The world before my eyes dissolved into blinding white.
I blinked, but the haze only thickened, swallowing everything I knew.
This wasn't the baptism room anymore.
It was… nowhere—a void where silence pressed against my ears, a place that shouldn't exist.
"Where is this place?"
"This is the world of the Gods. You have finally turned six. We have been waiting for you for a long time, Yorou. No, shouldn't I call you Hoshikawa?" A thunderous sound rang out behind me.
I turned to face the Table Of Judgement yet again. This time, many more people were sitting at the side, and seven heavenly figures sat in front of me.
An old man sitting directly in front of me called out. Studying his old frame and long white eyebrows and beard, I knew at instant that he was Azelarion the old hag.
" Ojii-san, I'm backkk!" I spread out my hands, pretending to expect a hug from the "great" Azelarion. To my utmost disappointment, Azelarion just snapped his fingers, and a wave of stardust closed my hands.
"Well, let's talk. First of all, please sit down, you can't be standing there the whole day," Azelarion chuckled and a shabby chair appeared below my bottom.
Disappointed by my terrible luck, and consumed by my misery, I pouted and sat down slowly.
"I'll introduce myself again, in the skill aspect this time. I am Azelarion, god of creation, space, and time."
Azelarion gestured grandly to the others seated around the table.
"To my furthest right, Ignarion, god of will, passion, and destructionn."
A tall man with flaming red hair and eyes like molten lava nodded solemnly.
"Next, Eiralis, goddess of adaptation, flow, and memory."
A woman with flowing blue hair, eyes like glaciers, gave a serene but sharp smile.
"Then Sylphael, god of freedom, speed, and intuition."
A lithe figure surrounded by a swirling breeze, hair white as clouds.
"To my furthest left, Gaiadros, god of stability, endurance, and growth."
A towering man whose skin resembled living stone, voice deep as the mountains.
"Then Nyxaria, goddess of fear, secrets, and illusions."
A mysterious woman cloaked in darkness, eyes glowing violet.
"And lastly, Iscalon, god of restoration, harmony, and balance."
A gentle-faced man with emerald eyes and an aura of calm.
I quickly stood up and reintroduced myself, " My name is Hoshikawa Hoshino. I have affinity for all elements. Hoshikawa, at your service." Then, I took a slight bow and sat back in my shabby chair.
Nyxaria suddenly called out and said, " Hoshikawa, we all have seen you practicing magic diligently every day since the day you awakened. And, I think I can confidently say that we all would like to give you our skills and blessings." Her voice was meek yet strong.
Everyone else at the table nodded in agreement.
" Well, well, this is the first time in history someone will receive so many blessings and skills," Azelarion stroked his beard. "Let's do this, everyone! Let's give him our best shot!"
The whole cosmos court lit up as all the gods lifted their hands to the sky to form 3 huge balls of their colour. Then, one by one, each ball started to fly towards me as my body absorbed every ball that was thrown at me.
This all seems very suspicious. I couldn't help but ask, "Why are you all being so nice to an outsider like me?"
Suddenly, all the gods started to shuffle their feet as if they had done something gravely wrong.
"Etto, Hoshikawa, you know our ex god of starlight was our god of entertainment, you know? And now, with him gone to who knows where, we, gods, are starting to get bored… so… if you don't mind, you, as a reincarnator, surely you can use the skill I gave you to create some things from your world, right? For us?" Azelarion chuckled awkwardly.
Elaris's sweet but icy cold voice rang, " Don't mind the old hag. What we really want you to do is to give us some form of entertainment. Please."
With that last powerful word "please", all the gods, minor and major alike all bowed down towards me. I guess I have no choice now.
"Fine, just give me a little time to think about it."
Azelarion's mood instantly brightened, " Alright then, our time is almost up. We'll give you 6 more years for this; we're not that pitiful and desperate. We can wait. Let's meet again, Hoshikawa."
The white void warped, bending back into reality. Shapes sharpened, color returned—and the first thing I saw was Lexi's face, far too close, her eyes fixed on me like she was dissecting my soul.
I jolted, breath catching. "Lexi—what are you—so close for?"
