Chapter 87 – The Sky That Watches
The compass pulsed with an alien rhythm, leading Jean through sky-carved ravines and ancient stairways long abandoned by man. At the farthest edge of the world, veiled in mist and stars, floated the Isles of Astranova—a sanctuary for seers, dreamwalkers, and mad prophets.
Each isle hovered like a forgotten moon, suspended by invisible forces. The air buzzed with divine resonance. Time itself felt fractured here, slipping sideways with every step.
Kael shielded his eyes. "The stars… they're watching us."
"They're listening too," Jean whispered. "I can feel it in my blood."
Whitney bristled. His fur glowed faintly under the starlight.
At the edge of the largest isle stood a temple made entirely of crystal and void—its structure flickering between forms, as though reality could not decide what it was.
A voice echoed from above.
> "You've come seeking answers.
But do you even know the question?"
A figure floated downward on wings of refracted light. Neither fully man nor woman, they shimmered with cosmic energy. Their eyes were galaxies. Their presence—overwhelming.
Kael dropped to one knee. "That… that's not a mortal."
Jean raised her sword instinctively.
"Are you the Emissary of the Star God?"
"I was," the being said softly. "But stars outlive their gods. And I… outgrew mine."
They descended, feet touching the platform. The air warped around them.
"I am called Solara now. I surrendered my name the day I ascended."
Jean narrowed her eyes. "You're not human."
"I was. Until my god tried to burn me alive when I questioned his design. I survived. I absorbed his core. Now I am neither god nor mortal. I am Witness."
Kael stared. "You devoured your own god?"
"Not devoured. Liberated. We were never supposed to be weapons. We were meant to guide."
Jean's heart pounded. "Then guide me. Tell me what the First Emissary left behind."
Solara's eyes dimmed.
"He left behind doubt. And the truth: that the gods are afraid. Of mortals who can choose. Of Emissaries who awaken."
A deep rumble shook the isle. The sky fractured above them.
A celestial tear opened—black and bleeding stars.
Solara looked up, voice cold.
"They found me. My former kin. The Starspawn—the last remnants of the god I slew. They want to consume my spark… and yours."
Jean gritted her teeth. "Then let's show them what happens when mortals stop kneeling."
Solara smiled.
> "Then awaken, Jean Luther.
For the heavens have begun to fall."
---
The stars screamed.
And from the rift above, creatures of light and madness descended like angels turned wrong—Starspawn, with wings of prism and maws of void.
Jean, Kael, Solara, and Whitney stood side by side, four lights against the abyss.
And Jean whispered as she raised Luxclade:
> "Let's remind the stars why we were born under them—
and not beneath them."
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