Sword of Malta – The Awakening of the Starship Malta (64)

64. The Ark of Stars: The Sirius Redemption

Part 2 — Christmas in the Stars

The children of Malta were already there, marching through the plaza with statues of the Infant Jesus, their voices raised in carols.
In every window bloomed the Guelbianas—Malta’s ancient flowers of rebirth, their vivid crimson a promise of resurrection passed down through generations.
Suri, Sabi, and Maru followed the procession into a cathedral that was also a Megalithic temple.

“The temples were cathedrals all along,”

Suri realized, his heart swelling with pride.

“Built not by chance, but aligned with the singular eye of Sirius.”

At the altar, a seven-year-old girl with olive-green eyes began to speak.
As Marblem closed his eyes and projected his spirit, her gaze turned a brilliant, electric blue.

“Light is born twice,” the girl proclaimed. “Once in the stars, and once in the heart.”

The cathedral dome transformed into a vast holographic screen.
The turquoise waters of the Mediterranean Malta appeared, so vivid that the sound of the waves and the soft padding of cats’ paws seemed to f ill the air.
The girl pointed a slender finger, and the earthly Malta drifted across the star-path to settle beside Sirius Malta.

“Now, Malta becomes the future of the cosmos. It is our future.”

The heavy oak doors creaked open.
Knights of Malta, draped in black robes with blood-red crosses, entered with silent, imposing dignity.
They knelt before the girl and Marblem.

“O, Weaver of Past and Present!” they intoned. Marblem raised his hand, and a blade of pure starlight—the Memory of Stars—flew into his palm. Even Sansuna knelt before her son. “The heir of the Magic Tribe… the Emperor of Malta.”

“Enough with the solemnity—let the party begin!”

Maru’s shout broke the spell.
The Triton Fountain square exploded into a Christmas Fairyland.
Tables groaned under the weight of roasted turkeys, honey-glazed pastries, and steaming mugs of Imbuljuta tal-Qastan.
The Thorwaynes became the stars of the festival, giving children rides through the starlit sky.
Teacher Golly, back in her element, delivered the lecture of a lifetime:

M(Sea) + M(Star) = M(Unified)

[The Grand Equation: The Synthesis of Mediterranean and Celestial Civilizations]

In the midst of the joy, Sabi tugged at Suri’s sleeve.

“Suri, look!”

Eridan was standing there. Suri ran to him, burying his face in Eridan’s cloak. “I missed you so much… I thought you were trapped in the library!”

“On Christmas, the doors of the library open for a single day,” Eridan smiled, stroking his hair. “There hasn’t been a Christmas here for a very long time. You brought it back to us.”

He handed Suri a small scrying mirror of polished obsidian.
As he touched it, the cold stone warmed, and the tear-streaked faces of their mothers appeared in the reflection.

“When are you coming home?”

Suri’s mother sobbed.

“We’re heading to the Gorham Caves in Gibraltar next—the last sanctuary of the Neanderthals,”

Suri promised.

“But we’re sending a gift first.”

Sabi released Alice, her mechanical butterfly, into the air.

“Go, Alice. Find my mother. Tell her everything. Tell her our story so she can write it into a book. It’ll be bigger than Harry Potter!”

Alice fluttered her wings, offered a tiny, metallic smile, and soared into the starlight, tracing the long, glowing road back toward Earth.

Some journeys end.
Others simply become the stars by which new ones are navigated.

[The end]

Starting November 2023, The Korea Daily has published the fantasy novel series “Sword of Malta – Lightning in 72 Years” on our website. The captivating series follows a trio of young adventurers on their quest to uncover the mysteries of ancient civilizations, including the Maya and Inca. In an exciting development, Netflix is currently adapting the novel’s storyline into a film.

The ‘Sword of Malta – Lightning in 72 Years’ was authored by Jeeyoon Ha, who created the “Pangaea series.” Ha’s debut novel, “The Pangaea: Finding Xibalba,” was selected by the Korea Creative Content Agency in 2022 as part of their initiative to support the global export of fantasy literature.

*Mark Oh translated the Korean novel into English.