Chapter 116: My name

The room was still shaking. Dust fell from the ceiling as the thirteen symbols carved into the walls continued glowing.

Rin couldn’t take his eyes away from the final System message.

[The vessel is still active.]

His heart pounded. A vessel.

The mysterious figure stood silently near the center of the room, watching Rin as though he already knew what question was coming.

Rin slowly raised his head.

"You said there were thirteen."

"Yes."

"One of them was created as a vessel."

"Yes."

"And that vessel was connected to me."

The figure nodded. Rin’s voice became quieter.

"For what?"

The figure didn’t answer. Kaelith stepped forward.

"Enough."

Rin immediately turned toward him.

"No."

Kaelith stopped.

"I need to know."

His expression tightened.

"Why?"

"You keep saying that."

"I know."

"But every time someone gives me an answer, there are five more questions."

Kaelith looked at him for several seconds. Then he lowered his gaze.

Rin turned back toward the figure.

"For what?"

The figure finally answered.

"For you."

Rin froze.

"What?"

"The vessel was created for you."

The room became silent. Kaan looked confused. Lucien’s expression changed.

Even Sol stopped moving. Rin stared at the figure.

"Why?"

The figure’s eyes lowered.

"Because the Gods wanted you to have someone."

Rin’s brows furrowed.

"Someone?"

"A companion."

The figure paused.

"Someone who would remain beside you when everyone else disappeared."

Rin’s chest tightened.

"Why would the Gods care about me?"

The figure looked at him.

"They didn’t simply care about you."

He took a step closer.

"They feared what would happen if you were alone."

Rin didn’t understand.

"What does that mean?"

The figure glanced toward the symbols.

"Long before you were Rin, the Gods gathered."

Kaelith’s expression changed.

"Don’t."

The figure ignored him.

"They argued about your existence."

Rin looked at Kaelith.

"You knew?"

"No."

Kaelith’s answer was immediate.

"I didn’t know this."

The figure continued.

"They called you many things."

Rin’s fingers curled.

"Which one was mine?"

The figure looked directly into his eyes.

Then, slowly, he spoke.

"Aelion."

The world seemed to stop. Rin couldn’t breathe.

"Aelion..."

The name felt strange. Yet familiar. Not like hearing a stranger’s name. Like hearing a word he had forgotten how to pronounce.

The moment he repeated it, something flashed through his mind. A white sky. A field filled with silver flowers.

Someone laughing. A hand reaching toward his. And a voice.

My love.

Rin staggered. Kaelith immediately caught him.

"Rin!"

Rin grabbed Kaelith’s arm. His head hurt.

"I’m fine..."

"You’re not."

"I said I’m fine."

Kaelith didn’t let go. Rin closed his eyes.

"Aelion..."

The name echoed inside his mind. The figure nodded.

"That was your first name."

Rin slowly opened his eyes.

"Then why did I become Rin?"

"Because World erased Aelion."

Silence. Rin’s face went pale.

"Why?"

"Because your existence became a problem."

The figure looked toward the ceiling.

"The gods had created too many possibilities around you."

"What possibilities?"

"Love. War. Creation. Destruction."

He paused.

"And freedom."

Rin frowned.

"How could freedom be a problem?"

"Because they couldn’t control what you would become."

Kaelith’s expression darkened.

"So they changed him?"

"No."

The figure looked at Kaelith.

"They changed the world around him."

Then he turned back to Rin.

"They erased your name. They erased your history. They erased the people who remembered you. And then they created a new identity."

Rin whispered:

"Rin."

"Yes."

The word felt painfully familiar.

"So I wasn’t supposed to remember Aelion."

"No."

"Why?"

"Because if you remembered..."

The figure stopped. Rin waited.

"What?"

"You would remember him."

Rin’s heart skipped.

"Him?"

The figure nodded.

"The vessel. And the person you loved for the first time. The real one."

Rin looked toward the thirteenth door. His voice became barely audible.

"Who was he?"

The figure stared at the door.

"He was created for you."

"But who was he?"

"A being formed from divine power, fragments of immortal souls, and the memories of those who loved you."

Rin’s eyes widened.

"They created a person..."

"Yes."

"For me?"

"Yes."

"To be..."

The figure hesitated. Then he said it.

"Your lover."

Nobody spoke. Rin stood completely still. The words felt impossible.

The gods had created someone specifically for him. Not as a weapon. Not as a soldier. Not as a servant. But as someone who would stay beside him.

Someone who would love him. Someone who would never leave. Rin looked toward Kaelith.

Kaelith hadn’t moved. His face was unreadable.

But his eyes... His eyes looked almost broken.

Rin whispered:

"Was that person..."

The figure looked at Kaelith.

"Yes."

Rin’s heart stopped. Kaelith stared at the floor. The figure continued.

"The gods gave him a name."

Rin swallowed.

"What name?"

The figure shook his head.

"I don’t know."

"But you said he was created for me."

"I said I knew what he was created for."

Rin frowned.

"Then how do you know he existed?"

The figure looked at the thirteenth door.

"Because I watched them make him."

Rin’s eyes widened.

"Who?"

"The gods."

A pause.

"And World."

The room became cold. Rin stared.

"World was there?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because World was the one who decided what happened afterward."

Rin’s breathing became shallow.

"So the gods created him..."

"Yes."

"And World approved it?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

The figure’s expression became bitter.

"Because they believed you would eventually need him."

Rin looked down.

"And what happened?"

The figure didn’t answer immediately.

Then—

"They were wrong about one thing."

"What?"

"They thought they were creating someone who would belong to you."

Rin looked at him.

"But they couldn’t create love."

The figure’s voice became softer.

"They could create a vessel. They could give him a body. They could give him memories. They could give him divine power. But they couldn’t decide who he would become."

Rin slowly turned toward Kaelith. Kaelith looked back at him. For a moment, neither spoke.

Then Rin asked:

"Did he love me?"

Kaelith’s eyes closed.

The figure answered instead.

"Yes."

Rin’s chest tightened.

"How much?"

The figure looked at him sadly.

"Enough to oppose the gods."

Rin froze.

"Enough to oppose World."

Another pause.

"And enough to destroy himself rather than let them take you away."

Rin’s eyes filled with confusion.

"Why?"

The figure smiled faintly.

"Because somewhere along the way..."

He looked toward Kaelith.

"...the vessel stopped being a vessel."

Kaelith finally spoke.

"He became himself."

The figure nodded.

"Yes."

Rin stared at Kaelith. And suddenly, everything felt different.

The obsession. The memories. The endless searching. The way Kaelith looked at him as if losing him wasn’t merely sadness, but the end of his entire existence.

Rin whispered:

"Kaelith..."

Kaelith looked at him.

"Were you..."

He couldn’t finish. Kaelith understood anyway.

"I don’t know."

His voice was quiet.

"I don’t know what they created."

He looked at Rin.

"But I know what I chose."

Rin’s heart tightened. Kaelith stepped closer.

"I chose you."

The figure watched silently. Then the thirteenth door began to tremble.

A deep sound came from behind it. Chains. One after another. Rin turned.

The System appeared.

[True Name recognized.]

[AELION.]

[Previous identity restored.]

Rin stared at the word. Then another message appeared.

[Warning.]

[The vessel has recognized the Host.]

The door opened. Darkness filled the doorway.

And from somewhere beyond it, a familiar voice whispered—

"Aelion."

Rin stopped breathing. The voice sounded tired. It sounded relieved.

And it sounded like someone who had been waiting for him for an eternity. Then the voice spoke again.

"My love..."

Kaelith’s eyes widened. Because this time—he heard it too.