Naming the Problem

“Hihihihihi, so you finally ran out of mana, huh brat!?”

Kicking Rose’s unconscious body into the ditch that was burned into the ground by the lighting bolts, Elqueenes catches her before hitting the ground.

“Try not to be too rough sis. She’s my descendant too, you know?”

“Yeah, I noticed! No one can piss me off like you can after all!”

Sylvia and Gaia appear and Sylvia says, “Hey, hey, that was cool, that was cool!”

A ray of light then hits the ground and Lum adds, “It’s been four hundred years since I’ve seen you so agitated.”

Ifrit, with a burning flame on her head, walks up to Lum and stares her in the eyes with a wide smile, “Hihihihi, No. That’s not the same at all. Back then I was just affected by the emotions of my descendants but today, hihihihihi. I was mad, genuinely mad! I haven’t felt so alive in a while!”

“I can see that. But why?”

“That brat used her bloodline ability on me.”

“So? Why did that make you mad?”

“Because…Dear lil sis…To use this bloodline ability on someone you need to think of yourself as superior to your target.”

“So? The kid’s delusional, so what? Do you get mad at every crazy person pissing out a flame and claiming to be better than you?”

“Now see…That’s the thing. The kid’s not insane. She was obviously scared by me and she very much knows what we’re capable of. But even when I showed her a glimpse into my full power she kept treating me like an equal. No, not even that, like a lower life form!”

“Eh!? Really!?” Sylvia says then runs over to the unconscious Rose poking her cheek, “So cool, so cool. I like that one. It got moxy! Maybe too much moxy…But moxy!”

Gaia, who is lying on the ground, asks, “I’m confused sis. Are you mad at that little one or are you happy?”

“Both!”

“Eh~You make no sense sis…Hey…Wait a second.”

Melting through the ground, Gaia materializes next to Rose, “Hey! Look! That’s one of my pieces! And she named it too! That must have cost her a lot of mana…That means…She does like me after all! Now I feel bad for not bringing a gift.”

Brushing through Gaia’s vine-like hair Elqueenes answers, “There is no need to feel bad over not knowing something.”

“I guess that’s true, thanks sis!”

Lum lets out a loud sigh, “So…What are you gonna do Ifrit? You’ve thrown your little tantrum over your new toy and what now?”

“I don’t know. I’m pissed off because she treated me like an equal but I’m also impressed that she did. The only ones that treat me like that are you guys.”

Elqueenes chuckles, “You’re as hot-headed as ever. But seriously what are we-”

“Do you think I have motherly qualities, El?”

“What?”

“That brat said that one of my descendants is a way better mother than I could ever be. So, do I have motherly qualities?”

“Not really, no.”

“What do you mean, ‘Not really’ ?”

“You’re not a nurturing person, you have barely any patience and you don’t really care about the wellbeing of those weaker than you.”

“Okay…So? If I’m the progenitor that means that my descendants are beneath me. There is no way any of them would be better at something than me, right?”

From Ifrit’s shadow an annoyed looking Nox springs forth and answers, “Sister, you are as humble as you are patient…”

“Thanks!”

“That wasn’t a compliment, you're horrible at both.”

“Hey!”

“So…What is going on here? I’d prefer not to be out during the day for too long.”

“Don’t worry I got you bro!” Gaia says and builds a parasol and chair for Nox out of mud.

Brushing through his hair, in a tone similar to talking to a child, Nox answers, “Thanks. You’re as kind as always.”

“Hehe! Sure am!”

Sylvia answers Nox, “Apparently the kid you don’t like went like woosh and kapow and stood its ground against Ifrit.”

“Right…El, Lum? Translation please.”

Lum answers, “I don’t speak Sylvia as well as you think I do.”

Elqueenes lets out another sigh, “We don’t really get it either. Apparently, Ifrit had a fight with that new toy she likes, got really mad because the kid treated her like we do but also she seems happy about it. Now she seems to be getting self conscious about some of the things her toy told her.”

“Right…” Looking around he adds, “I’m positively surprised. You only damaged the terrain. If you killed the bystanders we’d have trouble with the Gods again.”

“Yeah, yeah, I held back, you’re welcome. Anyways, so neither of you think I have motherly qualities, huh?”

Everyone shakes their head.

“Tsk As if you guys would know. None of you ever had any children either!”

Elqueenes chuckles, “I don’t need to have any children to know you’re not suitable. Everyone here except for Sylvia would be a better parent than you.”

Looking seriously offended, Ifrit yells, “Are you trying to tell me I’m on the same level as Sylvia!?”

“Haha! You’re on the same level as me! Loser.”

“Shut up you idiot! If you guys think you’re all better than me, prove it!”

