The silence after Sol's warning lingered over the valley for the rest of the day.
No one laughed.
No one spoke much.
Even Zoey, who usually found a joke in every tense moment, remained unusually quiet as she sat beside Natalie beneath the silver fruit tree.
Jude could still feel the presence beneath the northern mountains.
It wasn't moving.
It was simply... awake.
Like an eye that had opened after centuries of sleep.
That evening, Sol gathered everyone around the blue-silver fire once again.
"There is no immediate danger," he said calmly. "If there were, the island would have already called you."
Rose folded her arms. "Then why does it feel like it's watching us?"
"Because it is."
Everyone exchanged uneasy glances.
Sol continued.
"The island is alive. Every mountain, every river, every creature... every breath you take here belongs to one living consciousness."
"And whatever awakened beneath the mountain belongs to it as well."
Scarlet frowned.
