Chapter Text
Astral
Sharglim sounded like a horrible name spewed out of a fantasy book.
Astral could already hear the humans saying "oh, it's a combination of shard and glimmer." Like that made it any better.
Stardom. Stardom would be the new name of the city and its artificial ozone once Astral's ozone dome was up. And it would be beautiful. The real stars would finally be seen, twinkling up in the sky where the glowing, "painted" imposters currently resided.
Astral had only seen a little bit of the real stars when testing Stardom on a minor scale before, but the thousands of tiny lights were like nothing Astral had ever seen. Even Helios and Selene had been forced to agree.
Everyone always overlooked the stars, always talked about the sun and moon that managed to shine through the thick nanoparticle dome instead. Even the human scientists had dismissed Astral as less significant than Helios and Selene, saying Astral was "just the stars". Nevermind that they were a Celestial just like the other two and meant to control the public.
"The stars will fall in the True Apocalypse." Astral muttered the one-line prophecy to themself as they picked up a crinkling bag of chips from the gas station shelf. "But let's forget all about them."
Apparently the asteroid that wiped out most of humanity taught humans nothing about heeding warnings. Of course they would be overshadowed by a better creature, even if that was their own creation-turned-species: Redeemers.
"How much for all this?" Astral questioned, sliding up to the nervous Redeemer cashier. They flashed a superficial, charming smile, trying to break through her guard as they set their chips, talonful of fruits, and three bottles of flavored water on the counter.
The cashier glanced at Astral's four tails and five total life orbs, undoubtedly unnerved by the obvious power difference even though they otherwise shared the same quadrupedal build. "Um. Seventy-eight."
Astral patted their sides with their tails as though searching nonexistent pockets. They liked to take up pointless human habits and words for the heck of it. "Hmm. It seems I've left my wallet and I.D. at home."
The cashier's pupiless white eyes shifted toward Astral from beneath her single floating orb, staring at them like they weren’t speaking English.
Sharing half their DNA with heavenly fragments didn't make the three lab-created Celestials unintelligible. For the stars' sake. Someone was judgy.
"Welp. Put it on Selene's tab," Astral dismissed before grabbing their items, grinning again, and sauntering toward the door. Selene had probably a thousand things on her tab; her favorite hobby was thieving. "Oh, and don’t forget to come to the city gathering in a few hours to see Stardom’s launch. You’re going to see things Sharglim has never seen before. Make sure to smile for the history books."
Outside, beneath the glaring sun breaking through the artificial blue sky, the pavement felt like it was burning Astral's four talons with every step. Stupid sun. The stars would never scorch an innocent soul like this.
Astral had no experience to base that statement off of, but they just knew. They just knew a lot of things about stars, just as Selene must instinctively know a lot about the moon and Helios must know a lot about the sun.
Astral continued up a hill, drifting to walk on the mostly-dead grass framing the overheated road. Their tails were carefully wound around their goods, making sure the magnet-like, near-unbreakable connections between their tailtips and small orbs weren't uncomfortably obstructed.
The other two would probably be back at the lab, since that was the usual Celestial meetup spot. It was also the spot the scientists approved of, and Selene was a real suckup. The lab was also also where Astral had set up their own room dedicated to their goals and dreams, covered wall to wall with posters and professional art depicting the aforementioned.
Astral passed by a few human houses that had been rebuilt and occupied by Redeemers after the False Apocalypse. Most families, upon seeing Astral, smiled and waved their tails or bobbed their orbs.
That was more like it. Everyone loved the Celestials, who were practically the mayors of Sharglim. Though Selene’s thieving took her down a popularity notch, and there had to be some Redeemers who knew, despite Helios’ denials, that he was a hot-tempered arsonist—no pun intended—who favored his critics’ properties for kindling.
But Astral? Perfectly clean criminal record.
The closest they’d come is putting a couple things on Selene’s tab like a minute ago, but, why, Astral had never known Selene never paid the good, hardworking citizens back. Of course they would have paid upfront for all purchases if they’d known! How dare Redeemers think Astral was trying to get freebies! The audacity.
Therefore Astral was the most popular Celestial. Irresistible charm and an unbroken streak of law-abiding behavior got one far in the world of fame. Nobody could possibly, or even slightly, dislike Astral. They were simply undislikeable.
"Beautiful day out, huh?" One of the Redeemers called from his grassy yard, undoubtedly just wanting Astral's attention.
Astral paused and glanced back, having thought no further interaction would occur on this block, before starting up that disarmingly photogenic smile. "Sure is. But you know what, my friend? It's going to be even greater once that sun goes down and Stardom comes up for all to see."
