🌌 STARLOST
Episode 13 — "The Boy Who Heard the Signal"
The next morning—
Nova doesn't sleep.
Not because he's afraid.
Because every time he closes his eyes—
he hears it.
WAKE UP.
At school—
Aira watches him from across the classroom.
Nova is staring at his notebook.
The same symbol from his vision is drawn across the page.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Aira walks over.
"You're drawing that thing again."
Nova looks down.
He hadn't even realized.
"I don't remember drawing it."
Aira stares at the page.
"That's comforting."
Nova looks at her.
"You're joking."
"Obviously."
A small smile appears on Nova's face.
Aira points at him.
"There!"
Nova blinks.
"What?"
"That."
"What?"
"Your smile."
Nova looks confused.
"You were smiling."
"I was?"
"Yes."
Aira grins.
"Progress."
The school bell rings.
Everyone returns to their seats.
The teacher begins writing on the board.
Nova tries to focus.
But then—
TAP.
He hears something.
Not from the classroom.
Not from outside.
From somewhere much farther away.
TAP.
Nova's eyes widen.
Another pulse.
The same feeling.
WAKE UP.
He immediately stands.
The entire class looks at him.
The teacher pauses.
"Nova?"
Nova looks toward the window.
"...Sorry."
Aira notices his expression.
Something is wrong.
During lunch—
Aira pulls Nova toward the rooftop.
"Okay."
She folds her arms.
"Tell me."
Nova looks at her.
"Tell you what?"
"Don't do that."
"Do what?"
"That innocent alien face."
Nova actually looks offended.
"I don't have an innocent alien face."
Aira laughs.
"Exactly."
For a moment—
everything feels normal.
Then Nova's expression changes.
"The signal came back."
Aira's smile disappears.
"When?"
"During class."
"Did you see the thing again?"
"No."
Nova looks toward the sky.
"I heard something else."
"What?"
Nova hesitates.
"A name."
Aira waits.
"What name?"
Nova looks at her.
"...Mine."
Silence.
Aira's expression changes.
"What do you mean?"
Nova speaks slowly.
"It wasn't saying Nova."
"It was saying something else."
Aira asks,
"What?"
Nova closes his eyes.
Trying to remember.
Then—
a word comes to him.
Astra.
Suddenly—
the entire school loses power.
Lights shut off.
Fans stop.
Phones go black.
Students begin shouting downstairs.
Aira looks around.
"Please tell me that's normal."
Nova stands.
"No."
Outside—
the sky changes.
Not dark.
Not bright.
Something in between.
A giant circular pattern appears above the town.
Students gather outside.
Teachers stare upward.
Nobody understands what they're seeing.
Nova does.
Or at least—
he thinks he does.
The symbol in the sky is identical to the one in his notebook.
Aira looks at him.
"Nova..."
"I know."
Then—
something falls from the sky.
Not a spaceship.
Not a weapon.
A small object.
It lands in an empty field outside town.
BOOM.
Nova immediately runs.
Aira follows.
"Hey! Wait!"
They reach the field.
Smoke slowly clears.
In the center—
there is a strange black sphere.
Completely smooth.
No cracks.
No controls.
No visible entrance.
Nova approaches it.
Aira grabs his sleeve.
"Maybe don't touch the mysterious alien ball."
Nova looks at her.
"Good advice."
He takes another step.
The sphere suddenly activates.
A glowing symbol appears.
Nova freezes.
The sphere speaks.
Not with a voice.
Inside his mind.
IDENTIFICATION CONFIRMED.
Nova's eyes widen.
Aira notices.
"What did it say?"
Nova whispers—
"It knows me."
The sphere changes.
A holographic image appears above it.
A star map.
Thousands of stars.
Then—
one disappears.
Then another.
Then another.
Aira watches in confusion.
"What is happening?"
Nova's expression becomes serious.
"They're disappearing."
"Stars?"
Nova nods.
"Something is consuming them."
The holographic map zooms outward.
Beyond galaxies.
Beyond known space.
Until it reaches a region of complete darkness.
Aira whispers—
"What is that?"
Nova doesn't answer.
Because the same ancient eye from his vision appears inside the darkness.
But this time—
it isn't alone.
Behind it...
something enormous moves.
Something even the ancient structure seems to fear.
The sphere suddenly displays one final message:
THE FIRST LIGHT IS DYING.
Then—
everything shuts down.
Nova stands completely still.
Aira looks at him.
"So..."
She takes a breath.
"That sounds bad."
Nova looks toward the sky.
"Very."
Aira sighs.
"Of course."
She looks at him.
"But we're going to figure it out, right?"
Nova looks at her.
For a moment—
he remembers what she told him before.
You're not alone.
He smiles.
"Yes."
Far away—
inside the Ascension Vessel—
the Commander receives the same transmission.
His expression changes immediately.
A scientist asks,
"Commander?"
He quietly answers—
"Cancel Ascension."
Everyone freezes.
"But the anomaly—"
"Forget the anomaly."
The Commander looks toward the stars.
"If the First Light is dying..."
"...then we have a much bigger problem."
At the edge of the universe—
the ancient eye opens.
And for the first time—
it looks afraid.
Because behind it—
the darkness moves again.
Closer.
And somewhere on Earth—
Nova hears one final whisper.
Not from the signal.
Not from the sphere.
From something else.
"You were never lost."
A pause.
"You were sent."
Nova's eyes widen.
TO BE CONTINUED...