In a world lit not by kindness, but by the glow of stars on flesh, a person's worth was measured by what shone on the back of their hand. One star meant strength. Two stars meant talent. Five stars? It meant greatness—divinity, even. But those with no stars at all?
They were cursed.
Hunted.
Erased.
No one ever questioned the law of the stars. No one dared. Even children without stars were feared, rejected… abandoned.
Lily was one of them.
Or so they thought.
Born with five stars—more than anyone in her village had ever seen—Lily's fate should have been one of glory. But her stars never appeared on her skin. Not one shimmer. Not one glow.
To them, she was worthless. Starless. A mistake.
And at just six years old, she learned what it meant to be unwanted.
Banished by her family, hunted by her village, Lily had only one choice: run.
She ran into the forest alone… hungry, cold, and frightened. She didn't understand why the world hated her. All she knew was that her heart still beat. Her feet still moved. And somewhere inside her—faint but alive—hope still flickered.
"I don't need them," she whispered to the trees.
"I can take care of myself."
But even hope has limits.
And Lily was just a child… a lonely child with no star.
Lily walked around the forest for three days.
Then, she accidentally saw a traveler who had some food.
She was too scared to ask for any—because she didn't have a star on her hand.
So, she waited until night.
When it finally became dark, Lily saw that the traveler had fallen asleep.
She ran quietly toward him and tried to take some of his food.
But just as she grabbed it, the traveler suddenly woke up and grabbed her arm tightly,
holding a blade in his other hand...The traveler held Lily's arm tightly and looked at her.
"What are you trying to do?" he asked harshly.
Lily looked up at him with a terrified expression.
Her whole body was shaking.
The traveler frowned and asked,
"Why are kids like you out here this late at night?"
He glanced at her hand and saw that there were no stars.
Lily was still too scared to speak and remained silent.
Then the traveler asked again, more gently this time:
"You don't have stars, do you? That's why you were scared someone might see you. So you ran into the forest. You look really skinny… how long have you gone without food? And what's your name?"
Finally, Lily opened her mouth and replied with a trembling voice,
"I… I'm Li…Lily. I ha-haven't eaten for… th-three days."
The traveler looked at her quietly for a moment, then reached into his bag and handed her some food.
Lily looked at the food… then at the traveler… then back at the food.
Without saying anything, she began eating.
"My name is Leo," the traveler said.
Lily paused for a moment, repeated softly,
"Leo…"
After finishing the food, Lily asked shyly,
"Ho…how old are you, Un…Uncle Leo? I'm…"
Leo chuckled and said,
"I'm 23."
He gently rubbed Lily's head and asked,
"And how old are you, kid?"
"I… I'm six," Lily replied softly.
Leo looked at her kindly and said,
"You're still so young… You don't have a place to sleep, do you?"
"Y-yes…" Lily said, nodding.
"Don't be scared of me," Leo said. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm a kind man—even if you don't have stars. Look at my hand… I don't have stars either."
Lily looked at Leo's hand—her eyes widened in shock.
Leo laughed softly,
"Surprised, huh?"
Leo said to Lily,
"I know how you feel, Lily. I've felt what you're feeling before."
Lily looked up at him silently. Then Leo asked,
"Do you want to live with me? You can call me 'sir' or 'uncle.'"
He laughed a little.
Lily just stared at him for a moment… then quietly said,
"Pa… papa."
Leo looked at her, surprised and a little confused.
"Ehh? You can call me 'sir' or 'uncle'—no need to call me papa. I'm not your dad."
Lily's expression changed. She looked sad and disappointed.
Leo paused, then smiled gently. He didn't want to hurt her feelings.
"Okay, okay… you can call me papa. But only if you follow one rule."
Lily looked at him curiously.
"Never call me papa in front of other people," Leo said.
"They'll get suspicious. Our hair isn't the same."
In this world, families were expected to have the same hair color.
