The Celestial Mark

Days had passed since Orion's return, yet the changes within him only grew more apparent. His body felt lighter, stronger—almost as if gravity had lost its hold on him.

His reflection in the mirror revealed subtle but undeniable differences: his eyes now carried a depth they hadn't before, his posture exuded quiet confidence, and even the way he moved seemed effortlessly precise. People had begun to notice. At first, it was subtle—colleagues giving him lingering glances, whispers following in his wake. But soon, it became more overt.

Scientists and military personnel who once dismissed him as just another researcher now watched him with newfound interest, and not all of it was friendly. One of them was Dr. Elias Warren, an influential astrophysicist who had always regarded Orion as a reckless dreamer.

Elias had made it a point to challenge Orion's theories in the past, always eager to undermine his discoveries. Now, however, his skepticism was replaced with something else—unease. "I don't know what happened out there," Elias murmured to his colleague, Dr. Lillian Rhodes, as they observed Orion from afar. "But he's not the same man who left Earth." Lillian nodded, her brow furrowed. "Something changed in him. I can't put my finger on it, but it's there." Meanwhile, Orion found himself struggling to control his newfound abilities.

Objects around him seemed lighter, his reflexes sharper. He could hear whispers from across the room, sense the subtle shifts in people's emotions.

More than once, he had caught himself reacting to things before they even happened, as though his mind had begun perceiving time differently. Kael was the first to confront him about it. "You're glowing again." Orion turned sharply. "What?" Kael gestured toward his arm.

In the dim light, faint golden patterns shimmered beneath his skin, the same intricate runes that had been on the ancient armor of the Vaelorians. "This isn't just some power boost, Orion," Kael muttered. "Your body is adapting, changing." Orion flexed his fingers, watching as small arcs of energy crackled between them before fading away. "I don't know how to stop it." "Maybe you don't have to." The idea unsettled Orion. He had always been a man of science, driven by logic and evidence. But this—this was something beyond science, something ancient and cosmic.

Something that had been waiting for him. As he stepped out of the UEA building, the cityscape stretched before him, bustling with life as though nothing had changed. And yet, he knew everything had. Across the street, a pair of eyes lingered on him.

Not military, not scientists—someone else. Someone who had never cared for Orion before, but now found themselves drawn to him. The changes in his body were not just physical.

They were reshaping his entire existence. And with every passing day, more people were starting to notice. Some with curiosity. Others with fear. And somewhere, beyond the veil of the known world, an unseen force whispered in the dark. He is awakening. We must act before it is too late…