Chapter 1:
Chapter 1 — Ortus Stellae Novae | The Birth of a New Star
Lunaris vitae
In one of the rooms sat a high school boy, completely absorbed in something before him.
The boy was currently outlining the plot for his next manga.
His name was—
Mihoshi Hikaru.
> [Mihoshi Hikaru, age 17.He lives with his aunts and is currently a high school student in Tokyo.He also works as a manga artist.Two years ago, he posted a manga on the platform “Twitcher,” which quickly gained attention.Since then, he devoted most of his free time to drawing manga and managed to support himself through his work.After two years, that series finally came to an end, and he decided to begin a new one…However, at the moment, he was completely stuck in a creative block.]
“…Maybe I should take a break. I’m starting to get hungry anyway.”Just then, his phone rang.
“Hm? Who’s calling at a time like this…?” He picked up his phone to check—
“…Wait—1:33 PM?!”His eyes widened.
“Oh no—! I’m late!”
Mihoshi hurriedly answered the call. On the other end was his friend, Daisuke Kosuke.
“Mihoshi… please tell me you didn’t forget about our movie plans.”
“Uh… about that—”On the other side, Daisuke let out a small sigh, rubbing his forehead.
“…I can’t believe this. Well, there’s still some time. Just hurry and get here before it starts. I’ll wait.”
“I’m sorry, Ko-kun. I’m heading out right now!”
14:00
Mihoshi sprinted toward the movie theater as fast as he could, determined to make it in time to meet Daisuke.
And finally—
“Mihoshi! Over here!” Daisuke waved at him. Completely out of breath, Mihoshi dropped to one knee, struggling to steady his breathing.
“Hah… hah… made it… just in time…”“Good thing you don’t live far away,” Daisuke said. “Otherwise, today’s ‘movie plan’ would’ve turned into something else entirely.”
“S–sorry… I got too caught up thinking about a new plot and lost track of time…”Daisuke reached out a hand and helped Mihoshi up, glancing at the time.
“Let’s go. The movie’s about to start.”
Time passed, and the two eventually exited the theater, chatting about the scenes they had just watched.
On their way home, Daisuke brought up school.
“Oh, right—Mihoshi. You need to take your studies more seriously next term. If you focus only on manga, you’ll regret it later. Even Seika-sensei is worried about you.”
“I know… but if I don’t—”“I get it. I know you want to finish your next manga as soon as possible.But if you fail your exams and have to repeat a year, once I start university, we won’t get to see each other as much.”
“Hm~? Ooooh~?So you don’t want to be separated from me that badly, huh~? Looks like someone’s getting lonely~”“D–don’t say weird things! I just—”
They stopped at a crossroads.“Just what~?”
“…Forget it. I feel like whether I say something back or not, the result won’t change anyway.”
Daisuke chuckled softly and waved.“I’m heading home. See you. And don’t forget about your studies.”
Turning away with a slightly embarrassed expression—clearly influenced by Mihoshi’s earlier comment—Daisuke headed down his street.
Mihoshi laughed quietly and continued walking, lost in thought. “Maybe… I really should take a break.I’ll read a little when I get home, then go to sleep.”
Back at home, Mihoshi opened Twitcher and began typing.
> Announcement regarding my next manga:Due to needing to focus on my studies, I won’t have time to work on a new manga for a while.I’ll be prioritizing school first.I’m really sorry… but I promise I’ll come back and continue writing for sure! ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ
“…That should do it.”Three Years Later…
After graduating, Mihoshi chose not to attend university with Daisuke.Instead, he lived an ordinary life—working a regular job, earning just enough to get by day after day.
Daisuke moved to live closer to his university. He still came back to visit from time to time, but in the end, Mihoshi was left alone...
“Tomorrow’s the afternoon-to-evening shift, huh…”After finishing his part-time job at the convenience store, Mihoshi returned home, changed his clothes, and collapsed onto his bed.
“Ahhh~ my beloved bed…It’s 6:23 PM now. If I sleep now, I’ll probably knock out for good…What should I do…”
His gaze drifted toward his laptop.“How many years has it been… since I last drew manga?I do want to start again… but lately, the spark just isn’t there anymore.Maybe it’s because I stayed away for too long… or maybe…this is just the age where you have to focus too much on work, huh…”
He got up, opened his laptop, and logged into Twitcher.
“Let’s see… ah, there it is!”He stared at the last post he had written three years ago.Some comments were still waiting for his return. Others asked, “Did you quit drawing?”
As he kept scrolling, he finally made up his mind to post something.
“Alright… since I’ve been gone so long…”
> “Ah—! ༼⁰o⁰；༽Sorry for disappearing for so long, everyone!I haven’t had much time lately…Is anyone still waiting for me?”“…That should be enough.”Click.
“Well then… I’ll grab something to eat and go to sleep.I’ll think about manga tomorrow.”
As he lay there, a single thought surfaced in his mind—
Is this really the life I want?
A faint notification sound came from his phone, and then—
(O slumbering star, awaken… and fulfill my will.)
Mihoshi’s eyes flew open.
His heart raced as the mysterious voice echoed inside his head.But what he saw wasn’t his room—It was darkness.An all-consuming darkness, so deep he couldn’t see anything at all.
The air felt heavy and cramped, as if he were trapped in a narrow space.He stretched out his hand and touched something cold, hard—wooden.
Without thinking, he pushed.Light flooded in all at once.
Mihoshi slowly propped himself up—and that was when he realized—
He was inside a coffin.
