The silence between them stretched, fragile yet heavy. Aki's breath remained uneven as he tried to process everything—the vision, his mother's words, and the celestial girl sitting beside him.
His mother had called him the chosen one.
But what did that mean?
The Star Maiden, still seated at his side, watched him with quiet intensity. Though her presence was otherworldly, there was something deeply human in her expression—concern, hesitation, and something else he couldn't name.
Aki swallowed hard. "…How long was I unconscious?"
"A few hours," she answered softly. "I was… worried."
Her voice was gentle, yet it carried weight.
Aki pushed himself upright, his limbs sluggish. The air in the room felt different—charged with something unseen, as if the very fabric of reality had shifted while he was unconscious.
He turned to the girl. "…Who are you?"
She hesitated before speaking. "My name is Hoshikiri."
Hoshikiri—"Star Cutter."
The name echoed in his mind, ancient and powerful.
Aki furrowed his brows. "Are you really… the Star Maiden?"
She nodded but lowered her gaze slightly, uncertainty flickering across her luminous features. "I was sent by the heavens. But the gods are not the ones who chose you."
Aki stiffened. "Then who?"
She looked up, her silver-blue eyes gleaming. "The stars themselves."
The words sent a shiver down his spine.
Before he could respond, the air around them trembled.
A deep, resonating pulse—like the sound of a celestial bell—shook the space around them.
Hoshikiri tensed, her head snapping up. "They've noticed."
Aki's pulse pounded. "Who?"
She turned toward the window, her voice barely above a whisper.
"The gods."
---
The Celestial Realm – The Assembly of the Gods
Far beyond the mortal world, in the highest celestial plane, the heavens were in turmoil.
The grand celestial court, a vast temple woven from threads of starlight, was filled with divine beings—gods and goddesses of all realms, summoned by the disturbance in fate. Their luminous forms shimmered with power, their voices murmuring like distant thunder.
At the center of it all, seated upon his golden throne, was Tsukihikari-no-Kami, the God of Celestial Light. His cosmic robes shifted between light and shadow, his golden eyes glowing with something rarely seen in a god—concern.
Beside him, Amaterasu, the Goddess of the Sun, stood in quiet contemplation.
The chamber buzzed with voices.
"The Star Maiden has descended."
"The cycle repeats once more."
"But the celestial mirror wavers."
"There is an anomaly."
Then, a voice like a roaring storm cut through the murmurs.
"What is the meaning of this?"
A towering figure emerged—Takemikazuchi, the God of Thunder and War. Lightning crackled around his form, his gaze burning with challenge.
"The legend was meant to unfold as it always has. Yet the celestial balance shifts. Explain this, Tsukihikari-no-Kami."
The Celestial God extended a hand, summoning the Mirror of Eternity. The divine glass shimmered, revealing an image of the mortal realm—of Hoshino Aki and Hoshikiri.
The gods fell silent.
"…The boy."
The mirror flickered, showing fragments of Aki's past. His suffering. His loss. His belief in the legend.
Then—
A new vision emerged.
Aki, standing beneath an endless starry sky, reaching out toward the heavens—
And the stars bending toward him.
A hushed murmur spread through the assembly.
"This is not fate."
"This is something else."
Tsukihikari-no-Kami narrowed his golden eyes. "The stars have spoken."
A long pause.
Then, Amaterasu turned to him, her voice gentle but firm. "What will you do?"
The Celestial God's gaze lingered on Aki's image, unreadable. Then, he slowly closed his eyes.
"We will watch."
His voice carried through the heavens, undeniable and absolute.
"For now."
---
Back in the Mortal Realm
Aki exhaled, the weight in his chest growing heavier.
"…The gods are watching me?"
Hoshikiri nodded. "More than that, Aki." She hesitated, then whispered—
> "They are afraid of you."
Aki's breath caught.
Hoshikiri's lu
minous eyes searched his, filled with something he wasn't ready to face.
The gods were afraid.
But of what?
Or rather…
Of who?
To becontinue.....