Orion's breath came fast and shallow. The Voidbound Stalker loomed, its presence distorting the very fabric of reality. The walls of the starcruiser fractured, splitting into shifting reflections of time and space—glimpses of infinite versions of himself, each locked in different fates.
One where he was dead.
One where he was a conqueror.
One where he was something else entirely—a being of pure astral energy, unrecognizable.
The visions burned behind his eyes, but he had no time to process them. The Stalker raised its hand again, and space collapsed inward, folding around Orion and Lyra like a crushing tide.
Move.
Orion acted on instinct, reaching deep into the Core. It responded instantly, its energy surging through him in white-hot pulses, demanding release.
For the first time, he let it take hold.
The world exploded.
---
A violent shockwave burst from Orion's body. The twisting corridors, the fractured space, even the Stalker itself recoiled as raw cosmic energy tore through the ship. The walls unraveled and reformed, stabilizing for the briefest moment.
Lyra was flung back, landing hard against a bulkhead. "What the hell—?!"
Orion barely heard her.
His mind was stretching, expanding. The Core wasn't just inside him anymore—it was becoming him. He could feel the ship, the fabric of the cavern, even the void beyond it.
But more than that… he felt the Stalker.
It wasn't just a hunter.
It was a fragment of something much greater.
Something watching.
Something waiting.
The Stalker lurched forward again, unfazed. A shimmer of void energy rippled from its form, tendrils of darkness spiraling toward Orion.
No.
Orion didn't move—he simply willed.
The Core responded, sending a crackling arc of celestial force outward. The Stalker twisted violently as the energy struck, its form destabilizing. The void around it screamed, echoes of a forgotten language ripping through the air.
For the first time, the creature hesitated.
Orion's eyes burned with pale blue light.
His voice was not entirely his own when he spoke.
"You do not belong here."
The cavern shook.
The Stalker tilted its head, as if considering. Then, without a sound, its form shattered into spiraling fragments of void energy, dissipating into the cracks of space.
Gone.
But not defeated.
Orion staggered, the Core's energy flickering before dimming inside him. His vision blurred, and for a moment, he felt like he was splitting apart—as though a thousand versions of himself had been forced back into one.
A hand grabbed his wrist.
Lyra.
Her grip was firm, grounding him. "Orion. Talk to me."
His breath steadied. He blinked, the last remnants of celestial fire fading from his eyes. "…I'm okay."
"Bullshit," she muttered. "What the hell was that? What the hell are you?"
Orion swallowed hard.
He didn't have an answer.
But one thing was certain—
Whatever power was inside him, whatever the Astralis Core truly was…
It wasn't just his.
Something else was connected to it. Watching.
And now, it knew he was awake.