The studio smelled like fresh paint and coffee.
It was small—just one floor in an old building downtown—but it was theirs. No more corporate boardrooms. No glass walls watching them rehearse. Just freedom.
The only thing missing… was a name.
---
"I like ASTRYA," Tavi said, spinning in an office chair. "It sounds like stars. Like… space royalty!"
Sion raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like a perfume line."
Eren tossed a pen across the table. "What about NOVA? You know, like a star that explodes into something brighter?"
Klan flipped through a notebook. "Too many groups already used that…"
Kael sat at the end of the table, silent, watching them all argue like brothers. He smiled—but his fingers tapped restlessly against the wood.
There was something tight in his chest he hadn't spoken yet.
---
Later, as the others debated logos and fonts, Kael stepped out onto the balcony.
Klan followed a few minutes later, arms crossed against the breeze.
Kael didn't look at him. "You think we're making a mistake?"
Klan blinked. "What?"
"Letting go of LUMINA. Becoming… something else."
Klan moved to stand beside him. "You're scared."
Kael didn't deny it.
"I built that name," he said. "I bled for it. And now we're just… erasing it."
"We're not erasing it," Klan said gently. "We're evolving. You said it yourself: we weren't made to kneel for anyone's comfort. So let's not kneel to a name, either."
Kael finally turned, meeting his eyes.
"I don't want to lose us," he admitted.
"You won't," Klan whispered, stepping forward and pressing their foreheads together—just like the first rooftop. "Because no matter the name, we're still ours."
---
Back inside, the team was quiet.
Sion looked up. "Any new ideas?"
Kael's voice was low, firm. "Yes."
He picked up the marker and wrote it on the whiteboard in bold, black strokes:
> SOLARIA
Everyone stared.
"…That's beautiful," Tavi whispered.
Eren tilted his head. "Means what?"
Kael turned to them. "It means sun-born. Light that no one gave us. Light we found ourselves."
Sion smirked. "Strong. Rebellious. Has a future."
Klan smiled. "And warm. Like us."
Kael met their eyes. "Then from today… we rise as SOLARIA."
---
That night, the official announcement hit their new SNS page:
🗯️ [ANNOUNCEMENT]
> The artists formerly known as LUMINA have officially rebranded as SOLARIA.
The light was always inside us. Now it shines without permission.
We are SOLARIA. And our story is just beginning.
---