Chapter 11: Naming "Class begins."
Zhong Lan's voice rang out again at the doorway, clean and crisp as she pulled down the projector screen. The rhythm was familiar, as if nothing unusual had happened.
But everyone knew—the system failure last time wasn't just some technical glitch.
"This lesson, we're doing something new." She scanned the room. "Are your Memory Armaments starting to stabilize?"
Some nodded. Others stayed silent.
"Next, we're moving into Path Guidance training."
She wrote five characters on the board: The Armament's True Name. "Giving it a name is a form of bonding. You're not just naming a weapon—you're letting it know who you are."
"A clear Memory Armament system requires personalized projection. If you still call it 'spear,' 'blade,' or 'mirror,' it will always just be a tool."
"But what you need—is a partner."
Her tone remained calm as always, yet carried a quiet weight that couldn't be ignored.
Nie Shi sat on one side of the classroom. The black spear leaned against his chair like a silent stone.
"I know some of you think this is just symbolic. But the core of the Memory Armament system is personified memory ."
"The clearer your memory, the closer your naming gets to its true form."
"Now—everyone try to name their weapon. You have five minutes." The room fell into silence.
Some took out paper, others closed their eyes.
Su Xu twirled her pen and muttered, "I named my toy sword 'Heavenly Blade One' when I was little. That count as a pre-bind?"
Xie Ping laughed. "I used to call my plushie 'Boom-Boom'… it's literally a bomb now."
"Well, guess you had foresight."
Chu Qing said softly, "I want to name my shield 'Echo.'"
"That's kind of poetic," Nie Shi replied quietly.
He surprised even himself—it was probably the first time he'd ever responded to someone in class.
Chu Qing blinked, then gave him a casual smile.
At that moment, a student near the window suddenly clutched his head and muttered, "Crap…"
His Armament—a translucent blade—began to shake and distort, its edge fracturing into pulsing threads. [WARNING: Emotional Anchor destabilizing rapidly]
[System recommends immediate desync] Zhong Lan said nothing. She tapped her wrist device.
A containment field flared up, isolating the boy and his Armament.
With a soft snap , the blade evaporated like mist.
The class held its breath.
Zhong Lan walked over and looked down at him.
"Don't force yourself to recall. This isn't memorization. It's coexistence."
The boy, pale-faced, nodded shakily.
"Continue." Zhong Lan approached Nie Shi's seat.
"Have you decided yet?"
Nie Shi shook his head.
He glanced down at the black spear and lightly tapped its shaft.
No response.
Quietly, he asked, "Do I really… have the right to name it?"
She didn't answer directly. "When you hold it, do you feel… like it's watching you too?"
He nodded.
"Then it's already recognized you."
"The name doesn't have to come from you. Sometimes… it comes from it ."
He closed his eyes and wrapped his hand around the grip.
A name surfaced in his mind.
Just one word:
"…Void."
The spear gave a faint tremor.
As if—accepting it. After class, Lin Kui waited by the door.
She glanced at the spear beside him and asked softly, "Did you name it?"
Nie Shi shook his head. "Not yet. It doesn't want to tell me."
She smiled lightly. "Maybe it's not unwilling. Maybe… it's waiting for you to decide."
He looked down at the spear, then at her.
For the first time, he thought—maybe the weapon wasn't silent.
Maybe it just wasn't ready to speak. After school, Meng Yao walked out through the side hallway, holding a portable terminal.
During the break, he'd casually asked several classmates:
"Did you name it yet?"
"I've been wondering—do names change the way they think? Like pets?"
No one found his questions strange. His tone was warm, like idle curiosity.
But his terminal quietly logged every answer. [Naming Record]
Su Xu: "Heavenly Blade One"
Xie Ping: "Boom-Boom"
Chu Qing: "Echo"
Nie Shi: "Void" (unconfirmed)
Lin Kui: (no response; sync unverified) He blinked once and opened Nie Shi's file, typing a note: [Subject declined naming. Spear responded with minor vibration. Path formation: initial stage.] [Flagged for observation.] That evening, Lin Kui returned to the practice room.
She looked at the water mirror and whispered, "Can I name you?"
She thought for a while, then said softly, "I'll call you… Galan."
The mirror made no response.
No rejection. No resonance.
Just a ripple across the surface.
She lowered her head and smiled. "Figures… you're not in a rush either."
She stepped out. The edge of her shirt was damp, the wind slightly chilly.
Down the hallway, Nie Shi stood silently, watching her.
Neither spoke. They just walked side by side for a little while.
The breeze stirred the lingering mist—like a name unspoken, brushing past the air before settling quietly into silence. System backend— [Path Naming Attempt Logged]
[User: E3-07 Nie Shi]
[Armament: Unnamed / Response Normal]
[Status: Mild Vibration / Sync Drift +3.4%] In a dimly lit terminal, Meng Yao sat in silence, eyes on the screen.
He tapped a few lines of text: [Subject initiating path individuation. Phase: Initial Contact.]
[Naming behavior suggests variable emergence. Simulated projection underway.] He took a sip of his drink and murmured calmly—
"This is starting to get interesting."