Edwin Lunar Chapter 4: The Moon of Noor

Read chapter 4 of Edwin Lunar by MananTayal on NovelPedia.

The Moon of Noor The stars looked endless from space. Edwin had never imagined darkness could feel so alive. Outside the transparent walls of the train, streams of silver light stretched across the universe while distant planets glowed softly beyond enormous fields of stars. Below them, Vestella had become nothing more than a cluster of lights disappearing into the curve of the planet. Edwin could not stop staring. For twelve years, his world had been narrow streets, broken machines, and factory smoke. Now entire worlds floated before his eyes. "You've never left the surface before," Professor Kael observed calmly. Edwin almost laughed. "I'd never even seen the stars properly." Kael folded his arms. "Most people on Vestella rarely do. The city lights block them." Edwin continued watching the universe outside. Everything felt impossibly huge now. And for the first time since leaving the apartment… Fear finally began catching up to him. "What if I don't belong there?" he asked quietly. Kael looked at him for several seconds before answering. "Nobody truly belongs in Noroel when they first arrive." "That's not very comforting." "It wasn't meant to be." Edwin sighed softly. The train moved silently through space, surrounded by streams of blue energy flowing across its outer shell. Occasionally massive ships crossed the distance nearby, each carrying glowing symbols identical to the one Kael wore. Warships. Even from far away they looked powerful enough to destroy cities. Edwin noticed something strange then. Every ship traveling toward the same direction seemed to dim its lights briefly as they passed the train. Almost like a salute. "You're important, aren't you?" Edwin asked suddenly. Kael raised an eyebrow. "That depends who you ask." "The guards listened to you immediately. Those ships reacted to this train." Kael looked back toward the stars. "I am a professor." "That's definitely not the whole answer." A faint amusement appeared briefly in Kael's expression. "You notice details quickly." "Comes with repairing dangerous machines." Kael nodded once. "A useful skill." The silence returned. Edwin leaned back slowly into the seat. The exhaustion from the past day was finally catching up to him. Everything had changed too fast. His parents. Noroel. Groader. The hidden world beneath Vestella. Part of him still feared waking up back in his tiny apartment. But deep inside… Another feeling had started growing. Curiosity. For years Edwin had felt like something in his life was missing. Now he finally understood why. Because the world he knew had never been the full story. A soft mechanical voice suddenly echoed through the train cabin. "Approaching Noor System." Kael stood immediately. "We're arriving." Edwin straightened quickly. The transparent walls shifted again. At first he saw only darkness. Then suddenly— A gigantic planet appeared ahead. Edwin's breath caught instantly. Noor. Massive rings of glowing silver clouds surrounded the enormous world while oceans shimmered beneath giant continents illuminated by thousands of floating cities. It looked beautiful. Ancient. Powerful. And orbiting near the planet… Was the moon. Noroel. Edwin slowly stood from his seat. The moon glowed with silver-blue light across its surface. Huge floating structures surrounded it while streams of energy moved between giant towers stretching into space itself. But one structure dominated everything else. A colossal castle-city resting high above glowing clouds. Edwin stared speechlessly. "That's the academy?" Kael nodded. "Lunar Dominion Academy." It looked less like a school and more like an entire kingdom suspended in the sky. Massive bridges connected towering sections of the structure while giant circular shields surrounded outer districts. Ships moved constantly around it like silver insects surrounding a mountain. The closer they approached, the larger the academy became. Soon Edwin realized entire sectors of Vestella could fit inside it. "How many