Celeste's POV
I couldn't breathe.
The Moon Goddess stood before us, made of pure starlight and power so intense it hurt to look at her directly. Everyone in the chamber was still on their knees—Orion, Nyx, the Court members, even Lord Cassius Void himself.
Only I remained standing, frozen in shock.
The Goddess's eyes—swirling silver galaxies—fixed on me with an intensity that made me feel naked, like she could see every thought, every fear, every secret I'd ever kept.
"Do you know what you are, child?" Her voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere at once.
"I... I'm a Starweaver?" I said, my voice barely a whisper. "That's what they called my bloodline."
"That is what mortals called your bloodline." The Goddess moved closer, and the air around her shimmered with power. "But you are so much more. You are my daughter's daughter's daughter, descended directly from my first celestial children. You carry within you the power to reshape destiny itself."
My legs shook. "I don't understand."
"Of course you don't. Because HE made sure you wouldn't." She turned her gaze toward Cassius, and the fallen celestial actually flinched. "Lord Cassius Void murdered your mother twenty years ago and placed a curse on you as an infant—a curse to suppress your powers until the exact moment he needed them awakened."
Rage burned through me. "Why? Why would he do that?"
"Because Starweavers can do something no other being in either realm can do." The Goddess raised her hand, and images appeared in the air around us—ancient battles, celestial beings wielding impossible power, entire worlds being created and destroyed. "They can break the barrier between the mortal and celestial realms. They can merge the two worlds into one."
Horror washed over me. "That's what you want," I said to Cassius. "You want to use me to destroy the barrier."
Cassius smiled from his kneeling position. "Not destroy, little Starweaver. Unite. The realms were meant to be one. I'm simply correcting a mistake the Moon Goddess made millennia ago when she separated them."
"I separated them to protect mortals from celestial wars," the Goddess said coldly. "To give humanity a chance to grow without being crushed under the weight of divine conflicts."
"And look how well that worked out," Cassius sneered. "Mortals wage war just as brutally as we ever did. The only difference is they die faster."
"Enough." The Goddess's voice cracked like thunder. "You will not use this child for your schemes, Cassius. I forbid it."
"Then kill me." Cassius spread his arms. "Strike me down right now, oh mighty Goddess. Or are you still bound by your own laws? You cannot directly interfere in mortal or celestial affairs without consequence. That's why you need champions to fight your battles for you."
The Goddess's expression tightened, and I realized with shock—he was right. Even the Moon Goddess had limits.
"Which is why," Cassius continued, standing up slowly, "you're going to let me walk out of here. Because the moment you try to stop me, you violate your own sacred laws. And if you break those laws, the entire cosmic balance collapses."
"You would threaten the universe itself?" Orion demanded, finally finding his voice.
"I would remake it," Cassius corrected. "Into something better. Something perfect." His dark eyes found mine again. "And you, little Starweaver, are the key to everything. Whether you help me willingly or not."
Before anyone could move, Cassius vanished—simply disappeared like he'd never been there.
The Goddess's power flared with frustration. "He's gone. Fled beyond even my reach for now." She turned back to me. "Which means you are in grave danger, child. Cassius will not stop hunting you until he has what he needs."
"Then teach me to fight him," I said, surprised by the strength in my own voice. "If I'm this powerful Starweaver, teach me how to use that power to protect myself."
"It's not that simple." The Goddess looked at Orion, and something passed between them—some understanding I didn't grasp. "The soul-bond connecting you to Commander Orion has complicated matters significantly."
Through the bond, I felt Orion's tension spike.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Soul-bonds are forbidden because they create a permanent connection between two souls—one that cannot be broken except by death." The Goddess's expression was grave. "But they also amplify power. What you did during the battle—channeling your starlight through the bond to strengthen Orion—that should have killed you both. The fact that you survived means your bond is stronger than any recorded in history."
"Is that... bad?" I asked hesitantly.
"It is unprecedented." She looked between us. "And it means you are now the most powerful linked pair in existence. If Cassius captures you both, he could use your combined power to tear down the barrier immediately."
Orion's face went pale. "Then we separate. Break the bond somehow—"
"There is no breaking it," the Goddess interrupted. "Not without killing you both. And even if there were, the damage is done. You are connected now, permanently. Where one goes, the other must follow."
High Justicar Lyra stood, her expression triumphant. "Then the solution is clear. Execute them both before Cassius can use them."
"NO!" Nyx stepped forward, her hand on her weapon. "You can't—"
"It is the only logical solution," Lyra insisted. "Two lives to save both realms. A worthy sacrifice."
The Goddess raised her hand, silencing everyone. "There is another way."
Hope flared in my chest. "What way?"
