Chapter 1 | The Path from the Stars

Prologue (Arc 1) | Skylight

"Ugh, new day, same me..." Said Tsubasa in annoyance as she woke up with an irritated look on her face.

Tsubasa was a normal 17-year-old student who spent most days without any excitement or anything. Living alone in Tokyo, she couldn't help but feel bored and unfulfilled. It's not that she didn't make an effort on her assignments or projects, but in reality, she was underwhelmed by the boring, mundane tasks. Most other students can't comprehend how relaxed Tsubasa is while she's excelling in her classes without making any effort to succeed. Even Tsubasa herself has no idea why she's so 'talented, as everyone around her claims.

"Oh yeah, there was that lecture today."

It was 12:00 noon... A supposed lecture on the philosophy of astronomy is taking place just as Tsubasa wakes up. "Damn, another hangover!" She exclaimed to herself. Tsubasa was never too interested in ordinary courses of study such as science, art, or finance. However, there was one exception: astronomy and cosmology. Tsubasa wouldn't miss them for the world. She glanced at her messy wardrobe, and her fiery eyes met something that resembled a Detective outfit. She looked again at her alarm clock, which hadn't woken her up, and saw that she still had 30 minutes to go to the lecture. "I know what I've got to do now."

She went back to sleep anyway.

You can exaggerate the number of hours you've slept. 1 hour? 3 hours? In Tsubasa's case, you can't even call it a nap.

14 hours later...

"What a fulfilling nap that was!" Tsubasa exclaimed happily. And to her surprise, it was 12:00 a.m., which happened to be exactly the time when the constellation Cassiopeia was clearly visible, so even a cell phone camera could capture its beautiful presence. "It was all calculated," the girl said confidently. She quickly grabbed her telescope and looked at the cosmic wonder in the night sky.

"An incomparable beauty... I wonder if something cool would happen if I aligned with such divine stars."

In the middle of the night, Tsubasa raced into the noisy silence. A car channel can be heard in the distance as Tsubasa tries to catch up with the 'Fainter Stars'. Without even glancing at it and thinking about what might be ahead, she couldn't care less. Tsubasa was driven to do the most absurd things for no reason.

Finding herself in an open field of grass and desolate buildings, she finally reaches out to the night sky, hoping that one day something 'cool' will happen. She recites these words: "Please, make my dream come true! Kami-Sama!" A childish attempt, but not a single gleam remains in the girl's eyes.

The skylight above her began to glow brightly the moment she turned her fist away from the sky. "What a sight!" Tsubasa heaved a heavy sigh of relief. Um, ok, that's a little too much kami-sama!" "HEY, WHY IS EVERYTHING TOO BRIGHT? IS TRUCK-KUN NOT AVAILABLE?" Closing her eyes, she pierced through the light of the Aurora. The confused girl collapsed on the meadow, not understanding this strange turn of events. But then a voice appears...

"Listen, little girl, I didn't want to do this, but something has happened in the world of YOUR... I can't be here this time because it's us. There will come a time when you realize that picking up the pieces is the last thing you want. There's not much time to explain, but every time we try to break this cycle, we end up back where we started. So this time, follow your heart, your mind, and your soul. You'll understand it all in due time. I was closer than my predecessor. If we don't stop, SHE will figure out what we did. You aren't who you think you are. You're

The voice, full of distortions and hoarse words, was gone.

Tsubasa could vaguely remember what that was all about. She opened her eyes and found herself in a new world.

"What the fu..."

Phase 1: The 13th Star Etched In History

Whoa, whoa, WHOAAAA!" Tsubasa had never seen such a turn of events. Tsubasa fell into a fit of madness and couldn't comprehend what had just happened. She found herself in a meadow with grassy fields, under a bright but different sun. To Tsubasa's dismay, she finds that her fall into another dimension has left her in a safe state, all things considered. Her body is as if it had remained untouched, but the thought of the shining light stings her memories. "What happened, anyway? What's going on here? Ah, my body seems unharmed, and I'm relatively fine...too fine." As Tsubasa continues to ponder her current situation, she also addresses her confusion about her surroundings. "What is this place anyway? None of this makes any sense. I'd better find my way around here."

Spatial manipulation? Time dilation? Distortion of reality? That would be a better hypothesis if it were theoretically proven, Tsubasa thought to himself. "But this is proof? Or I've been reading too much fictional nonsense." Tsubasa was the type of person who could rationalize any situation if there was any reason that made sense, but this wasn't considered; even she couldn't dismiss the reality of the situation as something normal. "First, what's the deal with this ominous big tower?" In the distance where Tsubasa was, there was a huge floating tower, the top of which was hidden in the clouds, while the bottom seemed to be directly above a city. Tsubasa's first response would be to be in an unfamiliar place, but that wasn't the only strange thing about her surroundings. Somehow the air, or rather, the atmosphere itself, felt familiar and sensitive. "Have I been here before?" To make sure, Tsubasa bit her tongue with her single sharp fang on the right side of her mouth (yaeba) without hesitation. OUCH, OK, OK, THIS IS REAL" (she nodded to herself).

