The next moment, he found himself returned to the aligning platform. His gaze landed on the elder overseeing his ceremony. For the first time in his life, Dimitri sensed the feelings of a human.
The elder's face tightened, fear evident as he desperately adjusted controls, murmuring prayers to stars that refused to listen.
Yet nothing happened.
The threads of the Star Line did not merge with Dimitri. They moved as far from him as they could, then simply faded to nothingness.
Dimitrios stood still—unaligned. That's what everyone saw. But something they never thought possible was happening within him.
[You rejected the stars… you are chosen by the endless space.]
[You rejected the endless space… you are chosen by life and death.]
[You rejected life and death… you… you…]
The soft voice started to become vague, slowly cracking—then followed a cold, ruthless, endless voice…
[You are rejected by the Star Line… you chose to cease to exist. And so the void answered your call.]
[You should die…]
Every crystal in the ceiling cracked open. Gasps filled the hall, horrified whispers followed.
"Unaligned?" someone hissed.
"Impossible," growled another.
Slowly, General Diamantakos stepped forward, shock warring with disbelief in his eyes. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.
The elder's voice trembled. "My lord… the stars reject him."
A heavy silence settled over the chamber, broken only by the distant, mournful hum of the crystals overhead.
"Rejected?" Thanos's voice shook, raw with fury and humiliation. "Diamantakos blood has never failed. How is this possible?"
"It's true," the elder whispered, eyes lowered in shame. "He… is Starless."
General Diamantakos turned to look at his son. Dimitri gazed back quietly, unaffected, unflinching. His calmness felt unnatural in the face of such catastrophe.
"No," General Diamantakos said, his voice broken but firm. "Not my son."
Yet the law of the Star Line was absolute. The family name alone could not overturn cosmic judgment.
A representative of the Star Council stepped forward, voice loud and clear. "Now onwards we will take control of this ceremony."
Thanos quickly covered his son.
"General, what's the meaning of this?"
"Doing what a father should do…" Thanos spat. With a single glance, the platform filled with warriors of Diamantakos.
"This boy is Unaligned! Thanos, you know perfectly well the fate of an Unaligned. Keeping a Starless is inviting the void. The Star Council absolutely will not allow it."
Another group of people suddenly appeared on the platform, the atmosphere in the hall turning grim as seconds passed.
Dimitri watched the scene happening around him with a conflicted expression. Suddenly, he was hugged by a soft embrace , his mother's soothing voice reaching his ears as his consciousness darkened.
"Let's sleep, baby."
Thanos clenched his fists harder. He looked around at the faces of his family members—then his world: his wife and son. He knew fighting against the Star Council now wasn't a good idea, especially since his father and grandfather weren't present.
But that didn't mean he would allow some picky cowards to kill his son—his life.
"If the blood of a Diamantakos falls today, I swear in the name of the Stars, we will recall our army from the Wastelands…"
Like thunder, his words stunned the Council members.
"Crazy! Thanos, you are CRAZY!"
"Yes…" A crazed grin appeared on the face of Thanos.
"Do you know what happens if you do so? Millions will die!!"
"Why should I care?" Thanos spat. "If I can't protect my own son, then whom should I protect? Weaklings out there in the lands?"
"You… you…"
"However," Thanos lowered his voice, "from now onwards, Dimitrios Diamantakos will be expelled into the Endlands. Unless he returns on his own… he will be an outcast."
"You can't—" Alena's voice stopped midway as her unconscious body fell, caught by a shadow that disappeared into the air.
"What? Endlands?"
"Isn't that the same as killing him?"
"Why would a father do that to his kid? I'd prefer a painless death rather than expelling my son to that hell…"
Murmurs from Star Council members and onlookers filled the air. Even the warriors from Diamantakos looked at their patriarch with surprise.
Derek, the Star Council elder, studied Thanos with a frown.
"Do you think he can survive that place? Thanos, by expelling him there in hopes of his survival, I say you're sending him to torture rather than saving him. That place is a death sentence even for me. Then what about an Unaligned, Starless little boy like him? What heavenly guarantee do you have… FOOL."
Thanos slowly raised his head. "Because he is Dimitrios… Dimitrios Diamantakos."
*
* *
Outside the Hall, a cart waited—rusted bars of iron enclosing its bed. Dimitri was placed inside, alone except for the eyes of the gathered crowds.
The news had already reached every corner of the city, prompting a large crowd to witness the expulsion of the one who was supposed to be their ruler.
Most people were crying, except for a few who wore angry expressions. The Diamantakos family was their backbone, the protectors of their lives and providers of their future.
Now, seeing one of their heirs forced to be expelled into a hellish place, their emotions turned sinister toward the bullying Star Council.
Above the huge walls of the city, two people stood. Their gaze followed the carriage until it disappeared into the horizon.
"Thanos, I hope what you said is true. If not, I will destroy everything you hold dear," a woman's voice sounded in the air as she disappeared. "Come and see me with him…"
Thanos watched his wife disappear with a hint of melancholy. He shook his head with a sad expression, but it quickly morphed into trust as he recalled the voice of his son ringing in his head.
"Father, don't ask me any questions. Expel me to the Endlands…"
"Why did I trust the words of a little boy?" Thanos ruffled his hair before dissolving into the air. Perhaps that because it was the first request from his son. A crazy father indeed.
*
* *
As the cart rolled away from the grand city, Dimitri stared into the sky—at the tangled brilliance of the Star Line. The threads gleamed indifferently. An arc of disgust formed on his face as he spat into the sky, for it to come down.
"Shit…"
He did not know what waited in the Endlands, nor did he truly care. All that mattered was the strange calm within him, a certainty of something greater awaiting him there.
"Why the Endlands out of all places…?"
He had an answer to that too—one he had no idea how he knew. This world values only strength.
'Then I will find strength.'
He closed his eyes, resting his small head against the bars. For now, darkness surrounded him, as the sky blurred into the fading horizon.
At some point, the driver of the carriage jumped down. He glanced at Dimitri with an unapologetic scoff, then pushed the carriage down a cliff. A thin layer of light welcomed the falling carriage.
Soon, he would awaken. A smile formed on the lips of Dimitri.
But first, Dimitrios Diamantakos would have to die.