The dawn that followed was not like any other.
The sun rose quietly, its light woven with faint threads of silver — as if the heavens themselves had been remade overnight.
For the first time in generations, the skies above the empire were calm.
No falling stars. No divine storms.
Only stillness, fragile and beautiful.
Erian stood on the balcony of the reconstructed palace, gazing across the capital.
Below him, streets once filled with ruin now shimmered with life. Crystals of starlight had fused with the broken stones, creating glowing veins that pulsed like the heartbeat of the land itself.
The Empire of Solarius had been reborn — not through conquest, but through unification.
Lyra approached from behind, her presence gentle as ever.
She wore ceremonial white trimmed with silver, her once-wild hair tied neatly beneath a circlet of light.
"You haven't slept," she said softly.
Erian smiled faintly without turning. "Neither has the world."
He reached out, letting the breeze brush his fingers. Faint motes of light danced around his hand — fragments of constellations still lingering in his aura.
They obeyed him like loyal companions, yet he felt no pride, only a heavy awareness.
"Every night since the ascension," he murmured, "I can feel the constellations moving. They're not just watching anymore. They're… waiting."
"Waiting for what?" Lyra asked.
"For me to decide what kind of god I'll become."
He turned, his eyes glowing faintly — twin hues of gold and blue. "But I don't intend to be one."
Lyra's brow furrowed. "Then what are you now?"
He smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes. "A reminder. That power should serve, not rule."
Later that day, the Great Assembly gathered within the palace courtyard — hundreds of nobles, scholars, priests, and emissaries from across the continent.
They bowed as Erian entered, his cloak flowing like liquid night.
At the center stood the ancient throne of Solarius — once forged from obsidian and gold, now remade of crystal and light.
He paused before it, then placed his hand gently on its armrest.
The room brightened as the symbols of the Crown of Unity appeared around him — spinning rings of celestial glyphs that filled the hall with warmth rather than fear.
One of the elder priests, trembling, stepped forward.
"My King… do you accept the divine right of Solarius, to rule in the name of the stars?"
Erian's voice was steady. "No."
The hall fell into silence.
Gasps echoed between the pillars.
He looked at each of them — not as a ruler, but as one of them. "The age of divine right has ended. The stars chose unity, not domination. I will not sit on this throne as a god above men… but as one of its guardians."
Lyra stepped beside him, her eyes gleaming with quiet pride. "Then who shall wear the crown?"
Erian raised the shimmering crown — the same that had formed in the sky that night — and for a moment it seemed weightless in his hands.
Then he placed it not on his own head, but upon the crystal at the heart of the hall.
The moment it touched the stone, light surged outward — spreading through the city, the towers, the skies.
Every living soul felt it — a pulse of warmth that erased fear and bound their hearts together.
Children laughed.
Soldiers dropped their weapons.
The nightingales began to sing again.
Erian stepped back, the glow fading slowly. "From now on, the stars will no longer decide who rules. The people will."
The crowd, stunned into silence, slowly began to cheer.
It was not the roar of subjects before a king — but the cry of a people reborn.
As dusk fell, Erian stood once more upon the tower.
The crown's light shone in the distance, pulsing softly like a heartbeat.
He felt a presence beside him — familiar, yet unseen.
"You did it," Aster's voice whispered through the wind.
Erian smiled faintly. "No… we did."
He closed his eyes. For the first time since the beginning, his heart felt at peace — the kind that didn't demand sacrifice.
He looked toward the horizon, where stars began to bloom one by one.
Among them, two shone brightest — entwined eternally.
"Bound by starlight," he whispered. "Always."
And the night answered him — with light, with silence, with eternity.
Dear readers,
Thank you so much for following Bound by Starlight all the way here.
This story has grown far beyond what it was when I first started — and so have I as a writer.
After receiving feedback from the WebNovel editors, I decided to rebuild this series from the ground up to make the world deeper, the emotions stronger, and the journey more alive.
The revised version will be released soon under a new title —
Bound by Starlight: Requiem of the Fallen Bond.
The core of the story remains the same — Erian Talos, his forbidden bond, and the starlit destiny that ties them together. But the pacing, worldbuilding, and character emotions will be rewritten to give you a smoother and more immersive experience.
If you've loved this journey so far, I hope you'll continue with me into the new version.
Your support means everything — please follow the new book, add it to your collection, and help it shine brighter than before!
With gratitude,
— Author ( Rahmat_Ry )