A few days passed after Song Ha-Eun delivered the unexpected news. Kwon Oh-Jin just finished training his Sacred Ground, which had now become his daily routine. Drenched in blood and sweat, he changed into fresh clothes.

“Are you heading to the Sanctum today?” Isabella asked.

“Yeah, I don’t really have a choice.”

Truthfully, he didn’t want to go since the star of Ursa Minor could foresee the future. Polaris, the brightest among the three North Stars, stood at the highest seat of all Celestials.

“Haaa.”

He wouldn’t have been this nervous if he were just an ordinary Awakener.

The problem is, I carry the Black Heaven.

Of course, he never encountered any problems when he first met Polaris at the Milky Way Spring. Rather, Polaris himself had proclaimed before all the other Celestials that Kwon Oh-Jin was the Heaven-Defying Star who would alter destiny. Thanks to that, he had shaken off the Celestials' suspicions.

After all, no one would ever believe that the Heaven-Defying Star would also be the Black Heaven’s master.

Who would dare to think that the chosen one destined to save the world was also fated to devour and destroy it? For this reason, he had also gone out of his way to emphasize being the Heaven-Defying Star even before Vega uncovered his real identity.

Just because I got through it once doesn’t mean it’ll happen again.

Even Vega had agonized over what to do when she first learned that he possessed the Black Heaven. The other Celestials would obviously react a certain way if they found out too. In the worst-case scenario, they could very well try to kill him on the spot.

It’s a little comforting to know that Vega will be there with me, but...

She only provided him with a temporary safety net. Once others learned of his true identity, he could no longer go back.

“Are you still worried?”

“Well, it’s not like I can just refuse to go.”

This wasn’t just any Celestial. Polaris himself had called for him, so Kwon Oh-Jin couldn’t ignore it.

“Don’t worry. Nothing bad will happen.” Isabella patted his back reassuringly.

It almost felt like a mother sending her child off to a school recital.

“Alright, I’ll be off then.”

“Ah, wait.” Isabella stepped up close just as Oh-Jin put on his shoes.

Was she wearing perfume? A faint rosy fragrance tickled his nose.

“Mmm.”

She pressed both of her hands to his cheeks, parted his lips, and peered carefully inside his mouth.

“Whaa es et?” Kwon Oh-Jin mumbled, flustered.

“Your mouth smells like blood.”

“Oh. I must’ve bitten the inside of my cheek earlier.”

The painful training made him grit his teeth often. Wounds occasionally formed inside his mouth from that.

“Stuff like this heals fast on its own.” He tried to wave off her worry and pull away.

“Stay still.”

“Mmff—!”

Isabella suddenly pulled his head toward her. Pressing his cheeks again, she pried open his lips and slipped her tongue inside like a predator devouring its prey. Her soft tongue pushed deep and roughly stirred in his mouth. When it brushed against the torn wound, a sharp pain flared, accompanied by a strange twinge of pleasure.

“Pwah!”

Isabella finally pulled out her tongue, drawing out a thin thread of saliva. She rolled her tongue around inside her mouth as if savoring a sweet candy. The mix of his blood and saliva slid down her throat.

“Mmm. As I thought, your blood is the best.”

“... You already had some this morning.”

“Oh, but this is different from that.” With a sly smile in her eyes, Isabella brushed his cheek gently.

“In any case, my saliva touched it, so the bleeding should have stopped.”

“Hmm? The Stigma of Leech can stop bleeding too?”

“Of course, it’s a Stigma that controls blood after all. On the other hand, I can also make wounds bleed endlessly until death.”

Yeah, I’d rather skip that part.

“Anyway, I should get going.”

“Right. Have a safe trip.”

“By the way, where’s Ha-Eun and Cassia?”

“Unnie is still asleep, and my sister went out saying she had something to do.”

“Something to do? This early in the morning?”

“She said she was going to plant some serpents nearby.”

“Ah...”

He recalled the black serpents that Cassia could summon from shadows.

That’s basically the source of her intelligence network.

Cassia was preparing in her own way for the battle against the Black Star Celestials.

“Got it. I might be late today, so go ahead and have dinner without me.”

“Alright.”

Leaving Isabella at the door, Kwon Oh-Jin set off toward the Sanctum.

***

At the entrance to the Sanctum, clusters of Awakener buzzed with chatter.

“Whoa... Damn, who’s that Awakener? She looks unreal.”

“You idiot, does that look like an Awakener to you?”

“Then who is she?”

“Can’t you tell? She’s a Celestial!”

“A-A Celestial? Why would a Celestial come down here?”

“Beats me, man!”

Cocking his head, Kwon Oh-Jin followed their stares.

“Vega?”

