Chapter 5

The Witch Queen Who Loved a Boy from Another World

This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, events, and settings are either from my imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or real events is purely coincidental.

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Chapter 5: Of Marks and Midnight Promises

Haruto stared at the bandage on his arm. It didn’t hurt anymore, but the memory of the Shade’s claws lingered like a shadow in his mind. The creature had felt… real. Not some dream, not a fantasy. Real. Dangerous. And it had come for him.

He sat on his bed in silence as the night wind brushed past the half-open window. Outside, the city glimmered like scattered stars — so normal, so unaware of the invisible war creeping in from another world.

A soft knock interrupted his thoughts.

He opened the door to find Celestia standing there with a small glowing crystal orb in her hand. Her golden eyes shimmered under the hallway light.

“May I come in?” she asked.

Haruto stepped aside. “Yeah…”

She walked in quietly, glancing around his modest room: bookshelves lined with manga, a desk cluttered with notes, and a worn futon in the corner. It was humble. Mortal. But it felt… safe.

“I brought something,” she said, holding out the orb.

“What is it?”

“Spelllight Stone. It will glow if corrupted energy is still in your body. Just to be sure.”

Haruto hesitated, then touched the stone.

It flickered… but held steady.

“No lingering curse,” she said in relief. “That’s a good sign.”

He exhaled slowly. “I’m glad one of us knows what they’re doing.”

Celestia turned to him, her expression softening. “You’re handling this better than you think, Haruto. You faced a creature most mortals would have fainted at the sight of.”

“I didn’t face it,” he muttered. “You did.”

She stepped closer. “But you stood your ground. You didn’t run.”

Silence fell between them. Then, softly, Celestia said, “You asked me yesterday why I chose you. Can I show you something?”

He blinked. “Show me what?”

She raised her hand, and in a swirl of magic, the room dimmed. The walls melted away into stars, like the universe had unfolded inside his bedroom.

And floating in the center of it all… was him.

Not him exactly, but a magical vision — Haruto as seen through Celestia’s eyes. He stood in the starlight, bruised, uncertain, but his eyes burned with quiet defiance. A small, steady light shone in his chest.

“That,” she whispered, “is the soul I saw in the Astral Mirror. The soul that won’t bow to darkness.”

Haruto stared in awe. “That’s… me?”

She nodded. “You’ve always had that light. Even when no one else saw it.”

And for the first time, Haruto didn’t feel like the boy who was always overlooked. He felt seen — truly, completely seen — by the most powerful person he’d ever met.

The stars faded. The room returned.

Celestia smiled. “Get some rest. We start advanced spellwork tomorrow.”

He nodded, his heart a storm of emotions.

As she turned to go, he stopped her. “Hey… Celestia.”

She glanced over her shoulder.

“Thanks. For choosing me.”

Her smile deepened, warm and almost shy.

“I’m glad I did.”

---

The next morning

The day began with chaos. Not magical chaos — just high school chaos.

Someone tripped in the hallway and knocked over three lunchboxes. A girl confessed to her crush and got rejected next to the vending machine. And Haruto spilled milk on his uniform during homeroom.

He thought magic was unpredictable — but high school had its own brand of madness.

Celestia, on the other hand, was thriving.

She had somehow joined the student council overnight, was now helping the cafeteria staff design a “mana-friendly” lunch option, and had accidentally turned the biology lab's skeleton into a dancing puppet.

“Is she even human?” someone whispered.

Haruto just shook his head. “Not even close.”

During lunch, she found him on the rooftop again.

“You look troubled,” she said, biting into a melon bread.

“Just wondering if my life will ever be normal again.”

“Probably not.”

“…Cool. Thanks.”

She giggled and tossed him a can of soda. “That’s the spirit.”

---

After school – Magic Practice

This time, Celestia brought him to an empty lot behind the school gym — a place shielded by enchantments.

“Today’s lesson: Barrier Formation.”

Haruto raised an eyebrow. “We’re skipping fire and going straight to defense?”

“You already exploded half the greenhouse. I’d like to keep this school standing.”

“…Fair.”

She knelt and drew a rune on the ground.

“This symbol channels protective magic. Your job is to activate it with intention.”

“Intention?”

“Think about what you want to protect — and why.”

Haruto stared at the rune. He closed his eyes.

Images rushed through his mind:

— His quiet walks home.

— The rooftop sunsets.

— His manga shelf.

— And her. Celestia, smiling despite carrying the weight of two worlds.

He opened his eyes. Whispered: “Aegis Lumina.”

The rune flared to life — a dome of golden light formed around them, shimmering like a bubble made of stars.

Celestia stared.

“That… was perfect.”

Haruto blinked. “Wait, really?”

“Better than perfect. Most mages can’t form that barrier until year two.”

He scratched his head. “Maybe I just had the right… intention.”

She smiled proudly. “You're learning fast.”

Before he could reply, the sky above them shifted.

Clouds twisted unnaturally. The air thickened.

And then — with a crack of shadow — a rift tore open above them.

A voice echoed from the rift: “Found you.”

Lazriel’s shade descended slowly, cloaked in a dark mist that blotted out the sun.

Haruto stumbled back. Celestia stood in front of him.

“Lazriel,” she growled.

He sneered. “Still clinging to your little toy boy?”

“Leave. Now.”

“Or what? You’ll toss sparkles at me?”

Celestia’s aura flared — her hair floating, her hands crackling with celestial light.

But before a battle could erupt, the rift began to close on its own — and Lazriel’s shadow was sucked back with it.

“Not yet,” he said with a grin. “But soon.”

And he vanished.

Haruto sank to the ground. “I’m not ready for this.”

Celestia turned to him. Her fierce expression softened.

“You don’t have to be ready. Just… willing.”

“I’m willing,” he whispered.

And this time, he meant it.

---

That night

Haruto stood on his balcony, gazing at the moon. He heard a soft rustle — Celestia was beside him, holding two mugs of cocoa.

“No training tonight,” she said. “Just stars.”

He took the mug, grateful.

They stood in silence.

Then he asked, “What was Lazriel like? Before he turned dark?”

Celestia looked pained. “He was once my friend. A brilliant mind. But he let ambition blind him. He believed merging the realms was the only way to protect magic. Even if it meant destroying yours.”

Haruto clenched his fist. “He won’t get the chance.”

Celestia looked at him.

“Swear to me,” she said, “no matter what happens… you won’t give in to fear.”

He looked back at her.

“I swear.”

They touched their mugs together like a promise sealed in starlight.

And for the first time in a long while, Haruto didn’t feel like just a boy.

He felt like a protector.

---

To be continued…

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