PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

A future where Desmond never came to Serefia, where Cecilia was alone. In that future, Cecilia managed to survive many tribulations on her own. However, some things did not change, such as Nana’s death and the church’s accusation of Cecilia.

A future where Cecilia was falsely accused and brought to trial. She was found guilty and sentenced to the guillotine for a public execution. Seeing Cecilia beheaded was even worse than Desmond’s pain in his last battle in the plaza. Then Desmond saw it; the birth of a Celestial, and the vision ended.

When Desmond finally finished experiencing the vision, his body was drenched in sweat, and his breathing was a mess. A fistful of salt was probably less bitter than Desmond’s expression at the moment.

Barely getting any regular breathing, Desmond stood up to question the archangel. “What the hell was that? Was that still Cecilia, or was it someone else?”

Only now did Desmond realize that some things had happened while experiencing his vision. Katya sits on the clearing grass with Cecilia’s head in her lap. The archangel’s hands did not stop gently caressing Cecilia’s hair.

“That is how most Celestials have been born, though not the only way. Answering your second question is a bit complicated. That Celestial in your vision was a shadow, a remnant of Cecilia turned into something else. In a way, she was and wasn’t Cecilia.”

Katya answered some of Desmond’s doubts but brought new questions for the young hunter. Seeing how Katya treated Cecilia affectionately, Desmond understood that the archangel was less ruthless than she appeared. However, subtlety wasn’t her strong suit, of course.

Sensing some doubt in Desmond’s mind, Katya took the initiative to clarify. “You ask yourself if I am the same. The answer is yes. I was born from cruel and bloody tragedy, although the details do not matter now. That was almost a thousand years ago; I don’t usually think about it much. However, meeting this girl brought back old memories, so I decided to intervene. You don’t know enough about the celestials to know this, but we don’t actively seek to ensure the birth of our species, At least not the way I was born. It goes against everything we are to seek to put others through the tragedies and injustices that created us.”

.....

This was one of the few times Desmond managed to see through the impenetrable armor of stoicism around Katya; he saw vulnerability and a strong kindness focused on Cecilia.

Although Katya’s reasons and attitude were convincing, something did not quite add up. “But you still needed Cecilia’s divine spark, didn’t you?”

Katya didn’t bother to deny her intentions. “That spark would go away on its own over time. Cecilia deviated from her destiny; she lost that decisive moment that would allow her to be reborn and the potential to be a Celestial. Sabotaging the birth of one of my kind is unorthodox. Still, my intention was always to keep Cecilia safe. Obtaining the dying divine spark from her greatly benefited me; I won’t deny it; there is no point in denying it.”

Although Katya’s face became unreadable again, Desmond still believed in the archangel. Which led Desmond to his next question. “What will happen to her now?”

Desmond would swear he saw Katya smile for a microsecond. So, she replied. “That will be her decision. Well, in a way, it can also be considered your decision since she is quite determined to follow you wherever you go. Although I suppose you already knew that.”

Katya was silent for a second before asking a rather strange question. “Did you know I can tell a person’s name by seeing them? It’s not a very useful skill for me; I don’t have many ways to take advantage of such information.”

Desmond didn’t understand why Katya was making such a comment. Of course, that didn’t stop him from responding. “Still sounds useful; at least it saves you some time in conversations.”

Katya did not respond immediately; instead, she passed her hand over Cecilia’s head, leaving behind a faint light trail, writing a name in the air.

“This is the name that appears when I see her.”

Desmond didn’t need to know more. Cecilia Astryd, that was the name written above the priestess’s head. Desmond came over and sat next to Cecilia, looking at her with some tenderness.

“She’s family now; she must go with me.”

“Humans are strange.” Katya replied. She was silent for a moment and continued. “I am afraid I am only a shadow of what I once was. I am no longer someone who can understand love... but I can understand faith. She has a lot of faith in you; If you betray her, I will give you a fate worse than death.”

Being under Katya’s murderous gaze was like being stroked by needles, a feeling Desmond didn’t enjoy; Fortunately, it was temporary.

