The Kennedys are on a midnight flight to Manila. Everyone in the first-class cabin is asleep—everyone except nine-year-old Topher. From his window seat, he peeks out and catches sight of a lone blue-white shooting star streaking across the sky. For a brief, breathless moment, time seems to stop. The family soon arrives in the Philippines for summer vacation, set to reunite with their Filipino relatives and enjoy a beachside getaway.

At the resort guesthouse, the late-night news announces an incoming meteor shower, stirring excitement throughout the household. Amateur stargazers and relatives alike prepare their telescopes to witness the rare event. At exactly midnight, under a vast, starlit sky, the Kennedys, Pangilinans, Sevillas, and Argentes gather as spectators to the celestial display. Amidst the awe, Topher, his cousins, and a coastal town girl named Roanne make their wishes—though only one will come true, setting into motion a chain of extraordinary events.

I wish to always be the MVP of the basketball team, Michael.
I wish to be a star—a famous A-list Hollywood actress and celebrity, Allison.
I wish to draw lots and lots more, Sophie.
I hope I meet a nice girlfriend soon, James.
I wish for my family to be happy and healthy, Roanne.
I wish to become a professional like Topher’s dad, Tito Bill, but as an orthopedic surgeon—a high-paying job so I can live the good life, Benjamin.
Topher, I wish we could become heroes from the stories we love and the things we like.
— Chapter 2: Meteor Shower — Wish Upon A Star (paraphrased)

Topher encounters a shooting star that has descended to Earth, and the two quickly form a bond, wandering off together to a hidden coastal cave. There, the star conjures the Star of Vis board game before Topher’s eyes, then merges with it—vanishing into the navy crystal ball at its center. What begins as a personal rescue mission for Topher soon draws in his cousins and a new friend, Roanne, each with their own reasons for joining. As they play the game, the children are caught in a magical struggle, one by one struck by the Seven Luminaries—immense celestial beings unleashed by the board’s devastating endgame: the Cosmic Cataclysm.

Three years later, while stargazing with his father, Topher spots the Star of Vis once again—this time drifting past the Andromeda constellation in the night sky. The sight triggers a sudden, searing pain in his head. Compelled by something he doesn’t fully understand, Topher begins to draw the board game from memory: its panels, tokens, and characters. Unbeknownst to him, these images are not born of imagination but fragments of his subconscious—repressed memories from the cave incident. After a moment of bravery saving his dog, the Star of Vis reveals it had been hidden within Topher’s heart all along. It restores his lost memories and formally names him its keeper.

As a celestial artifact, the Star of Vis has two distinct forms: a dormant pendant and an active amulet. In its slumbering state, it appears as a gray astrolabe pendant that Topher wears around his neck, unremarkable to any ordinary eye. But when summoned, the star floats above his right palm—beneath the fated lines of his skin—revealing a tiny, marquise-cut blue-white gem, surrounded by thick, intricate gray rings forming semi-arches at varying angles. These rings are inscribed with ancient incantations and symbols that trace back to Antiquity. As its magic stirs, Topher’s eyes glow blue-white, and a corresponding magic circle flares to life on his palm.

At first, only Topher, as the keeper of the Star of Vis, could activate the team’s transformation. Driven by a desire for autonomy, Michael once tries to steal the pendant while Topher is asleep, hoping to become his superhero alter-ego, Spartan, without relying on anyone else. In the end, however, Topher chooses to create six Vis shards—fragments of the original artifact—for the other members of the Seven Acolytes, allowing each of them to transform independently through their own unique trinkets and mechanisms.

The Star of Vis is, at its core, a powerful sentient entity capable of warping reality through a single wish. Topher’s innocent desire not only transforms him, his cousins, and their friend Roanne into heroes inspired by various genres and media, but also conjures allies like the Peregrine spaceship crew—ROBO3000 and CleanBot. Yet such power doesn’t create only champions; it also gives rise to villains and monsters. Among them is Echidna, who orchestrates a campaign through ancient Greek beasts to destroy the Seven Acolytes and claim the Star of Vis for herself, aiming to resurrect her mate Typhon and usher in a new age of monster supremacy. As the saying goes, where there is light, shadow always follows.