" Oh, you're back, I thought you fell asleep," Lexi said, her eyes half-closed again. "Let's go home, I'm sleepy."
" The baptism has ended. Please have a safe trip home." The priest told us.
" Thank you"
After we thanked the priest and paid our respects to the gods, we took our leave.
The silence in the carriage was unbearable. What IS up with my parents? Did I do something wrong? Lexi was sleeping on my shoulder for some reason.
Then, Renar spoke up, " Kawa, you know you were praying for over an hour, right? That is not normal. Did they not give you anything?"
Oh, so that's what they were worried about.
"Father, everything was fine. They all gave me blessings and skills, so it's fine."
My father was getting over the edge for nothing. He finally nodded and let his guard down.
When we finally got home, Lexi went into my room to sleep, so I went to the family study room to take a break.
Hmm… if I remember correctly, she said "status open", right?
"Status Open"
Right in front of me, a translucent glass screen emerged, just like Lexi.
Status
[Name] Hoshikawa Hoshino
[Race] Human
[Gender] Male
[Age] 6
[Astral Core] Light Red
[Title] First Son Of Hoshino, Reincarnator, God's Successor, Gods' Apostle
[Affinity] Starlight, Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Shadow, and Healing
[Skill] Temporal Sight, Spatial Shift, Genesis Weave, Incite Will, Consume Essence, Phoenix Pact, Echo Memory, Fluid Shift, Collective Stream, Mind's Current, Phase Step, Liberation Call, Anchor Soul, Vital Bloom, Endless Foundation, Veil of Truths, Nightmare Vision, Echo Doppel, Harmonic Field, Sacrifice Bind
[Blessing(s)] From all gods
[Other(s)]
Item box – Unlimited Space
Physical Strength – Increase, you weak asshole - Gaiadros
Astral Core capacity for astralis – Increase
Hmm, on the positive side, I did "level up" from white core to the red core…
But on the not-so-positive side… I kinda got scolded… am I that pitiful?
Thank you, gods, for making me so powerful…*bows down to the floor
_______________________________________________________________________
Everything went back to normal after that. And I continued my Celesteblade and Sword training with my dad. There is a difference between the two. Celesteblade training is for you to imbue astralis into any of your weapons, whereas, as a boy, sword fighting is to train you to fight even when there is no astralis. It is for emergency cases, and thus, the styles are different.
As for Celesteblades, we have seven god-styles. But, of course, no one uses the starlight.
1. Crimson Gale God Style (Wind)Philosophy: Strike with the speed and unpredictability of the wind; mobility and flow over brute strength.
Core Principle:"Move like the storm; overwhelm before they see the wind."
Signature Techniques:
Scarlet Cyclone – Spinning strike hitting multiple angles rapidly.
Gale Step – Instant repositioning or flanking.
Red Tempest – Rapid slashes to force defense in all directions.
Storm's Embrace – Defensive spin that sets up counterattacks.
Inferno God Style (Fire)Philosophy: Aggressive, overwhelming offense; burn down defenses with speed and intensity.
Core Principle:"Strike with the inevitability of a wildfire."
Signature Techniques:
Blazing Fang – A piercing slash aimed at vital points.
Crescent Fang – A blazing arc of molten-gold light from the sword, slicing in a wide, crescent shape.
Blade Reversal – A parry with a twist that immediately flips into a deadly backslash.
Inferno Surge – Charge that breaks through multiple opponents.
3. Terra God Style (Earth)Philosophy: Grounded, defensive, and powerful; each strike lands with the weight of the earth.
Core Principle:"Be unmovable as the mountains, strike like landslides."
Signature Techniques:
Stone Crush – Powerful downward strike to break shields.
Quake Step – Stomping movement to destabilize opponents.
Earthen Guard – Defensive stance that absorbs hits.
Landslide Sweep – Low, wide slash to knock back enemies.
4. Hydro God Style (Water)Philosophy: Fluid and adaptive; attack and defense flow seamlessly like water.
Core Principle:"Flow with the battle; strike where resistance is weakest."
Signature Techniques:
Hydro Vortex – Spins sword to create a crushing spiral of water-like strikes.
