The Sanuya terrace welcomed the group once again, suspended above the resonance lake that pulsed slowly, like a sleeping heart. The Ni flows winding across the water's surface illuminated the silence, tracing luminous veins that undulated with the world's breath.
Floch twirled his energy ring around his wrist, a satisfied smile on his lips. Takumi, motionless, meditated with his eyes closed, while Akiriho scribbled rapid notes in his notebook, absorbed in his own thoughts. Kaen, seated apart, stared at the black horizon, lost in silent reflection.
Naomi descended the steps of a walkway slowly. Her aura, calm and almost immobile, seemed to cut the air into soft, penetrating waves. When she spoke, her voice sliced through the silence like a precise ripple.
"Hearing you speak… one might think your Ni awakened by miracle. Or because you are here. But it's the opposite."
The group turned toward her, hanging on her words.
"Ni has no consciousness of its own. It is not an entity that chooses you. It is your second self. The one you hide. The one that shapes your tomorrow."
A deep silence fell. Even Floch, usually so talkative, remained mute, his eyes fixed on Naomi.
"When you fight. When you surpass yourself. When you trust yourself. Then Ni responds. But if you doubt… it remains silent. And you think it rejects you. When in truth… it only waits for you to accept seeing yourself."
On a nearby platform, Senshi from other countries watched the scene. Sasha Vertagon of Kuzael, who had faced Kaen and Floch, momentarily turned her attention toward Kaen. A subtle spark passed through her eyes. She whispered to her partner, who gave a knowing smile.
"He's calm. But his gaze… It's like he's already seen this world collapse. And he doesn't speak to shine. He speaks… to understand."
Seated a little further away, Astou noticed the exchange of glances. She observed Sasha, then Kaen. A slight frown crossed her face. No jealousy, only a subtle tension, a silent alert.
She murmured to Takumi: "Do you think she's staring at him like that because he performed well? Or because he has that look of 'I'm mysterious, but I also do the dishes'?"
Takumi, without opening his eyes, replied simply: "Both. He has that… half-mature, half-lost thing. It draws those who love riddles."
Floch jumped up, outraged, hands in the air. "Wait a second! You're saying Kaen has become a magnet for Sasha? I talk, I protect, I shine… and he stays silent and collects the glances? That's unfair. I'm going to stay quiet for an hour. Just to test."
Akiriho, without lifting her eyes from her notebook, replied curtly: "You'll last ten minutes. And your Ni will implode from loneliness."
The resonance lake continued to pulse beneath their feet. The Ni flows reflected shards of light on their faces, as if to remind them that, despite the games of glances and teasing, each of them now carried their own fragile and precio
us resonance.
To be continued…