The courtyard of Asgard, which until moments before had been merely a training space marked by impacts and well-established routines, had now transformed into something completely different: a point of convergence. The change wasn't announced, but it happened inevitably. One by one, presences began to appear, not by formal summons, but because something in that place had drawn enough attention to not be ignored.

And now… they were all there.

Forming a circle.

Not perfectly organized, nor symmetrical, but still closed enough to create a clear sense of absolute focus on a single central point.

The small creature.

She remained in Strax's arms at first, but not for long. At some silent—almost imperceptible—moment, he placed her on the ground, and she showed no resistance. She simply stood there, in the center of that circle, small, motionless… observing.

Always observing.

Her eyes moved with unusual precision, passing from face to face, analyzing every expression, every posture, every micro-gesture. There were many of them.

Beatrice kept her arms crossed, with a suspicious and slightly impatient look, as if trying to decide if this was a waste of time or something worthy of real attention. Samira leaned slightly forward, curious, with attentive eyes and a slight, restrained smile, clearly interested in the novelty. Monica, on the other hand, observed with a more practical, almost critical expression, like someone evaluating a problem to be solved.

Scarlet maintained a relaxed posture, but her eyes were too attentive for that to be mistaken for disinterest. Cassandra analyzed in silence, her mind clearly working through multiple possibilities. Daniela seemed intrigued, Bellatrix… curiously silent. Tiamat observed with a deeper intensity, almost as if trying to sense something beyond the visible.

Kali showed no apparent emotion, but her presence commanded absolute attention. Xenovia had her hands on her hips, a firm posture, clearly trying to understand the situation more directly. Cristine and Kryssia exchanged occasional glances, while Ouroboros watched with a more… difficult to define interest.

Xyn and Rogue were further away, but still within the circle, both alert. Frieren… simply observed, as if she had seen much stranger things, but still recognized that this… was not common.

Albedo and Agnes were close to Strax.

And the silence… was heavy.

Until Strax spoke.

"You're scaring her."

The sentence was spoken with absolute naturalness, without raising his voice, but the effect was immediate. Some eyebrows rose, other expressions changed slightly, and Monica was the first to respond.

"Scaring her?" she repeated, looking directly at him before pointing to the center of the circle. "Strax, you brought in a… unknown thing, with strange behavior, that is clearly not normal, and you expect us to react like this?"

The creature looked at Monica.

And tilted its head. Mirroring the tone.

Monica paused for a split second.

"…okay, this is annoying."

A faint chuckle escaped from somewhere in the circle—probably Samira.

"She's cute," Samira commented, with a slight smile, leaning forward a little more. "Scary? Maybe. But definitely cute."

The creature looked at her.

It blinked.

And tilted its head again.

Samira smiled more.

"See?"

Albedo sighed discreetly, crossing his arms.

"This isn't a question of being 'cute' or not," she said, her voice firmer, her gaze fixed on the creature. "We don't know what she is. We don't know where she came from, what she can do, or what the implications are of keeping her here."

"We already know she attracts demons," Agnes added, her tone drier. "And not exactly the weak ones." A brief silence followed.

The creature didn't react.

But its eyes… swept over each of them.

Processing.

Monica then took a deep breath, running a hand through her hair before speaking again.

"Besides," she continued, looking at Strax more firmly, "you can't keep calling this a 'creature'."

The small figure in the center blinked.

As if recognizing the word.

Monica pointed again.

"That doesn't work."

Strax tilted his head slightly.

"It works well enough."

"No," Monica retorted immediately. "It doesn't work. This isn't an object. And it's clearly not something without consciousness. So it needs a name."

The creature looked directly at her again.

Silence.

Samira took a small step forward, crossing her arms with a slightly thoughtful air.

"She's right," she said. "Giving it a name helps. It facilitates interaction. Communication. And…" she looked at the creature with a slight smile, "…it makes everything less strange."

"Or more complicated," Albedo murmured.

They all looked at her.

"Giving names to demons can be problematic," she continued, now more serious. "Depending on the nature of the entity, names can create bonds. Or worse, they can stabilize something that should remain unstable."

"That doesn't make sense," Xenovia replied almost immediately, in a direct tone. "A name is just a name."

Albedo turned his face slightly toward her.

"No, it isn't," she said calmly. "In certain cases, names—"

"Luna."

"Nyra."

"Silvi."

"Echo."

Albedo stopped.

He blinked.

He looked around.

Suggestions began to emerge almost simultaneously, completely cutting off his explanation.

"Aria," said Daniela.

"Vex," suggested Rogue.

"Mirra," came Cassandra.

"Lume," commented Kryssia.

"Nyx," said Bellatrix, with a slight smile.

"Little," murmured Tiamat, almost distractedly.

"That's not a name," retorted Monica.

"Maybe."

"No."

"Seraph?" said Cristine.

"Doesn't sound like that," replied Samira.

"Rin," suggested Xyn.

"Too short," commented Scarlet.

"That's irrelevant," said Kali, for the first time, her voice low and steady.

"It's not irrelevant," retorted Monica.

