Chapter 325 - Orion
"Really?!" the man in the middle had a wide smile on his face and tears on his eyes.
"Congratulations brother!"
"Congratulations! Looks like your good omen is here!"
The two men next to him quickly came forward and congratulated him with powerful pats on his shoulder.
"Woah," Hao Xuan was taken aback. The casual slaps of these men were strong enough to fold him in half a dozen times over. These people were...powerful!
The scene changed once again.
A middle-aged man sat on a chair with a 6 to 7-year-old boy sitting on his knee. In the man's hand was a thick book with several hundred pages.
"And the hero saved the village from impending doom and everyone lived happily ever after," he finished.
The boy's dark red pupils were fully expanded and his mouth open.
"AWESOME! I want to be a hero too dad!" he raised his hands and looked at his father expectantly as if he gave permission it would be so. The middle-aged man smiled, "Of course, my dear Orion will be the greatest hero under the heavens!"
The scene changed once again.
A teenager was fighting with three others with wooden swords. He moved around with such ferocity that his opponents couldn't even block a single attack of his.
"He's just like you," a woman's voice came from behind Hao Xuan. He turned around and saw the same middle-aged man watching from the shadows. And behind her was another silhouette, much smaller in size. It, of course, belonged to the man's wife.
As she came forward Hao Xuan saw her face and was left speechless. Even in this memory, her beauty was astonishing. Hao Xuan had never really thought anyone was better looking than Xu Qing but after seeing her, even he would have to admit otherwise.
The lady held the middle-aged man's arm and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Are you going to participate in the war as well?" she spoke lightly.
The man looked up at the sky, the two moons still visible even during the day.
"I have to. Those people need our help. If the strong only looked out for themselves, the world would end would it not?"
The lady lowered her head without saying anything else.
*Ompf*
A few meters away from them Orion was still fighting 3 against 1 and winning spectacularly. He didn't use a weapon, his own hands were strong enough to both attack and defend as needed.
The scene changed.
The teenager had turned into a handsome young man. He was standing in front of an army of hundreds of millions. As far as the eye could see, there were soldiers in full body armor and various weapons standing straight.
Next to him was the middle-aged man with the two other men Hao Xuan had seen in the first scene. The middle-aged man's figure seemed to have aged significantly. Half his hair had turned white and his once muscular back was now slightly hunched. On his head was a crown made of a Crimson crystalline material.
He stepped forward and raised his hand, silencing the immeasurable army.
"MY DUTIFUL SOLDIERS! Today marks the last day of this bloody war. We fight not for glory, but for those that cannot. Do not raise your sword against the weak and the ones who cannot defend themselves!" he spoke in a deep, authoritative voice.
"WE OBEY!"
The entire army replied at once, their voices clearing out the sky itself and shaking the ground.
The scene changed once again.
This time Hao Xuan came out on a battlefield.
Above his head were massive ships that looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. They were firing amongst themselves, each round of which shook the very heavens.
He was standing on a patch of bloody ground filled with weapons and corpses of all kinds, both humanoid and beastly. Some of these corpses were larger than the entire mountain ranges.
There were only two people currently still breathing here.
"Father, who did this to you?!" a young man in his twenties held another older man in his arms. The older man had three holes in his body, one of which was on his head. Half his skull was missing but he was still alive somehow.
He grabbed the young man's hand with some effort, "Go back home, quickly! We have been betrayed by our own people. Protect your mother and siblings, no matter what. You are the oldest, it is your duty!"
He took out a ring from somewhere and placed it in the young man's hands while brain matter spilled out. The color of his skin becoming paler by the second.
"Remember who you are! You are the Firstborn of the King of Zodenheim! The Heir to the throne of the king of Kings, the true ruler of a thousand worlds! Do not let your people down.....son.."
"FATHER!" Orion shouted, trying to forcefully circulate his Qi but to no avail. The old king's body went limp.
Orion gently laid him down and closed his eyes.
"Father, I will not let you down!"
The scene changed again.
A bloody Orion was standing in front of the same little wooden cottage where he was born. But the scenery had changed significantly.
The two men that were with the old king through many of the memories now stood some distance away from him. Only they weren't old but seemed to be in the prime of their lives.
There was a black sigil, the same as the one on Gavril and Buse's chests on both their faces.
Below their feet were 5 severed heads, one of which belonged to the heavenly beauty that was Orion's mother.
These two men stared at Orion without any emotions.
"Surrender child. You are no match for Lord Ra's power," one of them spoke up.
Orion only stared at the severed heads of his family. After a moment he looked up, his red pupils getting brighter by the second.
"Why? My father treated you like brothers, why did you betray him?"
The other man smiled, "Power. Your father became weak. Even with all his armies, he couldn't fight against the flow of time, yet we can. With Lord Ra's backing, we are immortal!"
Orion looked at them with such calm that it reminded Hao Xuan of himself a bit.
"You willingly chose to serve that old thing?"
"Watch your tongue, boy!" both of them spoke up at once.