Besides the city, the tower, and the grassy fields, only the mountains and the blue sky were visible. All the while, Tsubasa sat cross-legged and embraced the warmth of the meadows, and it felt like second nature that she did so without even a hint of knowledge of what had happened to her. Tsubasa's face was serious, as she couldn't help but inquire about the nearby town. "If it leads me to a better understanding of this place, then I'll hunt for that knowledge". With this unwavering determination, Tsubasa made her way to the city. The city was in sight, but it would be some time before she reached it on foot.

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"If not a hallucination, then an illusion created by my subconscious? This is racking my brain. For what reason am I here in the first place?". Tsubasa didn't much mind being 'summoned' to an alternate universe (as she suspects). Booding like this isn't any better, she thought to herself. Incomplete information is worse than having no information at all. That was one of Tsubasa's famous principles that made her so unique and smart compared to her classmates. " If the basic principles of natural physics are negligible here, does time even work here?" She pulled a pocket watch out of her right pocket (which she always carries with her to look cool and distinguished). "As I suspected, time works differently here". The hands of the pocket watch were stiff, and the longer Tsubasa examined it, the more the watch finally did something unexpected. "Why is it turning backward?" Tsubasa seemed genuinely shocked and outraged by this. The seconds and minutes ticked by, and the hands of the pocket watch turned in the opposite direction as intended. "This is getting out of hand, even for me." Tsubasa put the watch back in her pocket to ease her grief over this realm. Tsubasa gets tired when she walks for at least three hours at a time. Her slowness came mostly from the strain of unanswered thoughts, and she wasn't the athletic type in the least. She settles down on the flat and gentle ground while a cold yet warm breeze of that mysterious air flows in and out through her nostrils. She admitted that breathing this unfamiliar air made her calm and tired.

Unable to control her breathing, she embraced the heavenly aria and then quickly fell asleep.

"Mistress? Mistress? It's the time of the season, oh my." Tsubasa heard soft calls for her. She hesitated to answer, hoping the old man would disappear. " Mistress? I've got food." Tsubasa awoke from her slumber when she heard this. At least she had the decency and courtesy to entertain this stranger who called her 'mistress." Slowly, she opened her eyes. The man sighed with relief when he saw her awake. Tsubasa was even more tempted when the subject of food came up. The old man with a bald head looked at her with a worried look. Tsubasa replied with a calm and reassuring smile. He didn't seem like a bad person. If Tsubasa had to describe himself, his position would probably be that of a city dweller or a local merchant. "I'm a plant merchant, so no hard feelings". The man introduced himself as a grain merchant, moving from town to town to sell goods and make contacts. "Why would a young girl like you lie down at this time of year?" The man stared at him in confusion and asked, "And where do you think you come from? I've never seen clothes like that before." Although Tsubasa is indeed from another universe, she couldn't help but feel offended that this man would make fun of her fashion. A slightly embarrassed expression can be seen on her face. "Well, you know, haha, I'm not exactly from here."

The old man shook his head in confusion. Before he could ask any more questions, Tsubasa attacked him with her own barricades. "And what is this place?" She pointed to the large city with the ominous church steeple. The old man looked in amazement at what she had just said. "Young lady, are you perhaps still a little dizzy from sleeping? Maybe I should have let you sleep after all." "Sorry, I can't think straight," Tsubasa chortled to herself, trying to hide her suspicions. "Well, if you really don't know..." yes, I COMPLETELY FORGOT", Tsubasa quickly replied. "This city is nothing but the dragon heart city of the great 'Ryuken'. The man spoke with passion as he looked at the city in awe. "I'm sorry, did you say 'dragon'?" Tsubasa took a step back and raised his arms in shock. "Young miss, is your head doing itself any good?" She diverted her gaze from him with a pout. "So there are dragons there?". Tsubasa raised an eyebrow, confirming, "Of course, there aren't! Haha, they haven't existed for centuries!"

The old man chortled to himself. "This city is based on the cruel battle between 'Ryuken' and an evil swordsman, 'Grandmaster, centuries ago. "Why does this sound so familiar?" She thought to herself with great pain and frustration. She was snapped back to 'reality' as she remembered the most important thing... "Do you have anything to eat for a young girl like me?" Tsubasa beamed with widened puppy eyes and a polite posture, holding both hands together. The old man tossed her a bag of bread and potatoes. She immediately thanked him and began munching on the potatoes. "Take care of yourself, little one! This year's seasonal feast will be something to behold!" Before she could ask him again, he trotted off with his horse while her mouth was stuffed with food. "Wait a minute!" Tsubasa said, "Take the other horse to town!" Tsubasa extended her arm to him, which the man mistook for a farewell greeting.

sigh*

"Dragon Ryuken? Have I heard that before?" Her only train of thought from her conversation with the kind old man stood out, with even more questions than before. She furrowed her eyes in exasperation and placed her right hand thoughtfully on her chin.

"Giddy up!" ~

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