"It's functional," replied Kali.

"Functional isn't enough."

"Why not?"

"Because—"

"Quiet."

Strax's voice wasn't loud.

But it was enough.

Silence fell immediately.

Not imposed.

But accepted.

He took a step forward.

The creature looked at him.

Instantly.

He observed her for a few seconds. Long enough for everyone to realize he wasn't choosing randomly.

He was… analyzing.

The way she reacted.

The way she observed.

The way she… learned.

"You respond to patterns," he said calmly, more to her than to the others. "You repeat. Adjust. Adapt."

The creature blinked.

Once.

Twice.

He tilted his head slightly.

"But you are not empty."

Silence.

"You are not just a reflection."

He paused briefly.

And then—

"Lyra."

The name fell into the air simply.

Without forced weight.

But… it fit.

The creature stood still for a second.

Her eyes… focused on him.

And then—

She blinked.

Twice.

And she tilted her head.

But not like before.

Different.

More… aligned.

Monica was the first to react.

"…Lyra," she repeated, crossing her arms. "Okay. This works."

Samira smiled.

"I liked it."

Xenovia shrugged.

"Simple."

Albedo remained silent for a moment.

Observing.

Analyzing.

"…there was no negative reaction," she murmured.

"I said there wouldn't be," Xenovia replied.

Albedo didn't respond.

But he didn't insist.

Agnes let out a small sigh.

"Great," she said. "Now we have a name for a problem."

Lyra looked at her.

And tilted her head.

Agnes closed her eyes for a second.

"…I'm going to regret this."

A soft laugh swept through the group.

But Strax didn't laugh.

He kept looking at Lyra.

And then—

She moved.

One small step.

Then another.

Leaving the center of the circle.

Going straight to him.

Without hesitation.

Without looking at the others.

Stopping beside him.

As before.

Natural.

Expected.

And then—

She leaned lightly against him.

Again.

The connection… pulsed.

More stable.

More defined.

And this time—

Strax didn't flinch.

He just looked down for a brief moment.

And said, almost as a thought aloud—

"I needed this too."

The moment after the name was chosen didn't exactly bring relief, but rather a subtle shift in the kind of tension that hung in the air. Before, there had been raw uncertainty. Now, there was recognition… and that, in a way, made everything even more real.

Lyra remained beside Strax, leaning against him as if that position had been established long ago, even though everyone there knew it made no sense. Her eyes remained attentive, but now there was something more stable in her demeanor, as if the simple act of receiving a name had anchored part of her existence.

It was at this moment that Scarlet, who until then had only observed with an air too relaxed to be completely trustworthy, slowly uncrossed her arms and took a small step forward, tilting her head slightly as she analyzed Lyra more closely.

"Okay," she began, her voice calm but direct, breaking the silence that had formed. "Is someone going to explain exactly how you found… this?"

The "this" came loaded with curiosity, not disdain, but also without any attempt to soften the situation.

Lyra looked immediately at Scarlet.

And tilted her head.

Again.

Scarlet narrowed her eyes slightly.

"…okay, this is still strange."

Strax didn't answer.

Nor did he move.

But Albedo let out a small sigh beside him, as if he already expected that question to come sooner or later.

"She wasn't exactly 'found' in a conventional way," Albedo began, his voice firm and controlled, naturally drawing the attention of everyone around him. "We detected an anomaly in the forest. Unstable energy. Unusual movement. When we arrived, she was already being pursued."

Scarlet raised an eyebrow.

"Pursued by what?"

"Demon dogs, initially," Albedo replied without hesitation. "But it escalated quickly."

Agnes let out a small grumble.

"'Escalated' is a very mild way of putting it," she murmured.

Albedo ignored the comment and continued.

"A short time later, we were intercepted by a high-level demon." She paused briefly, as if deciding whether it was worth going into detail. "Named Kharzoth."

Some expressions in the circle subtly changed.

It wasn't just any name.

Scarlet completely uncrossed her arms now, her gaze becoming more focused.

"And he wanted her," she concluded, pointing slightly with her chin in Lyra's direction.

Albedo nodded.

"Not just wanted her. He called her 'the key.' Said she shouldn't exist freely." His gaze briefly shifted to Strax. "And she made it clear that it had been sealed before."

A brief silence followed.

Lyra remained quiet.

But her eyes… swept over each face again.

Absorbing.

Scarlet let out a long sigh, running a hand over her face before letting out a small, humorless laugh.

"…of course," she said, nodding slightly. "Of course that's it."

She looked back at Strax.

Then at Lyra.

Then back at Albedo.

"So let me see if I understand," she continued, now in a drier tone. "You went to investigate an anomaly, found an unknown entity being hunted by demons, discovered that it was sealed for some reason, that a high-level demon considers it a key…"

She paused.

She looked directly at Lyra.

"…and decided to bring it home."

No one answered immediately.

Because there wasn't much to correct.

Scarlet exhaled through her nose, crossing her arms again, but now with a different weight.

"…this smells like trouble."

Silence.

But this time… no one disagreed.