Awner POV
The cafeteria was already packed by the time I arrived. Trays clattered, voices overlapped, and the smell of synthetic breakfast hung in the air. After piling food onto my plate, I made my way toward Cassie's usual table. Sunny was already there, poking at his oatmeal like it had personally offended him.
But just as I sat down, a sudden wave of noise swept through the hall.
Gasps. Chairs scraping. A rising buzz of shock.
Cassie tilted her head, sensing the shift.
"What's happening?" she whispered, blind eyes searching for context.
Before I could answer, Sunny looked up — really looked — and froze.
A crowd had gathered beneath the massive screen mounted to the cafeteria wall. Faces were pale with disbelief, eyes wide, whispers sharp enough to cut.
The ranking list.
Of course.
"…that's new," I muttered, more amused than concerned. This world loved its theatrics.
The crowd erupted again.
A voice trembled:
"How… how can this be?!"
I'm not seeing things, right?!"
Then a third, cracking with disbelief:
"What kind of monster is she?!"
And then—directed at me, no doubt:
"Another one with a True Name? That has to be fake!"
Every pair of eyes slowly drifted toward our table. Some curious, some intimidated, some trying very hard not to stare and failing miserably.
Sunny followed the direction of the crowd and finally saw the screen clearly.
The ranking list was displayed in bold glowing letters, sorted from weakest to strongest. He found his own name quickly — second from the bottom. As expected.
The only one below him was the blind girl.
He tried not to think about that.
But the cafeteria wasn't reacting to the bottom of the list. The noise — the awe — was coming from the top.
Third place: Caster.
Naturally smug-looking.
Second place: a white-haired youth, staring coolly from his portrait.
Two glowing lines beneath it:
Name: Awner
True Name: Voidborne Sovereign
Sunny's breath caught.
That alone would have been enough to shake the room… but it wasn't over.
Because above it — first place — the portrait of a silver-haired girl radiated quiet, terrifying elegance.
And the text:
Name: Nephis
True Name: Changing Star
Silence crashed through the cafeteria like a hammer. Sleepers stared at the screen with awe, fear, and disbelief. Some swallowed hard. Others paled. A few looked ready to faint.
To receive a True Name in their First Nightmare… and two of them achieving it in at the same time?
Unheard of.
Sunny's heart thudded. He had gotten his own True Name — after surviving the Hero and the Mountain King — and with a completely useless Aspect.
He wanted to shout:
Me too! I have one too!
But instead, he forced his expression to stay blank, bored even.
Caster Pov
Caster's gaze stayed fixed on the giant screen, but his expression had turned rigid and unreadable. His back remained straight, posture flawless — the posture of someone raised to represent a clan — but the tension in his jaw betrayed him.
Third.
He had been placed third.
Not first.
Not second.
Third.
There were many things Caster could tolerate — criticism, competition, even humiliation — but insignificance was not one of them.
What stung wasn't Nephis being ranked above him. Her lineage, her legacy, her training — all of that made sense.
But the other one…
The white-haired newcomer in a police tracksuit.
Someone with no known family crest.
No influential backing.
No recognized training.
A nobody.
Yet the screen showed:
Name: Awner
True Name: Voidborne Sovereign
Caster felt something cold crawl down his spine.
A True Name in the First Nightmare.
Just like Nephis.
Just like…
His fingers twitched before he steadied them behind his back.
This changed the hierarchy.
This changed everything.
But the strangest part — and the part that annoyed him without reason — was that the cafeteria wasn't whispering about him, the Legacy placed third. They only spoke of Nephis… and Awner.
Two names overshadowing him immediately.
Caster inhaled slowly, pushing the irritation deep beneath the polished surface of his expression.
If he reacted emotionally, he would look small.
If he reacted strategically…
He could reshape perception.
And so, when the murmurs swelled and heads turned—
Caster didn't look at Awner.
He looked at Nephis.
Because acknowledging Awner would elevate a nobody.
But acknowledging Nephis?
That maintained status.
That reinforced power.
That reminded everyone of the difference between Legacy blood and stray talent.
So he stepped forward.
"Lady Nephis. I am Caster from the Han Li clan. I see that your trial went well?"
Lady? Why is he addressing her that way? And he had to introduce himself… so, they don't know each other? Sunny thought
Nephis seemed to be a little bit perplexed by the question. After thinking for a while, she smiled brightly and shrugged.
"It is what it is."
Caster awkwardly returned the smile.
"I see. I am very glad that you returned unharmed. Uh… not that I doubted your abilities."
Nephis nodded.
"Thank you."
The moment Caster stepped back, the spell of silence broke.
Chairs scraped, voices rose again, utensils clinked against plates — the cafeteria seemed to return to normal.
Seemed.
Because beneath the surface, nothing was normal anymore.
Conversations resumed, yes — but they were quieter. Shorter. Brittle at the edges. Every table spoke while pretending not to stare. Eyes flicked, then pretended they hadn't. People leaned closer to whisper, then straightened up when they noticed someone watching.
Two True Names
That kind of thing didn't happen.
Not in stories, and certainly not in reality.
Nephis didn't change her posture.
She didn't tense.
She didn't frown.
She didn't even blink differently.
Her expression remained perfectly serene — calm enough to seem indifferent.
But her eyes…
Her eyes betrayed the truth only to someone observant enough to catch it.
Every few moments, she stole a glance.
Not long enough to be caught staring.
Not sharp enough to imply threat.
Just brief, measured assessments — like a swordswoman testing the balance of a blade before deciding whether it was worth drawing.
She wasn't curious.
She was evaluating.
The difference
mattered
Cassie leaned toward me again and whispered:
"…Are people still staring?"
"Yes," I said. "But look on the bright side."
She waited.
"You can't."
Cassie: (O_O)
Sunny: (O_O)
Awner -( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)