Chapter 145- Naming the Little Girl.

Chapter 145: Chapter 145- Naming the Little Girl.

[Ding!]

[Heavenly Lightning Acquired — VIOLET ORIGIN.]

[Rank: ??? — beyond measurement. Counted among the three most powerful lightning strands in the entire cosmos.]

[Origin: The lightning existed long before the creation of this world. The Lightning General had the fortune to come across it, and in time, was acknowledged by it.]

[Properties]

[Lightning Control: Unlocked]

[All lightning-attributed damage: 2x]

[Tempest Authority — LOCKED.]

[Heaven’s Wrath (Judgment Strike) — LOCKED.]

[Storm Domain — LOCKED.]

[Thousand-Li Sense — LOCKED.]

[Body of Thunder (True Form) — SEALED.]

Leo skimmed through the long list of lightning attributes, though nearly all of them sat locked away behind that word. Something about the whole panel felt eerily familiar — close enough to how his own eternal flame’s status had looked, back when it first started showing signs of something like sentience. He had a feeling this strand of lightning might eventually head down that same path.

He checked Cindy’s status next, but her class still read Thunder Child, unchanged.

"You should focus on leveling up as fast as you can," the Guardian suggested. "You’ll need to reach at least level 40 before you can unlock any form of inheritance and properly claim your class."

Cindy pouted. "After everything that stupid purple lightning put me through, I’m still weak?"

Leo smiled at that. "You’re definitely stronger than you were before all this. And besides, your talent basically guarantees that effort like yours always pays off eventually."

"Before you two head out, there’s a bit more you need to hear," the Guardian continued.

"First — stabilization. You’ll need to stabilize that newly formed lightning core of yours. Feed it on a regular schedule. Daily circulation isn’t optional; it’s necessary from here on out."

Cindy nodded along, then asked, "Can I actually use this purple lightning in a fight?"

"Yes, but don’t overuse it. Push it too hard too early, and you’ll regret it."

Cindy nodded again, more seriously this time.

"Your class is still Thunder Child — nothing’s changed on that front. What’s actually changed is your foundation underneath it all."

Cindy tilted her head, clearly still a little lost.

The Guardian just shook her head and turned to Leo instead. "You can take her now. Make sure she gets proper rest, and help her level up as quickly as possible from here."

Leo nodded and left with Cindy close behind. He’d originally planned to stop by and see the Death Sovereign on the way out, but decided against it for now — making sure Cindy made it back safe took priority over everything else.

They soon stepped out of the tunnel and into the guild hall, where this time nearly everyone was gathered. Cindy spotted Master Rook almost immediately and ran straight for him. "Grandpa—!"

She threw her arms around him and burst into tears on the spot.

"Who dares make my granddaughter cry?" Rook demanded, fury blazing in his voice as he pulled her close. "Tell me, and I’ll skin them alive."

Leo gave a wry smile at that, thinking privately that Rook might want to find out who first, before promising to skin anyone — otherwise he’d be the one left crying.

But Cindy answered anyway. "It was Sister Lightning Guardian. She bullied me again, like always."

Rook froze solid.

Cold sweat broke out across his forehead as he immediately spun around, scanning the room to make absolutely sure the Lightning Guardian wasn’t anywhere nearby.

Only once he’d confirmed she was nowhere in sight did he finally let out a breath of relief.

"You just about scared me to death," he told Cindy. "Next time, lead with who’s actually responsible before you say something like that. You nearly gave me a heart attack."

Cindy just pouted harder and turned her face away from him.

It was only on closer inspection that Rook finally noticed the subtle changes — the faint shift in her eye color, the new tint running through her hair, her skin looking paler and smoother than he remembered. "What on earth happened to you?"

Leo stepped forward to explain. "She managed to tame a high-rank strand of lightning. Her affinity’s been upgraded all the way to mythic tier — she’s qualified for a mythic-rank class now, though she’ll need to hit level 40 first before she can claim it."

Rook’s mouth curled up into a grin so wide it nearly reached his eyes.

"Hahaha! That’s my granddaughter for you. Talented, just like her grandfather."

The old man launched straight back into his bragging. Leo just shook his head and said, "Take care of her, and get her some clothes. Make sure she actually rests, for now."

With that, he turned and headed out of the guild hall, making his way toward the Death Sovereign’s chamber.

Rook stood frozen for a second, staring after him. Then he looked back at Cindy. "Wh— what did he mean by clothes?"

He glanced down and noticed she was clutching the cloak around herself with both hands, gripping it tight, and his thoughts immediately spiraled.

"Don’t tell me... that brat—" His face went red. "Leo! I’m going to kill him!" Rook exploded, already turning to chase after him.

Cindy, blushing furiously, grabbed his sleeve. "Grandpa, it wasn’t Leo! It happened when I tamed the lightning — all my clothes got burned off, and Sister Guardian just threw this cloak over me afterward!"

