Chapter 1617

Zoey joined her, squinting. "I see it too. Not land. Not exactly. More like... a shimmer."

The platform responded to their awareness. It picked up speed - not violently, but steadily.

Jude could feel the momentum deep in his chest, like a heartbeat growing stronger. As they advanced, the shimmer took shape - a massive archway made of two great stone arms rising from the sea, wreathed in clouds, each etched with the same kind of glowing runes they'd seen in the flower.

Sophie clutched Jude's arm, her skin warm with tension. "It's a gate."

Rose's voice was firm. "And it was meant for us."

As they neared, the air thickened. The platform slowed to a crawl. The archway loomed, its surface pulsing with symbols - some familiar, others shifting too quickly to grasp. They passed beneath it, and the moment they did, the world changed.

There was no transition.

No warning.

Just light .

Blinding.

Total.

And then darkness.