Screeech―!!
The car Starbright was driving came to a sudden stop.
I quickly grabbed my seatbelt and clenched my teeth. Starbright’s body jolted as he gripped the steering wheel.
<…Good grief.>
With a bitter sneer, Starbright muttered.
<The desires of creatures are truly foolish.>
It would have been proper to ask what he meant, but I kept my mouth shut and looked out the car window.
‘This is….’
It was a familiar scene. The sight I saw after the final stage when I participated in CYB. The crowd filling the city seemed frozen as if caught by a braking mechanism.
Had time stopped? Like what Enoch did.
I thought so for a moment, but it didn’t take long to realize that wasn’t the case. The power I received from Starbright was allowing me to perceive things beyond ordinary human cognition. It was as if cracks had formed in the souls filling people’s bodies. In other words, countless fine lines were etched across their forms. It felt like if I applied force, they would be cut along those lines.
“…Shall we get out.”
I asked, looking at Starbright.
Starbright nodded and opened the driver’s door.
We got out of the car and stood in the middle of the road. The crowd frozen in motion, the vehicles that had been speeding now completely halted. I looked beyond the skyscrapers that looked even colder than usual.
There was a Gate.
I had studied this before. The giant passage called a Gate. The Gate, split open in dark crimson, looked as though the sky had opened its mouth. Demonic beasts and demons invaded the human realm through Gates, and their very presence converted the surrounding environment into that of Hell.
<Strictly speaking, that is not the Gate you know.>
Starbright said in a calm tone.
Starbright had already unfolded his ashen wings and was gazing into the void.
“It’s… a little different, for sure.”
I narrowed my eyes. Normally, Gates were tinged as if soaked in blood, sustained by grotesque magical lines resembling tangled veins. But the Gate that had appeared above us now was shaped differently from all the photos and videos I had seen countless times.
Spotless white. An empty, pure white filled the inside of the Gate. The strands of magic supporting it looked more like electronic circuits than veins.
<The Gates you know are passages to Hell. It’s more accurate to call them Gates of Hell. But what we are seeing now is a passage to the Celestial Realm… in other words, Heaven’s Gate.>
“…Heaven’s Gate.”
I repeated Starbright’s words. My head wasn’t functioning well.
“Why has that opened?”
<It means the angels have made their move.>
As soon as Starbright finished speaking, feather-like things began to fall from the Gate. Distant soft white dots. They were all angels. Dressed in white robes with white wings, countless angels were descending from the Gate.
“Starbright is correct.”
Suddenly, with a light footstep, a voice came from behind.
“…Dojin.”
Madojin landed behind us with his wings spread.
<The Celestial Realm has begun to move.>
Starbright asked Madojin.
“Yes.”
Madojin calmly affirmed.
“Aiden’s work seems to have entered the final stage faster than expected. Those are guardian angels who have arrived to escort the new constellation. In other words….”
They may be the ones we have to confront.
Madojin murmured so.
“W-wait. You mean we’re going to confront angels?”
I couldn’t understand. With Mika, the leader of the angels bearing the title The Archangel Who Cast Down the King of Hell, supporting us, shouldn’t the angels be controllable?
“They have no reason.”
Looking into the distance, Madojin spoke.
“If it were high-ranking angels with reason, my master could persuade them. But guardian angels are the lowest rank among angels. They act without reason, following the rules set by The Savior Who Is One and All, performing good deeds within those laws. The less reason involved, the easier it is to achieve the most universal good.”
<Indeed. You understand well. You’ve grown familiar with the workings of the Celestial Realm.>
“I have been continuously learning from my master.”
<Do you understand, creature.>
Starbright turned his gaze to me.
<Those guardian angels will take Aiden into the domain of the constellations. There, he will undergo the process of becoming a constellation. If Aiden becomes a constellation, everything that has happened will be dismissed as a minor commotion. Whether a few souls shatter or chaos ensues in the human world… such things are minor sacrifices for the birth of a new god.>
“What do I have to do?”
I squeezed my barely functioning reasoning and asked Starbright. Right now, following Starbright’s orders was the right choice.
<I will move together with Mikael.>
Starbright said, flying into the air.
<What is your master doing right now?>
“He is communicating with the Celestial Realm in his office.”
Madojin answered Starbright’s question.
<Seeing the guardian angels descend, it seems the negotiations did not go as planned. He will need my help, so I will go there. Do you understand my meaning?>
Madojin nodded.
“I will assist Eunyul.”
