The tension in the room was a tangled knot of annoyance, defiance, and utter confusion. Shin stood there, his silk shirt still slightly crumpled from Solara's grip, trying to process the whirlwind introduction. He looked from the pouting, golden-haired dynamo to the woman he now knew as his wife, who was still holding a frying pan with the casual air of someone who might use it again at any moment.
His mind, still reeling from the revelation that night was day and day was night, finally latched onto the most immediate, most fundamental impossibility in the room.
"Luna..." he began, his voice hesitant. He pointed a thumb at Solara, who was still rubbing her head and glaring. "You have a sister?"
Luna sighed, a long-suffering sound that seemed to carry the weight of eons. She placed the frying pan on a nearby table with a soft clink, the sound final and definitive. "Unfortunately," she said, her eyes narrowing slightly at her younger sibling. "She is... a side effect of creation."
Solara gasped, her hands flying to her hips. "A side effect?! I'll have you know I'm the best part of this whole world!"
Shin's eyes widened. The implications were staggering. If Luna was a goddess, and Solara was her sister...
"Is she... is she also a goddess like you?" he asked, his voice filled with awe.
Luna shook her head, a small, tired smile playing on her lips. "No. I am a Creator. A Primordial. I wove the fabric of this reality from nothing." She gestured to Solara. "She is a personification. A manifestation of this world's most vital force."
She paused, letting the words sink in. "Solara," Luna announced, her tone shifting to that of a teacher, "is the Sun."
Shin's jaw dropped. He stared at the fiery, impulsive girl who had just tried to throttle him. The Sun. The celestial body whose light now gave life to the city outside. It was impossible. It was absurd. And in this world, it was apparently true.
Solara puffed out her chest, a proud, arrogant smirk on her face. "That's right! I'm the heart and soul of Astera! While you're all sleeping during your boring 'night,' I'm out there, shining my light and making sure the crops grow and the shadows stay back! It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it."
The pieces clicked into place for Shin. The day/night cycle, Solara's fiery personality, her protective streak. She was literally the embodiment of life and energy, a stark contrast to Luna's serene, lunar, and creative nature.
"So that's why you weren't here earlier," Shin said, thinking aloud. "You were... working."
"Exactly!" Solara said, pointing a finger at him as if he'd finally passed a test. "I just finished my shift and came to see what all the cosmic fuss was about. I find out my sister finally picked a champion, and I come here to find... you. Alone. In her room."
Her expression shifted from pride to suspicion again. "A perfect opportunity for you to take advantage of her gentle nature."
Luna massaged her temples, looking utterly exhausted. "Solara, for the last time, he is the king. I chose him. Now, can we please move past this?"
"Fine," Solara huffed, crossing her arms. But then her expression turned serious, her playful demeanor vanishing. "But speaking of my shift... onee-chan, we have a problem."
Luna's eyes narrowed. "The Void?"
Solara nodded, her earlier bravado completely gone, replaced by a grim urgency. "It's getting worse. The shadows on the eastern edge of the Sunken Plains are... thicker. They don't run from my light like they used to. They're... eating it. My light is weaker there."
She looked at Shin, her sky-blue eyes filled with a challenge that was no longer about him being with her sister. It was about him being the king.
"The people are scared. They're afraid the dark will eventually swallow my light, and then they'll have nothing." She took a step towards him, her voice low and intense. "So, 'King.' What are you going to do about it?"
The question hung in the air, a gauntlet thrown at his feet. His first test as king wasn't a ceremony or a parade. It was a real, tangible threat, a darkness that was literally consuming the light. He looked from Solara's challenging gaze to Luna's expectant one. The honeymoon was over. It was time to be a king.
The grim news about the Void hung in the air, a cold, heavy blanket. Solara's challenge was a gauntlet thrown at Shin's feet, a demand for a king's action. He felt a cold sweat break out on his brow. What could he possibly do? He was an office worker, not a hero.
But Luna, instead of looking worried, had a serene, almost mischievous smile on her lips.
"I have an idea," she said, her voice calm and clear.
"Idea?" Solara asked, her confusion evident. "What idea? We need to fight the shadows, not have a tea party!"
Luna ignored her, her gaze fixed on Shin. Her smile widened. "Shin, you know what you have to do."
Shin's blood ran cold. He recognized that look. It was the same look she had right before she told him about the Rite with Valeria. His face paled, and he took a frantic step back, his hands flying up in protest.
"No, no, no!!" he yelped, his voice an octave higher than usual.
"Yup," Luna said, her tone infuriatingly cheerful. "You're right."
"No, no, it's so humiliating!" Shin stammered, his face flushing a deep, painful red. "Just thinking about it is humiliating! Isn't there another way?"
"None," Luna said, her voice firm, leaving no room for argument. She took a step closer, her expression softening into one of loving expectation. "There is no other way, my husband."
The weight of his new title, combined with the utter impossibility of the situation, crashed down on him. With a groan of pure defeat, Shin slid to the floor in a heap, burying his face in his hands. "Fine then..."
"My husband!!" Solara shrieked, her voice piercing the tense atmosphere. She whirled on Luna, her sky-blue eyes wide with disbelief. "One-chan, did I hear that right?! You called him... my husband?!"
She then pointed an accusatory finger at the pathetic heap on the floor. "And what are you two talking about?! I don't understand!"
Luna sighed, looking at her sister as if she were a particularly slow-witted child. "What do you mean you don't understand, Solara? Of course, we're talking about the Rite."
The word hit Solara like a physical blow. Her mouth fell open. Her fiery, confident demeanor evaporated, replaced by a slow, horrifying dawning of comprehension.
"The... the Rite?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.
Then, it happened.
A blush so deep and furious it looked like her own hair was trying to set her face on fire spread from her neck to the roots of her golden curls. The Sun, the vibrant, untamable embodiment of energy, was the color of a ripe tomato.
"NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT!" she screamed, her voice cracking with a mixture of shock and utter mortification. She stomped her foot like a child throwing a tantrum. "NO WAY! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!"
Luna watched her sister's meltdown with an air of detached amusement. "It is the only way to focus his power, Solara. The Void is encroaching on your domain. We need a surge of life energy, more than what he produced with Valeria alone."
"I DON'T CARE!" Solara wailed, covering her burning face with her hands. "I'm the Sun! The heart of this world! I don't... participate! I shine! I don't just... lie down and... and... NO!"
She continued to refuse, a stream of frantic, incoherent denials filling the room. Shin, still slumped on the floor, peeked through his fingers at the spectacle. The most powerful, fiery being in this world, a literal goddess, was having a complete meltdown over the prospect of a ceremonial... well, ceremony.
And somehow, against all logic, it made him feel a little bit better about his own situation.