<h4>Chapter 1172: Chapter 1172</h4>


    She moved with slow grace, as if the world bent to her pace, as if time itself answered to her now. The light within her pulsed softly, casting her features in shifting silver. Her eyes met Jude’s across the water, and for a heartbeat he saw her, , truly, saw her, the woman who had loved him, who hadughed with him, who had once sworn to stand beside him through everything.


    But the light deepened, swallowing that glimpse, and the creature that wore Rose’s face smiled with a hunger that chilled him to his core.


    "You followed," she said, her voice soft and terrible, as beautiful and deadly as the storm. "I knew you would. I knew you couldn’t leave me behind."


    Jude swallowed, his throat dry. "We came to bring you back. Rose, whatever this is, fight it. Come back to us."


    She tilted her head, the smile never faltering. "I , am, back. This is who I was meant to be. You can be part of it too. All of you. We can be , whole., "


    Lucy stepped forward, her voice sharp as the edge of her de. "You’re not whole. You’re not even , you, anymore."


    The light red, the water at Rose’s feet churning as if stirred by an unseen hand. "You don’t understand," Rose said, her voice thick with something between sorrow and fury. "But you will. Soon."


    The ground trembled beneath them, subtle at first, then stronger, as if the ind itself stirred at hermand. The pool’s surface shattered into ripples, reflecting the wild hunger in Rose’s eyes.


    Jude reached for Sophie’s hand, for strength, for courage. Around them, the others closed ranks, ready for whatever came next.


    And then Rose lifted her arms, and the light poured from her, blinding and pure, turning the night to day.


    Thest thing Jude saw before the world became silver was her smile, soft and cruel and endless.


    Thest thing he felt was Sophie’s hand, clinging tight to his.


    And then the world disappeared in light.


    The light swallowed everything, so bright and fierce it burned Jude’s vision to white. The roar of the ind filled his ears, a sound that was not wind, not sea, not storm, but something older, deeper, as if the very bones of thend cried out. He felt Sophie’s hand locked in his, their fingers clenched so tightly together it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began. The warmth of her touch was the only thing that tethered him as the world seemed to fall away.


    Then, as suddenly as it came, the light faded, leaving behind a thick, silver mist that clung to their skin, cold and damp. Shapes began to emerge, trees twisted like grasping hands, the ssy surface of the pool, the pale forms of his wives standing around him. The clearing felt changed, as if they had crossed some invisible threshold into another part of the ind’s heart. The air hummed with power, the ground beneath their feet warm and trembling with life.


    Jude blinked against the haze, searching, heart pounding. And there she was.


    Rose stood at the edge of the pool, the glow from within her softened now, like the embers of a dying fire. Her eyes shimmered silver, but there was something behind them, a flicker of sadness, or maybe regret. Her arms hung at her sides, fingers curling and uncurling as if she warred with herself.


    He took a step forward, cautious, his voice rough with emotion. "Rose... please. Let us help you. You don’t have to do this."


    For the briefest moment, she wavered. Her gaze dropped to the water at her feet, the light inside her pulsing uncertainly. The ind seemed to hold its breath.


    Then the silver glow strengthened again, and she lifted her head, that strange, haunting smile returning. "It’s toote, Jude. I’ve seen what waits beyond. I’ve felt its call. You will too. Soon."


    Lucy moved to his side, her de drawn, her posture tense. "No one else is falling for this. Not now. Not ever."


    The mist thickened, swirling around them, making it hard to see more than a few steps ahead. The forest’s shadows pressed closer, the hum in the air growing louder, almost like a song, soft, wordless, and terrifying. Jude realized it wasn’t just the ind he felt. It was her. Rose. The power in her, through her, singing to them, trying to lure them into its embrace.


    Sophie’s grip tightened on his hand. "Don’t listen. Focus on me. On , us., "


    He nodded, forcing himself to breathe, to feel the solid ground, the reality of Sophie beside him, Lucy’s strength, the presence of the others. Together. Always together.


    Rose began to back toward the pool, her bare feet silent on the stone. "You’ll understand," she whispered, her voice carrying through the mist. "When it’s your turn, you’ll see. And you’ll thank me."


    The water at her feet began to glow, pale and eerie, as if the pool reflected a moon no longer in the sky. Ripples spread outward, slow at first, then faster, as if something beneath the surface stirred. The hum in the air deepened, vibrating in their bones.


    Zoey’s voice rang out, sharp with rm. "She’s summoning something!"


    Jude’s heart leapt into his throat. He stepped forward, but Sophie held him back. "No," she said fiercely. "Not like this. We don’t know what’s waiting. We can’t just rush in."


    But every part of him screamed to reach her, to stop whatever she was about to unleash.


    Rose raised her arms again, the silver light zing once more, the mist coiling tighter, the pool’s surface now churning as if alive. The song grew louder, filling the clearing, wrapping around them like chains. The forest seemed to lean in, shadows deepening, as if the ind itself watched, waiting.


    And then, from the depths of the pool, something began to rise.


    A shape. Vast. Unseen but felt, its presence heavy and cold, sending waves of dread through them all. The water poured off it in sheets as it emerged, but the mist kept it hidden, a monster half-dreamed, half-born.


    Rose’s eyes locked on Jude’s, the silver within them burning bright. "It’s time," she said, her voice both promise and warning.


    And before anyone could move, before anyone could speak, the thing in the water loomed higher, the clearing swallowed by shadow and mist and the terrible song of the ind, leaving Jude and the others standing on the edge of something far darker than they had ever imagined.


    The mist thickened until it seemed to press against their skin, cold and cloying, muffling sound and swallowing the edges of the world. The pool’s surface seethed, the dark shape beneath rising higher, vast and formless, its presence like a weight on Jude’s chest. He couldn’t see it clearly, only shes of pale limbs or coils, the glint of something wet and glistening beneath the silver light, the deep, endless ck where its eyes should have been. The song continued, low and relentless, vibrating through his bones, threading into his thoughts, whispering promises he refused to hear.