Chapter 69: The Heart of Nirvana
A few hours prior, while Sophia's voice laced the air at the shrine and the altar hummed beneath her touch, Nirvana stirred.
Deep in its heart, where sunlight never dared to reach, a sound broke the silence. At first it was nothing more than a murmur of misplaced words, a low vibration travelling through the roots of the forest, subtle enough to be mistaken for the groan of a rock shifting on the earth. But then it grew, a tremor that ran beneath the soil, through stone and water alike, until the ground itself shook from the sound.
A flock of birds, flying high in the sky, flew away in sudden fright. Their feathers scattered across the beautiful morning sky.
The earth groaned again.
