The school bell rang, signaling the end of morning classes at Mishiro High. Students flooded the hallways in waves, laughter and chatter bouncing off lockers and half-opened windows. But in Class 2-A, three students remained at their desks, far removed from the mundane rhythm of normal life.
Kurumi sat in the back row, her chin resting on her palm as she stared blankly out the window. Her once-sparkling eyes had dulled since their return from Frestco. Now they shimmered only during her dreams, when the glyphs came.
"You're spacing out again," Akira said softly, leaning closer.
Kurumi blinked, straightened her back, and gave him a half-smile. "Sorry. I had another dream last night."
Sera, seated across from them with a worn magical map tucked into her textbook, looked up. "The same dream? With the girl in gold?"
Kurumi nodded slowly. "There were more of them this time. Eight silhouettes, all holding Crestella fragments. One was in flames. The ground cracked beneath his feet."
Akira stiffened. He reached under his uniform shirt and touched the Crestella stone embedded in his chest. It pulsed faintly, the rhythm faster than usual.
"Mine's been reacting weird too," he admitted. "It flared up during gym. I nearly torched the soccer field."
Sera sighed and unfolded the pendant-map her mother left behind. Now, the once-dormant glyphs shone with eerie intensity. On its surface, tiny glimmering dots moved slowly across the globe—nine in total. One of them blinked furiously in the region marked as Brazil.
"There," Sera whispered. "Mana surge... massive. Probably a flare from a bearer."
Kurumi leaned in. "Are they like us?"
Sera shook her head. "Not exactly. We're protectors. This map tracks the true Crestella hosts."
"But we hold stones too," Akira said. "What makes them different?"
"We inherited pieces," Sera said, voice dropping. "They're originals."
Kurumi's breath caught. "The Starbound Vessels."
Sera's eyes widened. "How do you know that name?"
Kurumi hesitated. "The girl in my dream—she said it. 'The Nine Starbound Vessels are awakening. One burns. One sleeps. One hates. One lies.' And then... she said something about an older god."
Ayaka, their magical theory teacher, stepped quietly into the room. "So the dreams have started."
All three students turned in surprise.
"You knew?" Akira asked.
Ayaka closed the door behind her and leaned against it. "Queen Fresha didn't create the Crestella Stones. She only sealed them. Their origin lies with a primordial entity called Vechron, the Forgotten Flame."
Sera frowned. "You never told us this."
"Because it wasn't time. But if Kurumi's dreaming of the others, it means the Vessels are stirring. And when they rise... the world won't stay the same."
Outside, the wind picked up. Kurumi closed her eyes for a moment. A heartbeat echoed in her ears—not her own. A voice whispered in the background of her thoughts: The flame boy awakens beneath the sky-veins. Find him... or he burns the world.
She opened her eyes. "We have to go to Brazil."
Ayaka raised an eyebrow. "Skipping school to cross continents? That'll go over well."
Akira stood, fists clenched. "We don't have a choice. If one of the Starbound Vessels loses control—it could be another Frestco."
Ayaka sighed. "There's a portal in Kyoto. Old and unstable, but with enough energy, it might get you there."
Sera packed up her bag. "Then let's start moving. We'll figure out how to talk to this Vessel when we get there."
Kurumi lingered behind, brushing her fingers along her desk.
"You okay?" Akira asked.
She looked at him, a shadow in her smile. "Just wondering... if the girl in my dream was me. Or someone I used to be."
He didn't have an answer. But as they walked out into the afternoon sun, his stone flared again.
Somewhere across the sea, a boy with fire in his bones screamed into the clouds—and the sky answered.