On the other side, the terrain changed again.
It wasn't a forest anymore.
It was a field.
Wide. Open. Covered in soft, amber grasses that shimmered with stardust. The sky above was deep purple, stars swirling in living spirals. At the center of the field stood a single stone structure - ancient, round, and open to the air, built of the same glowing crystal as the pool altar. It pulsed faintly, waiting.
Scarlet reached for Jude's hand. "I feel like we've crossed into something sacred."
"We have," Rose said, her voice lower now, thick with emotion. "This is the island's heart."
Stella's brow furrowed. "We've been through the tree. Through the root womb. What could be deeper than that?"
Jude stepped toward the structure.
Inside were cushions - soft, petal-stitched nests of moss and silk and skin-warm stone. But at the center, a platform rose again. Familiar in shape. But this time, there was no ritual energy. No glow. Just silence. Just peace.
And one object rested there.
