Oblivion's Throne-Chapter 83: Pythea System: Initialization

The fire crackled, casting flickering shadows against the massive tree roots as Orion sat hunched over the dwindling flames. His body ached with exhaustion, his ribs throbbing in protest with every shallow breath. He forced down another bite of the seared meat, the taste of blood still clinging to his tongue despite the charred exterior.

Then, it happened.

A sharp vibration pulsed against his chest.

Orion froze, his hand instinctively gripping the locket hanging from his neck. It pulsed again, stronger this time. The metal grew warmer, not unbearably so, but enough to make his skin prickle. A faint hum resonated from within.

His breath hitched.

It had only done this before in his vision.

Was the condition for it to activate for him to be dying?

Was the meat poisonous?

How could Varun not inform me of this?

Is he trying to assasinate me?

The vibration intensified, and suddenly, a pulse of energy rippled through his body. His vision blurred, a searing light flashing behind his eyes. He gasped, his grip tightening on the locket as his entire being was engulfed in a sensation unlike anything he had ever experienced. It wasn't physical pain, but something deeper—something that reached into the marrow of his bones.

「Pythea System: Initializing.」

Orion's breath came in ragged bursts as he clutched his head. His surroundings warped—the fire, the trees, the scent of damp earth—all of it flickered between reality and something illusory. A voice echoed within his mind.

「Primary Candidate Verified. Neural Link Calibration in Progress.」

「Critical Anomaly Identified—Host Stability Compromised.」

「Escalating Neural Surge—Critical Threshold Approaching.」

His heart pounded against his ribs as he tried to process what was happening. Bio-Synchronization? Candidate? Was this something planted within him? His thoughts fractured under the weight of it all.

His mind reeled, questions clawing at the edges of his thoughts. What exactly had the Pythea System done to him? Why now? Had his mother known?

「Executing contingency override. Engaging stabilization protocol.」

His body convulsed as threads of energy surged through his veins. His skin burned as if set alight, but beneath the fire, there was something deeper—a restructuring, a shift in his very essence. His Xenothalamus pulsed erratically, reacting to the foreign force invading his system.

Then, as quickly as it came, the pain subsided. Orion collapsed onto the dirt, gasping for air, sweat pouring down his face. He forced himself onto his elbows, his entire body trembling.

And then he noticed Varun running towards him.

His vision was clearer, sharper. The darkness of the forest no longer concealed the finer details of his surroundings. He could see the moisture beading along the bark, the minute trembling of leaves from something unseen. His breathing steadied, his exhaustion momentarily replaced by an eerie clarity.

The Pythea System had changed something.

A shiver ran down his spine.

He looked down at his hands. His fingers twitched, the sensation alien. Stronger. More aware. The cuts along his arms had stopped bleeding, the skin knitting together at a pace that should have been impossible. His body was healing.

Varun ran. Faster than he ever had.

The second he had caught sight of Orion's collapsed body, convulsing violently in the dirt, he felt his stomach drop.

"No," Varun muttered, his voice strained with urgency. "Not here. Not like this."

His boots tore through the underbrush, his breath ragged, his mind racing.

At first, he thought Orion had eaten something poisonous—some toxin lurking in the raw meat. He came prepared with different types of poison shots. But as he got closer, he realized it was something far worse.

Orion's entire body was locked in seizure, his eyes rolled back, fingers curled into claws against the dirt. But what truly unsettled Varun was the pulsing light beneath his shirt.

The Pythia System.

"Shit," Varun muttered under his breath, his eyes widening as he neared Orion's body.

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Varun didn't hesitate.

He dropped to his knees, gripping Orion's shoulders. His muscles were so tense they felt like stone. His veins bulged unnaturally, twitching as if something was crawling beneath his skin.

Varun felt the heat radiating from him. His Xenothalamus was firing signals too fast, too erratically. If this continued, Orion's body might tear itself apart.

"Orion! Breathe!" Varun barked, but it was no use.

Then Orion arched violently, his mouth parting in a silent scream.

That's when Varun knew—this was no ordinary activation.

His fingers shot up to his earpiece. "Emergency pickup, now!"

A sharp beep. Static.

Then, a voice. "Acknowledged. Shuttle en route. ETA: 40 seconds."

Not fast enough.

Orion was still twitching violently, his breathing erratic.

Varun wanted to grab the locket and rip it from Orion's chest. But he didn't know if this is going to harm him.

The instant his fingers made contact, a voice flooded his head.

「Unauthorized Interference Detected.」

A burst of static slammed into his skull, sending him reeling back. He clutched his forehead, gritting his teeth.

Whatever was happening to Orion... he had to endure it alone.

Varun could do nothing but watch as his disciple's body convulsed.

The sound of engines cut through the air, drowning out the distant howls of predators lurking in the forest. The extraction shuttle descended with a low hum, its anti-grav thrusters kicking up a whirlwind of dust and leaves.

Varun wasted no time.

He hauled Orion's convulsing body into his arms, ignoring the dead weight of his limbs, the feverish heat rolling off his skin in waves. The kid was burning up, his body reacting violently to whatever the Pythia System had just activated inside him.

The ramp hissed open, revealing the sterile interior of the med-bay-equipped craft.

Varun sprinted inside.

"Stabilize him. Now." He barked the command the moment he cleared the threshold, his voice laced with urgency.

The onboard autodoc came to life, scanning Orion's bio-signatures in milliseconds.

[WARNING: CRITICAL NEURAL INSTABILITY DETECTED.]

[CORE BODY TEMPERATURE: 42.6°C – RISK OF ORGAN FAILURE IMMINENT.]

"Shit." Varun muttered, his voice barely above a breath.

Varun shoved Orion onto the medical slab, gripping the emergency restraint handles as the machine whirred into action. Mechanical arms extended from the ceiling, deploying an array of subdermal injectors and stabilization pods.

A transparent mask descended over Orion's face, sealing against his skin with a faint hiss. A thick, nutrient-rich biofluid flowed through the tubes, flooding his system with cooling agents, electrolytes, and metabolic stabilizers.

[Administering Cryo-Neural Solution...]

A pressurized hiss. Then a cool, deep blue liquid surged through the IV, designed to counteract neural burnout and reduce brainwave overload.

Orion's body jerked once—then slowly, his spasms began to ease.

His pulse, once erratic and chaotic, settled into a steadier rhythm.

Varun exhaled sharply, stepping back as the medical HUD displayed the update:

[Neural Overload: Contained.] 

[Core Body Temperature: Stabilizing.] 

[Metabolic Deficit: 63% Recovered.]

Good. He wasn't dying. Yet.

Varun ran a hand through his hair, jaw tight.

Why the hell had the locket unlocked?

The same eerie glow pulsed from its surface, but now, it had quieted.

Varun clenched his fists.

This was beyond a normal Pythia System activation. He had to inform Valeria.

But first—he had to make sure Orion woke up in one piece.

He turned to the autopilot. "Take us back."