The village was never the same after that night.
By dawn, rumors had already spread like wildfire. Farmers swore they had seen a goddess descend in flames. Children whispered about curses, demons, and restless spirits. Elders called it a bad omen for the harvest. But no one dared go near the shrine hill where the shard of starlight had struck.
No one but Itsuki.
He had carried the unconscious girl to an abandoned storehouse behind the shrine. For hours he simply sat, watching her sleep. She didn't look human, not exactly. Her skin seemed to glow faintly even in shadow, and when she breathed, tiny motes of light shimmered in the air.
When her eyes finally fluttered open, Itsuki forgot how to breathe.
They were deep, endless, like the night sky itself.
"…Where am I?" her voice was soft, trembling.
"You're safe," Itsuki said quickly, though he wasn't sure if that was true. "You fell… from the sky. I—I found you."
She looked at him for a long moment, her gaze unreadable. Then she clutched the broken pendant at her chest. "The seal… it shattered…"
Itsuki frowned. "Seal? What do you mean?"
Before she could answer, a sharp sound echoed from the forest. Branches snapped, and a low rumble rolled through the air like a growl. Itsuki froze. Wolves? No. The sound was too heavy, too unnatural.
The girl's face turned pale. "They're already here."
"Who's here?"
Before she could respond, the storehouse door creaked open, and a figure stepped inside. Cloaked in black, their face hidden beneath a wooden mask carved like a twisted crescent moon.
"The Hoshikage descends at last," the figure rasped. Their voice was neither male nor female, but cold and hollow. "The Starlit Vessel will not escape us."
Itsuki instinctively moved in front of the girl. "Stay back."
The masked figure tilted their head. "A mortal boy? How amusing. Do you truly believe you can guard her?"
Itsuki's heart pounded. He had no weapon, no plan, nothing but trembling determination. But then—something stirred inside him. The same pulse he had felt when he touched the girl before. His chest burned, and light flickered across his vision.
The girl gasped. "You… you can hear it, can't you? The voice of the stars."
Before Itsuki could answer, the masked figure lunged.
Instinct, not reason, guided him. He raised his hand—and a burst of pale blue light erupted from his palm, forming a shimmering barrier that threw the figure back. The force rattled the storehouse, scattering dust and straw.
Itsuki staggered, staring at his hand in disbelief. "What… what was that?"
The girl's eyes widened, and for the first time, her expression softened with something like hope.
"You're not just a mortal… You're a Starbearer."
The masked intruder hissed, recovering quickly. "So the boy has been chosen. No matter. Both of you will come with me."
They raised their arm, and shadows coiled like snakes, writhing toward them. Itsuki clenched his fists, panic rising, but the girl stepped forward.
"Close your eyes, boy," she whispered.
Before he could argue, her pendant flashed. A wave of silver light swept through the room, shattering the shadows into nothingness. The masked figure screamed and dissolved into mist, retreating as if torn from reality itself.
Silence returned.
Itsuki slowly opened his eyes, breath ragged. "What… just happened?"
The girl swayed, exhaustion overtaking her. He caught her before she fell. Her voice was faint, barely a whisper.
"My name… is Hoshino Tsukihime. I am the last guardian of the Starlit Seal. And you…" She looked at him with those endless eyes. "You've been chosen to fight beside me."
Itsuki felt his entire world tilt. Just yesterday, he had been a boy in a forgotten village. And now—
The stars themselves had pulled him into a war he did not understand.