"So you've named it?" He smiled back, though his smile looked genuine. "I love it. My family and I are all real excited for a change around here."
"I hope Stardom will bring quite a lot of change. And— what's your name?"
"Tes."
"You're not alone, Tes; I'm just as excited. Been telling folks about it all day. And you know what? I'm not going to be as busy after the reveal, so I'll talk some more with you then. That is, if I'm so lucky as to spot you in the crowd tonight."
"Of course!"
"Alright." They pushed the grin slightly wider to look like a personal connection had just been made. "You and your family take care now. I'll see you soon, Tes."
As soon as they turned back around, they dropped the smile. Ugh. One would think they wouldn't still get so sore after so long of smiling all the time, but no.
Once Astral arrived at the lab overlooking Sharglim from its outskirts, they scanned the chip implanted in their wrist and stepped inside. Just like most of the city built by humans, it was metal, metal, metal everywhere. But unlike the skyscrapers, there were hardly any windows here.
That didn't mean glass wasn't still largely prevalent in the lab. Vials, reinforced enclosures for the Celestials at different growth stages, and holograms were scattered just throughout this wide first room. Astral navigated around the counters overflowing with paper notes and progressed toward the back of the building, only pausing once to glance in at their small, secluded dream room.
All the colorful posters of Astral—ironically gray in reality—guiding or addressing Redeemers were in their rightful place on the wall. Mail from the littlest citizens who could hardly write to elders with political concerns spontaneously broke up the colors, presenting calm muted tones of dark ink on pale paper.
Meanwhile a large, royally purple cushion sat in the center of the circular room, somewhat flattened from all the times Astral laid on it and just stared at the decor for hours. The only illumination—a round opening high above—bathed half the room in natural sunbeams and half in shadow.
All these Redeemers were counting on them bringing Stardom to light. All of the citizens expected it to be glorious, and Astral knew the couple years of perfecting their new ozone wouldn’t be wasted. Everybody would love it because everyone could finally, truly see the stars. This room would be flooded with so much mail and art that no inch of the matte wall would ever be seen again.
Tonight. It was happening tonight. Astral still couldn’t believe it. Everyone would finally realize how crucial Astral was, no longer overshadowed by Helios and Selene.
Will everyone love it? Some of that too-familiar doubt whispered, slightly souring Astral's mood.
Um, duh? Obviously? They’d love it because they loved Astral. This entire room proved so. Not a single speck of ingenuine admiration in here. No, sir. No inch of sucking up just for a connection to fame, power, what have you.
But that stupid doubt was again nosing through all Astral's thoughts about Stardom now, so they started for the gathering room again in hopes of a distraction.
Astral enjoyed the smooth, cold ground after the roads outside. So they were a little annoyed when they saw that the huge skylight in this room—this was the only other skylight in the lab—was shining heat down on almost the entire floor.
Helios' yellow skin almost blindingly reflected the sunlight, but thankfully Selene stayed just on the edge of the shadows, sparing Astral's eyes from the brightness her pale blue-gray skin would reflect.
Helios paused their conversation, glancing at the haul in Astral's tails as they entered. "Nice. You got drinks."
"And fruits so that I know you two won't mess up tonight. The chips are mine," Astral informed bluntly, because that was just offensive to only value them for what they brought. Helios wouldn't pause the conversation otherwise.
"A bribe. Should've known better," Selene sighed in her demeaning way, though she uncurled her tail from around her small, feathered wings to accept the snacks while Helios stretched out one of his secondary front legs.
I have more tails and life orbs. I don't care if they're trying to rub in that they have wings or two more legs, like always. They won't be the superior ones once Stardom is up. Astral retreated back into the deeper shadows before starting on their own portion of the snacks.
They were glad Tara wasn't here right now, at least. That disgustingly obsessed scientist just might believe Selene was the only Celestial that'd ever existed. Tara was the only reason Selene could even glide; Selene was the only Celestial who hadn't mysteriously mutated from the space fragments to grow spare limbs. Not wanting her to feel left out, Tara somehow arranged for her to grow those stunted wings.
"I might go into town early today," Selene told Helios, back to ignoring Astral. "Grab something for the scientists, or at least Tara."
And Selene just sucked all that attention up like a dry sponge. She was just as disgustingly obsessed in Astral's eyes. Absolutely no independence from the humans who acted as both their creators and—besides Tara—emotionally distant parents.
"Yeah, I might grab an accessory for appearances tonight. A little sun badge or something? Not sure."
