Chapter 386: I Am Good At Naming Stuff
I chuckled at his comment, then turned my gaze toward the others. There was something different in their eyes now, a quiet reverence, a kind of respect that hadn’t been there before.
I understood it. After everything they’d seen, after the way we had ended this battle, they looked at me differently.
I gave them all a small smile and nodded. It felt earned.
Then I started talking with them, moving from one group to the next. We exchanged stories of the battle—who fought where, what they had seen, how close some of them had come to dying. The mood was calm but heavy. The sense of victory didn’t hide the weight we all carried.
Soon, the topic shifted to what the Empire had lost. We had won but at a price. With the Holt Grandmasters gone, the overall power of our world had taken a huge hit.
Everyone knew it. Even here, among the masters who had been freed from imprisonment, I could hear the same concerns echoing in different words.
Would we be able to defend ourselves if another world attacked? How long until someone tested our weakened defenses?
The future felt uncertain, but at least for now, we had peace.
After spending some more time listening and speaking with them, I straightened up and gave them a firm nod.
"You’ve all fought hard," I said. "But now it’s time to clean up the battlefield. Help the others, and once that’s done... go home. You’ve been held captive for far too long. Your families are waiting."
A few of them teared up at that. Some smiled quietly. Others just nodded, but I could feel their emotions shifting, some kind of release, like a breath they’d held in for years was finally let go.
One by one, they left to carry out the task, some moving with purpose, some still a little dazed. But they moved. They had something to do now.
Once they were all gone, I looked at Steve and North.
"Let’s go," I said.
Without wasting another moment, I opened a portal back to the realm. The same place that had once felt like a prison to so many of them, now, it would serve as our base once again.
North and Steve stepped through with me, and together, we left the broken battlefield behind.
We arrived directly in the floating ruins of the castle, our temporary base in the pocket realm.
Before I could say anything, North caught my arm and stared me dead in the eye.
"I need a bath."
She said it like she was preparing for war.
I blinked, surprised at her intensity, and silently pointed my thumb behind me.
She was gone before I could even speak, storming off like a soldier on a mission. Probably straight to whatever place she could find to bath herself.
I heard Steve mutter beside me, "It’s just blood. Not sure why she’s acting so dramatic."
I glanced at him. He was keeping his tone light, joking, but I could see the tension behind his eyes. He was trying not to think too much.
So I played along.
"Yeah," I said. "Blood just... red. Basically water."
He snorted, shaking his head. "Sure, let’s market it."
I grinned.
Steve laughed again, and this time it sounded a little more natural. He exhaled and looked around. "Man... this place really is floating."
"Welcome to the realm," I said, stepping forward.
With a casual motion, I willed a large stone slab to flatten itself beside us.
Then I raised my hand again and Essence surged out, forming a pool in front of us circular, glowing faintly with violet light. I waved my hand again and water poured in clear and fresh. Steam rose gently from the surface.
"Pool’s ready," I said, plopping down and dipping my legs into the warm water.
Steve hesitated, then sat beside me and did the same.
He took out his sword, still stained and red and quietly dipped the blade into the water, scrubbing it gently with a cloth. The metal hissed, as if sighing.
"Don’t tell me it’s your emotional support weapon," I said, glancing at him.
He rolled his eyes. "Nah, just don’t want it rusting. It’s picky."
"Yeah, well... I’d be picky too if I had to cut through that many people."
His scrubbing slowed for half a second. Just a flicker.
Then he shrugged. "Yeah, well. They started it."
I didn’t push. He clearly didn’t want to talk about it. So I let the silence hang for a few seconds before tossing a small pebble into the pool.
Steve dipped his sword in the pool, swirling it like a spoon in soup.
"Been thinking about naming this thing," he muttered.
I raised a brow. "The sword?"
"No, my leg. Yes, the sword."
"Why?"
"I don’t know. Feels like everyone with a fancy class has a weapon with a name. You’ve got your staff. Arkas had a trident named after some ancient legend."
"Yeah but that trident isn’t that good."
"Still a cool name though."
I leaned back, toes in the water, enjoying the silence. Of course, Steve couldn’t allow that.
"I was gonna go with ’Bloodborne Eclipse’."
I turned slowly to look at him. "You serious?"
"It sounds deadly."
"It sounds like something a fourteen-year-old would name their fanfiction sword."
He gave me an offended look. "Okay, Mr. Name God. What would you name it?"
I squinted at the blade.
"It’s got a slim build. Kind of elegant. Maybe something subtle. Like... ’Whispers Edge.’"
"Ew."
"You asked."
"I want something that makes people tremble . Like... LifeEnder.’"
I pointed at him. "That’s taken. I saw a guy named his fork that last month."
He ignored me. "Okay, what about... Soulshatter?"
"Sounds like a cologne."
He paused. "...Now that you say it, yeah."
We both stared at the sword. Its dull edge caught the pool’s soft glow. It looked tired. Just like us.
"What about Slice?" I offered.
"Slice?"
"Yeah. Imagine this: you cut through a monster and just say, ’That was Slice.’ Instant legend."
"...Honestly," he muttered, "that’s not the worst one."
"I know."
Steve looked thoughtful, then tried again. "What about... ’Edge of the Void’?"
"You don’t have void powers."
"True."
"Or a void personality."
"Also true."
He made a disappointed face and started brushing the blade with his sleeve.
I leaned over.
"Call it something meaningful."
"Like what?"
I paused.
"Maybe... ’Brightfang’? Something poetic."
He stared at me blankly.
"You are so bad at this."
"I am giving you themes, Steve."
"Okay, okay. What about... ’Heartpiercer’?"
"I mean... technically, most swords can do that."
"True."
There was a beat of silence. Then he said, "What if I name it something harmless. Like... Banana."
I snorted. "Imagine yelling that in battle. ’TASTE MY Banana!’"
We both burst out laughing.
Steve wiped his eyes.
"Okay. Okay. Final idea. Something understated. Mysterious. No one will even know what it means."
"I’m listening."
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