Chapter 1689.4

Natalie ran ahead, laughing, her hair flying behind her like a comet's tail. "Come on! Look at this!"

They followed her to the edge of a clearing, where thick grass as soft as fur sprawled across the ground, encircling a vast pool. It was different from the one they had entered before - this one shimmered with liquid light, gold at the surface but streaked with blue, violet, silver beneath. It pulsed in time with their footsteps.

"It's another portal," Emma said, stepping to the edge. "Not to the island. Somewhere else."

"To ourselves," Grace said softly. "To what we haven't seen yet."

"No more dreaming," Rose whispered. "This is the waking world now."

Jude stood behind her, looking out over the pool. He saw reflections - not just their bodies, but their futures. Emma holding Lucy. Zoey and Stella dancing under moonlight. Sophie lying on moss, her hand on her swollen belly, eyes closed in peace.