Twin Stars III: The Other

The other star,

Distanced from its other,

Begins her search,

Months had gone by, Astar had done a lot. Befriended a certain man, uncovered otherworldly power, got into a fight with a kingdom ruler, and got banished from said kingdom for wielding dark powers. But due to circumstances that even she didn’t see, the exile didn’t affect her; she was still allowed to enter and exit the kingdom freely, so she turned a new leaf. Kinda. Under the guise of a businesswoman, Astar had successfully created one of Luminos’s most influential companies, Queen Jade had been banished, and rulership fell to an old man, an old man who had no idea who she was. Astar used the business as a cover to help run a cult to some god she didn’t really care about. Her goal was much grander. When she first woke up here, she spoke with a voice that referred to itself as the “Old god of Darkness” and that she was its emissary. Her mission was to await his arrival; in the meantime, she planned to grow her strength so that she wouldn’t be entirely useless to her god. The cult centred around some guy named the “ World Eater.” She and her companion found a fragment of it, which gave her friend the power to wield the darkness while it amplified hers, but she acted like it was her first time using it. Together, they managed to gather followers. Queen Jade had either killed or banished her companion; she wasn’t sure, nor did she care. Every few months, she would work with a man referred to as the “Auction master.” He ran the auction house, but Astar knew he was hiding something more; she didn't pursue it, though. During the most recent auction, however, an interesting individual caught her eye. The young Prince- no, now he was the temporary King. He knew about the cult or had a suspicion of it. So she played into his plan, let him find the hidden passage down into the cult hq, got in a few words with the young king before departing. Astar watched from a distance as the cult members were being taken away by the kingdom's guards. They had information on almost every member of the cult aside from her; she was safe. Mere days later, the Abyss Kings' castle dropped by. Astar planned on lying low, but an odd sense hit her; it was familiar, like something was calling out to her… Her gaze drifted to the castle. Thanks to the sudden arrival of the Ascenders' ship, Astar was able to make her way onto the Abyss castle grounds. She began wandering the halls. Hours seemed to have passed, the call remained faint, but she knew she was heading in the right direction. She almost walked into a battle, one between Onyx’s champion and the young King and his counsellors. The young King and the Void pawn broke away from the fight, leaving the other two to finish the job. Astar watched on; she had no plan of interfering. She did. Until the champion was unmasked,

“My name,” she spoke, her voice hoarse, “ is Astra, champion of Onyx,” spoke Astar's younger sister. Her mind raced; she wasn’t sure what to do. And then the voice spoke to her once again, “ You wish to save your sister, yes? Then I’ll grant you the power to do so as my precious emissary,” The voice rumbled in her mind. That was the second time her god had spoken to her. The voice faded, and power surged in its place, very much like what happened on that day when her powers first woke. Astar put herself between the two council members and her sister; they all looked confused. “I'm sorry councilman, but I'm afraid this fight will have to end here for today, this person is my precious guest,” Astar says gesturing to her sister behind her, her expression was a mix of confusion and sadness, Astar throws her hand up to block an ice spear aimed at her head, upon making contact with her arm the ice began blackening and withered away, a layer of darkness overlapped her skin acting as a protective barrier. She turned her gaze back to the two Councilmen. Now that she could see them better, she knew very well who they were, the two royal commanders. Winter and Clover.

“ Astar, owner of the Celeste Star company,” Winter calls out. She wasn’t expecting him to know her, but it makes sense. If she were to fight them now, Astar might win, but there's no telling how long the old god's amplification will last, and she’d rather not fight them. “It's been quite fun, but I really must get going,” Astar says, taking a step back to her sister. Darkness drips from her feet and encircles the two before fully engulfing them. When the veil pulled back, they were back on Star. Astar crouched down to face her sister. She wasn’t sure what to say. Tears ran down Astra's face as she sobbed. Astra suddenly embraced Astar in a hug; she was warm. Astar wraps her hands around her sister, enjoying the comfort of her younger sister.