CHAPTER 38: BACK TO THE TORTURERS?
ONE WEEK LATER…
***
John stared at the floating screen in front of him
Origin Archive Record
Name: John
Age: 14
Race: Human
Affinity: ???, VOID, ABYSS, LIGHTNING
Ascension Level
Stage I — Awakening (Late Tier)
Energy Circulation Arts
Current Art: ???(Unnamed)Art Grade: ???(Need a name to receive a grade)
Techniques
Registered Techniques: None
Domain
Status: Awakened
Domain Grade: Unrated
Domain Aspect: Undefined
Manifestation: None
Blessings
Thread of Eternity: A binding tether to the Origin Archive, the silent witness that records all and enforces the laws of existence.
Gift of Tongues: Ability to speak and understand the Common Tongue shared by all sentient beings in the world of Cassiopea.
Soul‑Bound Item:
Evolstice Blade
Ring of Lies
It's been a week, he thought. And I still haven't come up with a good name.
[This is getting ridiculous,] Echo snapped. [Just pick a name and move on. It's not like it really matters.]
It has to be cool.
[It does NOT have to be cool. It has to be FUNCTIONAL. Name it "John's Art" and be done with it.]
Absolutely not.
[Then "Void Thing." "Abyss Special." "The Purple Glow." I don't CARE, minion. Just CHOOSE.]
John crossed his arms inside his inner domain. No. A bad name will haunt me forever. This is my legacy, Echo. My LEGACY. And besides, you're one to talk. If it were you, you would have probably waited ages until you found the perfect name.
[Are you seriously comparing me to you? What ignorance. I will have you know I was—]
Wait, stop. Sorry. Just don't go on a ramble about how great you are, alright.
[YOU... sigh. Forget it. But you should know—even if it were me, if I were as weak as you, I would have been more worried about receiving a grade so I can make the Origin Script better and get stronger. Not coming up with a cool name.]
Before John could fire back, a voice cut through the real world.
"Hey, John."
He snapped his eyes open. Nico was standing over him, one hand scratching his head, a contemplative expression on his face.
"What?"
Nico grinned. "Well, you know how you have to name your script—if you're successful in creating your own."
"Get to the point," John said.
"Okay, so what I'm trying to say is... I want you to tell me how this sounds." Nico struck a dramatic pose. "Death's Embrace."
That actually doesn't sound half bad. How in the hell—
John couldn't finish his thought before Echo's voice cut in.
[Oh great. Another one. Why is everyone so obsessed with naming their arts? It's just a label. A tag. A—]
Maybe you're the weird one, John thought, smirking.
[Excuse me?]
You heard me. Everyone else gets it. Names matter. You're the only one who doesn't care.
[I care about RESULTS. Not—]
"So?" Nico asked, pulling John back to reality. "How is it?"
John looked at him. Nico's expression was somewhere between hopeful and impatient, like a kid showing off a drawing.
"It's not bad," John said.
Nico's face fell. "Not bad? Just not bad?"
"Don't push it."
"Fine," Nico said. "I guess that's high praise coming from you, considering you're a perfectionist freak—just below Thalia."
John frowned. I am not a perfectionist freak.
[You've spent a week on a name,] Echo reminded him.
...That's different.
"Why are you guys worrying so much about this anyway?" Amara didn't even look up from her chess match with Thalia. "It's not like you can't change it later."
Nico and John both turned to her. Nico's voice came out stunned. "Wait... you can change it later?"
"Yeah, isn't that amazing?" Adam called out from across the room. He was playing cards with Thomas and the twins, though the slap marks on his and the twins' cheeks made it clear they were losing… very badly. "All that time trying to come up with the perfect name, and it was all for nothing."
John's eye twitched.
Echo.
[What?]
You heard them.
[I heard many things. You'll have to be more specific.]
John's jaw tightened. The part where you can CHANGE THE NAME LATER.
[Oh. That.] A pause. [I assumed you knew.]
HOW WOULD I KNOW THAT?!
[I don't know. Common sense? Logic? The fact that it's basically the name of a book.]
John took a slow breath. You watched me agonize over this for a week. A full week. And you didn't think to mention it?
[To be fair, it was entertaining.]
ECHO.
[What? You were so passionate about your "legacy." I didn't want to ruin the moment.]
Across the room, Adam was still laughing about the whole thing. Nico looked like someone had just told him Santa wasn't real.
John pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn't waste a second as he called out to the record.
The ancient mechanical voice answered immediately.
[State the name of your art.]
John took a breath. He thought about the void that held everything. The lightning that wove it together. The abyss that transformed it. The way all of it worked as one—not rejecting impurities, but integrating them.
Void Integration Art.
[Void Integration Art]
[Grade: Exalted (Grade 5)]
[Created by John Blackwell. A unique cultivation art unlike any other, suited just for him. This art exists because of the ??? affinity, along with a set of other unique affinities, working in synergy. No one else can replicate this method.]
[Note: This art defies conventional grading metrics. Proceed with caution.]
John stared at the words. Specifically, the sentence "Proceed with caution."
[There,] Echo said. [Was that so hard?]
You could have told me about the name change thing.
[And miss your suffering? Never. Now just leave it.]
John shook his head and opened his eyes. It was almost time for ONE to call them for training, and today was the day they were finally going to start combat training.
Finally, he thought. Time for the real fun.
[You've been saying that ever since you got the script, and yet you got bored quickly,] Echo said.
Well, that's because I couldn't act how I wanted. This is different. I can experiment all I want.
[Wrong. You still have to restrain yourself. The powers inside you are a disaster waiting to happen.]
Before John could respond, the door slid open.
ONE walked in, half-masked and cold-eyed, one hand in his pocket. He didn't immediately order them to follow him to the training ground as usual. Instead, he stood in the center of the room and waited until every eye was on him.
"For the next month," he said, "you will all be returning to your previous instructors. You will resume training like before—only more intense."
He turned toward the door.
"Train hard. Don't die. I'll see you in four weeks."
The door slid shut behind him.
Silence.
Adam blinked. "That's it?"
"It's ONE," Elowen said, already grabbing her gear. "What did you expect? A speech?"
John stood slowly, his mind returning to how the training with their old instructors had been.
[Hmm. Seeing as you're sweating a little, I really want to see what kind of trauma these people inflicted on you to act like this,] Echo said.
Shut up.
[You can't make me. I am the great—]
Sylas was the first to head for the door. "Well? You heard him. We're supposed to go."
The squad moved, following a familiar route to where they were supposed to meet their first instructor—Rauk.
John's mind raced as he thought about how this month would pass. Then he slapped his own face.
How else? I'm going to try and try to get as strong as possible.
[That's the spirit, minion.]
...Sigh.