Edwin Lunar Chapter 38: The Incoming Signal

Read chapter 38 of Edwin Lunar by MananTayal on NovelPedia.

The highest tower of Lunar Dominion Academy fell silent. Edwin still stared at the empty space where his father's hologram had disappeared moments earlier. Your mother— The unfinished sentence echoed endlessly inside his mind. What about his mother? What truth had Wingard tried to reveal before the transmission was cut? Carl slowly broke the silence first. "I swear the universe intentionally stops important conversations." Nobody answered. Because outside the giant chamber windows— The stars themselves had changed. A massive silver distortion pulsed beyond the skies of Noroel like a crack spreading through space itself. Unlike the crimson Eidolon signals before, this energy looked different. Cleaner. Ancient. And somehow— Alive. Iris activated her scanner instantly. "The energy readings are impossible." Streams of holographic data flooded around her. "It's not using Dominion technology… or Eidolon systems." Lucien narrowed his eyes toward the growing distortion. "Then what is it?" Headmaster Humming's expression slowly darkened. For the first time since Edwin met him— The old Marshal looked genuinely worried. Then the academy alarms activated again. Not red. Not silver. Gold. UNKNOWN CELESTIAL OBJECT APPROACHING Carl blinked rapidly. "…Gold alarms are definitely new." Across the skies of Noroel, giant defensive fleets repositioned themselves immediately while academy towers activated planetary shields once more. Students flooded observation bridges across the floating city, staring upward at the growing distortion beyond the clouds. The silver crack in space widened. Then something emerged. A ship. But unlike the dark warships of the Vanguard Fleet— This vessel looked beautiful. Massive white metallic wings stretched outward from its structure while streams of golden energy flowed across its surface like living light. Giant circular rings rotated around the center core, illuminating the clouds beneath it. The ship resembled no human design Edwin had ever seen. Even Humming whispered quietly: "…Impossible." The vessel descended slowly through the upper atmosphere of Noroel. And suddenly— Every system inside the chamber shut down. Complete silence filled the tower. Then one single holographic symbol appeared in the air. A golden eye surrounded by stars. Iris stared at it in shock. "I've never seen that language before." But Edwin felt something strange immediately. The ring. It wasn't burning painfully now. It felt calm. The golden symbol shifted slowly. Then translated automatically through the chamber systems. ORION DESCENDANT CONFIRMED Everyone froze. A soft voice echoed across the room. Not mechanical. Not human either. Elegant. Ancient. "Requesting peaceful contact." Carl pointed nervously toward the sky. "I don't trust giant mystery ships that speak politely." The voice continued: "Warning priority level absolute." The golden hologram flickered again. "Eclipse activity detected." Humming stepped forward slowly. "Identify yourselves." For several seconds— Silence. Then the answer came. "We are the Astral Keepers." The chamber temperature seemed to drop instantly. Even the Headmaster's eyes widened slightly. Lucien noticed immediately. "You know that name." Humming remained silent briefly before answering. "They were considered extinct." The golden voice spoke again: "We monitored the Eclipse Heart for millennia." Images appeared across the chamber. Ancient civilizations. Collapsed galaxies. Entire worlds consumed by red Flame corruption. Carl stared upward speechlessly. "…Why does every secret in this universe become worse?" The Astral Keeper continued calmly. "The corruption is spreading again." The images shifted. Now they showed the Orion Gateway. Silver rings floating in deep space. But surrounding the Gateway— Thousands of crimson signals moved through the darkness. Fleet after fleet. Far larger than the Vanguard. Iris's face paled slightly. "That's an invasion force." Humming's expression hardened immediately. "Eclips