17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB9tRHKEf4x
The night sky trembled.
Far above the Moon Kingdom, streaks of blazing silver cut across the heavens — a comet storm, rare and unannounced. The royal astrologers had not predicted it, and the palace stirred in hushed awe.
From the highest balcony of the Moon Palace, Princess Tsuki stood wrapped in her cloak of pearl-threaded silk, watching as the stars seemed to weep fire.
"It's beautiful, isn’t it?"
A familiar voice broke the silence.
Hoshi, her ever-loyal companion and guardian, stepped beside her, his cloak dusted in stardust and his silver eyes reflecting the skies above.
"It feels... different tonight," Tsuki whispered. "Like the stars are trying to speak."
Hoshi hesitated — just enough for her to notice.
“Do they speak to you, Hoshi?” she asked gently.
He looked away, hiding the glint of guilt in his eyes. "Not in words. Just… echoes."
But before she could press further, the air around them shifted.
The comet storm intensified — a single comet, brighter than the rest, veered off course and streaked directly toward the Moon.
Tsuki staggered, clutched her temple — pain flared behind her eyes as if the light had pierced through her very mind. She collapsed into Hoshi’s arms, her body cold and glowing faintly.
"Tsuki!" he cried, catching her. But she didn’t answer — she was somewhere else.
In her vision, the world was in pieces.
Silver palaces floated in a void. Suns bled fire. A throne cracked in half. A girl cloaked in shadow reached out with trembling hands — and behind her, stars were dying one by one.
And then — a whisper.
"The moon divided… the price forgotten… the crown will fall unless…"
The voice shattered like glass. Darkness surged.
Tsuki gasped awake, sweat beading her brow, heart pounding.
Back in her chambers, Hoshi sat beside her, silent and tense. He hadn’t left her side.
"That wasn't just a dream," she whispered. "It was a vision."
Hoshi nodded slowly, avoiding her gaze. "The comet storm triggered it. Prophetic visions are rare… and dangerous."
She looked at him then — truly looked.
There was a faint constellation mark pulsing beneath the collar of his tunic, just above his heart. A symbol she had never seen before.
"That mark…" she reached toward it, but he gently caught her wrist.
“Don’t,” he said softly. “Not yet.”
"Why are you hiding this from me?" she asked, not with anger, but hurt.
His voice was barely a whisper. “Because I was never meant to be here. I wasn’t born in the Moon Kingdom… I was born from the stars.”
She froze.
"You're a Star Child?"
He nodded. “A fallen one. Taken in by the Moon Queen when I was just light and smoke. My birth is written in riddles… and sealed away by the Heavenly Court.”
Before she could respond, Hoshi stood and pulled something from beneath his cloak — an old scroll, sealed with lunar wax and the signature of Kanji.
“I found this hidden in the Observatory Tower,” he said. “It’s addressed to you. But it warns… that dreams like yours come at a cost.”
Tsuki took it slowly, the weight of the scroll heavy in her hands.
Outside, the comet storm faded, but something far greater had been set in motion.
And in the distant dark… the shadowed girl from Tsuki’s vision smiled.
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