Lucien reached forward.
One by one, the tomes responded.
They did not need to be summoned.
The moment his will brushed against them, the three codices lifted from the air of his inner realm and drifted forward, hovering in a slow, deliberate orbit. Their covers glowed brightly, no longer restrained.
The aura they released was not explosive. It was a restrained menace. The kind of presence that did not announce itself loudly, yet carried the certainty of something that had survived being buried.
Lucien narrowed his eyes.
"Good."
The tomes did not answer, but they no longer felt like tools waiting for permission. They felt aware. Aligned.
Recognizing him.
Then a thought surfaced.
"Oh right," Lucien said softly. "System. Why did their names change?"
The system responded immediately.
[Ting.]
[Advisory: The current designations are intentional.]
Lucien frowned slightly.
"Intentional how?"
[Names carry weight, Host.]
