Thank you for the feedback!
I think you're justified in your critique that some of the elements weren't properly explained. I was trying to do a lot here, and I was/am still a newbie writer, so it ended up pretty messy. I also knew I wanted to write a sequel at some point, so that's why, for better or worse, a lot left ambiguous at the end.
I'm glad that you still enjoyed it despite it's weak points!