CHAPTER 163: MIGHT AS WELL

Might As Well

The Cult of Starry Skies.

A mysterious religious organization that has existed since even before Mana descended, having a long-lasting history with influence that goes so deep that most people don’t even know just how extensive it truly is.

Many had tried to destroy it in the past, and a few had come close, but none had ever succeeded, and as time passed, they only grew stronger while others became more wary of their existence.

Even before Mana descended, they were known to have strange methods towards almost anything. Odd, ancient techniques that defied logic were things they deployed frequently and were used to either assert their dominance or ward off potential threats.

When Mana descended, they were among the first group of people to take advantage of the fact, almost as if they had been waiting for that moment, and they quickly established themselves as a powerful, albeit reclusive faction.

Even with so much time passing, not much was known about them, however, while most were wary of them, they tended to keep to themselves, and most of the time, they were left alone.

Furthermore, while most would rather not deal with them at all, not a lot of people truly had a negative view of them, as they either watched on as bystanders, and sometimes helped humanity if it came to their benefit, but they never acted against humanity. Not once.

There were many speculations about their true goals, with some trying their best to investigate, but the cult was oddly good at hiding what they wanted to keep hidden. Hence, what was known about their goals and overall status was limited, but boiled down to this.

They believed in ascension through the stars and saw the stars as their ultimate destination.

To the cult, the night sky was more than just a blanket of light. It was a map, a scripture, and a prophecy in one. Each star represented a step in ascension, and those who proved themselves worthy were said to one day "rejoin the heavens."

Among the many strange traditions the cult upheld that they bothered sharing, none drew as much curiosity–or unease–as the Nine Stars

From what was shared, they weren’t simply disciples of core members. They were children selected through methods the cult never revealed. Unsurprising. Each one was raised from birth to embody fragments of the stars the cult revered the most. They weren’t related by blood, but by doctrine. Each was named after a "Star", and title that carried both symbolism and expectation.

They weren’t random either. At least, not from what outsiders thought. They believed they represented what the cult foresaw for each child, or what they wanted to mold them into. 9 siblings created to one day grasp the sky itself.

The order of their titles was said to be chronological, based on who was born when, and they were all believed to possess a unique trait that made them even more special than they already were.

Not much was known about them, except for one vague statement that was revealed one time.

They will be the ones to "Reach For The Stars."

"I’d rather you didn’t call me by that name." Osho said flatly, and the boy grinned cheekily.

"Why not? It’s your name as much as Osho, so you should answer to both, right?" He said and got off the sofa. Osho ignored the question and asked.

"So what’s your game? You’ve seen me, why are you still here? In fact, how did you find me?" Osho pressed, especially that last part.

"I’ve been here for a while, I just sensed when you arrived." He shrugged. "That said, it’s impressive that you managed to get accepted here. Lucky too." His gaze moved to Gale and Bedrock, the two beasts tensing under his gaze.

"Eyes on me." Osho said dryly.

"So what exactly do you want to know? How are you even here? You’re too young to be a Beast Tamer." Osho asked with a raised brow.

"You know rules like that don’t apply to me." He shrugged again, still looking cheeky.

"Anyway, other than wanting to see you, I am curious to see..." He stepped forward until he was right in front of Osho, looking up at him with his black eyes.

"... Just how much you’ve improved since the last time we met. After all, being away for so long, you must not have been able to access most of the cult’s resources easily. So, I want to see if you have fallen behind." His tone was cheerful, but the implications weren’t so innocent, and Osho’s eyes narrowed.

"Be careful, Peter," Osho said darkly.

The boy, Peter, was about to respond, when two knocks sounded on the door.

"Osho, it’s us. Are you close enough to hear us or do we need to call you?" Sam’s voice sounded from behind the door. And Osho’s eyes widened slightly while Peter’s grin widened.

"Those must be your friends. I should meet them." He said, and Osho was about to stop him when he flicked his hand. A string of Mana flew out and wrapped around the doorknob before opening it, letting the group in.

’Damnit.’ Osho resisted the urge to sigh as he rubbed his temples just as the others entered his living room.

They began to talk when they all froze, their gazes shifting between Osho and the kid in front of him who was waving with a bright smile.

"Hello! You must be his friends, right? It’s nice to meet you, my name is Peter, but you can call me the 9th Star, the Rising Star." Peter introduced, himself, and Osho resisted the urge to cringe.

’Coming a bit strong there Peter.’ He thought as he watched the faces of his friends turn even more confused. The sight of their confusion made Peter frown slightly, then it was like a light bulb lit up in his head as he faced Osho with a disapproving expression.

"Have you not told them about us? How disappointing. But also kinda funny, you are the last person I thought would be averse to sharing this particular topic." He said like he just caught someone doing something bad, and Osho was 3 seconds away from planting his head into the floor.

"Wait. Wait. What’s going on? Osho, who is this? And what is he talking about?" Kurt stepped forward and asked with a frown, sensing something was amiss.

Only Ellie seemed to somewhat understand what was happening as she looked forward while Osho sighed.

"Yeah Osho, tell them what I’m talking about." Peter said way too happily, and Osho closed his eyes for a second before taking a breath.

Opening them again, he regarded the group before pointing at Peter.

"This is Peter, and he is my ’brother’." He decided to just say, and the group was silent for a few seconds, their expressions all shifting into shock.

"Y-Your WHAT?!" Sam was the first one to exclaim.

"Yup. Not blood related, obviously." Osho said with a shrug, seeming oddly unbothered by the entire ordeal.

"Well, we can see that!" Irene yelled before pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Okay, clearly there is a story here, so could you please start from the beginning?" Ellie asked gently, trying to diffuse some of the tension. There was silence for a moment before Osho spoke.

"We should probably all sit down for this, it’s a pretty long story." He sighed as he gestured towards the chairs, and the group reluctantly agreed as they all slowly sat down.

Osho took a breath as he sat opposite the others in one of the armchairs, Peter happily taking the other.

’Here goes.’ He thought and started to explain. From.the circumstances of his birth to the cult, to his position within the cult, and his decision to keep his distance.

Peter was happy to chime in at certain points, adding details that Osho didn’t ask for, but he never stopped him from speaking either way.

"I never said anything because, well, it sounds bad, and I wasn’t ready to deal with the fallout of that yet, but I guess at this point, keeping it a secret is as pointless as it is dumb." Osho finished and leaned into his seat, his expression carefully neutral despite his beating heart.

Ellie and the others fell silent as they digested all the information, Peter deciding to keep quiet as he stared at Gale and Bedrock, looking like he was about to try and touch them.

"So, if I got this right, you’re a part of this secret but super powerful cult that bases its doctrine around the stars, and you are one of 9 children known as the 9th Star, AKA the Wandering Star, who decided to distance himself from the cult due to certain reasons and do his own thing, and this boy next to you, is Peter, also known as the Rising Star, and he came here because he... wants to fight you?" Ellie summarized, and Osho nodded.

"Yeah, sounds about right." Osho nodded with a sigh as he awaited the fallout.