So Says Astraea

Astrelia has golden-yellow eyes.

Eyes like the Creator's.

Just as the Creator found her in the mud, she found a human in the ashes.

A very small boy, with black hair and pale skin, clutching a rusty little knife. He was as ferocious as a wild dog, yet there was a weak, pleading light in his eyes.

Amid endless ashes and falling snow, Astrelia embraced him.

The boy called her big sister and slowly grew up. He was always sighing as he said, "Big sister, you need to be on your guard. This world is dangerous."

Astrelia would always smile. "Is it? Gilbert, you really worry too much."

The black-haired young man sighed helplessly and silently followed her vivid, free-spirited red dress.

He swore to himself, I'll protect you.

I'll shield you from every storm in this world, and from every twist of fate.

Much later, his sword pierced her body. Her blood splashed across his black hair and pale cheeks. His voice was hoarse, brimming with resentment:

...So a monster's blood is warm, after all.

As the god-slaying sword tore through her body, she somehow thought back to the snowy winter night many years ago, when she first met him. Everyone else was dead, and he had that filthy little knife.

Spitting blood, she laughed in broken bursts. Her golden eyes gleamed as she spoke in the same cheerful, enthusiastic, innocent, curious tone as always:

...After doing all that, was this the only thing you wanted to say to me?

You look like you're in unbearable pain, like you're about to cry. Humans really are... so interesting.

In short, this is a story about a nonhuman heroine who seems like a warm, natural big sister but has almost no human emotions, and a tragic, loyal, dark-haired hero, strong and beautiful, whom she raised herself. He works hard to become strong enough to protect his frail, kind big sister, only to have her destroy everything and abandon him when he's just one step from the top.

1. The heroine is a nonhuman being who lacks most conventional human emotions and has a severe lack of common sense. Her values are different from those of humans.

2. The romance between her and the hero is pretty dark.

3. But they do get a happy ending in the end (wait, what?)

Theme: Keep your eyes open and live life mindfully.