The Sovereign’s Claim

Every angel in the hall straightened the second Hinako stepped forward. Light bent toward her like obedient metal. Air thickened until even a shallow breath felt like trespassing. Even the angelic king and queen lowered their heads, acknowledging the being whose authority eclipsed theirs.

Akihiro bowed deeply. His body felt carved from tension, each muscle straining as if holding back the weight of the entire world.

“Prince Akihiro,” Hinako said. Her voice rang through the chamber like a quiet command embedded into the very bones of reality. “Present my Guardians.”

He rose, every movement measured. “As you command, Your Majesty.”

Sora, Mizuki, Kaori, Hikari, and Aihana stepped forward. Five elemental signatures flared into existence around them, painting the golden hall in impossible colors. Lightning arced through the pillars. Blossoms of living water spun upward and froze midair. Shadows rippled like ink in zero gravity. Aihana’s light began softly, warm, comforting… and then it surged, intense enough to make the marble floors hum.

Hinako’s breath caught.

Not from power.

From recognition.

Her daughters.

All five. Hidden among mortals for years, surviving by fate alone.

Her voice trembled at the edges, though her composure remained steel. “Rise, my daughters. You bow to no one, least of all me. You are Arc-princesses, heirs of the High Celestial Dominion, entrusted with the Earth and all realms under my watch.”

Shock detonated through the hall. Even the walls seemed to inhale.

Akihiro froze mid-breath, his body caught between shock and disbelief. Rei’s usual composure crumbled, leaving only raw, unguarded tension. Ayame’s face drained of color. Daichi’s knees wavered, barely holding him upright. Kaito stiffened, a chill racing down his spine as if ice had been poured through his bones.

Sora’s lips parted, disbelief hanging on her tongue. Mizuki staggered, unsteady on her feet. Hikari clenched her fists so tightly her knuckles ached. Kaori’s hand trembled as she pressed it to her mouth, silent and stunned.

Aihana whispered, voice barely audible. “No… I can’t be. I’m human. I have a family… I have a life… I’m—”

Hinako softened, though her authority did not waver. “You were sent to Earth. I did not know where you would fall, who would find you, or if you would survive at all. All of you… were left to fate.” Her gaze lingered on Aihana. “You were fortunate. You were found, nurtured, loved. The others… not so much. You are not mortals. You are mine.”

Aihana stepped back until she bumped into Akihiro’s wing, flinching. Fear and awe warred on her features.

Hinako moved closer. The power around her vibrated like a heartbeat, each pulse drawing the hall taut with tension. “Aihana… you are the strongest of your sisters. Your power rivals mine. You will go with me. And your union,” she murmured, almost to herself, “would imperil the future of Earth.”

Instinct surged through Akihiro. Wings unfurled in a protective arc that seemed to push reality itself aside. “Your Majesty… I cannot believe that our love would endanger Earth. I… I will not let you take her,” he said, voice steady but thick with desperation.

It was a futile gesture. Facing Hinako directly was like challenging the sun with bare hands. Yet instinct had no choice.

The king stepped forward, voice strained but calm. “Your Majesty… surely there is another path. The realms have survived powerful unions before.”

The queen added, “They are young. Their power is still forming. To separate them now… it will only deepen fractures that cannot heal.”

Hinako’s eyes softened, and for a fleeting instant, her mask slipped. “You speak as rulers. I speak as the one who sees the futures you cannot.”

Light surged beneath her feet.

The hall itself seemed to warp. The forests surrounding Tama Hills shimmered faintly through the walls, urban Tokyo’s neon glow bleeding into the space, twisted into sigils, like a map of human reality overlaid with divine law. The air shimmered, charged with energy, scenting of rain, concrete, and ozone. It was urban magic colliding with celestial authority.

Aihana’s eyes widened, panic breaking through. “Your Majesty… please… I don’t want this.”

Hinako’s voice cracked slightly. “I know.”

Then she raised her hand.

Golden light coiled around Aihana, slow and deliberate, curling over her arms, waist, and legs. The room’s heartbeat slowed, as if the hall itself were holding its breath.

“Aihana!” Akihiro lunged, his fingers closing around hers. His voice broke, raw and trembling. “Stay with me! Don’t leave! I’m right here! I won’t let anyone take you!”

Tears streamed down Aihana’s cheeks, molten and golden in the divine light. “I don’t want to disappear… Akihiro, please…”

Her fingers began to blur, edges dissolving into mist.

Hikari screamed, the sound tearing through the charged silence. “She’s fading!”

Kaori slammed her hands against the invisible barrier. “Hinako! Stop! Please, stop!”

Mizuki’s powers surged, slashing toward the aura—but when they touched Hinako’s magic, they scattered like sand in wind.

Sora banged against the barrier, sobs shaking her body.

Aihana’s form thinned. Her legs became translucent, her torso flickered. Her voice trembled as it broke apart. “Akihiro… don’t let go… I love—”

Akihiro’s hands remained clasped in the air, bones glowing under the strain, cracking softly with the effort. “Aihana! Stay! I won’t let you go!” His voice was ragged, a mixture of anguish, disbelief, and defiance. “Don’t fade! I’m right here! Please… I love you!”

But her fingers no longer had substance. They passed through his, and she did not fall—she thinned like smoke dissolving in sunlight.

Her final whisper drifted across his palms.

“Akihiro…”

As Aihana vanished, Hinako’s form dissolved upward, golden particles streaming into the same unseen realm. Her gaze lingered—a final look heavy with sorrow and authority.

Silence crashed over the hall.

Akihiro fell to his knees, hands still poised as if holding hers. His chest heaved, breaths broken, shallow, painful.

The king closed his eyes, devastated. The queen pressed a trembling hand to her lips.

Rei’s thoughts coiled like steel: No one can oppose Hinako. No one. But… this will not end good.

Above, in the celestial chambers, Aihana lay on her bed, enveloped in gold light. Her breaths were shallow, fragile, as if the world itself might shatter them. Her hands reached instinctively toward Akihiro, toward Earth—but he was beyond reach.

Back in the hall, Akihiro whispered, voice raw:

“She took her from me… but I will get her back. Whatever she is. Whatever I am. Whoever I must face.”

Even the light seemed to pause, frozen in reverence.