Something small shifted inside the cracked stone, and a faint glimmer pulsed through the runes lining its surface. A thin, silvery glow leaked out between the fractures—soft, like moonlight rippling across still water.
Then it moved.
A tiny snout nudged through the gap, pushing aside fragments of the shell. The creature emerged trembling, coated in shimmering dust that drifted off its scales like falling stardust. Its body was sleek and catlike in build, but every movement carried a draconic grace—quiet confidence wrapped in innocence.
Its scales were midnight black, so dark they reflected the faintest light like polished obsidian. Etched across its body were thin, glowing silver runes, shifting slowly as if breathing with it. They pulsed brighter when it lifted its head.
The eyes were the most striking—luminous violet irises, flecked with tiny drifting motes of silver light, like stars trapped inside amethyst glass.
Two small horns were about the length of half my pinky, glowing faintly at the tips. Its tail was long and plush like a fox's, but still scaled, ending in a soft tuft that shimmered silver when it twitched.
And its wings—if you could call them that—were nothing more than delicate crescent-shaped fins on its back, translucent and glowing faintly. Not for flying… not yet.
The newly hatched creature blinked up at you, stumbled forward, and promptly tripped over its own tail, rolling onto its back with a soft pomf.
It stared at me upside down.
Then it made its first sound.
"Myu?"
Soft. Questioning. Melt-your-heart adorable.
Its runes brightened when it saw my face, reacting to your presence, as if it already recognised me.
I felt the urge—no, the instinct—to hold it.
"Hey there, I'm Hoshikawa, Kawa for short."
"Papa!"
It stretched its tiny paws toward me.
"Myuuuu!"
I reached out and held onto its paw.
"Hehe…" I smiled.
"Papa…Papa!"
The sound was more distinct now. Is this telepathy?
"You're speaking to me…in my mind?" I asked.
It nodded.
It wiggled, rolled to its belly, and—
Pat pat
It tapped its tiny stomach with its paws, as if asking me something.
Then it looked up at me.
"Myu?"
"Aw, you just want a good belly rub, don't you?" I cooed.
However, the minute my hand touched its belly, a prickling pain shot into my hand.
"Ah," I pulled back my hand from the scorching sensation, but before I could, the black mark formed on the back of my hand.
"What did you do?" I asked gently.
'Myu…' It said apologetically, licking my mark.
"It's alright, lil' fella,"
The voice in my head sounded like a girl, so I decided to name her Stella, a name I've always liked.
'Steeelaa?"
"Yep, your name is Stella. I think your mother would've loved it," I smiled, patting her head.
In my tunic and shorts, I pulled away my robe and threw it into the laundry basket.
"Come, sit next to me," I patted the bed.
"Your mother was… she truly was a wonderful person. She had this way of being strict, yet never unkind. Even when her words were sharp, there was always warmth behind them—always a purpose, always love. She carried so much on her shoulders, more than most people ever knew, yet she still found room in her heart for gentleness.
When the time came… she didn't hesitate. She put herself between me and death with the same fierce love she lived her entire life with. She sacrificed everything—her future, her dreams, even the chance to watch you grow up—just to protect me.
I still remember the look in her eyes in those last moments. There was no fear. Only determination… and love. A love so strong that I still feel its weight even now." I said solemnly.
'Myu' Stella whimpered.
"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry, I…I just…if not for me, she would be here to take care of you, you know?" My voice broke, tears streaming down. I never could get over her death, could I? Over the past four years, I wanted to forget, to let work wash away the guilt, but that never helped, did it? My guilt was just buried deep inside my heart.
"Papa… it's okay… Mama was really, really tired then. She wanted to rest… to go. And you helped her, Papa… you helped Mama." Stella quietly nudged me.
And when my child said those words… the guilt I had carried for so long finally began to fade, as if her tiny voice had washed it all away.
A sharp, violent crack split the silence—followed an instant later by a thunderous boom that made the floorboards tremble. My pulse spiked. Before I could even turn toward the noise, the door burst open, slamming against the wall as Snow shoved it wide and stormed into the room.
"Quick—Stella, hide!" I ordered through our link.
But there was no time.
"Kawa!" Snow cried out, breathless and frantic. "You promised you'd heal my wounds today—!"
Her voice died.
Because she had already seen Stella.
Snow's boots thudded softly as she stepped forward, expression unreadable, tension coiling thicker and thicker in the air. My breath caught in my throat.
"Snow… I can explain," I managed, though my voice wavered like a frayed thread.
She didn't respond.
Not at first.
Then—unexpectedly—her eyes widened, and her face melted into the kind of wonder only Snow could produce.
"Aw—why do you have such a cutie here?" she gasped, practically sparkling.
…What?
I whipped around.
Stella sat there on the bed, impossibly small and impossibly innocent—her fur glowing faintly as delicate golden runes, Yukihime's runes, shimmered across her body for a single heartbeat before fading like dissolving moonlight.
