“Star, listen closely,” her grandmother said gently. “Our ancestors met that hero over a thousand years ago, and he bestowed his blessing upon us all.”

“He lived in this house for decades. Strangely, though, he never aged. Even after all those years, he remained as youthful as a seventeen-year-old.”

“He also said that thousands of years after his departure, a new hero would be born to save Atlantia. That chosen one… is you, Star.”

Star’s eyes widened at her grandmother’s words. She could hardly believe what she was hearing. Struggling to process the revelation, she asked,

“Why didn’t you or Grandpa ever tell me this before?”

“Because the hero told us to wait until your eighteenth birthday,” her grandfather replied. “That way, you would be ready. That’s also why your grandmother never stopped you from training in Odinshold Village.”

“I-I still can’t believe this...” Star murmured.

Her grandfather stood from his chair and quietly walked into his bedroom. After a few moments, he returned, carrying an old, weathered black box retrieved from the wardrobe. He approached his granddaughter and handed the box to her.

Star opened it slowly and gasped. Inside lay a silver necklace with an eight-pointed star pendant and a sword-shaped emblem resting at its center.

She immediately compared the necklace to her own Gnosis. The design matched perfectly.

“This is the emblem the nameless hero left behind,” her grandmother explained. “Our family has safeguarded it for generations. And now... it belongs to you.”

“You saw him in your dream, didn’t you?” her grandmother asked.

Star blinked, surprised.

“How did you know? I haven’t told anyone.”

“Because he foresaw everything, Star. Even the day you’d be born,” her grandmother replied softly. “But sadly, no one in the village remembers what he looked like—or even his name.”

Star fell silent. The idea that the hero had predicted so much, even millennia in advance, left her shaken.

She hesitated. But eventually, she found the courage to speak.

“Alioth... His name is Alioth, Grandma.”

“Ah... so he told you,” her grandmother said with a knowing smile. “No one ever thought to ask him back then. That’s why everyone eventually forgot who he was. They only remember his legend—his deeds. No one knows where he came from.”

Star gently closed the box and looked down at the pendant resting in her palm. It felt heavier than metal—like it carried the weight of an entire legacy.

A whisper of wind slipped through the wooden cracks of the house, making the candle flames flicker. Her grandmother’s expression suddenly shifted, eyes narrowing toward the window.

“The air feels strange tonight…” she murmured.

Star glanced outside.

The stars were vanishing—one by one.