The group had dispersed around the suspended lake of the Sanuya. Beneath the surface, the flows of Ni pulsed slowly, like breathing memories, revealing sinuous, hypnotic veins of light. Kaen sat alone, his gaze fixed on one of these veins, as if trying to read a secret within it.
Floch tossed pebbles into the water, watching the small ripples, hoping to trigger a reaction, any sign at all. Astou, meanwhile, meditated in silence, her staff resting beside her, motionless but attentive.
Breaking the calm, Floch looked at Kaen with a teasing smile: "You've got that look of a guy who says nothing but thinks too much. Like… 'I'm calm, but I carry the weight of the world.' Stylish. But kind of creepy."
Kaen didn't look away. "I don't think too much. I feel too much. And sometimes… that's enough to wear me out."
Astou slowly opened her eyes, her gaze shifting from Kaen to the lake. "You feel… what exactly? The lake? The Sanuya? Or… yourself?"
Kaen sighed lightly. "A fragment. Something that doesn't belong to me. But that lives inside me. And waits."
Floch rolled his eyes and almost burst out laughing: "More blah-blah… Honestly, I don't get why all the girls stare at you."
Kaen turned toward him, incredulous. "What are you talking about now?"
"Sasha, the other day. She devoured you with her eyes and whispered to her friend."
Astou cut him off coldly: "Floch, stop your nonsense."
Kaen added, calm but sharp: "You're jealous. Your ideas are misplaced. None of the Senshi of the Sanuya have had a thing for you."
From a high walkway, Naomi observed the group. Every posture, every silence, every tension passed under her gaze, impassive but attentive. She said nothing, but her thoughts rose like a silent resonance, capturing the essence of the moment.
They don't know it yet… but their Ni is already beginning to react. Not to enemies. To truths.
Ishikawa approached Kaen, a water bottle in hand.
"Want a drink? Or would you rather keep merging with the lake?" he asked with a subtle smile.
Kaen took the bottle. "Thanks. I merge faster with water… than with people."
Ishikawa shrugged, amused. "That's why we like you. You're the only one who can say that seriously."
Astou closed her eyes again. Her staff pulsed softly, resonating with the lake. A fleeting vision crossed her mind: a figure. Neither ally nor enemy, just a shadow seemingly watching Kaen. When she opened her eyes, she was unsettled.
Someone… or something… is watching him. Not hostile. But connected.
Floch, undeterred, proudly proclaimed: "Alright, I've decided. I'm going to become the chattiest Senshi in the world. My Ni will evolve into a giant microphone. I'll talk… and the enemies will flee. From exhaustion."
Akiriho, still absorbed in her notebook, didn't even lift her eyes. "Your Ni will commit suicide before evolving. And take us with it."
The lake continued to pulse beneath their feet. The veins of Ni danced as if they knew more than the group did, whispering secrets that only Kaen seemed able to glimpse, fragments of what was about to be revealed…
To be continued…