Little Pink Starfish

A fallout shelter is built to avoid something.

For example, bombardment. Not just simple missiles, but protection from devastating nuclear weapons calls for the construction of a shelter.

But it’s not only physical attacks from which a shelter aims to shield. The apocalyptic moment so firmly believed by doomsayers is profoundly religious, yet the preparations made under such faith are purely practical. Like someone who believes the world will someday be flooded buying land on higher ground.

What was it that her father feared?

Vanessa pondered while sitting opposite a table in the dim shelter.

She glanced over the countless preserved foods lining the walls, then recalled her father’s body, peacefully at rest as if asleep. He had spent most of his life inside the shelter, occasionally venturing out into the outside world to handle matters Vanessa never knew about—like wandering through a post-nuclear war world.

“No force that threatens this world will ever bring me down.”

Apparently, Mateo Bernstein had believed that.

Most of Vanessa’s upbringing took place inside that shelter. From the knowledge passed down by her father, she knew the one being threatening this world was none other than the Demon God. According to the books filling part of the shelter, the Demon God was a sort of devil.

In religious societies, devils have long been enemies threatening humanity. However, tracing back religious history, the concept of devils in one religion sometimes hinted at gods from another. Likely a consequence of power struggles among those distant from the divine voice before the Stars appeared.

In any case, Mateo Bernstein killed the Demon God.

But he never believed the one he killed was the true Demon God.

That was why he built such a massive shelter and guarded his only daughter like a treasure of the world.

‘No, he imprisoned her.’

Vanessa thought bitterly.

The man who became the world’s hero by killing a frail Demon God never fully believed his own accomplishment and one day suddenly died. His death was too ordinary for a hero who saved the world, but considering how many people die unexpectedly, there was nothing strange about it. Human life naturally comes with the right to futility.

“I’m going now, Father.”

Rising from her chair, Vanessa whispered.

The image of Mateo Bernstein Vanessa remembered resembled the shelter she grew up in.

So she was sure—her greeting drifting within the shelter might reach her father’s spirit.

“I want to possess the Demon God my father killed.”

If he heard this,

“That would be the legacy you left behind.”

What expression would the hero who saved the world wear?

Smiling to herself, Vanessa retraced her memories.

---

Mateo Bernstein’s shelter was discovered after his death.

Despite his fame, Mateo rarely appeared before the public.

This was because he understood the weight carried by his name. Since all Gates had closed and peace had come, his achievements could only be political rather than mythical. He traveled various countries preaching peace and sometimes served as a patron to politicians with vested interests.

Thus, the people assisting Mateo existed within the national political network, and the entrance to the secret shelter Mateo bought a castle to live in was found by his aides only after his death.

There was Vanessa Bernstein.

The only daughter of the hero who saved the world.

No one expected Mateo to have a family. He always acted alone, never revealed his private life, and was already quite old.

So Vanessa’s discovery became a major issue. The aides did not want the fact that Mateo raised his only daughter in a shelter to become public—it was an ethical issue.

Vanessa, grown into a mature woman, was close to a mere girl. She had believed a tiny iron fortress to be the whole world, and when she faced the sky and earth learned only through knowledge, she smiled purely.

But that smile would soon vanish without a trace. What awaited Vanessa was the process of handling her father’s estate and choosing whether to step forward as Mateo Bernstein’s daughter or continue living as an unacknowledged figure.

So Vanessa narrowed her eyes.

Before her lay Mateo Bernstein’s gravestone.

A simple monument honoring his life. Beyond it, only poor bushes and a small village could be seen.

Mateo’s body was secretly buried in his hometown. His death was still unknown to the public, and once revealed, the rural scenery would vanish quickly.

The funeral was led by dignitaries. Some were rulers of countries; others, heads of corporations more powerful than nations. Watching the ceremony, Vanessa reflected on this. Once all was done, she faced Mateo’s grave alone.

No, not alone.

Turning her head, Vanessa saw a middle-aged woman dressed in a suit standing some distance away.

‘An aide, right?’

She had studied the meaning of that role. Yet having someone continuously trailing behind her shadow in this wide world was more unpleasant than she had expected.

“Everyone at the funeral… seemed afraid.”

So Vanessa spoke with a touch of spite.

“Of me being known as Mateo Bernstein’s daughter.”

“Of course.”

The aide nodded.

“The public will be shocked.”

Calm certainty.

“No one expected your existence. To the public, your father was special. They never believed he had family or children like ordinary people. They thought of him as a martyr who sacrificed everything for world peace.”

But suddenly, here appeared his grown daughter.

That would surely be a shock.

“Interesting.”

Vanessa smiled.

“Or not. Is it not interesting? Some will refuse to believe I’m Mateo Bernstein’s daughter, even with test results. Others will blindly believe in me. The daughter of a hero long gone. We are clearly different humans, but some may see us as the same.”

The choice is hers alone.

Vanessa knew that well.

What Mateo left her were a vast castle, accumulated wealth, and countless artifacts now dormant since the Gates closed. Vanessa knew nothing about how to use any of it. Still, she understood the immense authority granted to her.

“I do not want to remain a secret.”

Vanessa said to the aide.

“When my father’s death is announced, I want to show myself to the world.”

“That is not my decision to make…”

“I know. It is mine.”

Vanessa shrugged.

“Not anyone else’s. You may whisper about my father’s death whenever and wherever you like. I offer his life. But how I live in this world is entirely my choice.”

Right? she asked, turning away from Mateo’s grave.

“My life is mine.”

.

.

.

But some lives belong to gods.

Long ago, there were those who dedicated their whole lives to gods. From birth, they believed in gods, kept their purity until death, and finally joined the gods after dying. The most devout clergy’s names are recorded in history.

‘But nowadays…’

Vanessa smiled softly.

‘…other lives belong to gods.’

Thinking that, she gazed at the brilliantly shining space around her.

The Sanctuary.

Where Stars and humans meet. When the Gates opened, sanctuaries appeared worldwide as intermediaries between hunters and Stars, but now served other purposes.

Vanessa was there. Breathing in an otherworldly air tinged with blue.

“Welcome, Miss Bernstein. I am Brother Pedro, the administrator here.”

A man in priest’s robes bowed politely.

“I was waiting for you to make a contract.”

“Thank you.”

Vanessa returned the bow calmly, then stepped forward toward a shining fragment of a star at the center of the sanctuary.

“Wait, the procedure—”

Brother Pedro began to speak, but Vanessa ignored him.

She simply placed her hand on the star fragment. Touching it allows a human body to access the realm of the Stars. Then the Stars peer into the human who entered their domain and finally request a contract. The life of a human who contracts with a god naturally belongs to that god.

[Welcome to the domain of the Stars.]

A voice came from above amid a white haze.

[The Stars watch your figure…]

Ignoring it, Vanessa opened her mouth.

‘I do not want the Stars.’

The voice did not escape her lips. But if the gods truly watched her, they would surely know even her thoughts.

‘What I want is the Demon God.’

She continued her thoughts.

‘The one who made my father a hero and, at the same time…’

The source of the calamity that threatened this world.

‘…I want to possess the Demon God.’