S̸̬̣̒E̶͍̓͘Ś̴̆͜×̵̧͙͑S̸̹͇̈́È̸̡̀S̸̹̲̓̅×̸̧̍Ş̶̳̆E̴̦͒͘S̷̙̄̊

I woke up feeling well rested. My hands flew to my stomach, searching for the wound, but there was nothing. No blood, no scar, just smooth skin. It couldn’t have been a dream. It felt too real. The memory of the pain persisted.

I looked around. We were still inside the elevator. Its door opened, and even though I was still expecting it, I gasped.

It was La Nesto. The same hexagonal layout, the same bright walls. The only difference was that I couldn’t see any instruisto.

Before me stood my former ĉelomates, older. The ones I met when I first emerged from the same elevator, when I was only six.

I saw Nikola, Tomomi, Erikas, Indigo. But someone was missing.

“Kanako!” Indigo’s voice rang out, warm and welcoming. They rushed forward, giving me a hug. “We’ve been waiting for you!”

Tears welled in my eyes. I hugged them back, relief and confusion mixing in my chest.

“Indigo,” I asked, “is this La Granda Ekstero?”

Indigo pulled back, frowning.

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

My stomach dropped. I clutched the two pieces of wood in my pocket.

Neniam Eliros.

It wasn’t a clue. It was a sentence.

“Wait. Where’s Arakil?” I asked, my voice trembling.

Indigo looked at me as if I were crazy.

“Who?”