The sun was going down. The sky was turning dark, and a few stars were already showing.
Inside a small house, Takuma Hoshinari sat at his desk, trying to finish his homework. His pencil moved slowly. He groaned and dropped his head on the table.
"This is so boring…"
From the kitchen, his mom called out,
"Takuma! Can you take the trash bin to the end of the driveway before it gets too dark?"
"Okay!" he answered.
He stood up, stretched, and walked downstairs. His mom smiled at him as she cooked.
"Thank you, Takuma. Be quick, alright?"
"I will," he said.
Takuma grabbed the trash bin and pushed open the door. The air outside was cool, and the sound of bugs filled the yard. He started walking down the driveway, pulling the bin behind him.
He looked up for a second.
The stars were shining brightly.
"They look really close tonight," he said to himself.
Then something strange happened.
The air got quiet—so quiet that he couldn't even hear the bugs anymore.
And then he saw it.
One of the stars began to move.
It wasn't slow. It shot across the sky like a ball of fire, leaving a bright trail behind it. Takuma's eyes went wide. The star got bigger and bigger until it disappeared behind the forest near his house.
Then came the boom.
The ground shook, and a loud sound echoed through the air.
Takuma stumbled back.
"What was that!?"
He looked toward the forest. There was a white light shining between the trees. It looked close. His heart started beating fast.
He knew he should run back inside and tell his mom.
But he didn't.
"I'll just go look for a second," he whispered.
Takuma ran across the yard and into the woods. The trees were tall and dark, and his shoes crunched the dry leaves under his feet. The deeper he went, the brighter the light became.
Soon, he came to a small open space. The ground in the middle was torn up, and in the center was a glowing rock. It was small, but it shined so bright he had to cover his eyes.
Takuma slowly stepped closer.
"Is this… the star?"
He reached out his hand. The moment his fingers touched the light, a strong wind blew around him. The light wrapped around his body, spinning faster and faster until he couldn't see anything else.
Then, in his hands, something appeared.
It was a huge sword, almost as tall as he was. The blade was wide and shiny, giving off a soft white light. The handle was black and wrapped in cloth, easy to hold. The sword looked heavy, but it felt light in his hands—like it belonged to him.
He swung it once, and the ground shook. The sound it made was low and loud, like thunder far away.
Takuma stared at the sword.
"What… what is this?" he said quietly.
The light around him slowly faded away. The forest was dark again. Only the stars above still shined in the night sky.
Takuma stood there, breathing hard. He looked down at the sword, then back up at the sky.
Something told him that this was only the beginning.