Chapter 33: The Gentle Root

The Pocket had never felt so alive. The frost on the pine needles glittered in the early light, but Ryu Jin did not see the cold. He felt the earth beneath his bare feet—damp, dark, and threaded with a pulse that matched the hum in his chest. The dream of roots had not faded with waking. It had settled into his bones like a second skeleton, patient and strong.