The night sky split open like a wounded veil.
Kanji stumbled back as a column of silver fire shot upward, carving star-shaped fractures across the heavens. The monks dropped to their knees, shielding their eyes. Even the forest beasts—those that feared nothing—howled and fled into the shadows.
Only Kanji stood frozen, because the light wasn't just calling.
It was choosing.
The Starborn Trial Begins
A voice echoed across the sky, layered like a thousand overlapping tones.
"HALF-BLOOD OF FATE… STEP FORTH."
The ground beneath Kanji pulsed. Sigils shaped like constellations spiraled outward, forming a circular arena of floating starlight. His demon blood roared in excitement; his wizard blood trembled in warning.
Master Ryou grabbed his wrist.
"Kanji, listen! The Starborn Trials appear only to those destined to reshape the realms. If you step inside, you cannot turn back."
Kanji's heart pounded, but something deeper—older—stirred.
"I have to," he whispered. "Something… someone… is calling me."
Trial One — The Mirror of Origins
The first constellation lit up: The Twin Serpents.
Stardust rose, forming a glowing figure—him.
Another Kanji, identical but with burning red demon eyes and twisted horns.
Demon-Kanji taunted, "You deny what you are. Weak. Afraid. If you can't defeat yourself, how will you survive the prophecy?"
The two clashed—fire against magic, instinct against restraint. Kanji was thrown to the ground again and again.
But then he remembered Master Toma's voice:
"A warrior is not the blood he carries… but the choice he makes."
With a surge of clarity, Kanji embraced both halves. His aura flared—purple fire mixed with blue magic—and he struck his demon reflection through the chest, shattering it into stars.
Trial Two — The Heart of Sacrifice
A new constellation ignited: The Weeping Phoenix.
A feathered creature of flame circled him, crying embers. Its voice echoed in his mind:
"To rise… something must burn. What will you give up to ascend?"
Visions surrounded him—his father's sword, his future, the three monks who raised him… even the girl whose face he didn't fully remember yet but who haunted his dreams.
The Phoenix demanded a sacrifice of the heart.
Kanji clenched his fists. "I will not give up those I love. I'll give up something else—my fear."
The Phoenix screeched, then burst into wings of light, approving his answer. Fire wrapped around him, burning fear from his soul like smoke.
Trial Three — The Gate of the Starborn
The final constellation blazed: The Fallen Crown.
A massive stone gate emerged from the stars, covered in symbols older than demons, older than magic itself.
A guardian appeared—an armored titan of pure light, its voice shaking the cosmos:
"THE STARBORN KING IS STILL ASLEEP.
BUT YOU… MAY BE HIS HEIR.
OPEN THE GATE… IF YOU CAN."
Kanji grabbed his father's massive sword. It felt heavier than ever—like it contained a universe.
As he lifted it, the monks shouted from outside the arena:
"Kanji! Your aura—it's changing!"
Indeed, it was.
His eyes glowed gold.
A star-shaped mark burned on his chest.
His heartbeat shook the air.
Kanji roared and swung the sword.
The strike unleashed a beam of cosmic energy.
The gate split open.
And behind it…
A slumbering giant made of stars opened its eyes.
The Starborn King whispered:
"At last… my successor."
And Kanji collapsed as the power of the ancient cosmos poured into him.
—