Cursed Sapling

Intro The jungle thickens around you. The trees stretch high and twisted, their roots like skeletal fingers across the mossy floor. You hear no birds. No wind. Just… a sound. A whisper. Soft. Repeating. You follow the voice, stepping carefully over gnarled roots and damp stones. Then you see it — a massive, ancient tree, split down the middle. Not rotted. Not broken. Split, like something was trying to claw its way out. The air feels heavier. Inside the hollow trunk, faint light pulses — golden and slow, like the beat of a forgotten heart. You lean closer. Then she opens her eyes.