[Star Nation - Bella's Village.]

​BAM!!

​The Eldoria Starship settled silently onto the emerald green field, displacing only a scattering of dew. The ramp lowered, and Sunny, radiating quiet authority, descended alongside, was Jinx, and Star, now utilizing the graceful, ethereal appearance of her true self, Bella.

​"Bella? Is that truly you?"

​An old Elven woman, her face a road map of hardship and time, stood by a weathered cottage. This was Mrs. Nikita, the kindest neighbor in the village. She slowly pushed herself upright, leaning heavily on a walking cane, disbelief warring with sudden, powerful hope in her eyes.

​Star walked swiftly to the old woman, embracing her tightly.

"Oh, my dear... But, I heard. The news said you..."

​"It's all a lie, Mrs. Nikita. I am safe." Star pulled back, her eyes heavy with unshed emotion, and turned her gaze to the small, familiar house—the center of her childhood.

​"I am so sorry, dear." Nikita's voice was a sad, low murmur. "They attacked at midnight, in the dark. None of us knew what was truly happening until the screams started."

​"Did you see what happened?" Jinx asked, her voice clipped and professional. She took the lead, her sharp eyes scanning the broken door and surrounding ground for residual energy signatures, the group trailing her through the tall grass.

​"They were three men. Clad in black robes. No neighbor saw a single face," Nikita explained, recounting the tragedy with painful clarity. They stopped at the entrance:

"The moment the neighbors rushed over, the three simply vanished, like smoke. Your mother and father were... killed." Nikita wiped a tear with a trembling hand, staring at the half-broken door.

​Star slowly nodded, internalizing the clinical details. She pushed the door open. The small room, once filled with warmth, was now a portrait of violation: a destroyed roof, splintered furniture, and a thick coating of spiderwebs and dust.

​"The moment I officially became the Royal Head Maid, I asked Mum to find a new place in the city," Star murmured, her gaze tracing the broken beams.

"But she refused. My father, too. They chose to stay in the Family House, they said. They valued continuity over comfort."

​"You said her Mum and Dad were killed. What about her sister and brother?" Sunny asked, turning his focused attention to Nikita. His query cut through the emotional haze.

​"We don't know..." Nikita admitted, lowering her voice. "But the people discovered a trail of blood at the back. It led to the cliff, and below the cliff is the fast-flowing river. It was lost there."

​Star snapped her head up in surprise. She rushed out of the house, her feet pounding the earth toward the cliff edge, Sunny and Jinx quickly on her tail, leaving the tearful Nikita alone.

__

​Star stopped at the precipice, looking down at the churning river below. The water, fed by mountain runoff, was a violent, cold blue.

​"What are you thinking, Star?" Jinx asked, standing a respectful distance from her back, recognizing the private moment.

​"This is our favorite place. The three of us—my sister, my brother, and I—we would sit right here and watch the waters smash against the rocks below..." Star's voice was flat, her focus absolute on the current.

​Sunny moved toward the edge, surveying the area with a strategist's eye. He pointed across the river to a small, clustered settlement.

​"Where is that village?" he asked.

​"I don't know. I never crossed the river," Star answered, never taking her eyes off the water.

​"The blood trail stopped here. If your sister or brother made it this far, they either collapsed into the water or they made it to the other side." Sunny concluded. "Let's investigate. Someone in that village might know something."

​Star thought for a moment, her gaze lifting from the flowing river to the possibility across the way. She gave a sharp nod.

​"Okay then, let's go."

​Without warning, Jinx sprang off the cliff edge, a dark figure plummeting toward the water with absolute confidence. Sunny and Star immediately followed her action, leaping down into the void.

___

​[Unknown Coastal Village.]

​"Come and try my fish!! They're fresh!! Just one hundred Galaxy Crystals!" A fish seller bellowed, pointing to the glittering catch laid out on his stall.

​"Come on!! It's the cheapest fish on the market!" he yelled, but the busy villagers largely ignored his persistent cries.

​"How much for a fish?"

​A small figure, no older than ten, emerged from the crowd. She wore oversized black pants and a jacket, a study in street-smart scrappiness. She looked up at the seller with an inquisitive smile.

​"This one is one hundred thousand!" The seller pointed to a fish almost twice the size of his arm, quoting a ridiculous price, thinking she was just a curious child.

​"Huh? Isn't that too expensive?" she asked, her brow furrowed in a slight frown.

​"Expensive?! Fine, what about this one?"

​The man bent down to pick up a smaller, cheaper fish. When he straightened up, the girl was gone. Vanished. The large, hundred-thousand-crystal fish was gone with her.

​"Hey!!!" He turned to the crowd, spotting the black jacket disappearing with incredible, unnatural speed.

"Stop her!!! Theft!!!" He chased after the girl, completely missing the fact that more than ten other children had suddenly emerged from alleys and carts, swiftly clearing out the remaining fish from his unattended stall before dispersing.

​"Stop!!!"

​The ignorant Seller chased the little girl toward the sea. The onlookers simply ignored the chase—petty theft was common, and the village had its own unspoken rules.

​The girl ran all the way, tripped spectacularly on a loose stone, and tumbled to the ground. The stolen fish rolled, landing directly at the feet of Sunny, Star, and Jinx, who had just emerged silently from the river's edge, untouched by water.

​".....?!"

​The little girl scrambled up, her blue eyes wide. She looked up and her gaze locked onto Sunny's mesmerizing golden eyes.

​"Caught you!!"

​The fat man caught her, picking her up effortlessly with one hand. "Where is my fish, you thief!?" he roared, shaking her.

​"I don't know," she replied with a disturbingly innocent, defiant smile.

​"You?!!"

​"Excuse me," Star called out, stepping forward.

​"Mind your business!" the man snapped at her, not even bothering to look away from his captive.

​"We are looking for someone, and I just need to ask some questi—"

​"—I know who you are looking for!" the little girl quickly yelled, her words slicing through the confrontation and stunning the group into absolute silence. The defiant light in her eyes intensified as she shrewdly assessed the reaction of the powerful strangers.

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