Stellence

“Oh Lord Star, it’s time to wake up.”

A young woman cutely shook Aster up from his bed. This was the first time they sent this particular woman to wake him up.

Aster looked at the woman with his dead blank stare. He looked to be a teenager in this current year and was considered to be of the mythical race in the Tryfing.

His heroic background of being the star ring child caused him to start as a baby who fell like a meteor from space.

He was only a baby for a few months and then he grew into the teenage boy he was now. He wouldn’t grow or age from this point until he pulls the sword from the stone.

But he didn’t want to pull the sword.

He wanted nothing to do with that sword or this place. He just wanted to atone and be punished for everything he did. The young woman pulled him out of bed and started to dress him against his will.

“Let’s clean those teeth, open up,” she said as she forced the toothbrush into his mouth. After they were finished the woman pulled him by his arm into the kitchen of the Mayor’s house.

Stellence was completely and utterly devoted to the legend of the star ring child. The mayor of the town would act as the star ring child’s parental figure and gave access to their home for the star ring child to live in.

The mayor's house was always the best house in the town for that reason. The current mayor was a man, so that meant that one of the older women of the town needed to volunteer to be the child’s mother. She would then live in the mayor's house and do her duties for the child.

This century ten women fought for the honorable position of mother. They all had to explain why they deserved the position of mother over the others, and Lady Windoa, a widow who couldn’t bear children, rightfully won her spot.

Aster sat at the dining room table, the young woman kissed him on the cheek and giggled away.

Aster hated when the townsfolk snuck in a kiss or offered gifts to him or praised him.

“I hate it here. I don’t deserve this.”

Windoa was in the kitchen and made a big breakfast, one she made every day, bacon with three eggs. These eggs were huge, almost the size of a basketball. These eggs were from special chickens native to the lands near Stellence.

“A very special meal for a very special boy.” She placed the plate in front of him and put two big pieces of fluffy bread next to the plate. She then rubbed his hair; this was the standard routine they had been doing at this point.

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“I’m not special,” Aster said in a monotone voice, he always said this when Windoa called him special.

“Don’t be silly, you are my special boy.” She gave him a big warm hug radiating love.

I hate it here, Aster thought as his mother cradled his head in her arms. Another young woman came into the house, today she was on feeding duty. Aster had begged the mayor to stop sending people from the town to feed him.

It wasn’t just embarrassing; it was also really weird. But he didn’t budge until Aster couldn’t take it anymore and ordered him to change the frequency. They compromised, now a member of the town would be his feeder only three days of the week.

“Sayyyyy Ahhhhh Lord Star,” the woman said in a cutesy manner. This was torture, just as bad as when Lucifer would attack… Well maybe he was exaggerating but all of this was too much, they wanted to do everything for him.

The townsfolk themselves didn’t care that Aster hadn’t pulled the sword yet, since there was no cataclysmic event or evil entity attacking the town of Stellence. They were just happy the prophecy was being fulfilled, that their purpose of living, the star ring child, had returned in this period. Everyone had a different job when it came to dealing with the star ring child.

Some of the townsfolk were prepped that at any time they could be the star rings’s lover, that even if you were married or too old if the star ring wanted to have you, it was your duty. Last time the star ring child took a female form and the men of the town needed to be ready at any time.

Aster shivered at the thought. He held some memories of his previous incarnations and remembered the night his female form’s thirst could not be quelled.

Aster only wanted one person to love, and he was the one that killed her. All this touching, all this affection and love. All of this attention was exactly what he didn’t want, what he felt like he didn’t deserve. He excused himself and walked towards the town library. He ignored the townsfolk that tried to speak with him on the way.

“Shut up. Go away. Why are you so happy to see me? I’m unworthy of all this.”

He grabbed his head out of frustration and didn’t realize that he had walked near the cavern ruins where the blazing sword stayed in the stone.

“No,” he whispered out. In his vision he saw the flames of a living room burning, the bodies of its victims charred, still alive screaming and begging.

“Why do you get to be here? Get to live another life? You should be the one burning.”

Aster ran out of the town, he wanted this to end. In a way this was true suffering, this was the punishment he deserved.

He ran until his legs gave out, he found a big tree and rested against its base. He grabbed his arms, as if to hug himself and closed his eyes trying to stop thinking.

“I’m unworthy of living, of this kindness. I don’t deserve this! Please just make it stop!” he screamed as he wept.

///

Elysium

Team Archangel war room

Gabriel sat on the couch as he watched the feed of Aster crying. He also felt like crying, he was the one that came up with the legend of the star ring child and how loving and accepting the town was going to be.

From a surface level Gabriel understood how greedy and narcissistic humans could be. He created this scenario to appeal to that human nature; after all Aster was created to house the soul of Lucifer.

These were all things Lucifer would have wanted and probably expected from his subordinates. But that was his first mistake, thinking that Aster's soul was already tainted by Lucifer.

It was Raphael that looked into Aster’s soul with warden Hades and had noticed that subconsciously, Aster’s soul was defending itself from Lucifer’s hold.

That was the reason that Lucifer continued to ruin his life, it’s why Lucifer took his wife and child, then pushed Aster to kill the drunk driver and his two children in their home.

But even with all of this, even with the evil deeds he committed,Aster’s soul was still pure; there was still a part of him that was fighting against the chains of Lucifer that still held his soul.

Unfortunately he was stuck in his trauma, stuck thinking about his mistakes. At least there was some movement being made in their operation to rid Aster’s fate as the Antichrist vessel.

“Maybe I went a bit overboard,” he said as he slid down the couch. Raphael and Uriel were in the war room as well. They were trying to come up with a strategy, anything to try to push their retainer in the right direction.

But unfortunately until Aster pulls the blazing sword out of the stone, they have no way of communicating with their retainer directly. The door opened and Michael entered the war room; as stoic as ever he stared at the screen for a few moments before getting the attention of his siblings.

“I know Operation Anti-Antichrist is not doing well right now… But we can’t lose heart. We must believe in the town of Stellence, we must believe in Aster.”

Michael looked back at the screen; Aster was now in the fetal position crying even more tears. One by one they each started to lose hope, even the leader of angels himself felt the same.

Was there really nothing the four Archangels could do?