The Name They Called Me

✦ Heaven, After the Rain ✦

The cheering hadn't stopped.

Trumpets rang. Light shimmered. Wings beat through the sky like living banners.

But Hatoru stood frozen on the marble platform, breath shallow, fingers trembling.

His body—

It felt wrong.

Too light. Too warm. Too bright.

He looked down.

His hands were glowing.

Not blazing. Not burning.

Just softly radiant—like moonlight trapped beneath skin.

At the same instant—

High above the plaza, Heaven’s sky shuddered.

The Crystal Heart pulsed.

Once.
Then again.

Its glow deepened—subtle, but unmistakable—casting longer reflections across the crystal spires and cloud bridges below.

A murmur rippled through the crowd.

“Did it just—?”
“The Heart… it’s brighter.”
“Is this part of the ceremony?”

No bells rang.
No herald spoke.

Near the edge of the platform, an elderly attendant tightened his grip on a crystal staff.

“That resonance…” he murmured.
“I’ve never seen the Heart respond like that to a child.”

But the air felt tighter, like Heaven itself had taken a breath.

Hatoru felt it in his bones.

The glow in his hands answered the pulse above—
not flaring,
not resisting,
but syncing.

Like two things recognizing each other.

His pulse skipped.

This isn't my body.

The memory of rain, asphalt, and headlights remained painfully sharp. Too sharp to be a dream.

"I died," he whispered.

The word felt real.

Then—

"Haise!"

The voice cut through the noise like a blade.

Hatoru flinched.

Two figures pushed through the gathered crowd toward him.

One was tall and broad-shouldered, faint lightning crackling around clenched fists. His expression was sharp, permanently annoyed, as if irritation came naturally to him.

The other walked beside him, steps lighter, green hair catching Heaven's glow like leaves in sunlight. Her eyes searched Hatoru's face with open concern.

They stopped in front of him.

"There you are," the tall one said.

The girl exhaled in relief.
"Haise… you disappeared right before the ceremony."

Hatoru stared at them.

"…Who?"

Both froze.

The tall boy blinked.
"…You serious?"

Hatoru stepped back, panic crawling up his spine.

"You—you've got the wrong person," he said quickly. "My name isn't—"

"Haise."

The tall boy stepped forward and smacked him on the head.

Not hard.

But not gentle either.

"Don't mess with me," he snapped. "Your fifteenth birthday ceremony is almost done, and you vanish like an idiot?"

Hatoru yelped, clutching his head.

"Ow—!"

"Kael!" the girl gasped. "Don't hit him!"

She knelt instantly, hands steadying Hatoru's shoulders.

"Haise, are you okay?"

Kael scoffed.
"He zones out sometimes."

That name again.

Haise.

Fifteenth… birthday?

The world tilted.

Pain erupted.

White-hot and violent.

Hatoru's vision fractured as something forced itself into his mind.

Images—
not his.

A palace balcony above endless clouds.
Training grounds carved from sky.
A man with storm-bright eyes and a crown of light.
A woman smiling gently, brushing his hair when he was younger.

Voices calling—

Your Highness.
Prince Haise.

Hatoru gasped and collapsed to one knee.

Kael cursed.
"Tch—again?"

The girl was beside him instantly.

"Haise, breathe," she said softly. "Look at me."

Her voice anchored him.

The pain faded slowly—not gone, just settling.

The memories didn't disappear.

They waited.

"…Prince?" Hatoru whispered.

Kael snorted.
"Took you long enough."

The girl smiled, worry still present.
"You're Haise," she said gently. "Prince of Heaven."

The world stopped.

Hatoru's chest tightened.

That can't be true.

But his body answered before doubt could.

The air bent.

Light responded—not as power, but recognition.

He clenched his fists.

He understood.

He wasn't reborn into Heaven.

He was inside someone else's life.

"…I think," he said carefully, "you misunderstand something."

Kael raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"I don't remember anything," Hatoru lied. "About being a prince. Or Heaven."

Lyra frowned.
"That's not funny."

Kael folded his arms.
"You hit your head?"

Hatoru steadied his breathing.

If he told the truth, no one would believe him.
If he panicked, he'd be exposed.

"…I'm still dizzy," he said quietly.

Lyra's expression softened immediately.

"Oh."

She placed a hand over his.

"You're always like this before big events."

Kael clicked his tongue.
"Yeah. Poor timing."

Hatoru looked up.
"…Poor?"

