Edwin Lunar Chapter 67: The Devourer

Read chapter 67 of Edwin Lunar by MananTayal on NovelPedia.

The Final Expanse trembled. Ancient towers shook. Floating islands drifted from their paths. Silver rivers of energy froze in midair as though time itself had become afraid. And above everything— The Devourer arrived. Edwin stood beside his mother at the foot of the Final Gateway, staring upward at the impossible shadow approaching through the silver skies. Words could not describe it. The Devourer had no true shape. One moment it appeared as a giant darkness. The next, as countless eyes. Then as an endless storm consuming stars. Reality struggled to understand what it was. And failed. Carl stared upward. "...How exactly are we supposed to fight THAT?" Nobody answered. Because nobody knew. Aether stepped forward. For the first time since meeting him, Edwin saw genuine fear on the ancient being's face. "The seal is weakening." Edlin immediately looked toward the Final Gateway. Thousands of cracks spread across its silver surface. The gigantic structure was failing. Edwin frowned. "What exactly is this gate?" His mother took a deep breath. "The prison." Silence. Everyone looked at her. "The Final Gateway wasn't built to keep the Void out." The silver skies darkened further. "It was built to keep the Devourer in." The realization hit like a physical blow. Carl blinked twice. "Wait." Then three times. "WAIT." The giant shadow above them moved again. Entire sections of the sky vanished around it. Edlin looked toward Edwin. "Long before Orion existed, the Builders discovered something." Aether nodded grimly. "They found a wound in reality." Ancient memories appeared above the Gateway. Silver projections filled the sky. A younger civilization. The Builders. Standing before a gigantic darkness at the edge of existence. The Devourer. "We could not destroy it," Aether said quietly. "We could only seal it." The vision changed. Millions of Builders sacrificing themselves. Creating the Final Gateway. Locking the Devourer beyond reality. For thousands of years— The prison held. Then Groader activated the Signal. The barriers weakened. The seal began breaking. And now— The Devourer was waking up. Edwin looked toward the ring. Then toward his mother. "Where do I fit into this?" Edlin's expression became sad. Very sad. "The Last Key." The words echoed softly. "The Builders knew the prison would eventually weaken." The projections shifted again. A child surrounded by silver light. A symbol glowing on their hand. The same symbol beneath Edwin's ring. "They created a living safeguard." The truth settled heavily across the Expanse. Edwin wasn't chosen. He wasn't special by chance. He had been part of the plan from the beginning. Generations before his birth. Thousands of years before Orion. The Last Key. Suddenly— The Devourer moved. A gigantic tendril of darkness descended from the heavens. The floating islands shattered instantly. Entire mountains disappeared into black nothingness. Lucien drew his blade. Iris activated every shield available. Carl loaded every weapon he carried. The battle had begun. The tendril crashed toward the Final Gateway. BOOOOM! A silver barrier erupted around the structure. The impact shook the entire Expanse. Cracks spread further across the prison. The Devourer attacked again. And again. Each strike stronger than the last. The Final Gateway could not survive much longer. Then something incredible happened. The ring ignited. Not silver. Not violet. Golden. Ancient symbols appeared across Edwin's armor. The Orion Flame reacted. The Void energy reacted. Even the Final Gateway responded. The entire Expanse lit up. Aether stared in disbelief. "It remembers him." The giant structure awakened fully. Ancient Builder technology roared back to life. Thousands of dormant systems activated throughout the floating world. The Last Key had been recognized. Then a voice echoed from the Gateway itself. Older than Orion. Older than the Void. Older than history. AUTHORIZATION CONFIRMED. The heavens trembled. LAST KEY DETECTED. The Devo