Chapter Thirteen – The White Reach
The bathwater was still warm when the room began to shift.
At first, it was subtle. The ceiling stretched upward, then sank low like it was breathing. The walls pulsed, expanding and retracting, as if the house itself had become something alive and restless. He blinked, rubbed his eyes, but the distortion didn't stop. The corners warped. The door he'd entered through was gone - replaced by a smooth, seamless wall.
He tried to stand, but the floor felt unstable, like it was sliding beneath him. Panic rose in his chest. He wanted to scream, to call for help, but the thought of Old Matt seeing him like this - trapped in something unnatural - made him hesitate. If Matt suspected he was one of those so-called vessels or bearers, the Church might come knocking. And when they did, they didn't ask questions. They took. Or they executed.
Compared to the nightmare of the Soul Tree, this felt worse. That place had rules. This was chaos.
He wiped his face, trying to clear his thoughts. He pushed forward, using the wall for support. The wood was warm - too warm. It pulsed beneath his fingers like it had a heartbeat. He closed his eyes, focused his breathing, but the whispering began.
Low at first. Then louder. Then screaming.
It wasn't coming from outside. It was inside him. Like something was clawing at his thoughts, trying to rip them apart. The room shook. His head throbbed. And then the images came - those suspended bodies, hanging from the Tree's tendrils. Pale. Lifeless. Eyes wide and empty. He saw them vividly, like they were right in front of him.
He opened his eyes. He was still in the room. But it didn't feel like his anymore.
A chill ran through his bones. He had to leave. If Matt thought he'd been in the bath too long, he might come looking. He couldn't let that happen. Not now. Not when things had finally started to feel stable.
Then the screaming hit him full force. It wasn't sound - it was pressure. Like something was draining him. He dropped to his knees, gasping. The walls closed in. The ceiling lowered. He looked for the door again. Nothing. Just more wall. Like it had never existed.
This had to be an illusion. It had to be. The house couldn't shrink like this without someone noticing. No screams from outside. No footsteps. No Matt shouting. Just silence. He told himself it wasn't real. He had to believe that.
But when the ceiling was inches from his face, everything went white.
He didn't fall. He drifted. His thoughts scattered. His body felt light, like he was floating through fog. And then he saw it.
The Soul Tree.
It stood alone in a vast white space. No ruins. No lightning. No rain. No moon. Just the Tree. Its roots pierced deep into the whiteness. Its trunk stretched high into the sky - so high it vanished into the void. It was massive. Towering. Ancient.
He felt small. Insignificant.
He floated there, staring. The husks were still there - those human bodies dangling from its tendrils. They didn't move, but they were terrifying. Their presence was quiet, but heavy. He kept his distance.
Time passed. He didn't know how much. Minutes. Hours. Days. He kicked at the trunk. He yelled. He begged whoever was behind this to let him out. Nothing happened.
Eventually, he collapsed. Floating, lying there, drained. He wondered how much time had passed in the real world. Was his body still in the bath? Was he unconscious on the floor? He doubted time even worked here. Everything felt frozen.
Maybe it was a dream. Maybe not.
At least there were no cosmic hands this time. No stars. No voices. That trauma still haunted him. It was why he hadn't touched the Tree again. He didn't want to trigger whatever that was.
He didn't want to die.
So he waited.
Then he saw it - a shimmer on the horizon. Like a sun rising. But it wasn't a sun. It was coming closer, dragging light with it. A glowing halo. Huge. Hollow in the center. It stopped above him and the Tree, floating high, just out of reach.
And he felt something.
Warmth.
Not fear. Not pain. Just warmth.
He raised his hand toward it. It didn't move. Just hovered there, glowing.
And then everything changed.
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