Edwin Lunar Chapter 79: Contradictions

Read chapter 79 of Edwin Lunar by MananTayal on NovelPedia.

The discovery of the Orion Archive changed everything. For the next week, Edwin and his team spent nearly every free moment underground. Classes became secondary. Training became secondary. Even academy life faded into the background. Because they were uncovering something far more important. The truth. The archive contained thousands of records. Most were damaged. Many were incomplete. Yet every new discovery revealed another contradiction. Another lie. Another piece of history that didn't fit. Late one evening, Orion gathered around a large projection table. Stacks of records floated above them. The amount of information had become overwhelming. Carl pointed at one file. "So let me get this straight." He looked at Iris. "Official history says Groader betrayed everyone." "Correct." "But the original records say he was a hero." "Correct." "And Wingard believed he was innocent." "Correct." "And Humming clearly knows something." "Correct." Carl leaned back. "Then why does nobody talk about this?" Nobody answered. Because that was the mystery. If the truth was hidden so successfully, someone powerful must have hidden it. Someone with access to military records. Academy archives. Government databases. Everything. Someone almost impossible to oppose. Edwin looked at the latest discovery. An official timeline of the Great War. Something immediately stood out. One section had been modified. Repeatedly. More than sixty times. The edits stretched across decades. Iris enlarged the data. "Look at the authorization codes." Everyone leaned forward. The codes belonged to different people. Different departments. Different time periods. Impossible. Unless one individual possessed access to all of them. Or controlled the people who did. Lucien folded his arms. "Someone has been cleaning evidence." "Exactly." Iris said. "And they've been doing it for years." A chill settled over the room. This wasn't a simple conspiracy. This was systematic. Planned. Ancient. Then Edwin noticed something strange. A single name appeared repeatedly near the modifications. Not directly. Only in references. Footnotes. Archived communications. A word. Observer. The room became silent. Carl looked up. "That's impossible." Nobody disagreed. The Observer had helped them during the Final Expanse Crisis. The Observer had opposed the First Enemy. The Observer had guided Edwin toward his mother. Why would it manipulate history? The idea sounded ridiculous. Yet the evidence continued appearing. Again. And again. And again. Almost as if the records were trying to point toward it. Suddenly a loud alarm echoed through the archive. Everyone jumped. A hidden display activated automatically. Ancient systems awakened. Lights illuminated. Machines powered on. The archive had detected something. Or someone. A holographic map appeared above the room. The entire academy. One section flashed red. Edwin's eyes widened. The location was directly beneath Headmaster Humming's office. Much deeper than the archive itself. "What is that?" Carl whispered. Iris scanned the data. The color slowly drained from her face. "No way." "What?" Edwin asked. The projection zoomed closer. A hidden chamber appeared. Completely absent from every academy blueprint. No entrances. No official records. Nothing. Only a single designation. VAULT OMEGA AUTHORIZED BY: ORIGINAL ORION Silence. Everyone immediately understood. The Red Box. It had to be. The hidden vault. The awakening locks. Humming's behavior. Everything pointed toward the same place. Edwin slowly stood. The ring on his finger glowed faintly. Somewhere below them— Something was calling. Something connected to his father. Something connected to Groader. And perhaps— Something connected to the Observer. Far below. Inside Vault Omega. Headmaster Humming stared at the Red Box. The crimson light had become intense. The chamber itself trembled occasionally. The awakening was accelerating. Too fast. Much too fast. Then a familiar voice emerged again. Calm.