Edwin Lunar Chapter 97: The First Architects

Read chapter 97 of Edwin Lunar by MananTayal on NovelPedia.

The enormous chamber remained silent. Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. The golden woman stood before them, her form glowing softly against the ancient walls of the Forge. Her eyes seemed to contain entire galaxies. Not as a metaphor. Actual galaxies. Spirals of stars rotated within them, appearing and disappearing like distant memories. Edwin felt the ring on his finger pulse again. The scarf around his neck floated slightly in the air. The Forge itself seemed alive. Watching. Listening. Waiting. The woman smiled gently. "You look confused." Carl immediately raised his hand. "That might be the greatest understatement in galactic history." To everyone's surprise, the woman laughed. A warm, genuine laugh. For a brief moment she seemed less like an ancient cosmic being and more like a normal person. Then her attention returned to Edwin. "You have many questions." Edwin nodded. "A few." The woman tilted her head. "Only a few?" Even Groader almost smiled at that. The tension eased slightly. But only slightly. Because the question remained. Twenty thousand years. She had claimed they had been waiting twenty thousand years for Edwin. How was that even possible? The woman slowly turned and walked toward the center of the chamber. Golden light followed her movements. The enormous tower behind her began activating. Symbols illuminated across its surface. Entire sections of the Forge awakened. "We should begin with introductions." She stopped. "My name is Elyra." The name echoed throughout the chamber. "I am one of the last Architects." Nobody recognized the title. Except Groader. The ancient warrior froze. For the first time since entering the Forge, genuine shock appeared on his face. Elyra noticed immediately. "You've heard of us." Groader slowly nodded. "Only in myths." The woman smiled sadly. "Most truths become myths eventually." The statement felt strangely familiar. Like something Edlin might have said. Elyra raised her hand. The chamber transformed. Stars appeared around them. Entire galaxies emerged in the darkness. A living map of the universe. The scale was impossible. Edwin felt as though he stood in the center of creation itself. "This story begins long before your civilizations." Elyra's voice echoed softly. "Long before the Builders." The room became silent. Even the Builders? That seemed impossible. Elyra continued. "Twenty thousand years ago, the universe was different." The stars shifted. A new image appeared. Countless civilizations. Countless galaxies. A golden age unlike anything Edwin had ever imagined. The universe looked alive. Connected. Unified. "There were many great powers." Elyra said. "The Architects." "The Builders." "The Celestials." "The Keepers." Each name appeared among the stars. Ancient civilizations beyond imagination. Ancient races that modern history had completely forgotten. Then the image changed. Darkness appeared. Not ordinary darkness. The same darkness Edwin had seen in Wingard's vision. The same darkness that consumed galaxies. The same darkness the Observer feared. The Watchers. Every star around the darkness began disappearing. Entire galaxies vanished. Civilizations were erased. Empires fell. The golden age collapsed. "The First War." Elyra whispered. Nobody spoke. The scale was horrifying. Compared to this, even the Great War seemed insignificant. "We fought them for thousands of years." The darkness continued spreading. Galaxy after galaxy fell. Reality itself appeared damaged. Entire regions of space ceased existing. The universe was losing. Then a new figure appeared. A man standing alone against the darkness. Edwin immediately recognized him. The Observer. But not the Observer they knew. This version looked younger. Nobler. Hopeful. The complete opposite of the manipulative mastermind they had been chasing. "He was one of us." Elyra said quietly. The room froze. Edwin's heart skipped a beat. "What?" The woman looked toward him. "The Observer was an Architect." Silence. Absolute silence.