With that one step, his hands glowed all the brighter, for then, Master Luma's power merged into the strength of his own heart, and the power that hidden lay in the stars spilled out through Young Luma and into Mario's whole being. The timeless hero felt all the warmth, strength, and light of deep space surge throughout his whole structure, pulsing from his heart into his hands. A hidden power rose within him, and a connection to the starry oceans that only could be discovered by purity and innocence sparked. He had been marked by the starlight, just as the brilliant Mother of the Lumas, and it filled him with the strength of peace. He felt now that not even the dark evil of Bowser could touch the stars with so much light defending them. Nothing could now withhold his irrepressible spirit.

The luma in front of him began to speak to the stars as the young hero examined his new gift. The little creature blew up with hope and excitement. The bond he now saw between the hero of the cosmos and his friend Master Luma shined in a marvelous majesty that rivaled his mama's. He understood how important the young hero's next few steps were. If Master Luma had taken to him as if he had been born in the stars, and if Polari had been certain that he could pass Master Luma's test before he even had begun, then he would throw all his heart upon the red-capped hero and hope. If Mama had trusted him since she had first seen him lying in the peaceful light of the star way, then like all the others of the family of the Comet Observatory, he too felt it safe to trust the young man and to put the light of the beacon in his hands.

"Wow. Mama really trusts you. She gave you Master Luma's power to travel through space." Mario looked up and nodded. He had barely an idea of the power that the motherly Rosalina had bestowed upon him so willingly, and he knew less about its functions. But he knew that he had to save his Princess and he knew he had to help the strange Rosalina reclaim her home and put the stars back into order. He would withstand spaghettification one thousand times over to save the peace and light of space that all the galaxies called home.

"Oh, go on! All you have to do is spin. Spin around things that look breakable," announced the luma happily. The star creature understood more of that moment than did the hero of space himself. Remembering the strength that his mama taught him to know and to feel, he awaited the first steps of a hero's journey. He knew the young man had come farther than had any other for a thousand years before, and if they were to find the light again, it was to be found in Mario's heart.

Mario acknowledged what the little creature had said. He understood that the luma had spoken of the crystal that stood where, only moments before, the brilliant Rosalina had shined. He walked forward to observe its structure. After studying its bluish clarity, he made out crystalline fractures deep within its walls. He walked around to inspect it, and the formations changed shape and length as he encircled it. It certainly seem destructible to him, but how he was to effect its destruction with a spin was a task that stood beyond him.

Remembering the words of the luma, he looked at his hands once more and watched their silent glow. The light pulsed faintly though the soft air, as if it were a piece of the stars. Then he looked to the luma as if awaiting confirmation to proceed. There was much he did not understand, and much of the information that had fallen upon him since he had come from the unsuspecting peace of his home was lost in a sea of confusion. Yet, standing before the crystal, he took a deep breath. He trusted the Lumas and their mother; he trusted light.

     He held his hands around him and felt the warmth of Master Luma's power rise into his heart. Staring into the depths of the skies reflected in the blue of the crystal, he began to turn. From that movement, he felt existence without form. He nearly jumped out of his body, and it spun beneath him, harnessing all of the strength of the stars. For a moment of time that passed swiftly as light, he could see time and the entirety of the universe, condensed and laid out before his eyes in a massive expanse of radiance. Then, as he returned to awareness, he stopped. The crystal was shattered and gone.

In its place there stood a bright orange star, floating in silver and golden light. He stared at it, watching it spin softly. It seemed to shine in the same light in which the Lumas and all the stars of space lived. It was a powerful structure, but the knowledge that lay hidden within it existed beyond him and beyond all those of his home in the secrets of the stars of time.

     After a second, he stepped toward the golden star. Suddenly, it drew him into its center and slowly lifted him into the air. His heart was lightened by its power, and he began to feel the very essence of light. A fire sparked into silver brilliance within his mind. Suddenly, he began to understand the warmth and strength of light in the cold darkness of space. Staring into the farthest reaches of deep blue, he peered farther into the galaxy than he had ever looked before. His mind was overtaken by immense respect to young Master Luma and to the unusual Rosalina. He was very thankful for the power she had given to him, even though he understood barely half of the nature of the stars. Then the Luma near the orange star jumped and squealed as peace filled the little planetoid that defied the chaos of the universe about it.

