"Violet, you shall now be known as Pansy. Your personality, your delicate yet vibrant energy makes this name well suited to you. Do you accept it?"
Violet was the first to be addressed. Lucy's solemn tone, and Violet's formal bow of acceptance indicated just how serious this moment was. It reminded Matt of the moment he chose to tread this path.
"I accept!"
"Very well. It has been recorded." Lucy said solemnly and glanced at Noah..
"Noah, you shall now be known as White. Your pristine personality, pure and unsullied, like the nature of your frosty abilities, mirror this title. Do you accept it?
"I do." Noah answered calmly, his voice showing no traces of his earlier anger.
It seemed both he and Violet were satisfied with their names. While the solemn atmosphere made it seem like their titles could not be rejected, Matt felt irritated by the entire affair.
'Pansy? White? What kind of silly code names are those?' He just couldn't understand why they felt so happy about it.
Pansy was the name of a flower. White was the name of a color. Why were the code names so basic? Matt thought back to the other code names he had heard.
'Bee and Shadow were great code names, perfectly suited to their personalities. H-hold on is Rose her code name or her actual name?' Matt would have sworn it was her real name a few seconds ago, but now?
He wasn't so sure anymore.
'Is Lucy the one picking the names? Does that mean she watched our fights? Why would she pick such bland names, then?' In the end, he could only conclude that she was just terrible at coming up with names.
Even he could think of better names for these guys without breaking a sweat.
'Blizzard or Frost instead of White, and for Violet, definitely something cute… like 'Pink Grizzly'. Or, does the code name have to be just one word? Maybe just 'Pinky', then?'
Even though his code names sounded lame on second thought, he still felt they were much better than what Lucy had come up with.
'It's my turn now. I can only hope for the best.' Matt thought grimly, nervously awaiting the name he would be given.
He prayed it wouldn't be something lazy like 'Black' or as cliche as 'Noir.' Lucy needed to be more creative if she expected him to swallow the pill she wanted to shove down his throat.
"Matt… you shall now be known as Voidbringer."
'H-huh…?!' The moment Matt heard this name, his heart soared.
He instantly resonated with the name, and he felt it was true to him. The name captured his very essence, and he found himself loving it.
"The destructive nature of your ability, and the darkness that dwells deep within it represents the void that you create. Do you accept this name?"
'See? You can do it if you try!' Matt smiled and nodded eagerly.
"I do!" He responded enthusiastically.
Lucy nodded, staring at all three of them like an army general scrutinizing her subordinates . Her arms were folded, and she struck a commanding pose that made all of them suddenly stiffen up.
"Very well. It is done. All your names have been recorded." She smiled warmly at them.
"I officially welcome you to the Chuunibyou Society."
It was an exciting moment for Matt and the others. They fought hard to get here, and now they were rewarded with their place in the group.
"Now then, let's get down to business." Lucy's said sternly, her tone as imposing as always.
"I will now be educating you on the rules of the Chuunibyou Society, as well as the protocols you need to adhere to. Listen carefully."
*
*
*
Lucy explained a few things to the group.
She began with the fundamentals, reiterating the manifesto of their Society—the Chuunibyou Challenge.
She went on to elaborate on the strict rules that had to be adhered to by Matt and his fellow newbies.
"You are not to reveal your knowledge or identities to anyone, even fellow Chuunibyous." She warned, looking extremely grave as she said this.
This was due to the fact that there was always the risk of more Exposed or rogue Enlightened popping up. Besides, since there were malevolent Chuunibyous out there, it was best not to reveal their identities as official members of the Chuunibyou Society to any Enlightened person they found.
At least, not until their identities were verified.
"You are to always report the sighting of any Links in your vicinity. Patrol the area meticulously, just to make sure your surroundings are safe. We have special ways of detecting Links and their appearances, but occasionally, a few may fly under the radar. That's why you must always be on high alert."
Matt recalled how no member of the Chuunibyou Society dealt with the Link on his campus. That had to be an example of those rare instances. Upon realizing the dangers that unchecked Links posed, he was determined to take things more seriously.
"You also need to keep low profiles. Just live your lives as you normally do. Of course, your duties come first, but outside those, blend with everyone else. If you're naturally considered weird, then there's no reason to change your personality overnight. That would breed suspicion and curiosity, and the last thing our Society needs is a spotlight on its members." Lucy's tone was particularly grave when issuing this warning, so Matt took careful note of it.
Not only him, but everyone else as well.
"You are to respond to the call of duty whenever you are summoned. We have ways to contact you. You need not worry, you'll understand when its time"
Apparently, it had something to do with a System Notification, like how games worked.
"You'll be able to access Bridges now that you're official members. Of course, your use of them will be regulated since you're newbies."
Lucy mentioned a few other things, and then she got to the final point. It was something that would guide their interaction and participation in the Chuunibyou Challenge going forward.