Burning Bright | Keigo Takami x Male Reader

Chapter 6

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One year before the fall.

(M/N) sighed as he closed the front door behind him, telling his mother he'd be back later. Keigo had told him to meet at the field (M/N) first found them in. He checked the time.

8pm.

He had told his mother he was going to spend the night at Keigo's. It was a Friday night so she had no problem with it. Really Keigo said they were going to get (M/N) to "take the oath."

After he had found out the truth about Keigo and his group and literally had his eyes opened to a whole new world, Keigo told him that to become a Star Guardian, he would need to take the oath, which would grant him special abilities to fight the forces of darkness. Apparently every Star Guardian had to take the oath when they first began, but (M/N) couldn't help feeling a little nervous.

Keigo said people were chosen by the First Star, but he still didn't know why he was chosen. What did this star see in him that made him worthy of becoming a cosmic protector?

(M/N) sighed as he looked up at the stars above him. It helped him calm down considerably, although he knew why now. In a way he was bound to the stars, so that pull he'd been feeling for a while made sense after learning the truth.

(M/N) took the same path he did the last time he was here. Keigo and the others came into sight as he moved past the tree line.

"There he is!" Denki said. They were all wearing normal clothes this time. Keigo seemed to understand what (M/N) was thinking.

"Those are our Star Guardian outfits, they're bound to our powers and we can switch into them whenever we want," Keigo said. He then snapped his fingers and with a burst of starlight, his clothes changed back to his outfit.

"Yeah it's pretty cool, and handy too," Denki said while leaning against Kyoka's shoulder.

"Although this," Keigo pointed to the gem imbued into the middle of his outfit in front of his chest. It looked like an emblem. "Is the source of our powers, it's basically your core beliefs, your ambition, stuff like that."

(M/N) watched the gem pulse. "If you lose your core beliefs, do you lose your powers?"

Keigo crossed his arms behind his head. "Honestly, I don't know. That would usually imply a full 360 personality change, so I've never seen it happen before."

Nemuri stepped up. "To successfully take the oath, you need to understand your core beliefs."

"What if I don't know what they are?" (M/N) asked.

"Well, like Keigo said, your ambition can also work. It's just a bit harder to connect with," she said. "What are your ambitions, your goals?"

(M/N) looked off into the woods. What were his ambitions? He thought about the pull effect the stars had on him. How much he wanted to see the outside universe. That had to count.

"Close your eyes and think about what you desire most," Keigo said. "Really focus on it. Your goals. Your ambitions. Whatever they are."

(M/N) closed his eyes and thought about his desire to see the stars. How it must feel to explore the universe, seeing everything it had to offer. If he could help protect the universe against evil as well then he would really feel like his existence could mean something. His life would have purpose. It was the offer of a lifetime.

Suddenly, (M/N) wasn't in the open field, but in an endless black void. He looked around, not finding anything at first, until a new light formed before his eyes, it grew to be around the same size as him, and then the light faded, revealing a carbon copy of himself.