Vega quietly stood there, poised and graceful.

Feeling all the curious eyes all around, Kwon Oh-Jin quickly walked up to her. “Why aren’t you in the temple? What are you doing out here?”

“Hehe. It’s been too long since I last saw you. I couldn’t just sit in the temple and wait.”

“Still, this is a bit much...”

A North Star Celestial was personally waiting at the entrance to greet her apostle?

It’s nice of you to do that, but this is way too much attention.

Ever since Kwon Oh-Jin returned from the Demon District, rumors of him being a hero had already spread. Vega showing up like this would only fan the flames.

He wanted to tell her to just wait at the temple next time, but the nervous look on her face stopped him.

“... Did I happen to cause you trouble?”

“No, I couldn’t be happier.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Vega’s gentle smile as she drew closer made his heart pound unexpectedly.

This isn’t the time for this.

Activating the Stigma of Capricorn, he blocked any sounds from leaking out. “Polaris called for me, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Any idea why?”

“I’m not sure either,” Vega said with a troubled look. “In fact, this is the very first time Polaris has ever summoned someone like this.”

“Really?”

Great, now I’m even more nervous. Why would Polaris want to see me of all people?

No matter how hard he tried to piece it together, he couldn’t figure it out.

“Guess I’ll just have to meet him and find out.”

“Don’t worry too much. Even if, by some chance, your true identity gets exposed, I will personally convince Polaris on your behalf.”

“Let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that.”

Praying that the worst wouldn’t happen, they set off toward the Milky Way Spring where Polaris resided.

Woong!

Bathed in a brilliant silver light, they teleported to a vast lake. Stars shimmered on its surface like a mirror of the night sky. At the center of the lake stood a being woven entirely from starlight.

The Celestial of Ursa Minor, Polaris, bowed toward Kwon Oh-Jin. “You’re here. I’ve been waiting for you, Heaven-Defying Star.”

The voice sounded neither male nor female, young nor old.

Kwon Oh-Jin swallowed hard at his awe-inspiring presence.

That’s a relief.

It seemed like Polaris didn’t know about the Black Heaven yet since he still called Kwon Oh-Jin the Heaven-Defying Star.

“I heard you wanted to see me.”

“Yes, I have a favor to ask of you.”

Kwon Oh-Jin continued using the Black Curtain as much as he could. “I apologize for not coming sooner. Something came up recently and—”

“I know.”

“You know?”

“You met the star of Ophiuchus, didn’t you?”

Kwon Oh-Jin’s expression froze. Not even Vega knew about his encounter with Mobius yet.

“Y-You met the star of Ophiuchus? What is Polaris talking about?” Vega asked in alarm.

“I’ll explain later.” Biting his lip, Kwon Oh-Jin forced a steady reply. “Yes. Mobius found me, saying he wanted to see me in person.”

“Mobius... that’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time.” Though Polaris’s expression couldn’t be seen in his starlight form, he sounded faintly sad. “If you happen to meet him again, could you tell him that I was sorry back then?”

Had Polaris wronged Mobius somehow?

“What happened between the two of you?”

“That... I can’t explain as it isn’t only my story to tell.”

Kwon Oh-Jin slightly furrowed his brow.

Just what is he hiding?

He wanted to press harder and force the truth out, but that wasn’t an option with someone like Polaris.

Clicking his tongue inwardly, Kwon Oh-Jin changed the subject. “So, what was that favor you mentioned earlier?”

“Before I explain... could you step into the spring for a moment?”

“Alright...” Kwon Oh-Jin still had no idea what Polaris wanted from him, but just being invited into the Milky Way Spring was too good to pass up.

The amount of mana in here is seriously overwhelming.

Of course, with Polaris watching, he couldn’t risk using the Black Heaven to absorb the immense mana filling the spring. Even without doing anything, just standing in the water allowed some of that mana to seep naturally into him. The mana in the spring was on an unimaginable scale.

And it’s not just the quantity either.

The mana saturating the water felt denser and richer than any Stigma’s mana he had absorbed before. As if countless stars had pressed together and squeezed out their essence in its purest form. The sheer concentration of mana was so staggering that it made him lightheaded just thinking about it.

“Heaven-Defying Star.” Polaris touched his arm.

Though his body was woven from starlight, the sensation felt unexpectedly warm, almost like human skin.

“I only wish to ask one thing of you.” Like someone handling a precious treasure, Polaris gently held Kwon Oh-Jin’s arm with both hands.

Carefully, he guided Kwon Oh-Jin’s arm until it rested against the left side of his own chest.

“This wretched constellation, bound to the torrents of fate and unable to ever leave this spring... I want you to consume me yourself.”

Huh? You want me to consume what?