Kael shrugged.
"Son of the God King. No awakened power."

The words landed harder than expected.

Lyra added gently,
"You've never awakened like the others."

Hatoru tried instinctively—reaching inward.

Nothing answered.

No flame. No wind. No light.

Only silence.

A dull ache pulsed in his chest.

Lyra noticed.
"You feel it too, don't you?"

Kael's expression sharpened.
"…Your Divine Veins."

"My… what?"

"Instability," Lyra said quickly. "It happens at fifteen."

Kael nodded.
"The Divine Trial handles it."

Trial.

Hatoru's breath hitched.

"The Divine Tree," Lyra explained. "Every child of Heaven stands before it."

Kael smirked once.
"About time."

So this body was powerless.

And no one knew the truth.

Lyra squeezed his hand gently.
"We'll be there."

Something unfamiliar tightened in Hatoru's chest.

Fear.

And beneath it—

Resolve.

If he was trapped in this life, he would survive it.

Above them, Heaven continued to celebrate.

Unaware that the boy they honored had already died once.

Cloud bridges stretched endlessly through the sky, carrying light like flowing rivers. Towers of crystal and gold floated at impossible angles, their bells chiming softly with the wind. Heaven wasn't loud—it was vast, calm, and watching, as if every soul here were being quietly measured by something unseen.

✦ The Parents of a Stranger ✦

The air shifted.

Everyone bowed.

A man approached—tall, cloaked in white and gold, presence heavy as the sky itself.

Storm-bright eyes studied Hatoru.

Tenjin.
The God King.

Tenjin paused for half a heartbeat.

His gaze lifted—not toward the crowd,
not toward his son—

but upward.

The Crystal Heart hovered silently above Heaven, its glow already settling back to normal.

Still, Tenjin’s eyes lingered.

Just a moment too long.

Behind him walked a woman in silver robes, concern written openly across her face.

Yumi Tenjin.

She reached Hatoru first, hands cupping his face.

"Haise," she whispered. "You disappeared."

Her warmth shattered him.

He didn't know her.

But his body leaned toward her anyway.

Tenjin spoke calmly.
"You're unsteady."

Hatoru bowed his head.
"…I'm fine, Father."

The word felt foreign.

Tenjin nodded.
"Your ceremony can wait."

Yumi squeezed his hands.
"It's your birthday."

Fifteen.

At fifteen, Hatoru had wanted an ending.

Here, they celebrated his beginning.

✦ The Birthday They Shared ✦

Lanterns floated gently as the plaza quieted.

Kael dropped into a chair.
"Tch. Every year," he muttered.
"Same day. Same year. Same mess."

Lyra smiled, lifting her cup carefully.

"It's not a mess," she said.
"It's special."

Hatoru hesitated.

"…Same day?" he asked.

Kael glanced at him.
"Don't tell me you forgot that too."

Lyra nodded.

"All three of us," she said softly.
"Born on the same day. Same year. Same sky."

Kael snorted.
"Triplet fate."

Hatoru stared at them.

They were celebrating together.

Lyra raised her cup.

"To fifteen," she said.
"To us."

Kael hesitated — then clinked his cup anyway.

"…Happy birthday, Haise."

The words struck deeper than the crown ever had.

The words echoed.

For a moment, he smelled cheap frosting.
Saw a single candle.
A flame blown out in silence.

His fingers curled unconsciously.

This birthday… wasn’t the first one he’d lived through today.

Hatoru swallowed.
"Thankyou, Happy Birthday both of you!" he said, voice unsteady.

Then—
It hit him

Warmth filled Hatoru's chest.
The attention.
The fact that someone remembered.

His vision blurred

Then tears came.

Inner voice, breaking:

No one… had ever celebrated my birthday before.

I don't deserve someone else's celebration being spent on me.

Not once.

Not when he was alive.

Not when he was hurting.

He turned away quickly.

Lyra moved closer, shoulder brushing his.

"…Cry baby prince, we'll celebrate every year," she whispered.

Kael muttered,
"But Yeah. Every year"

Yumi placed a charm beside him.

"For comfort," she said.

Tenjin inclined his head, eyes unreadable.
"A year of change."

Hatoru bowed slightly.
"…Thank you everyone."

Above them, Heaven shimmered in peace.

Unaware.

Unaware that the boy they celebrated had already died once—

And the one standing here was only pretending to be him.

✦ END OF CHAPTER 1 ✦
The Name They Called Me