"O… oh. This is—this is Stella," I said, voice barely holding together.
Snow turned to me, "Kawa, have you been crying? Your eyes are red,"
"O-oh really?" I acted surprised, secretly sending some astralis to remove the redness from my eyes. "You must have seen wrong," I smiled.
"Huh? The redness…it–it was there just now!" Snow cocked her head, confused.
"Snow, you must have been hallucinating. Perhaps you should sleep more," I smirked.
"No–no! It was there just now!" She protested.
"Anyways, I'm going to take a shower," I stood up. "Why don't you play with Stella for a while while waiting?"
"Yeah, sure…"
And I was off to the shower, its hot water awaiting me.
"Papa! Dun leave Stella!" A small voice called out.
"Ay, she's fine, she's a relatively good person,"
"Ok…"
"By the way," I asked while showering. "How did you turn into a fox?"
"Stella dun know," She answered.
Maybe her father was a dragon, and Yukihime, her mother, was a nine-tailed snow fox. That was why she could switch forms so easily. Stella was a Dragon Hybrid.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Come, Snow," I came out of the shower wearing my pyjamas.
"Let me see your wound," I said, walking towards the bed.
"Papa, Stella will leave first."
"Why?"
"Papa, Stella's not that insensitive," she smirked.
What's she talking about?
"Anyway, Stella wants to explore,"
"Ok, be safe,"
And Stella leapt out through the window.
"Where'd she go?" Snow asked.
"To explore the palace grounds.
She nodded.
"Now show me your wound."
Snow took off her shorts to reveal a deep wound high up her thigh.
"Don't touch it by accident," She blushed, looking away.
"Touch what?" I asked.
"Never mind," She looked away, cheeks turning even redder.
"This is a serious wound, Snow. You should've come earlier."
"O life that flourishes unseen—mend all souls with gentle light, 「Healing Bloom」." I recited, my hands positioned above her wound.
"There you go, all done," I smiled. "Anymore?"
"Nope, thanks!" Snow beamed.
"Though…" Snow fidgeted with her fingers. "I heard you're leaving tomorrow with the piano."
"Yeah," I looked down.
"So goodnight then, for the last time," Snow smiled sadly.
"Yeah, goodnight," I said, giving a weak smile, tucking myself into bed.
~~~~~~~~~~~
I dreamed.
I dreamed of the impossible.
In that soft, trembling world of sleep, Yukihime was alive again.
She stood beside my family as if she had never vanished from my life—her silver hair swaying gently in the forest breeze, her presence warm enough to melt every frost of grief inside me.
Stella was there too, curled up against Yukihime's belly, purring as she nuzzled into her warmth.
Snow darted between the trees of Briarwoods, laughing, and I chased after her with a joy I hadn't felt since—since I lost Yukihime.
And my parents… they were smiling.
Alive. Whole.
Watching me run through the clearing, their faces lit by pride and peace.
My mother spoke with Yukihime as if they were old friends, as if nobody had ever drawn the line between "alive" and "gone".
For a heartbeat, everything was right.
Everything was the way it should have been—
before loss carved itself into me.
In that dream… the world remembered how to be gentle.
Then, my blissful dream gets interrupted.
~~~~~~~~~~
The moment my eyes open, I'm swallowed by darkness.
Not the soft kind—the kind that feels like velvet or fog.
This one is heavy, a suffocating void that presses on my skin like cold fingers.
I instantly realise:
This isn't reality.
A dream… or something deeper.
My body feels wrong. Heavy. Older.
"…Eh?"
I look down—and my breath catches.
It's my old body.
The one that carried all my regrets.
The body I shed the moment I became Hoshikawa.
And when I recognise it, something inside me cracks.
Regret. Loneliness. Every stupid decision.
Ten years of warmth, friends, family… everything I built—
All of it starts fading like sand slipping through my fingers.
"No… not again…"
My voice doesn't come out, but the feeling does.
It hits me then.
I've returned.
And the worst part?
Some part of me swallows it too easily.
As if my happiness really was just a dream I wasn't worthy of.
The memories of Hoshikawa grow dimmer—faces blurring, voices thinning.
The world around me chills, empty and starless.
And that's when I notice it.
Someone else is here.
A figure standing in the void—no light, no shadow—just a silhouette with two gold eyes curved in a calm, unsettling smile.
Like they've been watching me break.
"Ah… our first meeting at last. Hello, Hoshikawa."
The voice is impossible—man and woman, young and ancient, whisper and thunder.
It slides into my thoughts without sound.
A god? A demon? A dream hallucination?
I can't tell.
"Who… are you?"
The smile widens—too warm, too gentle to be trusted.
"Names hold weight.
But since you asked politely…I am Valtheris. God of this world. Watcher between worlds."
That doesn't help.
At all.
"God of this world? This looks less divine than heavenly,"
"I will keep that in mind," He looked away in deep thought.
"I thought you disappeared after the First Astral World?"
