Chương 9: Vol. 1 - First Breath Of Starlight

"Sigh, your father made a huge mess in the front yard again! How many times does he have to kill those poor Direwolves?" Mama sighed as she complained over and over again. This is so exciting, but I'm kinda getting sleepy…

"Aw, look at you, baby. You're getting a little tired, aren't you? Time for your nappy time, I guess." My mother chuckled as she kissed me on my cheek. I was then scooped up by her as she marched down the hallway, to my bedroom, when something caught my eye—the family library. My little hand shot out, tugging at her sleeve.

"Mama, mama… books!" I pleaded.

"Sorry, Kawa-Kun, but it's your nappy time…" My mother smiled. Mama kept walking, but I wasn't giving up. I pulled out my final trump card—my eyes. Big, round, and shimmering just the way I knew would melt her. I looked up at her, lips trembling, voice soft.

"Mama… books…"

"Honey, your eyes are half-closed, maybe after…" She tried to resist, my tempting, appealing figure. Mama kept walking. She didn't even slow down. Plan A—shimmering eyes—had failed. No choice… Plan B. I shifted in her arms, tilting my head just right. My gaze turned wide and pleading, but this time I let my lips tremble, a soft whimper slipping out.

"Mama… books…" I breathed, every word dripping with pure desperation. She stopped. Slowly, she turned her head toward me, one brow twitching.

"Grrr…" she muttered under her breath, stretching out an arm toward the library door.

"Fine. You can go play a bit in the library." Yay, Plan B, success! Rule of thumb: Always have a backup plan She then walked towards the kitchen mummering, " I am not a doting mother, this is only for educational purposes. I am not a doting mother, this is only for…" over and over again like a broken recorder. What's up with her, really? Hmm… as far as I understand, I'm almost there. I can feel my astral core slowly cracking open. Just a little bit more… Just then, my mother walked back.

I quickly pulled out a random book and started pretending to be reading. And… ooh! This random book is juicy! Did you know we have different types of humans? There is this special race called Everis, and they kinda would look youthful forever? How cool is that? They have that lavender-purple hair and amethyst eyes, almost like me! They are…

"Crash!"

"My, my, your father better not have ruined the front yard, or else he's cooked, deep-fried today!" My mother fumed, her auburn hair flying wildly around her, mirroring her explosive temper. RIP Dad… With that, she stormed out of the room, smoke rising out of her head. Shouldn't her brain be fried by now? Mama's footsteps faded down the hall, her voice still muttering about frying Dad alive. Perfect. Now I can finally focus.

I placed the book on my lap, my tiny fingers brushing over the page, but my mind was already elsewhere. That strange, pulsing warmth in my chest… It's been there for days now. Flickering. Waiting. I closed my eyes, sinking into that feeling. It's like… there's a little star living inside me. At first, it's quiet. Gentle. Like it's asleep. But when I breathe in… it stirs. When I breathe out… it answers. My heartbeat slows. In. Out.

The world around me starts to fade — the smell of old paper, the faint sound of birds outside, even the faraway noise of Mama yelling at Dad. All of it drowns under the sound of something else.

"Come to me," I commanded. It answered. Crack. A tiny sound, but it's not in my ears — it's in my chest. I open my inner conscience without knowing how. There it is. My Astral Core. Not glowing yet. Just… there. Sleeping. Waiting. Another crack. The faintest sliver of light leaks out, shimmering like stardust. My body shivers. I reach for it. The moment my will touches that light, it's like grabbing hold of lightning. A rush of heat — no, not just heat, something purer, sharper — surges through my veins.

Crack—shatter. BOOOOOOOOOOM!!! The light bursts outward. My breath catches as a torrent of starlight explodes from within me. It flows through me. My astralis, it's mine. It flows through my veins. It's warm. It's alive. It's in me. It flows through me. My astralis, it's mine. It flows through my veins. Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. The star inside me roars awake, flooding me with its song.

Every pulse of light says the same thing: I am yours. You are mine. And just like that… I understand. I am no longer just a sleepy little boy trying to sneak into the library. I am Hoshikawa — and my star has finally opened its eyes. RENAR HOSHINO'S POV: When can babies even start training magic? Most kids don't see their cores stir until their early teens—ten, twelve, sometimes even later if they're unlucky. Awakening is a fickle thing. Not everyone makes it.

Some cores never crack, some shatter and vanish before they can grow. Me? I woke at ten years old. Not the youngest, not the oldest, but damn sure early enough to set me apart. You don't become a Celestblade by waiting around for fate to knock on your door. You take what's yours. I gritted my teeth and trained harder than anyone else, carving my own path. That first crack in my core was no grand spectacle—no blazing star or thunderclap. It was just me nearly causing my room to catch fire.

It was just breaking open a door I didn't even know was locked. I was just a kid then, but from that moment on, everything changed. Since then, it's been relentless—endless hours of training, discipline, and pushing limits until my muscles screamed and my mind begged for mercy. No excuses, no shortcuts. Being a Celestblade isn't just a title. It's a life. Right now, I was out in the front yard, knee-deep in the chaos I'd made. Yeah, the mess? All mine.

I'm not the kind of person to hide behind excuses or blame others for the wreckage. I made this bed, so I'm gonna lie in it. The Direwolves had come charging through again. I know better than anyone how dangerous they are, but sometimes my temper gets the better of me. I probably pushed too hard, or I got careless with my control. Whatever the reason, it was my fault this time. Liora was there, fussing as usual. She was scolding me for not taking better care of the yard, for risking unnecessary fights.

