Cyrus Solaris
Ants.
The people in this city look like ants, from my mountain top view. They run around the city mindlessly, preparing for the solar eclipse festival.
I wanted my old life back, the life I was supposed to live as a prince of one of the Great clans of this world.
Now only three of us remain. My dad, my grandfather and me.
My father doesn't want revenge.
He says it's not the Solaris way.
But the solaris are gone.
And I am here.
So i'll become something else.
Today I awaken my power.
Today I begin to right their wrongs.
"Cyrus, it's time."
I rise from the edge of the cliff, turning my back on the city.
"Is the perimeter secure?" my father asks, shrugging off his coat, revealing his brown skin beneath a tank top.
"Yes. same as always," I reply.
My father exhales, "Good. It's time to begin. We only have a short window; otherwise, we'll have to wait years before we can try again. I need you to focus, Cyrus."
I nod and take my seat in the camp.
"I'm proud of you, son," my father says, placing one large hand gently on my shoulder.
"You've developed your celestial core faster than most. Earlier than I did.
But this next part of your journey… I can't help you with.
It's something you must face alone."
My father meets my eyes.
"Are you ready to awaken the Solaris Fate Constellation?"
"I'm ready."
"You may begin."
As my father speaks, his dark brown eyes glow a yellow-orange hue.
Energy radiates from his left, his celestial tattoo glowing as cosmic energy pours into it.
He casts a barrier around me, ensuring I won't be disturbed as I begin the trial.
With the barrier in place, I can feel an immense weight bearing down on me.
It isn't the pressure of my father's energy—it's the burden of being the last heir of the Solaris Clan.
The last to inherit the power of one of the strongest Fate Constellations.
The last to uphold the clan's sacred duty to maintain the world's peace.
A duty bestowed by the ancient Celestial Pantheon.
I push those thoughts aside and begin my breathing exercises.
Eyes closed, I slow my breath, letting it rise and fall like the tide of a distant ocean.
In.
Out.
With each breath, my celestial core stirs.
The deeper I breathe, the brighter it feels– like a star flickering to life in the dark.
Soon the sensations swell, a rush of cosmic energy gathering at my center.
It spreads through me in warm waves, intoxicating.
Euphoric.
With my core now filled, I expand my consciousness, searching for the rift where the barrier between the physical and astral realms is thin.
The mountains hum with something I can't quite name.
The rift feels closer here, easier to sense.
Ominous… yet strangely inviting, like it's calling to me.
I don't resist the pull. Following my father's teachings, I let the rift absorb me.
The transition is gentle at first, but then I feel a jolt, as if an invisible force is yanking me forward.
Stars and faint streams of light flash around me.
I tumble out of the wormhole, spinning and disoriented.
The world tilts as I struggle to steady myself.
When my vision finally clears, the sight before me leaves me awestruck.
I know this is a trail, and not the real astral realm, but I have never seen anything as beautiful.
An endless ocean of stars and celestial bodies stretches out before me.
Stars of every color, shape, and size illuminate the vast darkness.
"I made it... I finally made it," I whisper.
I want to savor the moment, but time is limited.
My father's teachings echo in my mind.
"This trial is all about resonance," I remind myself, my astral form hovering in the open expanse.
"I need to find the cluster of stars emitting the same frequency as my core."
Easier said than done. Millions, maybe billions, of stars surround me. Using the same technique I used to locate the astral rift, I release an impulse of cosmic energy.
The pulse ripples outward, bouncing off celestial bodies. Some pulses fade, while others return to me.
It was difficult to know which one to follow back. Father said only one signal should bounce back.
He was wrong.
I feel multiple tugs on my astral body.
One signal felt like a sharp heat,
Another felt dark and cold.
And another felt like the warm rays of the sun; it was faint and overshadowed by the others, but present.
This was the feeling my father told me to follow. It was the hardest to follow.
I pressed forward, commanding my astral body to float toward that faint signal, but this wide expanse had other plans.
Every inch I floated forward, I felt like I was caught in a game of tug of war, where neither party was willing to give up their prize.
My astral form flickered, signaling the emotional distress I felt.
I practiced and studied for two years for this moment, and it felt like it was crashing down on me.
I felt like a failure.
Suddenly, a force got the upper hand in the game of tug of war and began to drag my astral form across the expanse of stars.
I tried with all my might to fight against it and follow the signal of the Solaris constellation.
But I was too weak.
________________
(Ezra's POV)
I felt pride I hadn't felt in years, watching my son ready himself for his starbirth trial.
It was also bittersweet.
Normally, a starbirth trial wouldn't be done alone in the forest. It was a Solaris clan tradition to have everyone present to support a future starbound on their journey to connect to our pantheon's constellation.
An event that only happens during a solar eclipse.
During our time in hiding, my sole focus has been keeping him safe and preparing him for this moment.
I may have forgotten, at times, that he is more than just a pupil.
But until we escape this cursed continent, that's how it must be.
Now that he is safe in the barrier, I can shift my focus to the real threat: the astral behemoths drawing near.
Setting up an astral trial in the mountains is a double-edged sword. Rifts are easier to sense, but astral behemoths are drawn to cosmic energy, and rifts produce a lot, often drawing large amounts near them.
Earlier, I sensed a few of them in the area. Now, however, I feel an entire horde approaching.
The rustling of the bushes near the camp draws my attention.
I tie my braids behind my head, activate my Fate Constellation, and summon a sword forged of solar energy.
Five Serpents, each over six feet long, burst from the undergrowth. They were Void-borns, astral behemoths at the second stage of their evolution.
I sidestep the first serpent, slashing downward to sever its head.
The second serpent spits venom at me. I manifest a radiant shield in my left hand to block the attack while dodging the third serpent snapping at my ankles.
Normally, I'd use a solar wave to wipe out pests like these in an instant.
But doing so risks drawing attention to our location.
As I evade another strike, I let my shield dissolve, summoning a second sword instead.
With a burst of energy, I charge at the serpents.
Blazing arcs from my blades cut through three serpents in short order, while the rest were taken out by a single swing of the war hammer I conjured.
I dissolve the hammer, letting it fade away as I glance toward Cyrus.
His body was convulsing in the barrier.
Something went wrong in his trial.
I started to sweat profusely. This wasn't supposed to happen; he was prepared.
I made sure of it.
I darted over to the barrier. I wanted to help, but I knew if I did anything to his body, it would affect his trial.
I felt helpless.
I felt like a failure… again.
Then a powerful cosmic presence floods my senses.
The ground trembles beneath me as dull thuds grow louder, each one heavier than the last. My fists tighten as I recognize the sheer density of the energy approaching.
"Universe, give me a break?" I mutter under my breath.
The trees ahead part as an enormous figure steps into view.
A Chimera.
One at the rank of a Stellar Fiend, a behemoth in the third stage of its evolution.
Towering at eighteen feet tall, the beast's gleaming fangs drip with venom, and its serpent-like tail writhes menacingly behind it. Massive wings unfurl from its back, stirring the air as if readying to strike.
I summon another solar blade, its golden light cutting through the dim forest.
My heart pounds as I lock eyes with the beast.
This fight will be anything but easy, and I'll need to finish it without compromising Cyrus' trial.