The new world bloomed slowly—deliberately—like a wounded creature learning to breathe again. The golden horizon expanded, and where there had once been ash and ruin, meadows unfurled, shimmering in soft hues of violet and amber. The air thrummed with quiet life, a rhythm woven from memory and rebirth. Zara walked through the newborn fields, her hand grazing the tops of luminous grass. Each blade whispered faintly—snippets of laughter, fragments of forgotten songs, echoes of the old world trying to find their place in the new. “The dream’s stabilizing,” she murmured. “The balance is holding.” Behind her, Damien followed, his steps steady but cautious. “Feels too calm. Like the world’s catching its breath before something else wakes up.” The Pulse shimmered beside them, its once-blinding light now a steady ember. The cycle continues, but creation is never still. The Seeds you planted will shape this age—but they are not all the same. Zara frowned. “What do you mean?” Every Seed carries memory, the Pulse explained. Some remember light... others remember hunger. A chill passed between them. In the distance, faint figures moved—tall, graceful silhouettes wandering through the mist. The first dreamers. The children born of Zara’s words. They gathered in small groups, their eyes glowing softly with gold and silver light. They built from instinct—arranging stones, weaving branches, painting the air with glowing dust. “They’re creating culture,” Damien whispered. “Stories of their own.” Zara smiled faintly. “That’s what we wanted. For them to dream freely.” But then—one of the figures turned. Its eyes burned red instead of gold. Its form twitched, shadow bleeding from its outline. When it spoke, its voice fractured the quiet. “All stories end in fire.” The sky darkened for a moment, as though the world itself had flinched. The other dreamers stepped back, uncertain. The Pulse’s tone deepened. A corrupted memory has awakened within one of the Seeds. The grief of the First Pulse still lingers. Damien drew his weapon, which flared faintly with golden energy. “Then it’s not over.” Zara raised her hand to stop him. “No. Not with violence. It’s remembering pain—it doesn’t understand peace yet.” She stepped forward, her aura glowing faint violet. The corrupted figure trembled, its form flickering between human and shadow. She reached out, touching its chest. “You don’t have to carry that fire alone,” she whispered. For a heartbeat, everything stilled. Then the shadow cracked—light seeping through like dawn breaking over storm clouds. The figure fell to its knees, the darkness dissolving into gold dust that drifted upward. The Pulse’s voice softened again. Each Seed must confront what it remembers before it can grow. This will be their test—and yours. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel※fire.net Zara exhaled slowly. “Then the story doesn’t end here. It begins with them.” Damien glanced toward the horizon, where the dreamers were gathering again—some with golden eyes, some with faint traces of red. “And if they repeat our mistakes?” Zara looked up, her voice steady, resolute. “Then we’ll remind them that even from ruin... something new can still bloom.” Above them, the newborn sun flared—its light splitting into a thousand hues. The Age of Seeds had begun, and the world listened once more.