The stars trembled above the Azure Empire.
And so did Erian's heartbeat.
He stood in the middle of the old observatory, the one long abandoned by the academy. Dust floated in the faint silver glow, the air thick with mana that should not exist.
Lines of glowing runes surrounded him, forming a circle drawn in both blood and light. At its center, a crystal sphere pulsed faintly, showing fragments of silver and blue. The connection. His bond to Aster.
Erian clenched his hands until his nails cut into his palms.
"Come on… answer me."
For the past three nights, he had felt the silence between their souls. The mark of starlight that once pulsed in harmony was now cold, sealed by something ancient and cruel.
He could still feel Aster's presence, faint like a whisper beyond glass. But no matter how much he reached, the wall between them would not break.
The door behind him creaked open.
Professor Kael's voice echoed, calm yet sharp. "So you finally decided to use a forbidden ritual."
Erian turned slowly. "If it means saving him, I will."
The professor stepped forward, his silver eyes glinting in the faint light. "You understand what this means, don't you? Once you call upon the Celestial Path, the Order of Solarius will sense you. They've been waiting for this."
"I don't care."
Erian's voice trembled, but his gaze did not. "I can't let him disappear into that darkness."
Kael studied him for a long moment before sighing. "Then I will pretend I never saw you."
He turned away, his robes trailing behind him. "But remember, Erian… once the stars answer, they will demand something in return."
When the professor left, silence returned heavy, suffocating, yet sacred.
Erian placed his hands on the crystal, whispering the incantation written in the forbidden texts.
Light surged upward, filling the chamber.
For a moment, he felt it Aster's heartbeat, faint and lost, echoing through the void.
But then the vision twisted.
Chains. Darkness. A golden cage.
And a voice that wasn't Aster's, deep and cruel.
"You should not have touched the stars, boy."
Erian gasped, the crystal shattering in his hands. Blood dripped down his fingers as the glow vanished.
In the silence that followed, he realized one thing.
Someone was watching him.
Far beyond the walls of the observatory, hidden within the capital's shadows, figures cloaked in gold whispered.
"The Starlight Heir has awakened the Path. Begin the hunt."
A cold wind swept through the night, carrying both fear and fate.