The night air pulsed with an otherworldly energy. The figures descending from the heavens moved with purpose, their celestial forms glowing against the darkness.
Aki's pulse pounded in his ears. He couldn't move, couldn't think—until Hoshikiri's fingers tightened around his wrist.
"Aki, run!"
The urgency in her voice shattered his paralysis. His body moved before his mind caught up, his feet slamming against the wooden floor as they bolted toward the door.
But before they could escape—
A deafening crack split the air.
The roof above them shattered.
A blinding pillar of light crashed down, splitting the space between them and the exit. A figure emerged from the brilliance, stepping forward with divine authority.
Aki's breath caught.
The god before him was unlike anything he had ever seen.
Draped in flowing silver robes, his presence was commanding—not through force, but through sheer existence. His eyes glowed with the light of distant stars, his silver hair cascading like strands of moonlight. The air around him hummed with cosmic power.
Tsukihikari-no-Kami.
The God of Celestial Light.
Aki felt the weight of his gaze settle on him—deep, searching.
"You have no idea what you are," the god murmured.
His voice was not loud, yet it filled the space like a divine decree.
Aki clenched his fists. His heart screamed at him to run, but his feet remained frozen.
Hoshikiri stepped in front of him, her stance protective. "We will not bow to you."
Tsukihikari-no-Kami regarded her with quiet solemnity. "You misunderstand." His gaze shifted back to Aki.
"We are not here to destroy you, boy."
Another gust of wind surged through the room. More gods landed outside, their celestial auras illuminating the night. Some bore expressions of judgment, others curiosity.
But Aki could feel it—beneath their calm exteriors, there was something else.
Fear.
He swallowed hard. "Then why are you here?"
The Celestial God's golden eyes darkened.
"To see if you can be controlled."
The words sent ice through Aki's veins.
Controlled?
He wasn't an enemy. He wasn't some force of destruction. He was just a person.
…Wasn't he?
Hoshikiri tensed. "And if he can't?"
For the first time, Tsukihikari-no-Kami hesitated.
A deep silence filled the space.
Then, finally—
"…Then we will have no choice."
Aki's breath stilled. He didn't need to hear the rest.
No choice but to erase him.
His chest tightened. Everything in him screamed that this wasn't fair. He didn't ask for this. He wasn't some grand being defying the heavens.
He was just Aki.
And yet, to them, that was already too much.
The celestial pressure around them thickened. The gods awaited his reaction.
Would he surrender?
Would he fight?
Or would he prove their fears correct?
Aki gritted his teeth. He felt something stir inside him—a force deep within, raw and untamed. His mother's words echoed once more:
Not even the stars can hold you.
His heart pounded.
No.
He wouldn't let them decide his fate.
A new light surged from within him, flickering against the gods' divine radiance. It was neither celestial nor mortal—something else.
And for the first time—
The gods took a step back.
---
To be continued…