The next morning, Itsuki awoke to the sound of sparrows outside the shrine storehouse. For a moment, he thought it had all been a dream—the falling stars, the masked intruder, the mysterious girl. But then he turned his head and saw her lying beside him, asleep, her silver hair glowing faintly in the sunlight.
Reality struck him like a stone.
He sat up, rubbing his face. "What have I gotten myself into…?"
The girl stirred. Her eyes opened slowly, the same eyes that had seen galaxies far beyond his comprehension.
"You're still here," she murmured.
"Of course I'm still here," Itsuki said, a little defensively. "You fainted after blasting that… whatever it was. I wasn't about to leave you lying in the dirt."
Her lips curved faintly—almost a smile. "Then perhaps the stars chose well."
Itsuki tilted his head. "You keep saying that. Chosen. Starbearer. What does that even mean?"
She sat up, hugging her knees. The broken pendant at her neck glimmered faintly. "Every thousand years, when the Starlit Seal begins to weaken, fragments of the heavens fall to this world. They seek vessels—humans capable of carrying the voice of the stars. We call them Starbearers. They are the only ones who can resist the Shadows."
"Shadows… like that masked freak last night?"
She nodded. "They are fragments of the void, hungry to unmake everything the stars have built. The one you faced was just a scout. There will be more. Stronger ones."
Itsuki felt his throat tighten. "So you're saying I'm supposed to fight them? Me? I'm just a villager. I've never even held a sword!"
"You don't need a sword." Tsukihime reached out and placed her hand over his chest. The touch sent warmth radiating through him. "The light you summoned—it came from within. You carry a shard of the heavens in your soul. If you listen, you'll hear their whispers. They will guide you."
Itsuki swallowed. "I… heard something, when I touched you that first night. A voice."
Her gaze sharpened. "Then it's true. The stars speak to you."
Before he could reply, the ground trembled. A deep rumble rolled through the village. The birds outside scattered in panic.
Itsuki shot to his feet. "What now…?"
He pushed the storehouse door open—and froze.
At the edge of the village, a rift yawned in the air like a wound in the sky, shadows spilling from it in writhing waves. The villagers screamed and fled, while dark figures with burning eyes clawed their way into the world.
"Shadows," Tsukihime whispered, her face pale. "The seal is failing faster than I feared."
One of the creatures turned toward them, its body a shifting mass of smoke and claws. It roared, shaking the air.
Itsuki's legs locked in terror. His instincts screamed to run, but when he looked at Tsukihime—so fragile, yet unyielding—something inside him stirred. The same pulse. The same voice.
"Do not fear. We are with you."
His hand glowed. Light blossomed across his palm, forming a shape—half-solid, half-radiance. A blade of pure starlight.
Tsukihime gasped. "A Starblade… You manifested one this early?"
Itsuki barely heard her. The shadow lunged. He raised the blade, and to his own shock, his body moved with precision he didn't know he had. The blade cut through the darkness, and the creature dissolved into ash.
He stood there, trembling, staring at the fading light in his hand.
"I… I killed it."
"You saved them," Tsukihime corrected softly, nodding toward the villagers who stared from a distance, their fear slowly giving way to awe.
But before relief could settle, three more shadows crawled from the rift. Then five. Then ten.
Tsukihime's voice was urgent. "We cannot stay here. If the village falls, the rift will consume it entirely. We must leave—now!"
Itsuki clenched his fists, torn. His home, his people—he couldn't just abandon them. But Tsukihime's words carried a terrible weight. If they stayed, the shadows would never stop.
The girl's eyes locked with his, steady and unyielding. "You wanted to know why the stars chose you? This is why. You are no longer just a boy of Aokami. You are a Starbearer."
The ground quaked again. The rift widened. Shadows poured forth.
Itsuki gritted his teeth, gripping the Starblade tighter. His quiet life was gone, burned away with the falling stars.
But maybe—just maybe—something greater was waiting beyond the mountains.
He turned to Tsukihime, determination burning in his chest. "Then let's go. Show me where the stars want me to be."