Heroes Against the Stars
"I..."
I can't do that.
My revenge...
It can't be stained with bright red blood in the process.
There was the oath I'd sworn before Chungmugong and His Majesty the Great King, not to mention...
Hyung.
Before becoming a hunter, my brother had sacrificed his own youth for me.
It was the same for the brother from my previous life and the one now.
And I'd always admired him.
Not some easy-looking shortcut.
I pursued the righteous path, like Hunter Seo Boseok.
How much more so now.
I can't become like the bastards I'm going to tear down.
Just this once?
That once would repeat itself.
Moments of compromise pile up to shape the future me.
"......"
Damn it.
Resolve was resolve, but no real solution came to mind.
[Give your answer...]
Time was running out.
I parted my lips...
Ding-a-ling.
The clear bell sound spread out.
People began collapsing one by one, as if drifting into sleep.
Ding-a-ling.
I turned my head. There, Sparkle was flitting about.
But the atmosphere was utterly different from usual. A divine light streamed long from its eyes.
"If the stars themselves seek to break the 'rules,' what am I to do?"
A gentle voice.
"The time has not yet ripened."
Sparkle came to stand beside me. Its form was overlaid with a hazy, ethereal silhouette. Near the heart of that figure, something pulsed like a beating heart.
[You...]
A hint of anger crept in.
[A half-fragment dares to defy us...?]
"How could I ever raise a banner against the stars?"
She.
"Merely."
The shaman spirit Baridegi, manifested through Sparkle—a byproduct of the Greenbelt Gate—was...
"...humbly advising the stars, who defy the very fabric of heaven itself. It is not without presumption."
...standing with me.
For a moment, my eyes met Baridegi's ethereal form.
She winked with one eye, then straightened her back before the stars once more.
[How dare you,]
Rumble rumble rumble.
The space itself vibrated.
[A half-fragment dares to warn us...?]
The stars gleamed dangerously.
[A fact that no one would know without you...]
"Yes. If it were just this girl alone, a single gesture from you would turn her to dust. For I am a half-fragment remembered by so very few among the half-fragments."
A meek concession.
Yet Baridegi held up the bell.
She shook it.
Ding-a-ling.
The bell's ring carried a tremor from her hand.
"But is it not the same for the stars, who cannot yet reveal themselves in this present world?"
Ding-a-ling.
"Then we must summon those who can sit with the stars right here on this land, right now."
[...?]
In the convulsing world, the sound of a flag flapping fluttered.
A banner streamed vigorously from the Seven Gates.
[Constellation, Jinhaeseong.]
"Here you are, General."
[Constellation, Jinhaeseong is desperately avoiding your gaze.]
No sooner had the metallic clash of armor sounded from the left than the rustle of a robe came from the right.
[Constellation, Cheonjeja lightly chides Jinhaeseong for dressing up too much.]
[Constellation, Jinhaeseong's already ruddy, furnace-like face flushes even redder.]
"Your Majesty too."
Dragon-like eyes I was seeing for the first time. Beneath that brilliant gaze, a benevolent smile asserted its presence.
"Why... take on such a dangerous burden?"
I found myself stammering unwittingly.
These two great figures had rushed over at Baridegi's call. Yet they had bound their own feet to the Chaos Gates, forsaking their divinity to prepare for the Millennium Gate.
For such figures to rise above the surface—and stand in opposition to the constellations.
Why?
[Constellation, Cheonjeja smiles at you.]
[One who rules the people cannot neglect their hearts.]
[I have seen your anguish, and the righteousness at its end.]
I'd already received so much from these two.
Why give more?
A surge of emotion welled up.
Hemo extended a fin.
Baridegi, the General, His Majesty.
These three luminaries of the land had bound me and themselves with tentacles twisted into a tight rope.
Like a child clutching their parents' hem, unwilling to be parted.
That 'something'.
[Constellation, Jinhaeseong clutches the banner tighter.]
The 'red thread.'
"Good child. I could not pretend not to see your anguish, and the righteousness at its end."
The 'thread of fate' was visible.
[Constellation, Cheonjeja speaks.]
Without coercive force like the Eternal Blessing.
[I shall lend my strength.]
These beings fought for me.
The conversation between divinities proceeded.
The stars opened fire.
Half-fragments who had forsaken their divinity.
Dare to sit at the same table as us?
Abhorrent.