“…Where the hell am I?!”
His voice echoed against cold stone walls.
“A castle…? How is this possible…I was just lying in bed a moment ago…”
He rushed to his feet and ran to the nearest window.The moment he looked down, he froze.“Ah… th–this is…”. What lay before his eyes wasn’t a city illuminated by lights, nor the scenery he had expected—
“F–a forest?Th–this has to be a joke… Where is this place?”Below the castle stretched a vast forest filled with bizarre sights—Boars wreathed in flames,snakes firing venom like bullets.
“This can’t be… that thing, right…?I’m not dead, am I…?Did I get summoned here? But if this really is another world like I’m thinking…why am I in some old, abandoned castle…?None of this makes sense… huh?”
As he muttered to himself, Mihoshi suddenly noticed something strange about his hands.A few seconds later, realization struck—
His entire body… had changed.
“Wh–why do my hands look like this…?My body too… this sensation…What is this…?! Right—! A mirror… there has to be a mirror somewhere!”
He began exploring the castle, searching room by room.Eventually, he found a vast hall lined with towering bookshelves. At the center sat a table cluttered with documents and mysterious objects.
“This looks like… a study? Or maybe a private library?, Well… whatever. Let’s take a look.”
He stepped inside cautiously, his eyes tracing over ancient tomes and strange symbols scattered throughout the room.
Mihoshi stacked several books on the table and began reading.Each one recorded something different—magic theory, cryptic ritual notes, or travel logs filled with mystical phenomena.The more he read, the more questions crowded his mind.
“These books… do help me piece together what kind of world this is… It still feels like a dream, but… everything I touch feels too real for that. I can’t even bring myself to think it might be a dream anymore. But the thing I don’t understand the most is—”
He turned another page, staring at the unfamiliar script—symbols and characters he was certain he had never seen before.
“Why can I… read this?”The words flowed effortlessly into his mind, as if he had known this language his entire life.And what was even stranger—It wasn’t just reading.
This body seemed to remember things.Certain spots in the room felt familiar.He knew exactly how the chair would creak when he sat down.He could open the desk drawers exactly as expected.
“And there’s this strange sense of déjà vu…Like I somehow know this place…What is happening to me…?!”
He sighed in frustration, clutching his head—
Yet he continued reading.
Days passed within the ancient castle.Time blurred, flowing as if it had lost all meaning.
Mihoshi buried himself in research, rereading every record he could find—old journals, spell tomes, travel logs—anything that might serve as a key to understanding this world.
Little by little, those scattered fragments of knowledge began to form a clearer picture.
One day, Mihoshi sat on a fallen log, preparing to grill the meat of a beast he had hunted.He extended his hand, and in an instant, flames burst forth, igniting the firewood with ease.
The rich aroma of roasting meat filled the air.Exhausted from his constant research, Mihoshi let out a quiet sigh.
From the countless books he had read, he now understood that this world was one in which mana existed in all things—grass, soil, and even the air itself.Every person born into this world possessed an Innate Magic, a power granted at birth.And in rare cases, some individuals possessed two.His innate magics were Blood Magic and Darkness Magic.
Any magic that was not innate could not be used freely. At most, it could only manifest in basic elemental control—just like what he had done earlier, using fire-element magic to start a campfire.
“Still… having two innate magics,” he muttered,“it kinda reminds me of that, doesn’t it…?Like those anime protagonists with absurdly overpowered abilities.”
He chuckled faintly.“…I wonder if I’ll end up like that too.”
Yet despite slowly understanding this world, his own existence within it remained a mystery.Driven by that lingering doubt, Mihoshi continued his research.
And then, one day—
“I think I’ve read every journal and record in this room already…” he murmured.“But why is there still nothing about the person who owned this castle…?”He glanced around the room and let out a soft sigh.
“…Oh, right.That room—the one with the coffin…I never actually explored it properly, did I?Back then, I was so desperate to find a mirror that it completely slipped my mind.”
Without hesitation, Mihoshi rushed to the uppermost floor of the castle—to the room where he had first awakened.
As he ran, thoughts churned endlessly in his mind.
What if there’s nothing there either? What if I don’t even find a name… or a single trace of what I’m searching for? What am I supposed to do then?
Those questions echoed relentlessly as he arrived at the room and searched it thoroughly.But there was nothing.
Nothing but an old table—and the coffin he had woken up in.
Just as despair began to creep in, his eyes fell upon the inside of the coffin.
There, resting quietly—
was a book.
[Star Journal]
That was the title engraved upon its cover.It was a thick volume, violet in color, its hue slightly faded with age. At the center of the cover was a seal—shaped like a star.
Hope surged within him.
Mihoshi hurried back to the study and opened the book.
Within just a few pages, he found what he had been searching for all along.
> { Stellan Noctis — Dhampir, Age 240 }
“…Th–this is… a name…?”
His hands trembled as he turned the page.
And then—
(O chosen star… or perhaps, it would be more fitting to call you a soul that has crossed worlds.)(My name is Stellan Noctis.)
(It was I who brought your soul into this world, using a forbidden magic for a certain purpose. You may be wondering what I mean.)
(The forbidden magic I employed caused your soul to replace mine within this body.)
(In other words, I summoned your soul from another world to take my place—to inhabit my body and act in my stead.)
(What I shall state next is the task I entrust to you—a trial to determine whether you are worthy of using my body to carry on my will.)
(Go to the city of Nightfang—the city of vampires, situated near the boundary between worlds.)
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