The stars no longer whispered—they called.
Aki held the scroll tightly as he and Hoshikiri ascended the hill behind the ancient shrine. Dawn's light touched the horizon, casting a golden glow over the landscape. But to Aki, the sun felt like an afterthought—the real warmth pulsed from the scroll in his hands.
"What's in it?" Hoshikiri asked.
"I'm not sure yet," he replied, "but it's not just a message. It's a memory. A sealed one."
As if hearing his words, the scroll began to hum.
Suddenly, the air thickened. The wind died. Time itself seemed to bend—and before them, a tear in space opened, showing a realm both forgotten and forbidden.
Aki stepped forward, and the scroll unfolded in a burst of silver fire.
They saw them—figures drifting in silence. Dozens. Maybe hundreds. All wearing pendants like Aki's.
"The Forgotten Chosen," Hoshikiri whispered. Her voice cracked. "Those who came before... erased from time."
Each face stared back at Aki—not in anger, but in hope. They had failed. But in him, they saw continuation.
A girl among them stepped forward. Her form shimmered, incomplete.
"I was once called Yuna," she said softly. "We were like you. But we were silenced by the gods before we could break the chain."
"Why me?" Aki asked. "Why did I survive?"
"Because your fate is not built on prophecy," she said. "But on defiance."
One by one, the memories touched his mind—glimpses of their last moments, their bravery, their silence. Aki wept. Not for himself—but for them.
"I won't let you be forgotten," he vowed.
Yuna smiled. "Then we will give you our strength."
The memories entered the scroll, fusing with the Celestial Thread.
Aki staggered as power surged through him—not divine, but human. The will of all those who dared to resist fate.
Hoshikiri knelt beside him, her eyes shining. "You carry their hopes now."
And above them, the constellations reformed.
New shapes. New stories.
A new cycle… beginning with him.