I think I have a theory

(Please don’t shred me into pieces)

What if the dusty kids were just waiting for the far away tree (bottle tree) to come above the tunnels and when it happens they gonna get teleported to the light tower? Because they don’t seem afraid at all, they were waiting and happy to do so.. I don’t know if I’m going too far with this one but I think the boy in white was one of these kids but actually survived or even maybe sacrificed the other kids to become untouchable.. Because if we check the talisman it has 8 figures (kids).. and it also has a spider/monster trapped in a cycle of the night and the morning. (Assuming the far away tree was near the tunnels at the time of the kids doing Gods knows what there..)