Erian couldn't sleep.
The dormitory was silent, yet his chest ached as if someone far away was calling his name. The night sky above the academy shimmered faintly, stars moving in patterns that no one else could see.
He stepped outside, barefoot, feeling the cold grass beneath his feet. The wind carried whispers that seemed to form his thoughts before he could think them.
Aster.
That name burned like starlight against his heart.
Ever since the incident in the library tower, the dreams had become stronger. He would close his eyes and see flashes of silver armor, moonlight, and sorrow.
He didn't know if it was memory or illusion.
Tonight, it felt real.
The constellations above twisted, forming an unfamiliar shape a single line of light descending toward him. The world went silent, and for a heartbeat, the stars themselves seemed to breathe.
Then he saw him.
Not clearly, not fully. Just a silhouette tall, broad-shouldered, with silver hair flowing like liquid light. The same cold yet gentle eyes that haunted his dreams.
Erian's lips trembled. "Who are you?"
The air rippled, and the figure's voice echoed softly, distant and fragile, like a memory fading.
"Erian…"
The sound of his name from those lips sent shivers through him.
"Where are you?" Erian asked, his voice cracking. "Why do I feel you when I don't even know you?"
The figure stepped closer, but the veil between them shimmered violently. Light cracked around them, fragments of stars breaking apart.
"I'm trying to reach you," came the faint reply. "But something binds us… the gods… the stars themselves…"
Erian reached out. His fingertips brushed against the air, and warmth bloomed from the contact. For a moment, he felt a heartbeat that wasn't his own.
Then pain surged through him.
Visions flooded his mind blades of light, a battlefield under a shattered moon, a crown falling into blood.
He gasped, collapsing to his knees.
Aster's voice called out again, louder this time. "Don't let them break you. No matter what happens, remember"
The vision shattered.
Erian awoke on the ground, drenched in sweat. His hand still glowed faintly with silver light, pulsing to the rhythm of two hearts instead of one.
He stared at it, trembling. "That voice… that feeling…"
He didn't understand it fully, but deep inside, something had changed. The bond between them had crossed the veil.
And though they were still worlds apart, Erian knew one truth now.
He was not alone.