Orion The Fallen God Chapter 9: Chapter 8 - The Truth

Read chapter 9 of Orion The Fallen God by AltexTV on NovelPedia.

The gates of the Angelic capital stood open, radiant and immense, spilling golden light into the sky like a beacon meant for gods rather than mortals. Renku ascended the marble steps alone, each step echoing faintly beneath his boots. The city stretched behind him in gleaming silence, perfect, untouched, eternal. A voice cut through the stillness. "Renku, wait!" yelled the voice. He stopped and turned, noticing someone running toward him. It was a doctor rushing toward him, arm outstretched, urgency written across his face. There was no time for pleasantries, no time for explanations. Only one truth lingered in the air between them. "…It's Zether," the doctor insisted. Renku's expression changed dramatically upon hearing Zether's name. Renku's thoughts spiraled with every possible outcome. "Catch your breath," Renku said calmly. "What about Zether?" The doctor was panting frantically from the run. He stood up tall and took in deeper breaths one at a time. Trying to regain his composure and steady his breathing. "You must come with me," the doctor said after composing himself. Moments later, everything changed. The sterile chamber glowed softly with artificial light, its pristine walls humming with quiet machinery. Renku's breath caught in his throat as he stepped inside. There, lying motionless on a medical bed, was Zether. Not the composed warrior he had always known—but broken. Barely alive. Dark, vein-like fractures spread across his chest, glowing faintly beneath torn skin, as if something inside him had tried to tear its way out. Machines surrounded him, their rhythmic beeping the only thing tethering him to life. "Zether…" Renku whispered. Renku rushed forward, gripping the edge of the bed as panic surged through him. His eyes scanned the damage, searching for something, anything he could fix. Zether's eyes flickered open. "…Renku…" he softly said. "You're alive," Renku said, relief flooding his voice. "What happened to you?" Zether's lips parted, his voice weak, strained. "Valak… shattered the seal…" Renku froze, the words hung in the air like a death sentence. Renku's mind once again went into overdrive with thoughts. The demon seal was broken? But why would Valak do this? We stopped them once before and now he is willingly letting them go... "Renku… you need to listen to me…" Zether coughed violently, dark energy flickering faintly along the fractures in his body. "Valak is not the same as he was before…" Renku clenched his fists. "What do you mean?" "When I fought him…" Zether continued, his voice trembling, "all I could feel was his conviction… his purpose…" His golden eyes dimmed slightly. "He will not stop… until he reshapes the entire universe." A heavy silence fell upon the room, any hope and joy that was there, ripped away in an instant. Renku shook his head. "No… I can save him. There's still a chance…" "Renku… stop…" Zether's voice cut through him. "You don't get it…" he said weakly. "He's changed. His power… it's on another level now." Zether paused between sentences to allow his coughing to not interrupt him. Each cough felt like a knife piercing his lungs followed by the burning of what felt like lava filling up his lungs. "He's been consumed by his new ideology," he continued. Renku looked down, conflicted. "You're wrong…" he muttered. "I know Valak. There's still good in him…" Zether watched him carefully, a flicker of sadness crossing his face. "I felt his power," he said. "You can't match him as you are now." Renku didn't respond. "Renku… the only way to stop him…" Zether continued, forcing the words out, "…is to not hesitate." The room grew quieter, machines hummed, lights flickered and Renku stood there, caught between two truths. "There has to be a way to save him… right?" he said, almost to himself. Or is Zether right? Zether shifted slightly, wincing. "I know this is hard for you," he said. "Valak is like a brother to you… But that was not the same Valak." Renku's eyes tightened as each word Zethe