Celestial Hunt: Reclaiming the Lost Fate
BOOK 1: Chapters 1–10
Chapter 1: The Gray Room
Tatsuya hadn't opened the curtains in weeks. Dust clung to the air like fog, and the only light came from his cracked phone screen. Once an honors student, now he barely remembered what his voice sounded like. Outside, the world kept spinning. Inside, he waited for nothing.
Until the night the app appeared.
It blinked into existence without a name, just a shimmering symbol: a feather and a flame intertwined. Curious, and with nothing better to do, he tapped it.
"Initializing Celestial Hunt..."
A soft chime echoed. Then darkness. Then light.
A message appeared:
Welcome, Lost Soul. A task awaits. Retrieve the Forgotten Locket in the alley behind Building 6. Reward: 10,000 yen.
He laughed. It had to be a prank.
But something about the app pulled him. And 10,000 yen? That was enough to eat something real.
---
Chapter 2: First Step
The city felt like a dream after so long. Tatsuya pulled on his old hoodie, eyes sunken, legs trembling. Building 6 wasn't far.
The alley was darker than he remembered. Trash bins, flickering lights, and... a glint.
The locket.
He reached out. As his fingers brushed the cool metal, the app chimed again.
Quest complete. +10,000 yen transferred.
He stared at the screen. It was real.
And that night, for the first time in months, he ate hot food.
---
Chapter 3: The Rules of the Hunt
Tasks began appearing daily.
Help an old man cross the street. Find a torn diary page. Leave a flower at a grave.
Each act—mundane or odd—granted money, energy, sometimes items that shimmered on-screen.
But there were warnings too:
Do not ignore a task once accepted.
Do not let others see your rewards.
And most strangely:
Avoid the Celestial Mirror until you are ready.
Tatsuya didn't understand. But he obeyed.
---
Chapter 4: Encounter
In an abandoned shrine, the app directed him to retrieve a "Star-Worn Earring."
He wasn't alone.
A girl stood before the relic—tall, silver-haired, with eyes like starlight. Elegant, distant, and... sad.
She took one look at Tatsuya and frowned. "You're not ready."
"Who are you?"
"A hunter like you."
Then she vanished, leaving only a faint trace of stardust behind.
Her name would come later: Lyra.
---
Chapter 5: Lyra's Warning
Lyra appeared again, days later, in a quiet park where Tatsuya hunted a glowing book.
She sat on a swing. "The app is a spirit, you know. A living thing. A remnant of Heaven."
Tatsuya blinked. "A game... from Heaven?"
"Not a game. A test. For those who were almost forgotten."
He didn't know if she was real or mad.
But he believed her.
---
Chapter 6: The Celestial Mirror
One task forced him to look into the forbidden object.
Face yourself.
The mirror shimmered. In it, he saw himself—but twisted. All his failures, guilt, hatred, loneliness... alive, breathing.
He screamed.
The app nearly crashed.
But after surviving it, he earned a new ability: Soul Echo - sense spiritual traces.
---
Chapter 7: Daily Struggles
Tasks became part of his life. He used rewards to help his sick mother, fix the leaking ceiling, even reconnect with his childhood friend Mika.
But others noticed.
Whispers of strange happenings. A rumor about the "Spirit Courier" who left blessings where he walked.
And Lyra grew colder.
"You're not supposed to care about this world so much," she said.
"Then why help us at all?" he asked.
She had no answer.
---
Chapter 8: Rival Hunters
Tatsuya wasn't alone anymore. Other app users began to appear.
One of them, Rei, challenged him.
"You're wasting the app on good deeds. Use it to rise. Take real power."
Rei was stronger, faster, and crueler. His version of the app was... darker.
Their clash over a lost relic nearly broke a hospital's roof.
Lyra stopped the fight.
"Next time," Rei smirked, vanishing.
---
Chapter 9: Fragments of Fate
The app showed him something new: a map of glowing spots across the city.
"What are they?" Tatsuya asked Lyra.
"Fragments. Of your fate. Lost long ago."
He didn't understand. But each relic, each task, was beginning to feel... personal.
