Satou's consciousness drifted through darkness, his mind replaying the day in broken pieces. The elder's sacrifice. The blood-soaked tunnel. Five small figures blazing with light as they became something more than they had been. Each memory felt heavy, pressing down on him like physical weight.
He wasn't sure how long he'd been out when voices began filtering through the fog.
"Think he'll wake up soon?"
"His breathing's steady. Kid just pushed himself too hard."
"Can't blame him. Did you see what he did? Those namings — I've never heard of anything like that."
His eyelids felt like lead. He forced them open.
The cave ceiling came into focus — rough stone illuminated by the warm glow of a small fire. Shadows moved across the walls in slow patterns.
"Big brother!"
Jessica's face appeared above him, her Hobgoblin features still startling despite having watched them form. Her yellow eyes were full of concern.
"You're awake!" Kelvin appeared beside her. "You've been out for three hours. We were worried something went wrong with the naming."
Three hours. Satou tried to sit up and immediately regretted it as his head spun hard. A large hand pressed against his shoulder and held him down.
"Easy," Grimnir said, moving into view. "Mana drain like that takes time to recover from. Don't push it."
"I'm fine," Satou muttered. Even to himself it sounded unconvincing.
"You're not," said a voice to his left.
Lyra crouched into view, carrying a crude wooden bowl of water. She held it out without ceremony. "Drink this slowly."
Satou accepted it gratefully. The water was cold and tasted faintly of minerals — the most refreshing thing he'd experienced in days. As he drank he became aware of the rest of the cave. Some goblins sleeping. Others sitting in quiet groups. All of them glancing his way.
Mira sat near his feet, cross-legged and quiet, watching the cave entrance the way she always watched things — steadily, without apparent urgency. Goblin 1 stood a few feet further back, arms crossed, facing away from Satou toward the deeper tunnel. Standing guard without being asked.
"What's everyone staring at?" Satou asked after finishing the water.
Grimnir snorted. "What do you think? You turned five regular goblins into Hobgoblins with nothing but words and magic. Half of them think you're a prophet. Other half think you're something closer to a god."
"I'm neither," Satou said. "I have a skill."
"A skill that changes what we are," Lyra said. She settled back on her heels, her movements precise and economical. "Do you understand what that means for goblins? We are born weak. We die weak. That has always been the truth of our existence. You can change that truth."
The weight of it was reflected in every face watching him.
'No pressure,' Satou thought.
"Listen," he said, forcing himself upright. Grimnir steadied him and Satou nodded his thanks. "I can name people. But only when I have the mana for it. Right now I'm completely empty. It takes time to recover."
"How long?" the one-eared scout called from the crowd — respectful now, nothing like before.
Satou checked internally.
[Mana: 3/15]
Three points recovered in three hours. One point per hour, roughly. "Another day before I'm back to full. And even then — three mana per naming, fifteen total — five namings per cycle before I'm out again."
Murmurs rippled through the cave. Some goblins ran the math visibly on their faces.
"So we wait," someone said.
"We prioritize," Satou corrected, before the thought could fester. "Not favorites. Not who's closest to me. The wounded get priority once they're stable enough for transformation. Then fighters. Then scouts. Everyone gets named eventually but we have to be smart about the order."
Grimnir nodded. "Strong core protects the weak until the weak can be strengthened."
"Exactly." Satou looked across the group. "I know you want to be stronger now. So do I. But patience keeps us alive."
The tension eased slightly.
"This cave also needs to become somewhere we can actually survive," Satou continued. "Food. Water. Defenses. A plan for if the humans finish digging through that rubble and find our trail."
"Already started on it," Grimnir said, gesturing to the two goblins standing guard at the entrance with crude spears. "Sentries in shifts. Scouts found a stream ten minutes west and berry bushes nearby."
"Good. The wounded?"
Lyra answered immediately. "Seven badly injured. Three were serious — but one of them is recovering faster than expected after the naming." A brief pause. "Two still concern me. Without healing magic or medicine they may not last the night."
Satou's jaw tightened. "I have Regeneration but I can't transfer it. And my mana is too low to risk another naming right now without passing out and leaving the group without anyone making decisions."
"We do what we can for them," Grimnir said. "But you got twenty-five of us out of that cave, kid. Don't forget that."
Satou didn't feel like that was enough. He felt like someone stumbling forward with borrowed power, hoping the ground held.
"Big brother." Jessica appeared at his elbow, holding out cooked meat on a stick. "You need to eat something."
Satou blinked. "Where did this come from?"