Falling Star in My Garden

The air was still long after the gods' ominous message faded, but Aki felt its weight lingering on his skin, as if the heavens themselves were pressing closer.

Hoshikiri sat quietly beside him, her silver eyes reflecting the dim light of his small room. She seemed deep in thought, but Aki knew better. She was listening—to the stars, to the gods, to the faintest shifts in the fabric of fate.

"…You heard it too," he said quietly.

She nodded. "They've branded you."

Aki's brows furrowed. "Branded?"

"Your name," she murmured. "They've begun to speak it in the Celestial Halls. A mortal's name shouldn't echo there, not unless…" She trailed off.

"Not unless they fear me," Aki finished for her.

Hoshikiri hesitated, then said, "Or hope for you."

Her voice was soft, but Aki caught the glimmer of something deeper in her words. Not fear. Not hope. Something more dangerous: uncertainty.

And the gods despised uncertainty.

He stood slowly, his legs still shaky from the earlier confrontation. "Then I should give them something to talk about."

Hoshikiri's lips parted as if to stop him, but she didn't. Instead, she rose too and followed as he moved toward the garden. The stars overhead shone blindingly bright now, the same stars that had guided his mother once, that had promised him a miracle.

But the miracle was not what it seemed.

He took a breath and raised his head toward the sky.

"I am Hoshino Aki," he said aloud. The words vibrated with strange power, as if the night itself held its breath.

He clenched his fist. "And I will not be a pawn."

The stars flickered. A pulse of energy, faint but present, rippled through the ground beneath his feet.

Hoshikiri touched his arm gently. "Be careful. The gods aren't used to mortals speaking like that."

Aki glanced at her, his gaze steady. "Maybe it's time they learned."

From high above, beyond mortal sight, Tsukihikari-no-Kami watched in silence. His golden eyes narrowed, unreadable.

Amaterasu spoke beside him. "He's changing."

Tsukihikari did not answer for a long time. Finally, he said, "No. He's awakening."

And somewhere, in a realm untouched by gods or men, an ancient door creaked open.

---

To be continued…