"The Trials of the Celestial Crown." The Goddess's words fell like stones. "An ancient test created to determine who is worthy of wielding ultimate power. If you pass the trials, you will gain enough control over your Starweaver abilities to resist Cassius. You will also earn the protection of the Celestial Court—they cannot execute someone who has been deemed worthy by the trials themselves."
"And if she fails?" Orion asked quietly.
The Goddess's silence was answer enough.
Death. If I failed, I died.
"The trials haven't been attempted in over a thousand years," Lyra said. "And the last person who tried them didn't survive past the second trial."
"Because they were attempted alone," the Goddess said. "But Celeste has an advantage no previous candidate had." She looked at Orion. "She has a soul-bonded partner. Commander Orion Silvanus, you may accompany her through the trials. Your combined strength gives you a chance—small, but real—of surviving."
Through the bond, I felt Orion's conflict. Fear warring with determination.
"And if we refuse?" he asked.
"Then the Court executes you both within the hour," Lyra said flatly. "Those are your only options—die now, or die trying to prove yourselves."
"Some choice," I muttered.
The Goddess stepped closer to me, her expression softening. "I wish I could give you more time, child. Time to train, to learn, to understand what you are. But Cassius has forced our hand. The trials must begin immediately, before he can strike again."
"How long do the trials take?" I asked.
"Seven days. Seven trials, one for each aligned star of the Convergence." The Goddess touched my forehead gently, and warmth spread through me. "I can give you knowledge of what you are, but the strength to survive must come from within."
Images flooded my mind—memories that weren't mine, knowledge passed down through generations of Starweavers. I saw my mother, young and beautiful, wielding starlight like a weapon. I saw her fighting Cassius, trying to protect me as a baby. I saw her final moments, using the last of her strength to curse her own power into dormancy, hiding me from Cassius's detection.
She died to save me.
Tears streamed down my face as the visions faded.
"Your mother was the strongest Starweaver of her generation," the Goddess said softly. "She believed you would be even stronger. Prove her right, child. Survive the trials. Save both realms from Cassius's madness."
The weight of expectation crushed down on me. Save the realms? I could barely save myself.
I looked at Orion. Through the bond, I felt his emotions—fear, yes, but also something else. Determination. Loyalty.
He'd chosen to stand with me. To face death with me rather than let me face it alone.
"We'll do it," I said, my voice steadier than I felt. "We'll take the trials."
Orion nodded slowly. "Together."
The Goddess smiled sadly. "Then let the trials begin."
She raised both hands, and the floor beneath us began to glow. Symbols appeared, forming a massive circle around Orion and me.
"The first trial begins at dawn," the Goddess said. "Use the night to prepare. Rest. Because once the trials start, there is no turning back. You either complete all seven... or you die trying."
The light faded, and suddenly we were standing in a different chamber—smaller, quieter, with two beds separated by a screen.
The Goddess's voice echoed one last time: "The Trial of Truth begins at dawn. It will test whether your bond is built on honesty or lies. If there are secrets between you..." Her voice turned grave. "The trial will tear you apart from the inside out."
Then her presence vanished completely.
I looked at Orion across the chamber. Through the bond, I felt his panic rising.
"Secrets," I whispered. "What secrets could we possibly have? We just met."
But Orion's face had gone white. His hands were shaking.
"Orion?" I moved toward him. "What's wrong?"
He stepped back, refusing to meet my eyes. "The trial. The Trial of Truth." His voice was barely audible. "It's going to reveal everything. Every secret. Every truth we've been hiding."
"I don't understand. What truth are you hiding?"
He finally looked at me, and through the bond, I felt his terror.
"The reason I really made the pact three hundred years ago," he said. "The reason I gave up my emotions, my humanity, everything." He swallowed hard. "I didn't do it to save my kingdom. That was a lie I told everyone, including myself."
My heart pounded. "Then why?"
"Because I was afraid." The words seemed torn from him. "Afraid of what I was becoming. Of the power growing inside me. I wasn't just a prince, Celeste. I was something else. Something dangerous." His silver eyes met mine, full of anguish. "I'm not fully celestial. I'm not fully mortal. I'm like you—a hybrid. Half human, half something ancient and terrible that my father accidentally awakened when he tried to use forbidden magic."
Shock rippled through me. "You're... you're like me?"
"Worse than you." His voice cracked. "Because the power my father unleashed into me? It's the same dark energy that Lord Cassius uses. The same corrupted starlight that creates Void Hunters." He looked at his hands like they were weapons he couldn't control. "I'm not just soul-bonded to you, Celeste. I'm the very thing that's hunting you. And tomorrow, when the Trial of Truth reveals what I really am..."
He met my eyes one last time.
"The Moon Goddess will have no choice but to execute me as a threat to both realms. And because of the soul-bond, my death will kill you too."