She tries to keep me in line, but she doesn't understand what it means to carry the weight of power like I do. Honestly, I barely had patience for her nagging. I was itching to get back to training, to push myself and everyone around me harder. Especially Hoshikawa. That kid is quiet, too quiet sometimes. But I can see it — the fire buried deep in him. I've been watching, waiting for the moment his core cracks open. He's almost there. I can feel it like a storm about to break loose.

I want to be the one to train him, to make sure he doesn't waste what he's been given. It's not just about power — it's about discipline, control, and survival. The world doesn't care about how talented you are if you can't hold your ground when everything falls apart. I was about to tell Liora all this when the air shifted. BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!! Our house suddenly exploded in flames! What The Hell?!

"Liora!! Watch OUT!!!" I yelled. I swiftly pulled her into my arms, my back facing the house. I have to keep her safe. I made the Polaris sign — steady, grounding. Then Aldebaran — focus pulled tight like a ring. Deneb flowed next, shaping the spiral. A quick trace of Procyon sped it up. Finally, Antares unleashed the vortex with a fierce heart. I pulled out my sword." Hydro Vortex!!" Instantly, a wave of water wrapped around me and Liora from my sword, protecting us from the vortex.

But the fire was too strong; it still pierced through the water shield. I formed Polaris — steady and sure. Then Capella — sharp and precise. Rigel came next, fingers locked tight like a sword's core. With Vega, I honed the tip, focusing on the edge. Finally, Antares — I thrust the sword forward with burning force." Aqua Sword!" I channeled water around my sword, spinning it faster and faster until it condensed into a tightly coiled vortex.

The water hardened into a spiraling drill, spinning with such force that the air howled around it. With a single thrust, the drill surged forward like a raging torrent, tearing through the air and smashing into its target with crushing, piercing force — a strike powerful enough to counter the fire. When I could finally turn my head, more than half of our house we painstakingly built was gone.

"Renar, you alright?" Liora gasped as she stared at the burns on my back.

"Yeah…" I muttered. I feel like I forgot something…someone… And then it hit her. Her breath caught, her eyes went wide, and both hands flew to her mouth.

"Kawa-Kun…" she whispered, almost too faint to hear. She looked at me like she'd just remembered something crucial — something terrifying. The color drained from her cheeks, and for a moment, she didn't move at all. Then her shoulders tensed, her body jolting like she'd just been struck by lightning. Without another word, she spun on her heel, skirts flaring, and bolted for the door. Her footsteps hit the ground fast and hard, urgency in every stride. I'd never seen her move like that unless blood was involved.

In that instant, I knew something was wrong inside. Very wrong. I dashed towards the ruins, looking desperately for my son, Hoshikawa.

"Oh great god Azelarion, I beg of you, please let Hoshikawa be alive! I don't want to lose him like I lost her, too! She was just 16 then! But Kawa-Kun is even younger now! I don't want to lose them both!" The air reeked of smoke, thick and bitter on my tongue. Every breath scraped my throat, but I forced myself forward, boots crunching over blackened debris. The house… our home… was nothing but splintered beams and sagging walls, groaning under their weight. I should have run faster.

I pushed through the wreckage, my ears still ringing from the blast. Then, faintly, beneath the ringing, I heard it — a breath. Shallow. Unsteady. My chest tightened.

"Hoshikawa?" My voice came out rough, almost swallowed by the crackle of settling wood. I tore away a half-burnt doorframe with both hands, the heat biting my skin. And there he was. Floating in the center of the ruin, untouched. The wreckage around him was… wrong. Scorched in a perfect circle, as if the flames had been cut short, unwilling to reach him. His hair swayed despite the dead air, and his eyes…

oh gods, his eyes glowed with a golden violet light I'd never seen before, like staring into the stars themselves. I froze. Relief and disbelief fought in my chest, choking me. Seven glowing orbs surrounded him: fire, water, earth, wind, shadow, healing, and the forsaken… starlight… He was there, floating for what has been more than 15 minutes. Incredible, simply incredible. My little boy was able to burn most of the house down and still have the energy to float for 15 minutes?!

And worse, he's an all-element wielder?! Where am I, in a dream? In an impossible dream that my son is both a celestblade and a celestian? In a dream where my boy is the prophecy from the ancient legends? In a dream where Starlight is no longer a myth? What's this? It has to be a dream, right? He's not even 3! How can Kawa-Kun awaken? I didn't know whether to cry or laugh. My son's a prodigy, I should be happy, right? Liora, with tears streaming down her face, croaked, her voice breaking, " Renar, did you find him?

I don't want to lose him like I lost her… *sob." At that moment, I realised reality was not deceiving me." Ha ha ha… you've got to be kidding me…"

"Renar, what's wrong? What happ…"

"Liora, my love, he has awakened." Liora must have understood the situation because she gasped and covered her mouth in complete shock. She returned my gaze and whispered, " It's just like she said, we will bear a prodigy that will rescue her someday." Then he looked at me, the glow flickered, and the boy's eyes softened, tired, but human again. In the diminishing gold, I only saw my boy again, tired, shaken, so damn small in this chaos. I didn't think.

I crossed the space in two strides and dropped to my knees, pulling him into my arms. His body trembled against me, warm and real.

"It's alright… I've got you now," my voice cracked as I murmured, though the words felt thin against the weight in my chest. Because deep down, I knew… whatever had just happened, this was only the beginning.