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CHAPTER 82
~Spring's POV~
I closed my eyes slowly, letting instinct override thought. I called on what Solstice had once been taught—what the priestess inside me still remembered.
The way energy moved, the way ancient protections bent like ripples against the right vibration.
And there it was, a subtle pulse was felt.
My hand reached out, fingers brushing against what looked like empty space… but rippled like water when I touched it. The world beyond the ripple shifted, distorting ever so slightly like heat waves in summer air.
"No wonder no one found him," I murmured. "He exists behind this ward."
With a steady breath, I pushed my hand through, and it passed. So I stepped in fully, and the moment I did, the world changed.
The rot vanished, the air cleared, and what stood before me now was a narrow garden path lined with lush trees and flowerbeds that defied the season.
