Heavenly Crying Star, Ophelia

Heavenly Crying Star, Ophelia, is one of the 108 Stars of Destiny as a warrior who brings aid to suffering innocents. A sensitive soul, she takes her duties seriously, and works with others, Star Paladins, Crusaders, Lunar Knights, and ordinary mortals to heal others. She longs for a day when she will be free from her duties, having witnessed much suffering from her life before fusing with the Crying Star Orb.

## Character History

Born in Taiwan to a rich family, Ophelia Zhao lived a sheltered life. She did not know what suffering was, until she went to school, and one day helped a poor kid get his school supplies, only to be bullied by the others for not being as 'pure' as them. The young girl was afraid, yet continued to soldier on in life, stoically enduring insults for being a 'mud-lady' when she meets the bullies, and avoiding them when she goes to school and returns home.

Her parents were worried about that, and decided that she must not go out during weekends, school holidays and term breaks. They even hired a martial arts master to teach Ophelia kung fu during these days, but on the condition that she must not go outside until she was ready.

Throughout her primary and secondary school days, when she goes out during the weekdays, she defended the vulnerable from bullies, earning their ire even more, until the day when the teacher of her class praised her for her kindness in front of the school assembly. This pushed the leader of the bullies to make a deal with a dark serpent, and acquire new, evil power.

One day during Christmas, the bully planned to test her powers on Ophelia and the poor kids she was helping during a charity drive with her new powers. After a confrontation between the two girls, the bully shot dark energy at a girl two years younger than Ophelia, only for the rich girl to shield her from the blast, injuring her. The bully then proceeded to terrorize the other kids while the teachers called the police.

As she lay there, she started crying. Why wasn't she strong enough to protect the poor children? Why must she suffer for doing good? As she pondered these questions, a glowing golden orb with the character for 'Cry' appeared in front of her. She was shocked as it merged with her, stopping her bleeding as her parents, the police and the paramedics arrived.

During her hospital stay, she was given a book called 'Water Margin' to read. After she was released from the hospital, her parents hugged Ophelia, telling their daughter that she must not face more suffering in her adult life. But she told them that she had a dream while she was in hospital.

She was floating to Dreamland, where the spirits of good children go to when they sleep. She saw a figure in golden griffin armour approaching her. She asked him if he was an angel going to take her to Heaven. He said he's not, her time has not yet come, he will tell her more as he led her to a beautiful castle in the Realm of the Sun, that for Ophelia, looked like it came from a fairytale or something. She went inside the castle, walked up to a stele and placed her hands on it, changing her into her Heroic Form. She met other people who, like her, merged with the Star Orbs, and learned from the Golden Griffin Warrior of the Blazing Sun that she is not afraid of what the bullies would think of her and do to her, which is why she helps the poor and vulnerable. He told her that the bully who attacked her got powers from the Devourer of Worlds, who is still restrained by the gold and silver collar, yet attempting to exert his influence in the world. It dawned on Ophelia that what just transpired resembled a scene from the 'Water Margin' novel.

Since then, she must be like a star shining in the darkness, bringing hope to the hopeless. Even if the world turns against her. Her parents thus understood, saying that she has grown well. She learned from the doctors who tended her that the children she helped are recovering in the hospital.

Nowadays, Ophelia wanders the world as a Star of Destiny, helping the suffering. She weeps with them, and they in turn are grateful for people like her. Until the day when she runs out of tears to cry, a day she yearns for, she will continue to aid the innocent and destroy the forces of evil out to generate more pain and suffering.

## Appearance

Ophelia Zhao is a 14-year old girl who is beautiful and willowy, with long black braided hair and blue round spectacles. Her civilian garb consists of a blue shirt with a lotus on it, and a black skirt. Sometimes, she wears blue or black shorts. She looks sometimes calm, sometimes sad.

Her Heroic Form is like a magical girl, with her hair gaining purple streaks, an outfit with detached white sleeves, golden chest armor with the character for 'Cry' on her chest over a white and blue dress, and a silver belt with a sapphire that glows in the dark embedded into it. Her spectacles have purple silk streamers flowing from it, white wings grow from her back, and she wears black shorts under her dress. Her legs and vambraces have golden armour with calligraphy written on them and amethysts embedded on the back of the golden gauntlets on her hands. Her weapon is a silver staff with blue and purple ribbons tied to it, and a diamond topping the staff.

Her Radiant soul takes on the appearance of herself with four wings, a golden halo on her head, and blue streams of energy seeping from its eyes, resembling tears.

## Personality

A kind and gentle lady by nature, Ophelia looks out for the weak ones in her team. She is shy, and rarely goes out unless she wants or asleep (when she goes to the Realm of the Sun in her dreams to meet her fellow Star Paladins).

A sensitive soul, Ophelia tends to those who are suffering, especially the poor. Considering that she helped poor children, she is quite interested in using education to help them learn things to enable them to progress in the future. When she sees someone suffer, she weeps silently. Yet she takes steps to help them by planning what she can do to relieve them, and sets off to find the right people, be it her fellow Stars of Destiny and sometimes Crusaders, Lunar Mansion Knights and mortals. When she has finally helped someone, she feels peaceful, and wishes them the best. As a Star of Destiny, her tears are said to be imbued with solar powers, to the extent that there are rumours of flowers growing from where her tears fell.

But her gentleness must not be mistaken for weakness. If she sees someone bullying the innocent, she would spirit away the victim, and then track the bully and use a technique she learned from Ranald, Visions of Judgement, to get the bully to repent of their sins. She also reserves an extreme rage for nightmare monsters and evil spirits, reducing them to nothingness with her attacks, for she recognizes them as the ones that influence people to do evil. She has been known to join fellow Star Paladins on missions involving liberating the oppressed from tyrants.

Sometimes, her sensitivity hurts her to the point that she shuts herself in her home and refuses to come out. That is her weakness, one that evil forces can take advantage of. Thus, to overcome it, she has been training with both the Heavenly Brave Star and the Earthly Brave Star, the only ones who can coax her out of her home. Perhaps when she's mastered courage, she will not waste her tears.

## Powers

### Offensive

* Sky-Crossing Meteor Fist ( ●  ● ) - Flies high in the sky, and straight at the target, punching it with her fist
* Sunlight that Burns Darkness ( ●  ● ) - Shoots a bright white laser beam from her staff
* Flying Comet Fist ( ●  ●  ● ) - Lands several punches on her opponent
* Visions of Judgement ( ●  ●  ● ) - Shows opponents illusions of their sins and them being punished for them. Like Libra's Contrapasso and Ranald's Visions of Tonatiuh, they tend to be symbolic in nature
* Wind Beneath the Wings ( ●  ● ) - Flaps her wings, making gusts of wind that knock back enemies
* Feather Darts ( ●  ● ) - Shoots feathers at opponents

### Defensive

* Guardian Angel Wings ( ●  ● ) - Shields targeted ally with her wings

### Passive

* Angel's Resolve ( ● ) - Lowers chances of being frightened
* Gentle Heal ( ●  ● ) - Heals ally with energy from hands or staff
* Godspeed ( ●  ● ) - Increases speed, useful for finding help