Astral's eyes suspiciously flicked up from their disposable bottle as they made a mental note to also grab something to wear tonight. The shinier, the better.
It was their Stardom. They wouldn't let Helios or Selene steal it from them like those two stole everything else. They wouldn't be outshined anymore.
"Just the stars"? Ha. That had somehow always and never been true.
For once, Astral would be the star.
Sharglim's latest favorite hit blasted over the speakers while Astral trembled with excitement in the sturdy backstage power shed.
Draped across Selene's feathered wings were silver chains dotted with crescents while Helios wore two sets of golden sun armlets. But Astral was decked in a glittering white helm and crinet that would command any audience.
"I will take the button. And do the talking," they asserted while grabbing the tiny clicker from Helios, who was spinning it around carelessly like it wasn't important at all.
"You usually do," Selene muttered.
Astral glared at the other two. "Sharglim loves me."
She didn't respond, which they took as a surrender before opening the door and bouncing up the steps to the stage.
Each beat of the deafeningly catchy song pounded through the smooth floor as Astral slid sideways into everyone's view. They snatched the microphone off its stand with a tail as the crowd erupted in wildly enthusiastic cheering that drowned out the thumping music.
For the first time all day, Astral's grin was genuine. This was where they belonged: in the spotlight of all their lovely, lovely fans, empowered by the screams of excitement and unified clamors to be individually recognized. This moment would be second only to that of the grand reveal.
Driving the crowd's energy even higher, Astral pointed to a few familiar faces they'd talked to today—including Tes—before winking at a young one who'd vividly described herself in her fan mail so that Astral would recognize her in a crowd.
They let the cacophony play out a little longer before shrinking the song to background noise with the microphone's controls. "Helllllllllo, Sharglim! We are looking alive tonight! I llllllove it!"
As the screaming cheers returned, Helios and Selene came into view but, as instructed, kept several feet behind Astral to stay part of the background. This wasn't about them.
"This is a once in a lifetime event you are all about to see! As I've told some of you today, it will be something none of Sharglim has seen before! Or should I say… none of Stardom?" Astral completely silenced the song and offered a sly grin, cuing the crowd into the new name. The audience evidently made noise at any chance they got, but Astral had no problem giving them chances. "Now, to be honest with you guys, this is quite a life-changing moment for me as well. I've been working on this ozone for two years, but for all the dreams I've stacked onto it, I might as well have been working on this ever since I could first imagine a different world—a world we only saw in our minds, a world we only witnessed in the history books. A world of art in the sky every night, shining its beauty down so that we might capture it in mirrors and water and reflections. That is the world I wish to show you all tonight, the better world I want to gift you. Starting tonight, Stardom doesn't just belong to me anymore; it belongs to all of us.
"This whole speech to say…" Astral dropped the charm from their grin, leaving it purely warm and personal as they raised the button to the sky. "I hope you love it as much as I love you guys."
Click.
The returning cheers faded as the upturned faces became too awed to speak. And Astral finally looked up.
Sharglim's white diamond shapes faded away to reveal tiny glowing dots. The sky was suddenly brighter than any moonlit night as seemingly millions, billions, trillions of stars twinkled down at the humbled city. Astral had never known until now just how many there were, or how they gathered in a streak that was dark in the center but impossibly bright on the borders. No star was alone; they gathered together to create a galaxy or the ancient constellations that might as well have been myth until now. Sharglim's black-and-white had never done justice to the rainbow now reigning the sky in dark blues and purples and pale pinks and even bits of yellow.
Peaceful wonder washed over Astral. This was what was missing their entire life. They immediately felt connected to every speck above them, immediately felt like something more. Everything would be okay beneath those stars. They were quiet, promising, innocent. They didn't need anyone's approval to exist. They'd survived for so long without being recognized and didn't even care now when they finally were.
Maybe the same could be true for Astral. Could it be possible to exist only for themself? Could it be possible to not need everyone to love them? Could it be enough to know they were a part of those stars up there?
Maybe this was enough.
If Astral really belonged with the universe's masterpiece, surely they must be more than their doubt. Surely they must actually be worth something. Surely Astral could start to feel valuable instead of just trying to convince themself they were.
It didn't matter if anyone else loved Stardom. Astral did.
A blinding blue-violet wave shot up from the right, erasing the nanoparticle ozone. Behind it, a white vapor cloud ate up the emptiness.
Astral realized it was bad—terrifying, actually—when, not even a second later, the wave had consumed the beautiful stars and hurtled down the other side of the dome and the hazy sky began to roar a low scream.