One fragment replayed a childhood memory he'd forgotten—of praying under a starry sky, wishing not to disappear.
---
Chapter 10: The Final Task (Part 1)
The app gave a single, blinking quest:
Retrieve the Crown of Dawnsong. Reward: Unlock Fate.
The location: the ruins of an old celestial observatory.
Tatsuya arrived at night. The wind howled.
And then she was there.
Lyra.
"You're here too?" he asked.
She nodded. "This relic... it's not meant for either of us. But I need it."
He stepped forward.
So did she.
Two hunters. One crown. One fate.
Chapter 11: The Last Relic
The air was unusually still that morning.
Yuuto stood before the rusted gate of an abandoned shrine. His phone buzzed, pulsing red on the app's map screen—this was it. The final relic of the Celestial Hunt's first tier.
"Item Detected: [Fragment of Heavenly Code]"
Only one copy existed.
He pushed the gate open with effort. It creaked like the groan of fate itself. Every step he took was a battle—his heart pounded, not just from the danger, but from what this item represented. If he claimed it, he'd be granted an Advanced Skill. According to the whispers in the System Chat, the one who collected this relic would be marked by the app's will itself.
He needed this. More than anyone.
Memories flashed: his father yelled through the door, his body curled in bed for days without eating, ignored by everyone, forgotten. Until this app appeared. Until the Celestials noticed him.
Now he had a purpose.
But he wasn't alone.
A figure emerged between the crumbled torii gates—graceful, pale, white hair fluttering in the wind.
"Lyra," Yuuto muttered.
Her golden eyes narrowed. She wore the standard hunter's coat, but somehow, it fit her like a queen's robe. The app glowed faintly in her hand.
"You're early," she said. "I didn't think you'd figure it out."
"I could say the same." He stepped forward, keeping his voice steady. "I need that relic."
Lyra raised her hand, and a translucent panel hovered above her palm. "So do I. I've waited decades for this update to go live. You just got here by luck."
"No. I earned it."
They stared at each other.
Suddenly, the shrine rumbled. The relic's glow pulsed from within. The app's voice chimed in both their ears:
"Final Relic Activation: Duel Mode Engaged."
Two users. One relic. No backup.
Yuuto drew in a sharp breath as the floor of the shrine shifted—glowing tiles lighting up in a circular pattern. A duel trial, like those whispered about in the forums.
Lyra sighed. "I didn't want it to come to this."
"I did," Yuuto said.
Battle Initiated.
---
Chapter 12: Status Unlock
The duel began with light-speed movements. Lyra was fast—too fast. Her AGI stat was clearly higher than his, and she wielded a celestial dagger that shimmered with coded energy.
But Yuuto had studied her.
He blocked, dodged, barely keeping up, but his eyes were scanning the environment. A broken column. A hidden mirror tile. He remembered what the lore said about this shrine—it reflected not only light, but fate.
He needed to use the terrain.
She dashed in again, aiming to disarm him, but Yuuto kicked the base of the column just in time. Dust and rock shattered upward. Lyra stumbled, just slightly—and that was his opening.
He lunged, grabbing her wrist, forcing both of them into the center of the relic's glow.
"FATE CONVERGENCE DETECTED."
The app paused. Time slowed.
"User Yuuto: Compatibility 99.7%"
"Skill Acquired: [Status Unlock]"
"Warning: Opponent's Affinity Decreased. System Rivalry Established."
Light exploded between them.
Yuuto staggered back. His screen changed—new panels opened: STR, INT, AGI, CHA… even stats hidden before were now visible. And not just his own. He could see Lyra's.
She looked at him in shock. "You… you unlocked it?"
"I guess I did."
"You weren't supposed to."
The tension cracked between them like thunder.
The relic crumbled, absorbed into Yuuto's screen. Lyra's shoulders sank, her eyes softening for a moment—but her next words chilled the air.
"This won't be forgiven. Not by the system. Not by the Celestials."
"I didn't ask for forgiveness."
She turned, walking away.
"Lyra—"
"Don't follow me," she said. "Next time we meet, we're not talking."