Desmond was smart enough to change the subject. “What about Cecilia’s abilities? Will she lose them now that she no longer has the spark?”

“I think you misunderstand something. The spark has a great deal of energy, which is incredibly pure. Still, as long as Cecilia didn’t become a Celestial, that spark wouldn’t change anything in her. The abilities you’ve seen her display have nothing to do with the spark. It’s normal for the girl not to know; most of her kind are born orphans.”

Desmond was forced to interrupt at that point. “Wait, what do you mean? I thought she was human. The only thing not human about her was the spark.”

A small sigh escaped Cecilia’s lips, who seemed to be about to regain consciousness from her. Noticing this, Katya gently moved away from her. Standing up, Katya spread her wings fully, clearly preparing to leave.

“There’s not much to say about what she is. If you ignore how most of them are born, her species isn’t particularly different from humans. Although, of course, she has an innate affinity with the mana of light and has a special way of understanding and wielding it. She will understand in time the extent of her abilities and her potential. Eventually, I’m sure she’ll want to know more about it, so I can at least tell you her race name: Starchild.”

Seeing that Cecilia was beginning to wake up, Katya took out two objects. “I took the liberty of doing a couple of things for you with the carcass of that stupid feathered serpent.”

The mention of a feathered serpent immediately brought Skaylos’s name to Desmond’s mind. However, seeing the two items in Katya’s hands almost made Desmond cough up blood. More specifically, the sight of one of the two objects nearly gave Desmond a seizure.

A beautiful feather fan rested in Katya’s right hand. The handle was emerald green, and the feathers were milky white, turning a deeper shade of pink towards the tips. It was a piece of exquisite craftsmanship, but that wasn’t what gave Desmond the shock.

“You seriously killed him and made a fan out of his body.” Desmond said in a tired voice.

Katya tilted her face a little to her side, showing apparent confusion. “I assume you mean that threat I made to the snake the first time we met. An archangel always keeps their word. However, you are slightly wrong. For the fan, I only use its four wings and its tail. Use the rest of your body for the sword.”

Desmond needed every ounce of willpower within him not to curse out loud. Only then did Desmond have the energy to look at the sword mentioned by Katya.

Desmond raised an eyebrow at the sight of the weapon in its holster. Katya called it a sword, but the shape and size of the weapon were a little different than Desmond expected.

From the base of the handle to the tip, the sword was only about two feet long. This was not perfectly straight and had a fairly marked curvature on the side opposite the edge. The hilt had dense patterns of tiny scales that ended in a snake’s head, just where the sword’s edge began. The snake head was small and not at all ostentatious apart from the tiny feathered mane. This detail was so small that it could barely meet the minimum standard for a guard.

Desmond wasn’t precisely a swordsman, as he only practiced on a couple of these when his father taught him; he was always more of a fan of firearms. However, Desmond vaguely remembered that this type of sword was commonly seen in the Far East.

“Is that a Kodachi?” Desmond couldn’t help but ask.

“I don’t know what they call it in your world.”

“I had not thought of that. Wait, you said you used the entire snake carcass to make these two items; how come they look so small compared to the snake?”

“I refine them very carefully. It may surprise you, but the materials were barely enough. After all, it’s not easy to create such type of artifact.”

“What type?”

“You will understand in time.”

The golden shimmer on Katya’s wings mixed with a new piece of silver that hadn’t been there before, and Desmond knew she was about to leave. “Don’t you want to say anything to her?”

Seeing Desmond pointing at the newly awakened Cecilia, Katya responded. “Only you can choose your own destiny. Follow him or not; that is your decision and no one else’s.”

Cecilia understood that Katya was referring to the prophecy she had given her. The priestess looked at Desmond with a hint of fondness and trust. Then Cecilia turned to Katya and nodded her thanks.

“It is time for me to go. One tip: If you ever run into an electrifying type of problem, you should use that thing the fairy queen gave you; it will bring you a surprise. We will meet again, young hunter. One last warning: No pillar can withstand the sands of time, the false balance is gone, many promises have been broken, and impostors can no longer escape the truth. A new era is coming, and no one can prevent it. The only question is whether you’ll be ready when the time comes.”