"Now, go and explore the universe. There are lots of galaxies for you discover!" The luma waved to the timeless, red-clad, irrepressible hero of the cosmos who now was hoisted in the air by the power of the stars. Replacing all of his doubt and fear with hope and respect and patience, he began to explain the use of the bright orange launch star to the light of the beacon. Raising his arm, he began to explain.

     "Wahoo!" suddenly sounded the hero's voice as it flew through the depths of time. Excitement, fear, anticipation, and joy all rang to the bounds of the galaxy. Every being that once had lived for light heard the voice of hope stirring through waves deep in the darkness of space. Mario had finally begun to understand the power of the starlight. Almost as if to speak to the Lumas and their mother, he looked up into the sphere of heaven in his flight, and he promised to return light to the cosmos. He would not turn back, for all the universe stood by in his reach. He would not look back, for his Princess was near.

https://youtu.be/gLnRdrxRN5k

The little yellow Luma left on the Gateway looked up to the far stars, glaring with wonder at the hero. He watched Mario's path for minutes, carefully observing him land on the nearby shattered planetoid to which the launch star had taken him. He gave off star bits and sang of the sky, for hope had suddenly returned to his life. As he stared into time, his faint glow expanded into silver that beamed through the horizons of the Gateway. He turned quickly for home and began to float about the planet.

Passing the pipes, flowers, and rocks of the small sphere, he zoomed toward the small building in a hurried effort to reach the world beyond. His signal of light to the others was unmistakable; they knew who had spoken with the voice of the stars. All on the Comet Observatory eagerly awaited his return. Coming upon the white structure, he stopped before the door. It was the only one that had been built upon the bright door to the skies. He squealed and proceeded toward home.

     Entering through the door of the small building, he came out to the tip of the Comet. Excitedly, he floated off the top of the ship and jumped to the main lobby before the beacon. Darkness rose about him as he descended into the blackened mist that surrounded his home. As he flew determinately about the shadowed grounds, more of his kind began to show from within the boundaries of their once bright home. As he neared the far end of the Observatory's confines, many of his kin had gathered behind him.

     Within a moment, he had run into the bedroom. There, shining barely in the corner of the small room, Mama's guiding star showed. Polari was floating quietly over the Library's records of star charts. And from that dimly lit corner, he cast some light upon Mama herself. The little creature squealed, and then all the others who had come from the shadows behind him followed in. The room was filled by their cast, and star bits began to sound once more where there could not have been light minutes before.

     Polari looked to the enlightened doorway and lifted his small arm so as to show the mass of lumas. Then, the Mother of the Lumas nodded to the little, dark, blue-eyed star. She turned to see the congregation of her entire family amassed in her door. Then she saw the orange luma who headed the group. She stood anxiously, yet in grace and determination.

"Luminarius, what news from the Gateway?" she questioned, feeling her heart rise in anticipation. She looked determinately at the little creature, barely showing her mind. But she questioned then of life, the stars, her own knowledge, the universe. With word from Luminarius, she would either stand in undying hope forever more, or despair at its endless loss.

"He did it," announced the bright creature happily. "I watched him do it. He broke the crystal. He did it, he and Master Luma.... He used the launch star before I had even begun explaining it, and he landed on the next planet. He's already started collecting star bits!" continued the little star happily. He was honored to have borne the news that spoke of hope for all his family. From that moment forward, courage filled every heart on the Comet Observatory. They all began to believe once more that somewhere, hidden in the worlds of the universe, their light still lived. Their mother smiled.

"Then, he shall save the cosmos," she ended. She looked about to her radiant family who had once brought light to very core of darkness. She thought of the young, red-clad man who had come of the sky unto the Gateway. There was strength and light in his heart, and it had shown itself even when his world had been turned cold and lit by the flames of evil. She promised then that she would help the young man to see her calling through. As she protected the starlight, she would give her all to the hero who was to save the cosmos.

|Subtle references|"The Great Space Journey Begins" was the title of the first world in the menu of Super Mario Galaxy 2.