It was a clear, cloudless night.

The Old Man, in his twilight years, stood on the top-floor balcony of a Western-style mansion, gazing at the star-studded night sky.

Ordinarily, it would be impossible to see such a dazzling display of stars without long-exposure photography. But to the Old Man's eyes, not even the faintest starlight could escape his gaze.

A blue meteor appeared from the position of Spica in Virgo, streaking across the night sky, emitting a light that, to the Magician community, was incomparably brilliant.

The meteor grew brighter and brighter, yet ordinary people remained oblivious. The Old Man stared at it in silence, his cloak flapping in the night wind. If the blue meteor followed its predetermined trajectory, it would surely fall onto this town.

If it was a calamity, he would eliminate it, the Old Man thought. After all, he didn't want this island nation where he lived to become a second South America. He was old, and he didn't want to run around cleaning up messes every day like that fellow who played with rocks.

This was truly ironic, the Old Man mused. Magicians were supposed to be enemies of the world, yet they were still asked to protect it.

The meteor drew closer and closer, and its blue light became increasingly brilliant. The tall Old Man, who had seemed ordinary before, now exuded a completely different aura.

No, rather than saying he was an Old Man now, it was more accurate to say he had reverted to his youthful appearance. His grizzled hair turned blood-red, radiating a dazzling light.

The environment around the young man distorted due to the overwhelming magical power. Even the flowers and plants in the garden grew, bloomed, and withered at an impossible speed.

If someone were to look at the sky from the young man's perspective, they would find day and night rapidly shifting, and fragments of time transforming in an impossible sequence and speed.

However, the blue meteor consistently maintained its original trajectory and speed as it flew towards the town, and the young man's aura was about to reach its peak.

The instant before the meteor was about to affect the town, its light began to rapidly diminish, eventually dissipating into nothingness.

The young man raised an eyebrow, waited a moment, but ultimately saw no more strange phenomena.

His hair turned grizzled again, his skin became slack, and wrinkles, like growing roots, crept up his cheeks.

The Old Man took one last look at the now calm night sky, then turned and walked down the stairs without looking back, intending to return to his Workshop to continue his work. But a sudden, jarring phone ringing echoed through the quiet mansion.

The Old Man frowned, walked to the phone, and picked up the receiver.

"It's me," the Old Man said coldly, "What is it?"

"...Father," a slightly submissive middle-aged male voice sounded from the phone receiver, "The second child has been born. It's also a girl. Would you like to come see her?"

"...Forget it," the Old Man hesitated before replying, "It would be too much of a downer for her to see my Old Man's face so soon after being born."

"...You jest," the middle-aged man said, "Please give this child a name, just like her older sister."

The Old Man tilted his head, staring at the patterns on the ceiling, and pondered for a moment.

"Father?" the middle-aged man on the phone asked, "Are you still there?"

"...Let's call her Aoko," the Old Man said, recalling the light of that meteor, "Aozaki Aoko."