Night fell fast over Tokyo, but it did not fall silently.
Aki sat alone on the school rooftop, knees pulled to his chest. Below, the lights of the city continued their rhythmic hum—people living unaware of the gods, the stars, or the fate that loomed above them. But tonight… the sky was not the same.
Two moons glowed in the sky—one silver and familiar, the other ghostly and pale blue, drifting just beyond reason.
Hoshikiri appeared beside him, silent as always, but her eyes were troubled.
"That moon… it doesn't belong," Aki said.
"No," she agreed. "It comes from the boundary realm. The place between the gods and the void. It means something is waking."
"Another god?"
"Not quite." She sat beside him. "The moon is a herald. It reflects what should not exist, but still does. Something beyond the divine."
Aki watched the twin moons hang in quiet tension, feeling a strange pressure behind his eyes.
Suddenly, a soft chime echoed through the air.
He turned. A girl stood in the stairwell door—unfamiliar yet unmistakably radiant. Long black hair shimmered with starlight, and her eyes held galaxies. She bowed gently.
"I am Sora-no-Ame," she said. "Daughter of the moon that was erased."
Aki blinked. "Erased?"
"Yes," she replied, stepping forward. "Long ago, there were three celestial daughters. One was forgotten. I am her echo. And you, Hoshino Aki, are why I've returned."
Hoshikiri stiffened. "A moon spirit?"
"More than that," Sora-no-Ame said. "I am what the gods chose to forget… but the Thread did not."
Aki's pendant glowed sharply. He clutched it, uncertain.
"Do I trust you?" he asked.
Sora-no-Ame smiled softly. "No. But I will walk with you until you decide."
The wind picked up. The second moon pulsed once… and the sky whispered with ancient names.
—To be continued