The air still hummed with magic as I stepped down from the altar. My new name—Zenith—echoed in my mind like a bell that refused to stop ringing. It felt strange, like I’d stepped into a new skin that didn’t quite fit yet. The others stood in a loose circle, murmuring to each other.


    “Zenith, huh?” a familiar voice called. Havoc grinned at me, arms crossed. “I gotta admit, that’s a pretty cool name.”


    I snorted, brushing my hair back. “Havoc''s not bad either,” I responded. “Sounds like you’re here to burn down a kingdom or two.”


    He laughed, a little too loudly, and clapped me on the back. “Hey, if you’re the heavens, I guess I’m the wildfire.”


    The tension in the room had finally started to crack.


    “Did you . . . see anything?” Havoc asked, lowering his voice. The grin on his face faltered, like he wasn’t sure if it was the right question to ask.


    I hesitated. “Yeah. Stars. Constellations shifting in and out of place. Like . . . like the sky was unraveling and reweaving itself.” I shrugged. “And then my name—Zenith—just . . . called to me.”


    Havoc let out a low whistle. “Sounds almost peaceful.”


    “It wasn’t,” I muttered. “Believe me,” I continued, rolling my eyes.


    He didn’t ask for more. Instead, he scratched his chin, gaze drifting back toward the Tablet. “Mine was . . . different.”


    “Yeah?” I asked.


    His eyes flicked back to me, and his grin returned—not cocky, but sharp-edged. Excited. “It started with fire. No surprise there.” He flexed his fingers, a flicker of flame dancing between them as he spoke. “But it wasn’t just fire—it was everywhere. I was standing in this place—this endless plane of molten rock, rivers of magma twisting through the cracks like veins of light. The air itself shimmered with heat.”


    I imagined him standing there, the glow reflecting in his eyes.


    “Then,” Havoc continued, “the whole thing shifted. The heat changed—got sharper, hotter. I was in a desert, but instead of wind, these massive tornadoes of fire were churning across the sand, scorching the earth as they moved. Pillars of flame, just . . . tearing through the horizon.”


    His eyes widened slightly as he relived it, like he was still standing in the blaze. “And then . . . I was somewhere else. A battlefield. There were these—these things fighting beside me. Dragons, soldiers, giant birds—even these huge serpents—all made of fire. And they fought like they were part of me. Like I could just will them to move, and they’d answer.”


    “Like your own personal army?” I asked.


    “Exactly!” He grinned again, this time with something wild behind it. “I was in the thick of it—flames roaring, fiery beasts charging—and then I heard it.” His voice dropped lower. “That name . . . Havoc. Like a whisper in my ear—not a voice, more like . . . like the flames themselves were saying it. And then I was back in the chamber.”


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    I let out a breath. “Wow.”


    “Yeah.” He chuckled, but his voice was softer now. “Guess I’ve got a lot to live up to.”


    “You?” I scoffed. “I’ve got constellations to manage.”


    He barked a laugh at that, and I couldn’t help but grin. The tension from before had eased just a little — enough for me to believe, if only for a second, that maybe we were ready for this.


    “Czak,” Amethyst''s voice drifted in. “I mean, Zenith—” she stopped, laughing at herself. “Sorry, force of habit, I guess.”


    “It’s all right,” I said, smiling at her. “Eloria, was it?”


    She curtsied. “Pleasure to meet you,” she said jokingly. “This new name thing is gonna take some getting used to.”


    “Tell me about it,” Aegis said, scratching the back of his neck. “I was just about to say ‘Zeke,’ but . . . ” He shot Havoc a grin. “Guess I’ll have to get used to Havoc setting things on fire now.”


    “I mean, I could still answer to ‘Zeke,’” Havoc teased. “But Havoc just has a better ring to it, don’t you think?” He flexed his fingers, conjuring a flickering flame that danced between them. “Sounds dangerous.”


    “Oh, Titan sounds plenty dangerous too,” Titan said, cracking his knuckles like a sledgehammer against stone. “I’m not gonna lie—kinda makes me feel like I could punch a mountain.”


    “You’d try,” Yridelle cut in, teasingly. “I just know you would, given the chance.”


    “I neither confirm nor deny that,” Titan laughed.


    “You’ll need to confirm that if you’re gonna live up to a name like Titan,” Atlantika said, grinning.


    The teasing rolled on from there—light, familiar, and so painfully normal it almost felt like we weren’t in a strange place where magic isn’t just in books and movies.


    “You know,” Yridelle said between laughs, “I think Yridelle makes me sound like a villain.”


    “Totally,” Kaelith chimed in. “I can already hear the evil monologue.” She threw her arms wide and deepened her voice. “Foolish mortals! Witness the power of the mighty Yridelle!”


    “Sounds more like you’re summoning bad breath,” Havoc said, dodging a imaginary dagger Yridelle pretended to throw at him.


    “That’s it,” Kaldi cut in, his booming voice silencing the chaos for a second. “If you’re all getting fancy new names, then Dero and I should have some too.”


    “Yeah!” Dero agreed, standing tall beside his brother. “Kaldi will be Beary Strong, and I will be—”


    “Beary Cute,” I interrupted him with a grin.


    “You two,” Titan groaned, “are unbearably ridiculous.”


    “Unbearably.” Havoc smirked. “Nice.”


    For a moment, it felt like none of us had anything to worry about. Just a bunch of friends joking around. No looming war, no titles of power, no impossible tasks hanging over our heads. Just . . . us.


    Then Andora’s voice cut through the warmth like an icy blade.


    “There’s no time for jokes,” she said, her tone sharp enough to turn smiles to stone. Her gaze swept over us, hard and unwavering. “Your new names are not just words—they are power, and they are responsibility. You will need to understand what they mean if you hope to survive what’s coming.”


    The room’s warmth vanished.


    “It’s time you learned about your gifts.”


    And just like that, the moment was gone.