"Ah, I see you've been actually concentrating while reading. Yes, I am dead, no…not quite, I'm just a fragment of my soul that was broken a long time ago." His mouth curled into an unsettling smile.
"You've been… watching me?"
"For a long time."
A soft laugh, like they find my alarm adorable.
"Your life is quite fascinating."
I narrow my eyes.
There were people like this in my old world.
"Trust me," they said, before ripping everything apart.
"I don't trust you."
"That is wise," Valtheris says pleasantly.
His tone never wavers—too calm, too patient, like an adult indulging a child's tantrum.
"But I did not come to harm you."
"Then why appear now? Shouldn't you have shown yourself earlier if you're so interested?"
"Earlier?"
The amused tilt of his head.
"What would be the point? You were not desperate enough to listen then."
My stomach knots.
"Desperate? So this is a trap after all."
"A trap?" Valtheris laughs again. "Hardly.
I simply offer… guidance."
"I don't need guidance from someone who hides in the dark."
"Then answer honestly, Hoshikawa."
His voice is lower—no longer playful.
"Do you bear the certainty to keep safe what dawn will reveal—in a realm where the earth watches… and does not smile?"
The void tightens around me.
Certainty?
After everything?
After losing her?
"…No."
The word tastes bitter.
"Then you should listen."
"No," I say immediately. "You're suspicious. You feel like—like someone who enjoys manipulating others for fun."
"I won't deny that I enjoy watching you grow."
Their gold eyes gleam.
"But I am not lying. Not today."
"Prove it," I demand. "If you want me to trust you—show me something real. A miracle."
"I already have. This space. This meeting. No one else can reach your spirit like this."
"That's just talking," I snap. "Anyone can talk."
Valtheris pauses, then sighs softly.
"Very well. Let me give you something tangible."
The darkness shivers.
For a brief moment, I feel a warmth brush my chest—like a hand resting over my heart.
A pulse.
A surge of starlight.
Then it vanishes.
"You'll understand it later," Valtheris says. "For now… listen."
Their gold eyes shine like cold moons.
"Upon waking, heed the one who howls beneath the moon. Its paws will tread the road your heart has lost."
The void begins to crumble.
"Wait—what do you mean? Who howls—?!"
But Valtheris only smiles, stepping back into the unravelling dark.
"Until next time, Hoshikawa. Try not to die before we meet again."
His voice echoes as I fall upward—back toward light.
~~~~~~~~~~
When I woke up, the sun had already risen.
"Ara~ ara~ look who's up early today,"
"Huh?" I rubbed my sleep-deprived eyes.
I turned my head to see Snow opening the curtains, letting the searing light of the sun fill the room.
"Noooooo! My eyes!!" I whined.
There, there. You're acting like a baby now," Snow sat next to me, all grown up.
"Oh," I looked away, my face turning red.
I've been turning Valtheris's riddle over in my mind all night… and now I know exactly who to call.
"Kawa, what are you thinking about?" Snow poked my cheek.
"I have transport home."
"What does that mean?"
"I won't need to use the teleportation portal home. I can get home by myself."
It's been four years since I last saw my parents. I've grown to nearly five feet now, actually a good ten centimetres taller than Snow—much to her annoyance, hehe. After packing the very few things I had into my item box, I stepped out of my room dressed in my usual look: a crisp white shirt, black trousers, and the suspenders I always wear, Stella tucked into my pocket.
"So I guess this is it, huh?" I stood at the gate, gazing upon the sea of Frostveils.
"Hoshikawa Hoshino, we thank you for your great dedication to Frostveil. May you have a pleasant journey back home," Leo embraced me tightly.
"I can't believe he's going so soon," Leo cried, producing a napkin from nowhere and dabbing his tears with the elegance of a professional drama queen.
"Oh, please, father, he stayed for three years!" Snow rolled her eyes.
"For God's sake, Leo! If you're not letting that boy go home, I'm going to turn you into minced fox meat," Granny showed off her newly polished fan knives.'
"Bye, Kawa. I'll miss you! Come back soon! And don't you dare go off chasing human girls,"
"Yes, yes, Snow, I shall keep a completely pure heart till the age of twelve," I put on a priest-like holy look.
"We'll meet again soon! And you'd better get stronger the next time we meet. You have no excuses with Granny by your side," I teased, embracing Snow in a warm hug.
Snow gave me a feeble nod, trying to hold her tears in herself.
"Bye, guys! Remember everything I taught you guys!" I waved to the crowd.
"We thank you for your devotion," They bowed.
"Fang,"
"Yes, Hoshikawa-sama," Fang came out of my shadow.
"It's time to return to Starhaven," I said, climbing onto its back.
"Wait! Kawa! Take this!" Snow slid a ring off her finger and placed it on mine.
"Thanks, Snow! I'll definitely lick it when I go to sleep!" I teased.
"Hey!" Snow's face flushed pink.
"Bye, guys! I'll miss you all!" I said one last time, and I was off into the shadows.