11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡClOptOlHqF
The sky shattered.
A soundless rupture, vast and impossible, split across the heavens like a fracture in time itself. Starlight bled into the darkness, twisting, unraveling—warping the very air around them.
Elysia staggered back, her pulse thundering in her ears.
The golden thread that had formed between her and the boy pulsed violently, spiraling upward, flickering as if resisting its own existence. It should not be. She knew it.
But she could feel it.
A pull—subtle yet undeniable, like the quiet hum of a song she had always known but never heard before.
The boy did not move.
He stood at the edge of the abyss, his midnight-dark hair ruffled by the celestial wind. His form flickered, as if he belonged to this world only in borrowed moments. The glow in his eyes—deep, endless, not of this world—held her still.
Elysia forced herself to speak, though her breath came unsteady.
“Who are you?”
Silence stretched between them. Then, finally—
“I do not know.”
His voice was soft, like the whisper of falling stardust. It sent a chill through her, not from fear, but from something deeper—something she could not name.
He did not know?
Her fingers clenched around the fabric of her dress, her mind racing. He was real. He was standing right in front of her. And yet…
"He is not written in the stars."
The thought sent a tremor through her bones.
A being without a place in the constellations was impossible.
And yet, so was she.
The realization coiled in her chest like a secret only the universe understood.
The boy tilted his head slightly, observing her in return. His gaze flickered to the golden thread between them—thin and delicate, still trembling in the air.
“What is this?” he murmured.
Elysia swallowed hard. She didn’t know. She had seen many Luminis Bonds before—glowing, unwavering threads that connected Celestara destined for each other. But this one…
It did not shine with the same certainty.
It wavered, almost fragile, as if it could disappear at any moment.
Something unnatural. Something forbidden.
A part of her wanted to step away, to sever whatever this was before it could take root. But the other part—the part that had always felt like she was reaching for something just beyond her grasp—stood frozen in place.
She had spent her whole life longing for a connection the stars had denied her.
And now, here it was.
Not written in fate. Not bound by the heavens.
But real.
The boy’s gaze remained steady on her, patient, unblinking. Then, almost hesitantly, he lifted a hand toward the bond. His fingertips hovered just before the golden thread, inches from touching it.
A sharp pull.
A gasp tore from Elysia’s lips as the light surged between them. Heat licked at her skin—not burning, but sinking into her bones, something vast and unrelenting. A vision bloomed behind her eyes—
A falling star.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbODt1n91CB
A dying wish.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡghUMLl9TEe
A boy pulled from the void.
The sensation snapped away as quickly as it had come. Elysia stumbled, breathless, her fingers trembling.
The boy staggered too, as if the force had hit him just as hard. He gripped his chest, eyes wide in something like realization.
When he finally spoke again, his voice was barely above a whisper.
“Kaelith.”
The name sent a ripple through the air.
Elysia’s heart pounded. “What?”
His breathing was unsteady, as if the name had surfaced from some long-forgotten memory. His gaze met hers again, softer this time.
“My name is Kaelith.”
The golden thread between them glowed just a little brighter.
And in the distance, the constellations shifted.
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