Chapter 51: Lyra’s Truth

A slow clap echoed through the void.

The golden-eyed Orion smirked. "She understands what you refuse to accept."

Orion's blood ran cold. "You… you planned this?"

Lyra exhaled. "Not at first." Her voice was eerily calm. "But then I realized the truth." She met his gaze. "You aren't the chosen one, Orion. You're the mistake."

The words echoed like thunder.

Orion's mind raced. This had to be a trick. A manipulation.

But the look in Lyra's eyes told him otherwise.

She meant every word.

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Chapter 52: The Final Blow

"You were always chasing answers," Lyra continued. "Trying to defy fate. But the truth is… fate never chose you."

Orion's fingers curled into fists. "Then why stand by me for so long? Why pretend?"

Lyra's expression didn't waver. "Because I needed you to open the Chronomancer's Testament."

His stomach dropped.

A sharp pain shot through his chest.

Orion staggered back.

It took him a second to realize—Lyra had stabbed him.

The blade glowed with celestial energy, humming with an impossible power.

His vision blurred. He tried to speak, but no words came.

Lyra stepped closer, whispering in his ear.

"You were never the hero of this story, Orion."

And then—she twisted the blade.

Chapter 53: The Hand of the Forgotten One

Orion felt his life slipping away. His vision darkened, his heartbeat slowed, and an unbearable cold wrapped around him.

Lyra stepped back, watching as he fell to his knees, the blade still buried in his chest. The golden-eyed Orion smirked, satisfied.

"Goodbye, mistake," Lyra whispered.

But then—

The universe screamed.

A crack split through reality itself, as if existence had just torn open. The air shook, stars flickered, and the very fabric of time began to unravel.

From the void, a voice echoed—a voice that had not been heard in ten thousand years.

"This is not how it ends."

A blinding silver light erupted, engulfing Orion's body. The pain vanished. The cold disappeared.

And then—

Someone caught him.

His eyes snapped open. A figure loomed over him, their form shifting between human, shadow, and pure energy. Their eyes were like collapsed galaxies, ancient and unfathomable.

The golden-eyed Orion staggered back.

"No—impossible—"

Lyra's face twisted in horror. "It can't be… You were erased!"

The figure ignored them. Their gaze was locked onto Orion.

And then, they spoke.

"Rise, Orion. The game is far from over."

With a flick of their hand, the wound on Orion's chest vanished. The celestial blade shattered into dust.

A surge of unimaginable power flooded through Orion's veins. Stronger than anything he had ever felt before.

The golden-eyed Orion clenched his fists. "Who… are you?"

The figure smiled.

"I am the Forgotten One. The first wielder of time. And I have returned to correct a mistake."

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