A voice like a child or an elder, gender indiscernible. Just hearing it made one want to deny reality. This was a nightmare. A nightmare.
I have to get out. If I die, I can escape.
It's a corridor. If I fall from here. Falling will free me.
Flutter.
The banner blocked my view. The flag surrendered to the wind, clearly dividing the corridor from the sky's domain.
And yet these warriors.
How dare they shatter the heavenly order,
Clinging to such cheap amusements.
The General growled with his steadfast face. The stars sneered coldly, mockingly.
Must you be bound by that 'rule' forever?
What dares to bind us?
Fools like you, who forsook divinity yourselves,
Clinging to mortal regrets, could not understand.
This girl has a word.
Baridegi stepped forward. The stars showed displeasure. Unlike Jinhaeseong, Baridegi was no constellation. There was a disparity in status for sharing a table.
Yet Baridegi lent strength to her voice and proclaimed.
It's just a mere ten years, after all.
Ten years is but a blink to the stars, isn't it?
You've waited tens of thousands of years.
Is waiting just ten more years so grueling, so difficult, so arduous?
We have waited eons.
We can wait no longer.
Right now. To our ■■, the ■■.
That amusing entity will give us new ■■.
Heh heh.
Your tempers are all so hasty.
His Majesty took a step forward.
Leisurely, hands behind his back.
In my youth, with such a temperament,
I earned reprimands from Father several times, yet as I grew, I did not.
Fool who dredges up human days,
That lingering attachment has bound your spirit to this land.
Have you still not awakened?
Every word brimmed with demonic insight.
Listen.
This child will bring you far greater amusement in time.
Fruit must ripen to be sweet, no?
Enough.
Ten years may be a blink to us,
But not a short time to foolish mortals.
Another entity to match that one will emerge within.
You are wrong.
His Majesty dismissed it outright.
This child.
Will one day shoulder this world.
I guarantee it.
......
The silence lasted quite a while.
Had their impatience eased?
The heat in their voices cooled somewhat.
Cheonjeja, what is your basis?
Before answering.
A gentle smile toward me.
And then he spoke.
Not only against enemies.
But fighting oneself as well.
May seem rough now.
But one day, they will awaken to shining on their own.
To me.
In words all too familiar.
"A rough gem, isn't it?"
'Rough gem.'
No sooner had I mulled over His Majesty's final words than a choking gasp burst from my throat.
"Gasp!"
I felt the pressure of a transparent noose tightening around my neck.
Silence.
Stillness.
The constellations' gazes gleamed like glass beads.
Clutching my chest, I somehow straightened my back. I didn't want to show weakness.
'General, Your Majesty, and Baridegi have lent their strength.'
A heavenly host in the truest sense. Bend like a shrimp just because the constellations pressure a bit?
These were the luminaries who illuminated this nation's era. With their support, show disgrace here?
'It could harm the General and His Majesty in various ways.'
A constellation's power was measured by prominence in its region.
In that context, constellations surpassing the General and His Majesty...
'At least in this country, none exist.'
They shook the world in relatively recent eras, and one could see their forms at accessible Gwanghwamun.
'...However.'
I cast my gaze to the mountain ridge where twilight had settled.
'The wildcard is that I have no idea what those constellations are.'
If one among them was known worldwide?
Regrettably, these three might fall short.
'Disadvantageous.'
Moreover, one way constellations preserved their power was through 'mystery.'
If they became too familiar to human eyes,
People would perceive them as 'approachable beings.' Separate from our familiarity with these greats.
'They are great figures, the General and His Majesty.'
Would people hold the same awe upon seeing their human sides?
Humans generally do not.
Thus, invoking constellations' true names was taboo. My use of 'Your Majesty,' 'General' was for this reason. Lest their divinity crack.
'Thanks to this, they see me as perceptive or some such.'
Felt like an intern recognized by executives. Unfamiliar.
A bit... chilling.
They were among the most diligent in Korean history. In other words, their subordinates died off. The legend of Prime Minister Hwang Hee working till his deathbed was famous.
......Damn.
'My thoughts keep veering strangely.'
That showed my tension.
'Enemy numbers.'
Judging by the star count, at least a hundred spectator constellations. Got nothing better to do?
'Even with limits on influencing reality, the headcount gap is too vast.'
Couldn't rule out their 'divine power' being stronger than these three's, since they couldn't invade reality.
Regrettably, they still held the initiative.