Chapter Fourteen: The First Star's Prophecy
Night settled over the ruins of Neo-Lagos.
The streets were quiet—too quiet.
No groans of nearby zombies.
No distant screams.
No sounds of the collapsing hospital.
Just a suffocating, eerie calm.
Aiden, Dara, and Maya sat beside the shattered remains of a bus stop.
Moonlight reflected off broken glass like small stars scattered around them.
Maya sat beside Aiden, leaning on his arm.
Her breathing was steady.
Her glow was soft.
But her eyes—
those soft, silver-white eyes—
held galaxies inside them.
Aiden finally spoke, voice low:
"Maya… what happened back there?
When you woke up.
When you—fixed me."
Maya didn't look at him.
Her hands rested in her lap, fingers trembling slightly.
"The… voice," she whispered.
"It woke up again."
Dara swallowed. "Voice? Bro… she's hearing things??"
Aiden shot him a look.
"Let her talk."
Maya nodded.
"It's not a normal voice. It's… warm. Big. Like… like a sun talking to me."
Her small fingers clenched.
"It calls itself the First Star."
Aiden felt the air tighten.
The System chimed softly beside him:
[THE FIRST STAR — CLASSIFICATION: FORBIDDEN CELESTIAL ARCHETYPE]
[STATUS: SEALED ENTITY]
[HOST: MAYA KURO]
Maya continued.
"The First Star says I'm its vessel.
That… that it chose me before I was born."
Aiden's stomach dropped.
"Before—? Maya, how old is this thing?"
She looked up at him.
"It said… older than Heaven."
Dara choked on his own breath.
"OLDER THAN—BRO THAT'S ILLEGAL."
Aiden rubbed his forehead, trying to process it.
"Maya… why did it choose you?"
Maya's glow flickered.
Her voice lowered.
"It's hiding."
Aiden looked sharply at her.
"Hiding? From what?"
She hesitated.
"From the Dominion."
A cold chill passed through the air.
Aiden's fists tightened.
"So the Dominion… the same people sending Hunters after us… they're hunting the First Star too?"
Maya nodded slowly.
"They sealed it a long time ago.
Locked it out.
Split it into fragments.
But it escaped into me when I was born."
"…Why you?" Aiden asked softly.
Maya's voice cracked at the edges.
"Because I was… empty."
Aiden blinked in confusion.
"What does that mean?"
Maya's chin trembled.
"My soul wasn't strong enough.
The doctors said I might not… live long."
Silence.
Like the world forgot how to breathe.
Dara looked away, eyes wet.
Aiden felt his heart rip open.
Maya sniffed.
"But the First Star… it filled the empty space.
It kept me alive."
Aiden pulled her into a tight hug.
"Maya… why didn't you tell me?"
"Because…" she whispered into his shirt,
"…it told me not to.
It said if you knew too early… the Dominion would find us."
Aiden shut his eyes, forcing his anger and fear down.
"Why now? Why reveal itself?"
Maya pulled back.
"The Hunters.
And the big monster under the hospital.
They weren't here for the apocalypse."
Aiden frowned.
"Then why?"
Maya's eyes dimmed.
"They were waiting…"
"Waiting for WHAT, Maya?"
She looked at him with a child's fear—
and an ancient being's sorrow.
"For me to awaken."
Aiden felt his entire body go cold.
"And that crack in the sky… those Hunters…" Maya continued,
"…they're just the beginning."
Aiden grabbed her shoulders gently.
"Maya. Tell me everything the First Star said."
She hesitated, worried.
But Aiden's voice softened.
"You're not alone. I'm your big brother. I'll protect you—even from gods."
After a long pause, she finally nodded.
"The First Star said a prophecy."
Aiden leaned in.
"It said…"
Her voice trembled, echoing—
almost sounding like two voices speaking at once.
**"WHEN THE STAR-VESSEL AWAKENS,
HEAVEN SHALL HUNT THE EARTH."**
Aiden froze.
Dara's mouth fell open.
Maya continued, voice shaking harder.
**"THE CELESTIAL DOMINION WILL DESCEND,
SEEKING THE CHILD WHO HOLDS THE LOST SUN."**
Aiden's heartbeat pounded painfully in his ears.
"Maya…"
She squeezed his hand desperately.
"And… and it said one more thing."
Aiden swallowed.
"…Tell me."
Maya's glow intensified—
her eyes shining like newborn stars.
**"ONLY THE HEAVENLY ASCENT BEARER
CAN DEFY THE DOMINION'S FATE."**
Aiden's breath caught.
"H-Heavenly Ascent bearer… that's…"
Maya nodded at him.
"It's you, big brother."
Aiden's heart stopped.
The First Star chose them both—
for different reasons.
For the same destiny.
Dara slowly raised a shaking finger.
"So… let me get this straight…"
He pointed at Maya:
"She's holding a cosmic god in her soul."
Then at Aiden:
"And YOU are the only one in the universe who can stop Heaven's entire army."
Aiden didn't answer.
Because he felt it too.
In his bones.
In his soul.
The Heavenly Ascent System was never meant to make him strong.
It was meant to prepare him.
Maya leaned into him, voice trembling.
"Big brother… the prophecy is starting."
Aiden wrapped his arm around her, eyes burning with new determination.
"Then let them come."
He looked up at the moon—
where faint cracks of celestial light began to spread again.
"I'll crush anyone who tries to take you."