Silence.
A crushing, endless silence filled the star-forged chamber as Kanji lay unconscious on a bed of shimmering dust. The monks rushed to him, but before they could touch him, the slumbering giant of constellations rose from his throne.
Stars shifted, forming a humanoid titan cloaked in cosmic fire.
His eyes were galaxies; his voice was the sound of creation breathing.
"Do not touch him."
The monks froze, trembling under the weight of an ancient presence they had no name for.
Master Ryou swallowed hard.
"G–Great one… what is happening to him?"
The Starborn King lowered his glowing face toward Kanji's barely breathing body.
"He is becoming what he was always meant to be."
Kanji's Awakening
Inside his unconscious mind, Kanji drifted through a void filled with memories that weren't his.
A battlefield of burning worlds.
A crown shattered into stardust.
A sword that could split heavens.
A demon lord kneeling.
A wizard king dying.
And a child—him—born under a broken star.
A voice called to him:
"Kanji… son of Ruuka the Demon Warlord, and Marelle the Star Witch… awaken."
His chest burned. The star-shaped mark pulsed, connecting him to something cosmic and endless.
Kanji opened his eyes.
The Audience with the King
The Starborn King towered over him as he stood, weak but strangely lighter, like gravity feared him now.
"W–Where am I?" Kanji murmured.
The King knelt, lowering himself to Kanji's level—a gesture that made the monks gasp.
"In the Celestial Gate. The heart of the Trials. The place only the next Starborn may enter."
Kanji blinked. "Starborn…?"
His voice trembled, unsure if he wanted the answer.
The King reached out, a hand of shimmering constellations.
"Kanji… you were never meant to be a demon lord."
He paused, letting the truth echo.
"You were meant to be the one who ends the age of demon lords."
Kanji staggered.
"That's… impossible."
The King's eyes glowed brighter.
"You carry the blood of a star witch and a demon general."
"You are balance. You are destruction. You are rebirth."
"You are the Starborn Child—the one foretold to slay the Fallen Demon King and reclaim the heavens."
The monks trembled at the revelation.
Master Rin whispered, "So the prophecy… was never about him becoming the destroyer of worlds…"
Master Seiji added, "It was about him destroying the one who would destroy the worlds."
The Warning
The Starborn King's voice grew heavy, like the weight of time itself.
"The Fallen Demon King awakens soon. He seeks the blade your father left you. Through it, he will return."
Kanji tightened his grip on the massive sword.
"What must I do?"
The King lifted his hand, revealing three glowing star-cores.
"Three destinies await you."
1. "Seek the Celestial Forge and reforge your father's blade."
2. "Find the girl of the sealed moon—your fated ally."
3. "Awaken the slumbering constellations before the Demon King does."
Kanji's heartbeat thundered in his ears.
The King's voice dropped, colder than a dying star.
"If you fail even one… the worlds will fall."
The Gift of the Starborn
Light poured from the King's chest, spiraling like a newborn galaxy and sinking into Kanji's heart.
Kanji gasped as power surged through him—
his demon energy twisted with celestial fire,
his wizard aura flared with star magic.
A new form awakened inside him—
Star Demon Mode.
A state feared even by forgotten gods.
The King stepped back.
"Rise, Kanji. Starborn of Two Worlds."
Kanji stood, aura glowing like a supernova.
"When the time comes," the King whispered,
"you will have to choose… save the worlds—or destroy them."
The chamber shook—
the Trials were ending.
The monks shielded their eyes as starlight swallowed everything.
And within that blinding light…
Kanji's destiny began to burn.
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