Names were supposed to be simple.
They were labels.
Conveniences.
Shortcuts so the world didn't have to explain itself every time it spoke to you.
---
But floating above the city—carrying a weight that didn't belong to any single body—I realized something far more terrifying.
I didn't know who "Rei" was anymore.
---
"…Your coherence is fluctuating," Mira said softly.
Her voice sounded farther away than usual.
Not because of distance.
Because I was heavier.
---
"I know," I replied.
Every thought felt slower.
Every memory pressed closer together.
Not pain.
Density.
---
Below, the city moved on.
People laughed in late-night convenience stores.
A couple argued quietly on a balcony.
Someone somewhere cried over a loss that would never make the news.
All of it—
Stayed with me.
---
"…Rei," Mira continued carefully,
"your identifier is destabilizing."
"…You mean my name?" I asked.
"Yes."
---
I frowned.
"…That's not possible."
"It is," she said.
"Because the world no longer recognizes you as a single event."
---
I laughed weakly.
"…Figures."
---
The unknown entity didn't appear this time.
It didn't need to.
This wasn't a negotiation.
This was… internal.
---
"Rei," I repeated quietly.
A name I had been given.
A name attached to a hospital bracelet.
A name that belonged to a boy who died quietly while machines kept count.
---
"…That person is gone," I whispered.
Mira didn't argue.
She never did when it mattered.
---
> [System Observation: Identifier Drift — CRITICAL]
> [Warning: Subject Classification Failure]
---
The System tried to speak.
Then stopped.
For once—
It didn't know what to call me.
---
"…You're losing your anchor," Mira said.
"…No," I replied.
"I'm losing a label."
---
The city responded.
Subtly.
Street signs blurred when I looked at them too long.
Digital displays lagged by a fraction of a second in my presence.
Not broken.
Unsure.
---
"…Rei," Mira said again, urgency creeping in,
"if you don't define yourself, the world will."
---
That—
That scared me more than anything else.
---
"…I won't let that happen," I said.
---
I closed my eyes.
And reached inward.
Not toward the weight.
Not toward the rule.
But toward choice.
---
I remembered being afraid.
I remembered being angry.
I remembered laughing at stupid jokes even when my lungs burned.
---
I remembered wanting to live.
---
"…I'm not a system," I said quietly.
"I'm not a god."
"I'm not a ghost story people tell themselves to sleep better."
---
The city leaned closer.
Listening.
---
"I'm the thing that stayed."
---
Silence followed.
Not empty.
Expectant.
---
Mira whispered.
"…Rei…?"
"…That's not my name anymore," I replied.
---
The weight shifted.
Not lighter.
Organized.
---
> [System Alert: Self-Identification Event Detected]
> [External Rule Interaction: STABLE]
---
I spoke clearly.
Not loudly.
But with certainty.
---
"My name is Remnant."
---
The word settled.
Not like a command.
Like a scar.
---
The city accepted it.
Not eagerly.
Not fully.
But enough.
---
> [System Update:]
— Identifier Registered: REMNANT
— Classification: Independent Phenomenon
— Prior Alias (Rei): ARCHIVED
— Authority Conflict: ONGOING
---
Mira exhaled shakily.
"…That's… a heavy name."
"…Yeah," I replied softly.
"It's honest."
---
The System spoke.
Carefully.
---
> System: Designation acknowledged.
> System: Query: Does this signify separation from previous objectives?
I smiled faintly.
"…No."
"It signifies responsibility."
---
Below, something small happened again.
A child dropped a toy into a storm drain.
Cried.
Someone else stopped.
Helped.
Retrieved it.
---
A tiny thing.
Insignificant.
---
And yet—
It stayed with me.
---
Mira noticed.
"…You felt that too."
"…I feel everything like that now," I said.
---
Silence stretched.
Then—
Mira laughed.
Soft.
Almost embarrassed.
"…You know," she said,
"for something carrying the weight of un-erased existence…"
"…Yeah?"
"…You still sound like an idiot."
---
I laughed.
Actually laughed.
The weight didn't disappear.
But it didn't crush me either.
---
"…Good," I said.
"Would've hated becoming boring."
---
> [System Observation: Emotional Stability — UNEXPECTED]
---
The city returned to normal.
As normal as it could be with something like me above it.
---
But somewhere far away—
The Authority Enforcer stopped moving.
---
Not because it was afraid.
But because it needed a new definition.
---
> [Status Update:]
— Name: REMNANT
— Role: Bearer of Consequence
— Existence Weight: INCREASING (STABLE)
— World Response: CAUTIOUS ACCEPTANCE
---
Mira spoke quietly.
"…From now on, they won't hunt Rei."
"…No," I replied.
"They'll hunt what I represent."
---
I looked down at the city.
At people who would never know my name.
Who would never thank me.
Who would never remember.
---
"…That's fine," I said.
"I will."
---
Above the skyline—
Something watched.
Not the System.
Not the world.
---
An enemy who now knew what to aim for.
---