The news of the celestial descent spread through the empire before dawn.
In the marble halls of the Imperial Palace, nobles whispered like restless birds. The High Court trembled beneath rumors of falling stars, vanished temples, and the awakening of a forbidden god.
At the center of it all, the throne room stood silent.
Crown Prince Aster Caelum knelt before the Emperor, armor still scorched from battle. His sword lay at his side, its edge cracked and dull. The emperor's golden eyes studied him with unreadable calm.
"So," the emperor said at last, his voice smooth and heavy with power. "You defied the Celestial Envoys."
Aster met his gaze without flinching. "I protected a life that heaven tried to erase."
A faint smile touched the emperor's lips. "You speak as if you were not born of heaven's favor yourself. Do you even know what you've done, my son?"
"I do," Aster said quietly. "And I would do it again."
The court gasped, the sound echoing off marble pillars.
The emperor rose from his throne, the weight of his presence filling the chamber. "You've brought divine attention upon us all. Do you think the gods will overlook your rebellion?"
Before Aster could answer, the heavy doors swung open. A gust of cold wind swept through the hall, carrying the faint scent of incense.
A man entered tall, robed in white and gold, his eyes glowing with distant light. Every noble in the room bowed instinctively.
"High Priest Orion," the emperor said, his tone sharpened. "You arrive uninvited."
Orion stopped before the throne, his gaze unreadable. "I came because heaven no longer whispers. It screams."
He turned toward Aster. "You stood before the envoys. You saw the vessel."
Aster's expression darkened. "His name is Erian Thalos."
At that name, Orion's eyes flickered with recognition. "The boy of the fallen lineage."
"You know him?" Aster asked.
"I knew what he would become," the priest replied. "The Starborn. The vessel of Lumis. The one foretold in the oldest prophecy."
The emperor narrowed his eyes. "Speak plainly, Priest."
Orion inclined his head slightly. "The prophecy called it The Starfall. A god's light reborn in mortal flesh, destined to bring either salvation or ruin. When the stars realign, heaven will be judged by its own creation."
The court erupted in murmurs.
Aster's hands tightened at his sides. "He isn't a weapon. He's a person."
Orion's gaze softened. "Perhaps. But the prophecy is older than our faith. It does not speak of mercy it speaks of choice."
The emperor stepped closer, his voice cold. "If this prophecy is true, then the empire stands at the edge of war. The gods will not let such a being live."
"And yet," Orion said, "they already failed to destroy him once."
The two men locked eyes, the air between them tense and heavy.
Aster finally spoke, his tone sharp and certain. "If heaven declares war on him, then it declares war on me."
The emperor's gaze hardened. "Then you have chosen your side."
"I have."
For a long moment, silence reigned. Then the emperor turned away. "Leave him, Priest. Watch the sky. The stars will tell us what comes next."
Orion bowed slightly, his robes whispering against the floor. But as he passed Aster, he paused.
"The god within your Erian is not your enemy," he murmured. "But the heavens that birthed him might be."
When the hall finally emptied, Aster stood alone before the shattered reflection of his own crown in the marble floor.
Far beyond the palace walls, in the ruins where dawn now touched silver stone, Erian opened his eyes.
The stars above were moving again.