Edwin Lunar Chapter 78: Groader the Hero

Read chapter 78 of Edwin Lunar by MananTayal on NovelPedia.

The following evening, Orion stood before a forgotten section of Noroel Academy. The location wasn't marked on any student map. Most people walked past it every day without noticing. An abandoned stone structure hidden behind the academy's oldest library. Vines covered its walls. Dust covered its entrance. The building looked centuries old. Carl stared at it. "This is definitely where people get murdered." "No." Iris replied. "It absolutely is." Lucien examined the structure. "No signs of recent activity." Carl nodded. "Exactly." Edwin ignored them. His attention remained fixed on the symbol above the doorway. A faded Orion emblem. Different from the modern one. Older. More detailed. The emblem from the Original Orion. "This has to be connected." Edwin said. The group entered. The interior was dark. Rows of forgotten books filled the chamber. Ancient records rested on dusty shelves. Most appeared untouched for decades. A chill ran through the room. Not from cold. From age. History lingered here. As they moved deeper inside, Iris suddenly stopped. "Found something." She pointed toward a wall. Most of the surface appeared ordinary. Except for a small section hidden behind shelves. An inscription. Edwin brushed away the dust. Ancient words appeared. ORION MEMORIAL ARCHIVE AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY Carl blinked. "Okay." "Now we're definitely somewhere important." The group exchanged looks. Then Edwin pressed his hand against the wall. The ring immediately reacted. Golden light spread across the surface. Ancient mechanisms awakened. Stone shifted. Metal groaned. A hidden doorway opened. Silence filled the room. "That was easy." Carl said. "No." Iris replied. "That was terrifying." The doorway revealed a staircase descending into darkness. Without hesitation, Edwin stepped forward. The others followed. The staircase continued far below the academy. Much deeper than expected. Eventually it opened into a massive underground chamber. Everyone stopped. The room was enormous. Thousands of records filled the walls. Holographic storage units floated in the air. Ancient displays remained active despite their age. A hidden archive. The real Orion Archive. Wingard's clue had been correct. Truth buried here. For the next several hours they searched. File after file. Record after record. Mission after mission. And one thing became increasingly clear. History had lied about Groader. Not once. Not twice. Repeatedly. Every original record painted the same picture. Groader was a hero. A rescue mission. Groader saved two thousand civilians. A military operation. Groader prevented a planetary bombardment. An exploration disaster. Groader sacrificed his own ship to save another crew. The records continued. Dozens. Hundreds. Edwin couldn't believe what he was seeing. The man history remembered as a traitor had once been one of the greatest heroes in the Dominion. Carl sat back. "This doesn't make sense." "No." Edwin agreed. "It doesn't." Then Iris froze. "Wait." She opened another file. A holographic recording appeared. Static flickered. The image stabilized. A younger Wingard appeared. The entire room became silent. For several moments nobody moved. Seeing Wingard alive felt different from reading about him. Different from hearing stories. He smiled toward the camera. "If you're watching this..." Static interrupted briefly. "...then I was right." Edwin's heart skipped. Wingard continued. "History is changing." The room froze. "I don't know who is doing it yet." "But someone is altering records.” "Someone is rewriting Groader's story." The recording ended. Silence followed. Nobody spoke. Because everything they had discovered pointed toward the same conclusion. Groader had been framed. The question was why. And who was responsible. Far below the academy. The Red Box glowed brighter. Another lock opened. Only two remained. And somewhere within the darkness— Someone smiled.