The soldiers moved fast.
They formed a practised semicircle, their boots striking the stone in perfect rhythm, their weapons angled inward. Not at Finn. Not at Nyra's head or heart.
At her sternum.
Nyra noticed that detail immediately, and it chilled her more than the drawn steel.
"They know," she murmured.
Finn leaned closer without turning his head. "Know what?"
"That if they hit me here," she said, fingers brushing the mark on her chest Astrael-Null had disappeared into, "they hit it."
Inside her, something stirred.
"Gold star for observational skills," Astrael-Null purred. "Yes. They learned after the third attempt at extraction. Messy business. The entire wing collapsed."
Nyra swallowed. "You could've warned me."
"You didn't ask."
The High Astromancer stepped forward, the hem of her robes whispering against the floor. Up close, Nyra could see the faint constellation scars etched along the woman's temples, marks of prolonged exposure to celestial magic.
She was obviously not chosen.
Her power was borrowed, and there were scars to show for it.
"Binding circle," the Astromancer repeated calmly.
Two priests knelt, pressing crystal inlays into the floor. Light flared as sigils carved themselves into existence, lines intersecting into a familiar shape.
A star.
Hollow at the centre.
Finn stiffened. "That's–"
"Starkeeper geometry," Nyra finished softly. "They're using our own symbols."
The Astromancer met her eyes. "Everything the Starkeepers ever built belongs to the temple now. You forfeited that right when your order fell."
Astrael-Null laughed inside Nyra's skull.
"Oh, that's rich."
Nyra felt heat bloom beneath her skin, not burning... coiling.
"What happens when the circle is complete?" she asked.
The Astromancer didn't hesitate. "We separate the Crown from your body."
"And if that kills me?"
A pause.
"Acceptable loss."
Finn snapped. "You don't get to decide that!"
The Astromancer finally looked at him properly. Her gaze sharpened.
"You speak as if you matter."
Astrael-Null hummed thoughtfully.
"She really doesn't know who you are," it said to Finn. "That's going to sting later."
The circle flared to life.
Nyra felt pressure slam down on her from every direction, like invisible hands gripping her limbs, her throat, her chest. Her knees buckled, but Finn caught her, hauling her upright.
"Nyra," he whispered urgently. "Stay with me."
Her vision blurred.
Inside, Astrael-Null stretched.
"Permission to override?" it asked casually.
She gasped. "Override what?"
"Your nervous system. Your pain receptors. Several ethical safeguards."
"Is that..."
"Yes."
"...safe?"
A pause.
"No."
The pressure intensified. Something pulled at her chest, a violent tug, as if invisible hooks were digging in, trying to rip something free.
Nyra screamed.
Stars burst behind her eyes. It was not the gentle constellations she'd grown up tracing, but fractured, screaming lights tearing themselves apart.
The Astromancer raised her hands, chanting now. The air vibrated with ancient syllables meant to command gods.
Astrael-Null scoffed.
"Oh please. That language has been dead for centuries."
The pain peaked.
Nyra felt herself slipping.
Finn shouted her name.
Something in her snapped.
"Do it," Nyra choked. "Override. Now."
Inside her, Astrael-Null smiled.
The world went quiet
The binding circle froze mid-glow. The priests' chanting cut off like a blade through a thread. Even the Astromancer faltered, her hands trembling.
Nyra straightened.
She wasn't floating. She wasn't glowing.
She was just… standing.
Her eyes lifted slowly, meeting the Astromancer's gaze.
Astrael-Null spoke through her mouth.
"Trial override accepted."
The voice that emerged was Nyra's and at the same time, it was not.
It was layered and resonating.
"Authority Level temporarily elevated."
The air cracked.
Runes shattered like glass.
The binding circle imploded, its energy snapping back into the priests who had summoned it. They screamed as the backlash threw them across the room, bodies striking stone with sickening force.
The soldiers staggered, weapons slipping from numb fingers.
The Astromancer stumbled back a step, eyes wide for the first time.
"What have you done?" she whispered.
Nyra tilted her head, movements slightly delayed, as if someone else were learning how to use her body.
"Correcting an imbalance," Astrael-Null replied pleasantly. "You were about to repeat a historical mistake. I dislike repetition."
Finn stared at Nyra, horror and awe tangling in his chest. "Nyra?"
Her gaze flicked to him. For a moment, she was there.
"I'm still me," she said quickly. "Mostly."
Then Astrael-Null leaned back in.
"Oh, don't look so betrayed. She invited me."
The Astromancer steadied herself, fury blazing now. "You think this changes anything? The Crown cannot rule without a bearer."
Astrael-Null laughed.
"True."
It turned to Finn.
"Which brings us to him."
Every eye in the room snapped to him.
Finn froze. "Me?"
A pressure hit him heavily, like the sky pressing down. His breath caught as something ancient and vast brushed against his soul.
A second pane flickered into existence, brighter than before.
☆STARBEARER PROTOCOL — PARTIAL AWAKENING☆
Candidate: Finn
Royal Astral Line: Confirmed
Suppressive seals: Detected
Status: Incomplete
Recommendation: Immediate coronation
Risk: Extreme
The Astromancer's face drained of colour.
"No," she breathed. "That's impossible."
Astrael-Null hummed. "Is it? You've been crowning shadows for generations."
The status board that appeared earlier started to make a bit more sense to him now.
Finn staggered, gripping the edge of the bed as memories that did not belong to him flooded his mind. Thrones of obsidian. Kings burning under Starfire. A crown that rejected every unworthy head. And then it all vanished like it was never there, leaving him with fragments as it it were just his imagination.
Nyra reached for him instinctively. "Finn—"
He looked at her, eyes blazing silver for a heartbeat before fading.
"I can feel it," he said hoarsely. "The throne. It's… empty."
Astrael-Null sounded pleased.
"Correct. And very impatient."
The Astromancer backed away slowly. "This cannot stand. The Synod–"
"–has already lost control," Astrael-Null finished. "You just haven't accepted it yet."
The soldiers hesitated, uncertain now, fear bleeding into their discipline.
Nyra felt Astrael-Null recede slightly, loosening its grip.
"Override ending," it informed her. "You did well. Only minor internal damage."
"Minor?" she hissed internally.
"You'll live."
The room was wrecked. The temple's authority lay fractured on the floor, but Nyra knew better than to think this was victory.
The Astromancer straightened, eyes cold again.
"This isn't over," she said. "You've declared war."
Astrael-Null smiled through Nyra.
"No," it said. "You declared war centuries ago."
The soldiers began to retreat, dragging the injured priests with them.
As the doors slammed shut, silence settled.
Finn exhaled shakily. "So," he said. "I'm apparently a king."
Nyra laughed weakly. "And I'm hosting a cosmic menace."
Astrael-Null purred in her mind.
"Correction darling, you are hosting salvation. Poorly."
Nyra sank onto the bed, exhausted.
Outside, bells began to ring.
Announcements were heard and orders were being passed.
Somewhere in the temple, the stars shifted.
And the throne, long empty, had finally found its claimant.