Chapter 7: A Name To Call Her Own

"I had been asleep a long time and had just woken up. But the world was different from what I remembered." — Haruki Murakami, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

She was dreaming.

Or was she?

She did not know.

The world around her shifted, memories unraveling like a tapestry being rewoven before her eyes. She could feel everything—the sensations, the emotions, the weight of existence itself—yet it was distant, as though she were watching through a translucent veil, unable to touch it directly.

The memories belonged to her.

And yet, they did not.

There was power. So much power. A force that could shape reality itself, that had shaped reality itself. She could feel the vastness of it, the crushing weight of infinite choices, infinite outcomes. And through it all, there was her.

Or rather—

There was Lilith.

A name. A presence. A being who had existed before she did.

And yet, the more she watched, the more she questioned—

Was that truly me?

She woke with a start.

—

It had been a week since she opened her eyes.

If waking up was even the right term.

She had spent the past seven days in quiet observation, watching, listening, learning. Tilana had been the only constant presence, her voice animated as she spoke of the world, of the cities, of the academy. But Lily—no, she—had not spoken much.

What was there to say?

She was no longer as lost as she had been on the first day. The flood of knowledge in her mind had become clearer, like a puzzle slowly fitting together. But while she now knew the information—places, people, history—there was still a disconnect.

It was as though she had gained access to a vast archive of data.

But just because she could see the records did not mean she had lived them.

—

Today was the day of her registration.

The first step toward the life Tilana's father had set up for her.

There was only one problem.

"Your name?"

Silence.

Tilana and her father looked at her expectantly.

She had no answer.

Because—what was her name?

She knew the name Lilith.

It sat in her mind like a whisper, like an echo. But when she tried to say it, something inside her hesitated.

Was she really Lilith?

Did she even want to be?

No.

No, that name did not belong to her. Not anymore.

But then… what was she?

The question lingered, unanswered, as they prepared for departure.

—

The journey to the academy was long, giving her ample time to observe the world she had awoken to.

It was not Earth.

Not anymore.

The land had reshaped itself, molded by unseen hands and cosmic forces. What had once been familiar terrain was now something other, a mixture of the old and the new. Massive, sprawling cities floated in the sky, suspended by energy fields that pulsed like living veins. Ancient ruins, remnants of a forgotten civilization, coexisted with sleek, modern structures made from alloys not of this world.

And the people—

Humans were not the only ones who walked these streets.

There were beings with bioluminescent skin that shimmered under the sun, creatures with multiple eyes and limbs, humanoids whose very presence felt like they were carved from stardust. Different races, different cultures, all converging in a place that was once a single species' domain.

The academy itself loomed in the distance, a structure unlike anything she had seen before.

It was grand, yet strange, its architecture shifting seamlessly between the organic and the mechanical. Towering spires reached toward the sky, their surfaces etched with glowing symbols. Bridges of pure light connected different sections, and floating platforms carried students from one part of the campus to another.

She stared at it, a quiet weight settling in her chest.

This place—this world—was both hers and not hers.

Familiar, yet foreign.

Like she herself was.

—

"Name?"

She stood before the registration desk, the administrator peering at her expectantly.

Tilana was beside her, waiting.

The question lingered.

A name.

She needed a name.

Her lips parted, but she did not speak immediately.

Instead, she thought.

She considered the weight of identity, of existence.

What was she?

Who was she?

She closed her eyes.

A fragment of a memory surfaced. A field of soft petals. A quiet moment, untouched by time.

A flower.

When she opened her eyes again, she knew.

"Lily."

The administrator blinked. "Lily? That's a unique name."

She looked down, her voice softer now.

"It used to be a flower."

It was the first thing she had claimed as her own.

And for the first time since she woke, she felt something close to certainty.

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