The child sat alone in his room, talking with the planet in his head. The woman spoke two words outside. Breaker and Nightingale. Not simply as words, but as... something more. What was that?, he asked. The planet thought for a moment, coming back with a reply. Those were names. The child patiently waited for her to respond. Names... are many things. You call things by their names. Many things have names. Running is a name for the action of running, while other names can be addressing people. My name is Amondrienne, personally. I used it with you before, but not during this life.

  What is my name?, the child asked. You... were known as Eternity.

  The child mentally nodded. He wouldn't use that name yet. It was not something he was worthy of at the moment. He opened his mouth once more, asking a final question. Would you like me to call you by your name?, he asked the planet. She gave him an instant response. Yes, I would prefer that. Please call me Amon. This, as you can tell, is a shortened version of a name, and things like these are known as nicknames. Sometimes, nicknames come into being for other reasons, such as an act someone performs. In that case, they are no longer shortened versions of names. You use them in cases like mine, where using the full name all the time would be unwieldy or hard, or for many other reasons.

  The boy nodded. That made sense. He sat down on one of the beds in the room. Soo... he was supposed to wait here through the night? Amon, picking up his thoughts, gave him instructions. Humans generally need to sleep. She sent him a concept of shutting the brain down and letting mental faculties restore themselves. You do not, so you are simply waiting in this room. Humans like to sleep on those beds, one of which you are sitting on. I believe the people in charge of this place have assumed you need sleep.

  The child shook his head at the new concept he had just learned. He had a sudden thought. Amon, can I get a temporary nickname until I find my real name?

  The consciousness went into overdrive in his head, names fluttering through it at incredible speeds. I suggest you don't choose a nickname now. You're closer to your real name than you expect.

  I'm not worthy of that name.

  A sigh returned to him. You've always been worthy of the name, and always will be.

  When the boy estimated there were a few hours until dawn, a large man entered the room. He jumped out of the bed, staring into the eyes of the newcomer. "Who are you?," the boy asked, surprised that his mouth, unused for so long, was able to speak.

  The man, without fear, replied, his voice loud enough to wake up the stars above. "I'm the Breaker, and I'm gonna be yer roommate!"

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  The boy nodded, and the man stepped forward, slapping him on the back. "Now, let's get back to bed, eh? Ye need some sleep for t'morrow's training, kid. I don't know if you'll need so much, based on how you're a rock-solid bastard."

  Obediently, the child got into bed, lying down and staring at the other bed above him, known as a 'bunk bed', apparently. Amon had provided him that information during the night. Then, the rest of the wait started, the boy getting out of the bed as soon as he estimated the sun was up.

  Stepping to the door, the boy opened it. The sun was indeed up, just barely peeking above the horizon. However, instead of the strong, yellow sun that Amon had orbited during their last iteration, this star was a sickly blue. They had seen stars like this before, and this meant corruption. The blue on its own did not mean anything bad, but the fact that the star didn't have the presence of other stars said it all. There was something rotting this star from the inside out. This world would be gone soon.

  The boy didn't realize how long he'd been staring at the star as he noticed movement out of the corner of his eyes. Turning, the child faced the figure. A woman stood in front of him, twin daggers strapped to her hips, with many other hidden weapons visible to the boy. She was clothed in all black, a hood available to her that could be pulled down at any moment. She knocked on the door the boy had just came from. "Trainee! Breaker! Up! Now!," She shouted, her voice authoritarian.

  The child heard a large object thump onto the floor in the room and assumed the Breaker had fallen out of his bed. He watched the door get flung open as the Breaker stepped through it, very obviously tired. Humans stay tired after they wake up, for whatever reason, Amon said. The child mentally nodded.

  The Nightingale(or so he assumed) slapped the Breaker, who instantly looked more alert. "Where is the trainee?," she asked, glaring at him.

  The Breaker's eyes scanned the corridor, locking onto the child, standing next to a window. "Right there," he said, pointing a giant finger at him.

  The Nightingale turned, looking at him, then looked back at the Breaker, slapping him again, which seemed to get him further awakened. "I'm not here for jokes, Breaker. I'm looking for the trainee who was supposed to be here, not some random soldier's kid running around the halls."

  The child finally spoke. "I was in that room last night."

  The Breaker nodded, proving the child right. The Nightingale's eyes widened. "I'm supposed to teach a child? This is who they told me not to go easy on?"

  The Breaker nodded. "Apparently."

  The Nightingale continued, glaring daggers at the Breaker. "And they chose YOU to be his roommate?"

  The Breaker nodded once again. "Apparently."

  The Nightingale finally calmed down, looking at the child. "I was told not to go easy on you. You're going to be beat up, hit with sticks, and generally beat down by the end of a day. Are you okay with that?"

  The child nodded. He'd broken many bones on planets, and had even fallen into a ravine once. He'd dragged himself out with a single working arm and both feet broken, with giant creatures, all dead, speared through, and attached to a harness, dragging behind him as he kept pulling himself forward. That had been fun.

  The Nightingale sighed, apparently not happy with that answer. "Well, I have to do this. Sorry, kid."

  She led the three of them down the corridor, the Breaker and Nightingale blissfully unaware of what they'd just gotten themselves into.