Chapter 1717

They followed the pulse - not just beneath the earth but now resonating in their own blood. It led them deeper than they had ever gone, through a new part of the island where the trees were darker, the air cooler, the golden light fainter but more concentrated in pockets - mossy stones, fungi that pulsed like breath, flowers that swayed without wind.

Hours passed in silence, broken only by soft gasps as new beauty revealed itself.

Then they reached it.

A clearing unlike any other, so round and perfect it seemed unnatural. At its center stood a stone pillar, covered in vines, its base ringed by twelve small carved seats. The pulse they'd followed radiated strongest from this place.

Emma stepped forward first, her hand brushing the stone. "This feels like the tree. Before it bloomed."

"Or the heartstone," Lucy murmured. "But not awake yet."

Jude approached the pillar and placed his palm against it.

The response was immediate.