The master's dark magic pulsed violently, a sickening black aura radiating from his hands, ready to strike the final blow. Star's body was still wracked with pain, the curse mark burning hotter than ever, but something had shifted
Something deep within him.
Aliana still held him in a fierce embrace, her grip unyielding. Her presence was like a lifeline, pulling him back from the edge of death.
Then, one by one, the others stepped forward — Kade, Lila, Nia, Jake, Luna, Gem, Henry, May, and Eric — all forming a circle around Star and Aliana.
Kade's voice was firm despite the fear in his heart. "You're not dying, Star. You're our brother now."
Luna clutched her rock — the one Star had given her — and added softly, "We need you."
Lila's voice wavered but held steady. "You're not going through this alone anymore."
Jake smirked, trying to mask his concern. "Come on, man — you're tougher than this."
Nia, Gem, Henry, May, and Eric all joined in — one voice after another — each word becoming a thread, weaving a powerful bond around Star.
"Live, Star."
"Don't give up."
"You have us."
"You're our friend."
"You're our brother."
Their words cut through the master's cruel magic like a beacon of light — and Star felt it.
For the first time... he felt like he had something to protect.
Something to live for.
The fear of death — the paralyzing terror that had always gripped him — started to loosen.
Because even if he died, he wouldn't die alone.
He had them.
And they had him.
Slowly, Star's trembling stopped. His breathing, once ragged and weak, evened out.
Aliana, still hugging him tightly, whispered, "We won't leave you."
Star's fingers dug into the ground for support as he gritted his teeth and, with a slow but steady motion, pushed himself to his feet — still surrounded by his friends.
His knees threatened to buckle — the pain still seared through him — but his will was stronger.
The master's eyes widened, his fury growing wilder. "Impossible!"
He unleashed another blast of the curse mark magic — a level strong enough to kill Star instantly. The air crackled with black energy, twisting like vipers, striking Star's neck again.
But this time — he didn't flinch.
The pain was excruciating, but Star stood firm, his gaze locked onto the master's. His once-vacant eyes were now blazing with an unbreakable resolve.
He wasn't scared anymore.
He wasn't alone.
The master's magic surged again — darker, crueler — but the more it burned, the more Star resisted.
The master roared, "Why won't you break?!"
But something extraordinary was happening — the curse mark on Star's neck, the symbol of the master's control, began to flicker.
The dark lines etched into his skin — the same ones that bound him to a life of servitude and fear — started to fade.
Bit by bit.
The more Star embraced his will to live... the more his friends' support strengthened him... the more the mark unraveled.
The master's magic lashed out again — but this time, the curse mark shattered like glass, crumbling into glowing fragments before vanishing completely.
Silence fell.
Star stood there — breathless but unbroken — the curse mark gone.
The master staggered back, his face pale with disbelief. "No... that's not possible..."
But it was.
Because Star wasn't bound by fear anymore.
He had something more powerful — a family of friends who saw him not as a puppet... but as a brother.
The master staggered back, his dark magic swirling violently around him — but no matter how much he unleashed, it crumbled against Star's unstoppable charge.
There was something different about Star now — a radiant, burning light surrounding him, fueled by something the master had always sought to crush: hope.
The positive energy rippled from him like a storm, built by the unyielding trust of his friends, the fierce encouragement of their bond, and the warmth of Aliana still lingering on his skin.
For the first time in his life, Star wasn't moving out of fear — he was moving because he wanted to protect something. Someone.
And that terrified the master.
His mind spiraled into chaos, and for the first time in years, he felt fear.
The fortune teller's words echoed in his head:
— "The child with the Star in his soul will be your undoing."
He remembered the day it all started.
Years ago, when he was still seeking the path to immortality, a fortune teller had warned him of a single threat — an infant, an orphan, carrying a hidden, mysterious magic within him. This child, Staralor, was destined to bring his downfall.
The master didn't hesitate.
He used his dark magic to track Staralor down to an old infant-care orphanage, where the baby lay in his crib — wide-eyed and curious, unaware of the danger looming over him.
The master remembered the cries of the other infants as his magic swept through the room. The air turned cold, shadows twisting unnaturally — until finally, he laid his hand on Staralor's tiny chest.
He had planned to kill the child then and there — to eliminate the threat before it could grow.
But... something stopped him.
What if, he thought, I could use him instead?
Rather than destroy him, the master poured dark magic into Staralor, branding him with a curse mark — a symbol of control, a constant reminder of his power.
This mark allowed him to kill him at any moment and kept him bound by fear.
For years, the master crafted him into a tool, manipulating him into gathering "friends" — not for companionship, but for a sinister purpose.
He also shortened his name to just Star not wanting to call him by such a long name when he was just his tool.
His ultimate goal was to gather 6,666 souls — to offer them in a grand sacrifice to God Dray, a dark deity who would, in return, grant him immortality.
Every time Star brought new friends to the house, the master would strip them of their free will — making them mindless slaves until they were ready to be "freed" through sacrifice. Each life was a step closer to his eternal life.
Now, he was so close.
Only four souls away.