<Good.>
After a light chuckle, Starbright looked at me.
<Creature, Mikael and I will join you as soon as possible. In the meantime, pursue Aiden with this apprentice angel. Aiden is likely about to complete the creation stage successfully.>
After saying that, Starbright looked around.
<Creating a being requires countless sacrifices of life. Creation is inherently inefficient. Even for humans, many lives are sacrificed just to sustain one person for a single day.>
I nodded.
“…I know.”
A person devours countless bits of life simply to survive a day. Creation is the beginning of sustaining life. Countless souls would be consumed to restore a vanished existence. Aiden must have mobilized countless souls to restore Jeong Hangyeol.
<One last confirmation. You refuse to accept that, don’t you?>
I silently nodded.
<Good. Then rampage like a hero.>
That remark tickled me somehow.
With a faint smile, Starbright swiftly flew across the sky. Watching Starbright’s rapidly disappearing form, I turned my gaze to Madojin.
“Dojin, we…”
We had to pursue Aiden. If we followed the guardian angels’ trail, we would naturally reach Aiden. We had to stop him before Jeong Hangyeol’s restoration was complete.
“Are you ready?”
Madojin asked, standing beside me.
“Jeong Hangyeol was someone who died an unjust death. Aiden is doing everything to restore Jeong Hangyeol, who left after living a miserable life. His goal isn’t to become a constellation. It’s to complete Jeong Hangyeol.”
“I know.”
For Aiden, becoming a constellation was simply a necessary step for his actions. He was acting solely to revive Jeong Hangyeol.
Jeong Hangyeol had died after enduring a miserable life, suffering under the blades aimed at those exposed to the public, ending her life by erasing her very existence. Not simply suicide, but erasure—perhaps because she feared the pain her death would cause others. Probably so. I thought I might have done the same. Without realizing it, I found myself understanding her choice.
“Even if she comes back like this, I don’t think Jeong Hangyeol would be happy.”
I muttered with a sigh.
“Life isn’t made up of joy alone.”
Madojin spoke calmly.
“Aiden isn’t bringing her back to make her happy. Even if she comes to resent him, he hopes she can still live that life. That’s why he commits this wrongdoing. It’s a profoundly human judgment.”
“…That’s true.”
Everything was human.
Jeong Hangyeol died as a human, and Aiden wants to revive her as a human. I’m blocking Aiden simply out of human repulsion. And yet, the involvement of constellations in this whole process confuses me. Without the power of constellations, Jeong Hangyeol couldn’t have disappeared like this. Likewise, without it, Aiden wouldn’t have conceived of reviving her.
And I wouldn’t even be involved without the power of constellations.
“Let’s go, Eunyul.”
Madojin reached out his hand to me.
“Flying will be easier than walking.”
“…Okay.”
I grasped Madojin’s hand.
“I really hate heights though…”
Hearing my words, Madojin smiled faintly.
“I believe I told you before. There’s no need to be afraid.”
Supporting me, Madojin began to rise into the air.
As we climbed higher, the sound of the wind howled fiercely in my ears.
“I won’t let you fall, Eunyul.”
Madojin’s small voice whispered.
A few days ago, at a café downtown.
“Since I was young….”
In the midst of the bustling voices, Aiden spoke.
“…I wanted to become a singer. I don’t know exactly when I started thinking that way. At some point, I just thought it was really cool to sing in front of people.”
Aiden stirred the cold espresso with a straw. That’s right. He couldn’t really remember when he first wanted to become a singer. Was it because it simply looked cool? Or perhaps there was some artist he admired but couldn’t recall. If he couldn’t remember, it simply remained vague. So, thinking back on it now, Aiden concluded that it was meaningless.
“What about you?”
He asked the boy sitting across from him.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
From a child’s perspective, adults aren’t complete just by being called adults. To a child, an adult must always possess some sort of expertise. That’s why children don’t dream of becoming adults.
They dream of becoming a being.
Aiden knew that very well.
“I…”
The boy sitting across from Aiden opened his mouth.
“…I want to become a soldier.”
The boy, Shim Juna, said.
“Because I want to protect people.”
“I see.”
Aiden smiled faintly.
“That’s a wonderful dream.”
Aiden spoke in a calm tone.
Licking the espresso droplet clinging to the straw, Aiden smiled.
The more wonderful a dream, the harder it is to achieve.
Aiden knew that all too well.
Aiden’s reflection wavered faintly in the dark espresso.
Little Pink Starfish 
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