Aqua Sword – A concentrated thrust that pierces defenses like a spear of water.
Tidal Dance – A series of flowing strikes that redirect enemy attacks.
Wave Step – Swift, flowing movement to evade or flank.
5. Radiant God Style (Starlight)Philosophy: Precise and elegant; strike with the inevitability and subtlety of starlight.
Core Principle:"Pierce the darkness, silent but unstoppable."
Signature Techniques:
Celestial Pierce – Single precise thrust targeting vital points.
Starlit Dance – Rapid slashes forming near-invisible arcs.
Luminous Veil – Defensive maneuver that sets up a counter.
Nova Edge – Rapid, concentrated multi-strike flurry.
6. Umbral God Style (Shadow)Philosophy: Deception and unpredictability; strike from angles opponents cannot see.
Core Principle:"Attack from darkness, vanish before they respond."
Signature Techniques:
Shadow Step – Teleport-like movement behind the opponent.
Veil Slash – Quick strike exploiting blind spots.
Dusk Dance – Combination of feints and rapid cuts.
Eclipse Fang – High-speed multi-angle attack.
7. Lifeblood God Style (Healing)Philosophy: Balanced, defensive, and restorative; focus on sustaining combat ability while wearing down opponents.
Core Principle:"Preserve the self to outlast the enemy; strike only when opportunity arises."
Signature Techniques:
Vital Arc – A measured, flowing slash that heals minor injuries mid-combat.
Serene Guard – Defensive stance that gradually recovers stamina.
Pulse Thrust – A precise strike that drains the opponent's momentum.
Life Ribbon – A sweeping slash that deflects while subtly restoring balance to the wielder.
Whereas pure sword techniques without magic are like this.
Pure Sword Techniques Phantom Step – Move so quickly or lightly that it feels like you vanish for a moment, allowing you to reposition or strike from an unexpected angle.
Leaf Splitter – A downward or horizontal slash aimed with pinpoint precision to slice through obstacles or target weak points.
Butterfly Slash – A graceful, arcing combo of strikes that flow like butterfly wings, hitting multiple points rapidly.
Silent Step Slash – Combine a quiet step with an instant strike, ideal for ambushes or stealth attacks.
Dragon's Tail – A sweeping low slash that can knock multiple enemies off balance.
Wind Whirl – Spin your body to redirect incoming attacks while simultaneously striking surrounding enemies.
Crane's Beak – A quick, precise thrust aimed at vital points, mimicking the sharp strike of a crane's head.
Rising Moon – An upward slash designed to break through high guards or shields.
Crossing Comet – A diagonal slash delivered while moving across the opponent's line of sight, catching them off-guard.
Iron Veil – A defensive parry technique that deflects an incoming blow while leaving the opponent open for a riposte.
If we're gonna learn anti-magic techniques, then in a emergency situation, I need not worry. That probably won't happen.
"Kawa-Kun, what happened? You seem stronger." Renar's words jolted me out of my daydreaming.
" Oh, it's probably some blessings from the gods I think." I responded without a thought.
" You don't seem very focused today, is there something wrong with your status? Let me take a look later."
Ah shit, I can't let him see my status, hopefully he forgets later.
"No, I'm fine, just a little exhausted today. Tomorrow is my graduation right?" I asked,clinging on this small hope that this was all a dream, and that I'm still going to see Lexi after that day.
" Sorry son, she's leaving the day after tomorrow. I'm sure we'll meet her someday again." My father tried to comfort me but that doesnt change the fact that she's leaving.
Let's be honest, I love Lexi. Even a straight non-perverted child like me can't help but have a small crush on her. In this world, she might be my first love, but that's about it. I mean, I've been living with her for 2 years now, so it's going to be hard to let her go.
The night passed slower than any other. Even when I lay in bed, eyes half-closed, I couldn't stop thinking about the void, the gods, their strange request… and Lexi.
No matter how many times I replayed the scene, her sleepy face was the last thing I saw before reality returned.
Her breathing was soft from the other side of the room—she'd claimed my bed again, as usual. Somehow, I didn't mind.
Tomorrow would be our last day together.