Night had fallen over the Empire once more.
The palace slept, but Aster did not.
He moved silently through the corridors of the Royal Library, his cloak drawn low. The guards outside had long grown used to his restless wanderings, assuming the prince sought solitude. They didn't know he was searching for answers.
The scent of old parchment filled the air. Torches flickered, casting light over endless rows of books and sealed tomes bound with silver chains.
Aster stopped before the section labeled "Celestial Archives – Restricted."
He pressed his palm against the lock. Silver light flared briefly, recognizing his royal bloodline, and the door opened with a soft click.
Inside, the air was cold and heavy. Scrolls floated in midair, each marked with faint runes of protection.
He scanned the shelves until one name caught his attention.
"The Codex of Veiled Light."
The book pulsed faintly, as if breathing.
When he touched it, a chill ran down his spine. The moment the cover opened, the runes on the pages flared to life, whispering in voices older than any human tongue.
He could barely read the words, but the meaning pressed into his mind like memory.
"Two souls divided by the heavens.
One born of shadow, one of starfire.
Bound not by love, nor by fate, but by rebellion against both."
Aster's hands tightened on the parchment. "Bound by rebellion…" he muttered.
Further down the page, the prophecy continued.
"When the bond of starlight awakens, the sky shall fracture.
The empire built upon faith will tremble.
And from their union, the veil between worlds shall fall."
He froze. The ink beneath his fingers shimmered, transforming into moving constellations that mirrored the marks on his own skin those faint silver traces that had appeared the day he first met Erian.
Then he saw a sketch two figures standing beneath a shattered moon. One bore a crown of flame, the other wings of crystal light. Between them, a thread of silver connected their hearts.
It was them.
His breath caught. "So it was never chance."
A faint sound echoed behind him a door creaking open. He turned sharply, the book snapping shut.
"Searching for forbidden truths again, my prince?"
Lady Selene stepped out of the shadows, her veil glinting faintly in the torchlight.
Aster's eyes narrowed. "You knew about this."
"I suspected," she said, gliding closer. "The Codex has always spoken of a bond that could either destroy or renew the stars. I didn't think it would find its vessel so soon."
He frowned. "Renew?"
She smiled faintly. "The prophecy has two endings, Aster. One written in blood, the other in light. Which one unfolds depends on the strength of your heart and his."
Aster stared down at the closed book. "Erian."
"Yes," Selene whispered. "The boy who carries the starlight of another age."
For a long moment, silence hung between them.
Then Selene added softly, "The Emperor already suspects. When he learns what you've found, he'll try to erase it. And him."
Aster's jaw tightened. "Then I'll protect him."
"Even against the crown?"
"Especially against it."
Selene's veil fluttered as she turned away. "Then may the stars have mercy on you both."
Meanwhile, at the academy, Erian stood on the rooftop under the night sky, focusing on the strange patterns of light above him.
Professor Kael's voice guided him through the trance. "Good. Feel the current of the cosmos, not as something outside you, but within."
Erian's eyes glowed faintly, reflecting starlight. He raised his hand, and threads of silver energy spun around his fingers.
"I can sense him again," he whispered.
Kael's gaze flicked upward. "Then the bond remains open. You're connected beyond distance now. But that also means"
He stopped as the air shuddered. The stars pulsed once, twice, and then a symbol appeared in the sky two intersecting circles of light.
Kael's eyes widened. "No… That's the mark of the Codex."
Erian looked up, unaware of the danger. "What does it mean?"
Kael whispered, almost to himself, "It means fate has begun to write your story in the sky."