“The Cracks That Remind the Light”

My body fell to my knees, the once-straight star armor now cracked like cosmic glass struck by fate. The light flowing through my veins trembled, shattered, flickering on and off like data that failed to synchronize.

I—Khaslana—who should have been a pillar at the edge of the constellation, was now subdued by a human who didn't even carry a title. Trailblazer… that's what they called me. And strangely… I wasn't angry.

I was just… shocked. Shocked that someone so powerful could still look at me without fear, without hatred, without any intention of devouring or being devoured. As if I wasn't a monster, not a guardian dragged away by fate… but someone who could still be touched by reason.

Huh. Ridiculous.

The light in my chest shattered. I could feel it, like the pulse of a star about to die but refusing to dim just yet. If I had had the courage, maybe I wouldn't have ended up like this glitch—half legend, half system error.

Those Trailblazers… they had something even the nebula gods lacked: a timeless determination. Unfortunately, that determination pierced my armor far deeper than any sword.

There was a brief moment—very brief—where I saw their reflection in my shards of light. Not as enemies. Not as threats. But as… answers I'd never asked for.

It was ridiculous.

I'd lost.

That was a fact. But this defeat… was different. Not bitter. Not humiliating.More like… the world had finally stopped to let me breathe again.

I didn't know what would happen after this. I wasn't the type to just go "oh well, let's be friends" just because I'd been defeated. I was still Khaslana—a wild star, wings shattered, ego as high as a supernova.

But there was a small crack inside me, opened by their final blow.

• The gap that said:*

“Maybe… just maybe… I don’t have to keep flying alone.”

I wouldn’t admit it out loud. But for the first time… the darkness around me felt less overwhelming.

And that… sucked. But also… a relief.