For a blissful moment, I was bathed in light.

Then I emerged into what looked like a gothic castle, only it wasn't stone like castles from my world. It was all flat, slick black panels.

I reached out and touched one. It rippled, dissolving into 1's and 0's. I snatched my hand away and was shocked when the panel reformed itself.

"We're losing time, Hekonai," said a quietly intense female voice nearby.

I drew my sword and looked up. A ghostly woman in a grey gown emerged from the darkness before me. She didn't seem to walk. She floated.

I asked if this was CryptoAnime. She nodded, introducing herself as Animod. I asked how I could trust her, asserting that the MetaVerse is full of danger. She raised her hand and my sword floated back into the sheath on my side!

Animod said "To move forward, we must establish trust." She added it was too late for either of us to turn back.

I fell silent under her cool gaze. I chose my next words carefully. I feared they might be my last.

I decided to be direct. I said "Give me a reason to trust you."

The Hekonai's Journal is an ongoing meta-narrative. If you want to learn how it came to be, check out the introduction post by clicking here. If you want to read from the very first post #0, click here.

Into the Hekonai Journal is a hub aggregating all the published entries for your convenience. You may access this hub by clicking here.

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