An impossibly strong force crushed them all into the ground as the stage collapsed below the Celestials' talons. Weaker buildings tumbled down while every window in sight shattered, sending glass shards through the air. Flames erupted across the dark city, lit by the shockwave's immense yet momentary heat.
The claustrophobia-inducing vapor covering the sky began falling apart, fading away, but Astral was too busy watching the flaming debris rain down, looking like tiny burning stars.
The stars will fall in the True Apocalypse.
Everything smelled like chemicals and metal and the ringing was almost deafening and Stardom was gone. So was Sharglim. There was no ozone anymore, only the pitch-black backup that would be deployed soon to erase the stars and moon and sun.
Cut-up, bleeding citizens hauled each other to their talons and ran, most of them with open mouths like they were shrieking. Tiny Redeemers clutched their injured parents, faces contorted in crying screams of fear.
Astral was probably screaming, too, because their chest hurt and their mouth was open and everything was falling apart, down down down, burnt up and crashing down and failing and the stars would be erased and Stardom had failed, Stardom couldn't be reached.
Emotions ripped through Astral, impossibly stronger than the shockwave, screaming in the ringing silence, screaming screams that Astral could hear, seeming to scream FAILURE, FAILURE, FAILURE, JUST THE STARS, WHY WOULD ANYTHING CHANGE, WHY DID YOU THINK YOU COULD BE DIFFERENT, WHY WOULD YOU EVER STAND OUT, WHY WOULD ANYONE EVER LOVE YOU?
Astral felt tears slip down their face as their aching chest began to shake with sobs. They were abandoned on a broken stage under their failed calling with a ruined audience and nobody there to care. Even Selene and Helios were gone, saving themselves, leaving Astral for dead, going—
Going where? Where were they?
Astral slowly picked themself off the ground, everything inside carved with blades of pain and everything outside bleeding from the glass shards. Once finally on their talons, they turned around with limping steps and saw the power shed's open door. Helios was standing just outside of the little structure, but Selene was inside, right next to the levers that controlled the ozones.
The clicker should've remotely, safely raised Stardom's lever and lowered Sharglim's. But both levers were raised.
Hot rage overpowered Astral's protesting body as they lunged for Selene with outstretched claws. Helios caught Astral and tried to contain them in a hold similar to a restrictive hug, appearing to yell something that they couldn't hear over the ringing.
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Astral tried to scream at Selene, though the words were silent to their own pained ears. They fought and thrashed viciously against Helios' grip, trying to claw their way through his four front legs. "I'M GONNA— I'M—"
Helios only held Astral tighter, giving no fight himself but instead accepting the new bloody scratches. He bowed his head as though he was trying to actually hug Astral now, like that could make anything better.
"YOU RUINED IT! YOU DESTROYED IT ALL! YOU COULDN'T STAND THAT FOR ONCE I WOULD BE LOVED! THAT FOR ONCE YOU WOULDN'T BE IN THE SPOTLIGHT! YOU COULDN'T STAND NOT BEING THE ONLY THING IN THE NIGHT SKY! YOU RUINED—" Astral felt their voice break as new sobs tried to escape. For a moment, the anger was cooled by tears and Astral went limp in Helios' embrace, shaking.
But then the fury returned, stabbing into Astral with new vigor, and they shoved Helios away. "AND YOU JUST STOOD THERE! YOU LET HER DO IT! YOU KNOW, YOU BOTH KNEW WHAT IT MEANT BUT YOU JUST NEED ALL ATTENTION TO BE YOURS! YOU BLEW UP STARDOM WITH SHARGLIM AND NOW WE HAVE NOTHING, NO OZONE LEFT! NOW NONE OF US WILL BE SEEN! THEY'RE GOING TO PUT UP THE BLACK DOME AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! YOU KILLED MY STARS! YOU RUINED IT!"
Even though the other two must not have been able to hear any of the words either, Selene and Helios just stared back.
Astral suddenly remembered the crowd and turned, not wanting to be seen like this. But most of the audience was gone. Tes, one of the stragglers, was just getting to his talons, and he stared with horror at the sky before his eyes descended to Astral.
Everyone thought Astral did this. They thought Astral had planned this, had built up this excitement just to gather and attempt to kill everyone.
Astral felt sick. They would never do something like this. They weren't a monster. If everyone thought otherwise, did anyone even know them?
I have to get out of here.
They took one last look at the wreckage, the spreading fires, the collapsed buildings. They looked at the shattered windows, the injured crowd, the burning debris raining down, down, down all around.
The falling stars foretelling the True Apocalypse.
Then Astral fled.