Orion The Fallen God Chapter 10: Chapter 9 - Choices

Read chapter 10 of Orion The Fallen God by AltexTV on NovelPedia.

Half a year ago... War had already carved its scars into the world. The battlefield lay in ruins, smoke drifting through the air in slow, dying currents as the fractured ground bore the weight of destruction. Broken armor, discarded weapons, and lifeless bodies were scattered in every direction, silent reminders of a conflict that refused to end. At the center of it all stood Valak, unfazed and focused. Before him, an Arcadian soldier knelt with his weapon dropped at his side, his breath uneven as he struggled to steady himself. He was defeated and awaiting his death. Valak raised his hand, crimson energy gathering around his palm as the air itself seemed to tighten under the pressure. For a brief moment, everything aligned, the power, the intent and the inevitability of the strike. Then he stopped, the realisation of what he was becoming took over. The energy flickered and faded as silence stretched between them. The soldier flinched instinctively, bracing for death, but when nothing came, confusion overtook fear. "…Go," Valak said at last. The soldier hesitated, stunned, before scrambling to his feet and fleeing into the wasteland without daring to look back. Valak lowered his hand slowly, his gaze drifting across the battlefield. Destruction stretched endlessly before him, repeating itself in different forms but never truly changing. The cycle remained the same, fight, win, rebuild, and inevitably… destroy again. "…What's the point of all this…?" he murmured. There was no anger in his voice, no frustration, only exhaustion and the world answered him with silence. Then, without warning, reality itself shifted. A ripple passed through the air, subtle at first, but unmistakable. The battlefield blurred, the sky fractured and in an instant everything vanished. The ground beneath his feet, the smoke and the distant horizon gone as if it had never existed. In its place stretched an endless void of green light, vast and suffocating in its stillness. Valak's body tensed immediately, his senses sharpening as his eyes scanned the empty expanse. "…What is this?" he said, his voice echoing unnaturally into the void. "…Who's there?" For a moment, nothing answered him and then a presence made itself known. It did not arrive, nor did it reveal itself gradually, it simply existed as though it had always been there. Valak turned and behind him stood a figure shrouded in dark, shifting energy, their form unstable yet controlled. The power radiating from them was unlike anything he had felt before. It wasn't overwhelming in the way brute force was, it was absolute, unquestionable and beyond resistance. Valak narrowed his eyes. "…You're not from this world." "Correct," the figure replied calmly. "…Who are you?" Valak demanded. "I observe far beyond your reality," the figure said, the darkness surrounding them shifting as something radiant stirred beneath its surface. "As the God of Destruction… it is my duty to erase what must be erased." The words carried weight, they were not threatening or aggressive, but certain. Each word had authority behind it. "…Then why am I still here?" Valak questioned. A faint smile formed as the God spoke. "Because you are not something that should be erased." The figure stepped forward, their presence distorting the space around them as they continued. "Tell me… what do you truly desire, Orion?" Valak's gaze hardened slightly at the title. "…Is this some kind of test?" A quiet exhale followed, almost amused. "Mortals always assume we test them. I'm not here to judge you. I'm here to help you." Silence settled between them as Valak studied the figure carefully, measuring every word, every shift in their tone. This was an interaction where he knew his power was just a speck compared to the Gods. "…Why should I trust you?" he asked. "Because I can give you what you've already realized you cannot obtain on your own," the god replied without hesitation. "A peaceful life. A universe free from war… one that can finally