If they didn't, it meant they weren't truly related.
Lily's hair was pink, but Leo's was black—so she understood
"In public, just call me 'uncle,'" Leo added.
Lily nodded and smiled warmly.
She looked up at the moon. Leo watched her quietly, then looked at the moon too.
"The moon is beautiful, right?" Leo asked.
Lily replied softly,
"Yes… it's really beautiful. I like watching the moon at night."
Leo smiled and said,
"Hahaha, I can see that. But it's getting late. Let's sleep."
He pointed to the horse cart.
"You can sleep inside the cart. I'll sleep outside and protect you, Lily."
Lily looked at him, then nodded.
"Thank you so much, papa."
Leo laughed gently and watched as Lily climbed into the cart.
She sat down on the floor, still gazing at the moon with a smile on her face.
Leo lay down nearby.
That night, both of them slowly drifted off to sleep… under the same sky..
When morning came, Lily got out of the horse cart—
but she didn't see Leo anywhere.
Lily was shocked and scared.
She looked around the cart, but still couldn't find him.
Tears began to well up in her eyes.
Just as she was about to cry, she noticed something in the bushes.
Leo was coming back, carrying some fruit in his hands—
three apples and two berries.
He smiled and climbed onto the horse cart,
then looked at Lily and said,
"Here, some fruit for you. You can't let your body stay so skinny."
Leo laughed warmly and handed the fruit to her.
Lily took the fruit and immediately started eating.
After a moment, she looked at Leo and said softly,
"Thanks, papa…"
Then she continued eating.
Leo just smiled and watched her, eating his own apple.
Once they finished the three apples and two berries,
Leo stood up and said,
"Alright, get inside. We're going on an adventure."
Lily nodded and climbed into the horse cart.
Leo got onto the horse and they began their journey.
As they traveled, Leo chatted with Lily while keeping an eye on their surroundings.
After a few minutes, a monster appeared on the road.
Leo's expression changed.
"Lily, don't come out," he said seriously.
Lily nodded nervously, her body trembling with fear.
Leo jumped off the horse and pulled out his blade…
Leo ran toward the monster.
It was a 1-star beast, but still dangerous.
He tried to defeat it, but it wasn't easy—Leo didn't have a star.
He fought with everything he had.
Leo slashed the monster's body, but then it countered—its arm transformed into a chainsaw.
Leo stared at the spinning blade and gritted his teeth, ready to fight even if it meant death.
Then suddenly, something flashed in Leo's mind.
A memory.
He remembered… a long time ago…
A 1-star monster—just like this one—had killed a child.
That child belonged to one of Leo's old companions from the explorer team (Nova hunters).
It was supposed to be an easy mission.
Everyone thought a level 1 monster couldn't possibly cause any harm.
They were wrong.
The monster transformed…
and before anyone could act, it struck the explorer's child—
killing him instantly with one spinning strike.
There was blood. Screams. And silence.
Leo remembered how helpless he felt. How useless. How angry.
And now, here he was—facing the same kind of monster.
But this time, Lily was watching.
"I won't let the same thing happen again," Leo whispered.
He shouted and rushed at the monster with all his strength.
The battle continued.
Lily stood frozen in fear, unable to do anything but watch.
Leo was bleeding badly.
But even in pain, he turned to Lily and gave her a warm smile.
After a long and brutal fight, Leo finally defeated the monster.
But his body was badly injured.
He walked slowly toward the horse cart, collapsed onto the ground, and began breathing heavily.
Lily, shaking and scared, ran to him with tears in her eyes.
She hugged him tightly.
Leo looked down at her and smiled weakly.
"Please don't die, Papa... I only have you," Lily cried.
Leo gently patted her head and said,
"I'm not going to die, Lily. Don't worry. I just need some rest."
But deep down, Leo knew he was lying.
He could feel it—his time was running out.
Lily continued crying, holding him tightly, refusing to let it go.