“How…” Lum asks, a little exasperated.

“How about we raise that kid and take turns and when they’re grown up we ask who their favorite is?”

“I always wanted a pet! I’m in, I’m in!” Sylvia cheers.

Nox facepalms and answers, “That is the stupidest thing you’ve suggested in centuries.”

“It could be fun though,” Elqueenes says, “We were kind of trying that with the dragons before but it didn’t really work out because they were still mortal.”

“So what?” Lum asks, “You want to turn this mortal into a full spirit?”

“She already is half-spirit anyways, right? If we all give her a sixth of our blood and name her it will be like we made a child, right? She won’t be a real Spirit King but it will be like having a high ranking spirit that’s like all six of us. Also, I’m sure Gaia would like a little sister.”

“True! I don’t want to stay the youngest all my life.”

Lum interjects, “If we did that it would be a lot of responsibility. Also, we’d have to kill and reincarnate her again for it to fully work. We also need to think about the personality. If we just wipe it and start with a blank slate it wouldn’t really satisfy you, right?”

“Of course not!” Ifrit answers, “The personality is the reason I’m suggesting it!”

“I like it too!” Sylvia says.

“Me too!” Gaia agrees.

“Alright so you want to keep the personality…The same personality that saw you, Ifrit, as beneath them…”

“Yep!”

“Sigh Give me a second.”

Putting her hand on Rose’s head Lum closes her eyes for a few seconds and says, “I guess it could work. But only if we wait until she dies naturally and if you Nox and I agree that we won’t mess with her memories any further. She also doesn’t want us to change her race without asking. Also, it won’t work unless you apologize to her Ifrit.”

“What!? You want me to apologize!?”

“Sure, if you want to go through with this idea you’ll have to apologize or else she’ll hate you.”

“Apologize for what?”

“Sigh I’ll coach you on what to say you’re too dense for it anyways. Nox? How about you?”

“I think the idea is ridiculous. I don’t even like that kid.”

“Didn’t you say you like the way it dances for you?”

“Yes but I dislike new people. I want to keep my interactions with sentient beings to a minimum.”

Gaia asks, “But you like us, right?”

Nox rolls his eyes, “Yes…In moderation.”

“Then it’s fine if we have another one of us around, right? If I get a new sister I’ll bother you less and everyone will be occupied with raising her!”

“Sigh You say that now but in the end I’ll have to take care of it and get rid of the messes while you just do the fun things with it.”

“Aaaw….Come on big bro! It’ll be fine~ If she makes some mistakes I can help out too!”

Sylvia also chimes in with his puppy dog eyes, “Please big bro~”

“...”

Looking into Sylvia and Gaia’s hopeful faces he thinks for a bit, “Sigh Fine but I choose the name.”

“Deal!”

“So, so! Big bro, big bro!?”

“Yes…Sylvia…”

“When do we get the new sibling?”

“Well, we’ll name her now and in about five thousand years the evolution will be done whether she dies early or not. So, the earliest we’ll get to see it is five thousand years and the longest is whenever she dies after five thousand years.”

“Ah okay so it’ll be a while but not that long, gotcha, gotcha.”

“What’s gonna happen until then big bro?” Gaia asks.

“Not much. The evolution will occur silently without their knowledge and when they die they’ll reincarnate.”

“What happens if they die before they’re done?”

“Then I’ll take care of it and protect the soul until it’s done.”

“Okay, sounds good! So, what name did you choose?”

“Eterna.”

Thinking for a second, Elqueenes answers, “I like it.”

“I agree it fits with the family,” Lum adds.

“It’s definitely better than anything I could have come up with, haha,” Gaia says.

Sylvia nods, “You can say it fast so it’s a good name! Eterna, Eterna, Eterna!”

“It’s fine, I guess…” Ifrit answers.

“In that case, Ifrit, revoke her title.”

“Alright.”

Walking up to Rose’s unconscious body, Ifrit places her hand on top of her head and says, “I revoke both your title and your status,” which causes a red hue to emit from Rose’s body and disappear.

“Alright, we can name her now, big bro.”

“Good. Is everyone ready? Yes? Then let’s go.”

Gaia creates a small table to place Rose on and and every Spirit King puts their hand on top of her.

“By my power as King of Darkness, I name thee Eterna.”

“By my power as King of Fire, I name thee Eterna.”

“By my power as King of Light, I name thee Eterna.”

“By my power as King of Water, I name thee Eterna.”

“By my power as King of Wind, I name thee Eterna.”

“By my power as King of Earth, I name thee Eterna.”

Light in the color of each spirit King then rains down upon Rose’s body and enters her heart. The wildlife surrounding her wildly shifting to represent the six elements.

—------------------------------------------------------------