And Staralor... or Star had been the perfect puppet, conditioned by fear, isolated from emotions, and kept ignorant of what friendship truly meant.
The master always knew the boy's power could grow if he ever connected with others emotionally. That's why he kept him isolated, warning him of "daytime monsters" and ensuring he never built true bonds.
But somehow, against all odds, it happened.
The moment Star met Aliana and the others — when they treated him like a person, a friend, even a brother — the master felt his control slipping.
And now, standing before him, Star was no longer a frightened puppet.
He was something else entirely — an individual with a purpose.
"You're supposed to fear me..." the master hissed, his voice cracking, more to himself than to Star. "You're nothing without me. You are mine — you always were mine."
Star kept advancing, the glow of his positive energy repelling every dark spell the master hurled at him.
"No," Star said softly — his voice steady. "I was... never yours."
The master's rage boiled over. His magic turned savage, black tendrils of darkness whipping through the air.
"If I can't control you... I'll kill you!"
He gathered all his magic into a final blast — the very magic tied to the curse mark that once bound Star's life to him.
But this time... it did nothing.
Because the curse mark was gone.
Shattered by Star's will.
The master's hand trembled. "No..."
Star stopped, standing firm. His once-empty eyes now burned with purpose. He wasn't afraid of death anymore.
And the master realized something even more terrifying —
Star wasn't just free.
He was stronger.
Stronger than the master ever imagined.
Because while the master's power came from fear and control...
Star's power came from trust, bonds, and the will to protect his friends.
And that made him unstoppable.
The master stumbled back, his dark magic flickering and crackling like a dying flame.
The fear in his eyes was unmistakable now — not just of Star, but of the shift in power happening right in front of him. For the first time, he was the one retreating.
Star stood tall, his aura glowing brighter with every heartbeat. His friends — Kade, Lila, Nia, Jake, Luna, Gem, Henry, May, and Eric gathered behind him, no longer trembling in fear but standing strong, their trust in him radiating like a second wave of energy.
And then there was Aliana — still holding his hand, her warmth steady and unyielding.
The master clenched his jaw. "You... you think this changes anything?!" he roared, his voice echoing through the forest.
"You are nothing but a weak, pathetic orphan I molded into a tool! You have no family, no real bonds — these friends will leave you, betray you, just like everyone did to me!"
Star's expression didn't waver.
"No," Star replied, his voice calm but firm. "They won't."
The master's fury ignited again. His dark magic surged, forming a massive swirling vortex of shadow above his head. "Then die with them!"
He unleashed a devastating blast of magic — one meant to consume Star and his friends entirely.
But this time, Star didn't flinch.
He raised his hand, and from deep within him, something awakened.
A burst of radiant energy erupted from Star's body — a dazzling wave of light that clashed with the master's darkness midair. The collision sent shockwaves through the forest, tearing the ground apart and shaking the trees, but the light held firm.
The master's magic... was losing.
"What are you...?!" the master hissed, eyes wide with disbelief.
Star didn't know what this new power was, but it felt right. It wasn't fueled by rage or fear, it was something purer. It came from the trust of his friends standing by him. It came from Aliana's promise never to leave him.
It came from the first time he ever felt... alive.
_ _ _
As the light pushed the darkness back, the master's body trembled. He realized something horrifying:
Star wasn't just breaking free — he was evolving.
And the master's worst fear was coming true.
Star took a step forward, his aura growing even brighter. The friends behind him weren't just watching anymore, they were supporting him, their presence like a steady flame adding to his strength.
Kade clenched his fists. "We're with you, Star."
Lila nodded. "All the way."
Nia, Jake, Luna, Gem, Henry, May, and Eric all echoed the same: We're with you.
Then Aliana stepped closer, still holding Star's hand. "No matter what happens," she whispered, "you're never alone again."
The master's dark magic faltered — his power weakening not because of the light itself, but because of what it represented.
Star wasn't the broken, obedient puppet anymore.
He was a leader.
And the master trembled...
The darkness around the master cracked and withered against Star's overwhelming radiance.
He screamed — a mixture of rage and fear.
"You are MINE!"
But Star, standing firm with his friends at his back and Aliana by his side, simply replied:
"Not anymore."
Star was glowing like a beacon of hope, and the master, a crumbling shadow of his former self.
Star's glowing form slowly advanced toward the master, his aura a blazing force of radiant energy — a direct counter to the dark magic swirling weakly around the master like dying embers.
The master, breathing heavily, stared at him with a mixture of hatred and... fear. Real fear.
But before delivering the final blow, Star's voice cut through the crackling tension like a knife.
"Where did you keep the extras?"
For a moment, the master's lips curled into a bitter smile. He didn't respond immediately, his silence heavy with unspoken cruelty.
But as Star raised his hand, the light growing stronger, the master's voice broke the silence.
"Gone," the master finally said, his tone both cold and mocking. "They were sacrifices to Lord Dray."
The words hit Star like a punch to the gut.
The people he had unknowingly gathered over time — the "extra" friends the master forced him to collect beyond the 6666 he needed — weren't freed like Star had foolishly hoped.
They were sacrifices.