Darkness.
Then a slow, muted humming… like a forgotten memory starting to breathe.
The girl's consciousness drifted into a dream — but it didn't feel like a normal dream.
It felt like she was being pulled backward… into the moment her life changed.
---
She saw herself again—
Wounded.
Dirty.
Sitting in the cold corner of the underground arena.
Ignored.
Unseen.
Unwanted.
Her body bandaged, her mind hollow.
She remembered the sound first.
The crowd suddenly roaring louder than usual — like something had cracked open in their collective chest.
She lifted her head weakly.
What… is happening?
For some reason, she stood up.
Her legs were shaking, but she pushed through bodies, slipping between shouting spectators.
She wanted to see what the commotion was.
Then—
Everything changed.
The underground arena… the cage…
the screaming crowd…
All of it fell away.
And she was standing under a sky of swirling galaxies.
Colors she had never seen.
Stars that spun like blades.
Light that glittered like a dream she never had the right to imagine.
Her eyes widened — the hopeless grey inside them trembling, then slowly filling with something… alive.
What… is this…?
She looked into the center of that galaxy—
And she saw him.
Axamu.
Standing still, but surrounded by a storm of cosmic pressure.
His bey glowing— then bursting into a brilliant white light.
From the light, a creature formed.
A white Dragoon.
Majestic.
Holy.
Radiant.
Like something torn straight from the heavens and forced into this dirty, broken world.
Her breath caught.
Her eyes, once dull and dead, widened into a glowing reflection of that creature.
Like they had finally remembered what hope felt like.
The Dragoon roared, shaking the starry dimension—
and in that moment, she wasn't afraid.
Not even a little.
Because the light didn't feel like destruction.
It felt like salvation.
Her gaze drifted to Axamu.
The boy who stood inside that impossible storm like he belonged in it.
Like the galaxy itself bowed to him.
And instinctively she understood:
He's different.
He's something else.
He's… a star.
A star that cuts through the dark.
A star that shouldn't exist in this filthy place.
A star bright enough that even someone like her — forgotten, broken — could see it clearly.
She felt her chest tighten.
I want to follow him…
I don't know why… but I want to follow that star…
---
Her consciousness drifted again…
The galaxy faded…
And slowly—
light returned.
---
Her eyes fluttered open, heavy and drowsy.
White ceiling.
Warm blanket draped around her shoulders.
And right in front of her—
the same star she saw in her dream.
Axamu.
Sitting silently on the bed, his eyes open, resting but still emanating that cold, unshakable presence as he look at the window.
Her breath trembled.
Her lips parted.
And she whispered, barely audible—
"Star…"
A small, fragile word.
But it carried all the hope she didn't know she still had.
---
Axamu blinked awake at the sound of a tiny voice.
"...Star…"
He turned his head, slow and calm, and saw the white-haired girl staring at him with half-lidded eyes, still drowsy, cheeks faintly flushed. She looked so small and fragile wrapped in the blanket he'd placed on her earlier.
He exhaled softly.
"Did I wake you up?" he asked, lifting his hand and gently patting her head with an easy, almost lazy smile.
The girl immediately shook her head — a tiny, quick shake, messy hair bouncing like she was afraid to disagree.
Axamu chuckled under his breath, leaning back a bit.
So she's shy, huh…?
The thought drifted through him, quiet.
He wasn't annoyed.
He wasn't warm either.
Just… calm.
An odd kind of calm he didn't understand yet.
---
Then—
PING.
A sharp blue window popped into his vision, floating like a hologram only he could see.
> CONGRATULATIONS! You Win All The Battle In Underworld!
Before he could react, a second window slammed open right under it:
> [MAKE YOUR CHARACTER BECOME MORE IMPORTANT IN THIS WORLD!]
Progress: 17%
Axamu's eyes barely twitched.
Another window appeared instantly after:
> Please choose your reward!
1. Beyblade X (Random) – 4×
2. Player Status (Random) – 4×
3. Hint of Fate: Extra Character (Random) – 4×
He stared at the floating text with that same expressionless calm he always carried… then nodded once.
"I see," he murmured. "I won four battles… so I get to stack the reward four times."
His inner thoughts came quietly, evenly:
Guess that's fair. More rewards… more risks… whatever.
Meanwhile, his hand continued gently stroking the girl's hair, like it was just another small task, something to keep his body busy while his mind handled the surreal systems appearing and disappearing in front of him.
The girl…
stared up at him with eyes wide and shining, completely silent, completely absorbed in the gentle touch on her head.
Axamu didn't look at her.
But he kept patting her anyway.
Because even in this strange, broken moment —
calm hospital room, fading pain, a shy girl beside him, and system windows reminding him he wasn't normal —
he somehow didn't feel like stopping.
---
Axamu lifted his hand and casually swiped the air, the way a person brushes away a bothersome fly.
The system windows vanished instantly.
"Later," he muttered. "I'll decide what reward I want later. For now… I just want to relax."
His hand naturally drifted back to the girl's head, fingers combing through her soft white hair like she was some timid little cat. She leaned into the touch without thinking, eyes half-closed, almost glowing with that shy quietness she carried.
Axamu watched her for a second, then asked:
"So… what do you wish to do now?"
The girl blinked, her lips parting slightly as if the question itself confused her.
"What… I want to do…?"
Her voice trembled a little.
"Do you give… anything I want…?"
"Yes," Axamu replied without hesitation.
The girl stared at him, serious in the most innocent way possible.
"…Are you a god?"
Axamu let out a small laugh — warm, easy, almost teasing.
"I'm not."
"Then… why?" she asked again.
He lifted his hand and patted her hair gently.
"I just pity you."
The girl tilted her head.
"…Pity?"
Axamu's inner thoughts sharpened, cold and detached:
Honestly, it's not pity. I just want to use her.
The more she owes me… the more she'll obey.
Out loud, he said something much softer:
"Because you're still young… but you've already had through so many things."
He patted her again, lighter this time.
The girl's eyes trembled.
Then she inhaled, determined.
"Then… I want to follow you!"
Axamu raised a brow.
"Follow me? Why?"
"Because you are a star!"
"S… star?" he repeated.
"Star!" she nodded strongly, as if the whole universe fit into that one word.
He didn't understand what she meant.
He didn't know what she saw in him.
But… whatever.
"Then sure," Axamu said, giving a faint smile. "I grant your wish."
Her eyes lit up completely, glowing with a brightness that almost felt unreal — hope, excitement, something he hadn't seen in a long time.
"I will be your star then," he added, gently patting her head again.
Her eyes grew even brighter, like she'd found the one thing she'd been waiting for her whole life.
---
PING.
A new system window exploded into view.
> CONGRATULATIONS! You have acquired the Hint of Fate: Extra!
[The girl who wished upon the star]
You have acquired one teammate!
Axamu stared at the glowing text.
And suddenly —
a flashback punched through his mind.
The strange feeling when he first offered her a reward…
The unreasonable urge to win every battle…
The way he'd fought, even though he didn't care if he died…
He exhaled sharply.
"So this is the reason…" he muttered.
His eyes narrowed at the system window.
"You controlled me… from the beginning."
Not anger.
Not shouting.
Just a cold, quiet grudge settling deep inside him —
the kind that doesn't fade.
The girl hugged his arm gently, unaware of the shift in his mood.
Axamu didn't pull away.
But his eyes stayed locked on the disappearing system window, his calm expression shadowed by something darker underneath.