Rook finally cooled down, the rage draining out of him almost as fast as it had come.

Cindy let out a long sigh and went off to change into something proper.

...

Meanwhile, back in the real world, inside the Space Z offices—

It was half past two in the morning, and the main office was still lit up, bright against the dark building around it. Two women sat there, surrounded by the aftermath of hours of work.

Papers covered every inch of the table — printouts, listings, site photographs with margins crammed full of handwritten notes.

Three folders sat squared neatly to one side of the desk. Everything else was scattered debris, the leftovers of a long process of elimination.

"That’s a short list," Elona said, rubbing at her eyes. Her secretary nodded in agreement, looking just as exhausted as Elona felt.

"Three survived your criteria," the secretary said. "The Durham property has the floor space you wanted, but the access road floods regularly. The research lot is clean on paper, but it’s barely half the size you specified. And Meridian would need a full retrofit before anyone could actually live there."

Elona rubbed a hand down her face. "And the money situation?"

"1.4 million USD was transferred into your account by Mr. Leo," the secretary answered. She glanced at the three folders. "Do you want a full briefing on these tonight, or should it wait?"

Elona looked at the folders, then at her phone, checking the time.

"Let’s save it for tomorrow," she said.

Both of them left the office shortly after to get some rest.

If I can’t find anything that actually satisfies the criteria, Elona thought to herself on the way out, I’ll just have to build one from scratch. There’s no shortage of open land around here anyway.

...

Leo finally reached the hallway leading toward the death chamber. The corridor was still thick with undead mana, the same chilling sensation washing over him as he walked.

He arrived in front of the chamber door, grasped the handle, and pushed it open.

Waiting for him on the other side was an enormous dark wolf, sitting directly in front of the entrance, watching him with sharp green eyes. The instant it spotted Leo, its tail started wagging furiously, and it greeted him with a flurry of licks that left him thoroughly drenched.

It was Blacky, the undead wolf. After spending so much time steeped in the chamber’s undead mana, Blacky seemed to have grown noticeably stronger — strong enough that it was getting harder to tell, just from looking at him, that he was undead at all.

Leo made a mental note to bring Sigil down here at some point too.

He scratched behind Blacky’s ears. "Guarding the door, huh?" The wolf just stared up at him, tail still wagging. "I’ll take that as a yes," Leo said, stepping past him and further into the chamber toward the Guardian.

Inside, Leo found the Death Guardian standing at a blackboard, wearing a pair of spectacles and pointing a stick at something written across it, while the little girl sat attentively in front of her. It looked, for all the world, like a perfectly ordinary classroom scene.

Leo found the whole thing deeply amusing — especially the sight of the Death Guardian wearing fake glasses purely to look the part of a proper teacher.

"She seems to have settled into things," Leo said. The girl spotted him immediately, broke into a wide smile, and ran straight over to wrap her arms around him in a hug.

Leo smiled and gently ran a hand through her hair.

The Guardian walked over as well. "She’s a quick study. Reads, listens, and naps constantly — she’s learned to read and write a fair amount already."

Leo glanced at the blackboard, then back at the Guardian, skeptical. "You’re not telling me she can actually read and write that, are you?"

The Guardian nodded with a smug little smile, clearly fishing for praise — as if to say, that’s right, I taught her, go ahead and compliment me.

Leo just stared at the board a moment longer. "...I can’t even read that myself."

The Guardian froze mid-smile. "Right! That’s, ah — that’s the language from a previous era," she muttered quickly, half to herself, maintaining the same stiff smile. "No problem, though! She can still learn plenty about undead matters in that language specifically!"

Leo eyed her with open suspicion.

The Guardian hurried to change the subject. "Anyway — since she still doesn’t have a name, we really ought to give her one. I wanted to talk it over with you."

"Do you have anything in mind?" Leo asked.

The Guardian considered it for a moment. "Little Sovereign?"

Leo stared back at her, expression completely flat.

"What?" the Guardian asked, genuinely confused by his reaction.

"Are you serious right now?" Leo asked.

The Guardian nodded, entirely sincere.

"Absolutely not," Leo said immediately.

"Okay — how about Little Bone, then?"

A vein twitched visibly on Leo’s forehead. "No. Absolutely not. She’s not a skeleton."

"Not yet," the Guardian replied.

Leo stared at her, stunned into silence for a beat.

"...Kidding," she added quickly.

Leo looked down at the little girl still held close in his arms, studying her properly for the first time. Pale skin, dark hair, eyes a deep shade of red, with faint traces of dark undead mana drifting lazily around her like a shadow of night itself. Against all of that, her face seemed to glow softly, like moonlight cutting through darkness.

"Let’s call her Luna," he said quietly.

....