his back, anchoring him in this strange in-between. He felt Grace's fingertips along his chest, Stella's thigh against his, Zoey's heartbeat close to his ear. Sophie whispered his name. Susan wept quietly, but it wasn't fear - it was reverence. Natalie, radiant, shimmered like she carried stars inside her. Scarlet kissed his spine. And the children… they came too, wrapped in arms that trembled with devotion, carried through the void in warmth and love.