Edwin Lunar Chapter 33: Shadows Beyond the Stars

Read chapter 33 of Edwin Lunar by MananTayal on NovelPedia.

Life slowly returned to normal inside Lunar Dominion Academy. At least— As normal as life could become after nearly losing the academy to an ancient war system buried beneath Sector Zero. The floating towers of Noroel shined brightly again beneath silver skies while repaired aerial bridges connected the academy sectors once more. Students returned to combat classes, tactical training, and endless academy assignments. But now— Everything felt different around Orion Team. Third-year students whispered when Edwin entered training halls. First-years openly stared in admiration. And somehow Carl had already become popular among younger students after exaggerating nearly every detail of the Eclipse battle. "I fought at least fifty Guardians personally," he proudly explained to a group near the cafeteria. Lucien walked past him calmly. "You hid behind a pillar for most of the mission." "It was a tactical pillar." Iris sighed deeply. Edwin almost laughed again. Almost. Because despite the peace returning to the academy— Something still felt wrong. The ring had not stopped glowing since the Vault incident. Sometimes faintly. Sometimes painfully. And every night— The whispers returned. "…Orion…" "…beyond the stars…" Edwin kept it secret from everyone. Even Iris. Especially after what happened beneath the Vault. The academy already feared Eclipse enough. He didn't want them fearing him too. Two weeks after the ceremony, Orion Team gathered once again inside Combat Hall Seven for advanced tactical training. The giant chamber floated high above the clouds with holographic battle systems surrounding the walls. Training drones moved across the arena while students prepared for combat evaluations around the platforms. Professor Raith stood near the center platform watching them carefully. His expression looked unusually serious. "Today's lesson concerns interplanetary combat response." Carl blinked. "That sounds horrifying already." Raith ignored him. He activated the holographic systems around the hall. A giant map of the Noor System appeared above the arena. At the center floated the massive golden planet Noor itself. Orbiting around it— Noroel. Vestella. Several mining moons. And dozens of distant defense stations. Edwin studied the map carefully. He had never seen the full system displayed before. Raith pointed toward the outer sectors beyond the known planets. "These regions remain unexplored by most of the Dominion." Iris adjusted her scanner. "There are old war zones there." "Yes." The professor's expression darkened slightly. "During the Great War, several Eidolon fleets vanished beyond the outer systems." Silence spread across the hall. Carl slowly raised his hand. "…Why are we discussing vanished evil fleets?" Before Raith answered— The academy alarms activated. Again. Every student in the hall froze immediately. Red warning symbols spread across the holographic systems while emergency drones launched outside the tower windows. WARNINGUNKNOWN SIGNAL DETECTED Raith's eyes sharpened instantly. "What?" The giant system map flickered violently. Then a red pulse appeared far beyond the Noor System. Deep space. Unknown coordinates. The signal pulsed again. Iris stared at her scanner in shock. "That frequency…" Edwin's chest tightened immediately. Because he recognized it too. Project Eidolon. The holographic map zoomed automatically toward the distant coordinates. Then suddenly— A giant fleet appeared. Students gasped across the training hall. Dozens of enormous black ships floated silently through deep space while crimson Flame energy pulsed across their armored surfaces. Ancient war vessels. Eidolon ships. Carl stared upward speechlessly. "…That's impossible." Raith immediately activated emergency communication channels. "All academy sectors enter defense readiness now!" The holograms glitched violently again. Then a message appeared across the entire hall. ORION DETECTED Edwin froze. The ring burned painfully. Students around him immed