The Grand Hall of the Academy shimmered with white marble and cold light. Rows of banners bearing the crest of the Star Council hung from the ceiling, their silver threads glinting under the enchanted torches.
Every student stood in silence. Every whisper had died.
I stood among them, my uniform freshly pressed but my palms damp with sweat. The air felt heavy, like a storm trapped beneath the skin of the world.
At the far end of the hall, twelve figures sat on high thrones the Elders of the Council. Between them stood Aster Caelum, tall and motionless, his expression carved from stone.
A woman with hair like snow spoke first. Her voice echoed, cold and precise.
"Candidate Erian Vale."
I stepped forward. My footsteps rang against the marble floor.
"You have been summoned before the Star Council for your… unprecedented display during the first Trial."
The hall murmured faintly. I bowed. "Yes, Your Grace."
"Records show you summoned celestial energy starlight magic." Her gaze was piercing. "No student has achieved such a feat in centuries. Explain yourself."
Explain myself. As if I knew.
"I… didn't summon it," I said carefully. "It came to me. It answered when I was dying."
A ripple of unease passed through the crowd.
"Magic does not answer mortals," another Elder hissed. "It obeys or it destroys."
Aster's voice cut in calm, deep, deliberate.
"With respect, Councilor, the trial's barrier confirmed his energy was stable. No corruption was detected."
"Stable?" the snow-haired woman repeated sharply. "Or suppressed?"
The tension thickened. Even breathing felt like a risk.
Finally, the eldest of the Council, a blind man with silver bands over his eyes, lifted a hand. The room fell silent instantly.
"Regardless of origin, power is power," he murmured. "The question is not how he wielded it but why."
He leaned forward. Though blind, I felt his sight pierce through me.
"What do you seek, child of starlight?"
The words struck something deep inside me, something I didn't know existed.
What did I seek?
Before I could answer, a flare of light burst across the hall a sudden surge of starfire spiraling toward the ceiling. Gasps filled the air.
It came from me.
I hadn't meant to summon it, but my heartbeat had synced with the stars again pulsing, burning, alive.
Guards stepped forward instantly, but Aster raised a hand. "Stand down!"
The light flickered once… then vanished, leaving only silence and the faint scent of ozone.
I looked down at my hands. They were shaking.
The blind Elder spoke again, voice low and almost reverent.
"Not summoned. Not stolen. The stars chose him."
The Council erupted in debate voices overlapping, fear and awe mixing like oil and fire.
Aster turned toward me, his eyes unreadable, his voice cutting through the chaos.
"Erian Vale is under my supervision," he declared. "Effective immediately."
The entire hall froze. Even the Elders stared.
The blind Elder smiled faintly. "So be it."
Aster bowed. "He will join the Celestial Division."
Gasps again. The Celestial Division the most elite, most dangerous unit in the Academy.
And just like that, my life was no longer my own.
As the crowd dispersed, I glanced at Aster. He didn't look back, but his words lingered like a chain around my neck.
"From now on, your light belongs to me."