Elias walked beside Stella through the quiet halls of their hidden sanctuary, the faint glow of enchanted lanterns lighting the stone path ahead. The air was still, save for the soft sound of their footsteps.
Stella held tightly onto the hem of Elias' sleeve, her small fingers trembling.
"Elly," she finally spoke. "Can you tell me now? Where am I… and what happened to my city? To Mom?"
Elias let out a quiet breath. It was the question she had been dreading.
She glanced at Stella, then knelt beside her."Alright, listen, sweetheart. I'll tell you what I can. But some of it… it's hard. So I need you to be brave, okay?"
Stella nodded silently, eyes wide.
"You were in Windrise—the city of the sky, the city of Egotheon." Elias began softly. "Your school, your home… it was all there."
She paused.
"But… something terrible happened. The Whitening. It struck Windrise while you were still inside the school."
Stella froze.
"Half the city is… gone," Elias said gently. "Erased. Like it was never there to begin with."
The girl's lip trembled. "And… my mom?"
Elias reached out and held her hand tightly."Your mom, Lumine… she did everything she could to protect you. She sent you away in time. She saved you, Stella."
Stella's breath caught in her throat. She clutched Elias' hand tighter.
"She's… gone?"
Elias hesitated for a second, then nodded slowly."Yeah… she is. But not in vain."She squeezed Stella's hand. "And not alone. You're here because of her. And I swear, she loved you more than anything in the world."
Tears streamed down Stella's face, but she didn't scream. She didn't collapse. She just stood there, letting the silence speak.
Elias wrapped her arms around the girl."You're not alone anymore. I'm here. We all are."
"Those people I saw earlier…?" Stella whispered into her shoulder.
"They're part of an organization called G.R.O.W. We pronounce it 'Grow,' like a tree." Elias smiled faintly. "We've been around for a very long time. Ancient, even. Most of us don't even know where or when it all started."
"Do you know?"
Elias chuckled softly. "Nope. Only Ray does. And let's just say… he's not exactly the chatty type."She ruffled Stella's hair lightly. "Von, the quiet one—He's not here today. Honestly, even I can't tell how old they are, but they've been around a while."
"So… what do you all do?"
Elias gave a playful shrug. "That's a secret for now. One step at a time, alright?"Then she stood up and offered her hand again."Come on. Let's get you to your room. You've had a long day, and I think you've been brave enough for one lifetime already."
Stella wiped her eyes and took the hand, her fingers smaller than ever."Okay."
They walked forward together through the stone passage, toward a wooden door at the end glowing faintly with a soft golden rune.