Overpowered Awakening: I Became Invincible With A Broken Talent-Chapter 186: The Pathos (2)

Marlon found himself floating in a place similar to the Milky Way he had seen when reliving the memories in the last memory fragment he had obtained. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Instinctively, he scanned the endless void, and his eyes soon landed on one particular sight.

The Planet Eater.

But this time, it was hovering only a small distance away from a familiar planet, Arden.

The planet closely beside Arden, though much smaller in comparison, was being consumed by the Planet Eater. This time, he was able to capture everything in far clearer detail than before.

It happened much more sluggishly. The entire planet was being pulled in by an indescribable suction force. The part closest to the Planet Eater disintegrated into smaller matter and was drawn into the glowing mouth of the cosmic beast, which loomed over the devoured planet.

Marlon could hear sounds he could not describe. Explosions, the wails of countless inhabitants of the planet, water floating chaotically through space, and flames engulfing everything in sight.

And suddenly, he spotted something else that made his mind tremble.

The entire galaxy itself seemed to twist and shift, as though it had made a sudden movement.

Then something he could not describe happened afterward.

Before he could fully capture what was occurring, he heard his name, and everything turned dark.

He forcefully opened his eyes.

He was greeted by a face so beautiful that he found himself in a daze for a brief moment.

Though he quickly broke out of it.

"You’re awake... I am Liora."

The female Vereena introduced herself with a sweet smile on her face.

Marlon did not respond. He lifted his upper torso and scanned his surroundings, first searching for the presence of the Aurax and the reassembled corpse that had attacked him and caused him to die so many times.

Nevertheless, they were nowhere to be seen. Instead, he spotted a golden spaceship hovering amidst the clouds and three Vereenas standing at random positions nearby.

He noticed one with an annoyingly arrogant expression on his face, pestering another who wore a blank, seemingly bored look.

Standing at another position was Orion, whom he quickly recognized, performing some sort of healing on Draven.

Orion seemed to notice Marlon’s gaze as he turned toward him and gave him a gentle nod.

"He helped take care of your injured mind..."

said Liora, who was now standing directly in front of him with her hands outstretched.

Marlon accepted her assistance and stood up. Now upright, he was able to take in the devastated state of his surroundings much more clearly. A massive crater could be seen in a particular location nearby, which he deduced was the exact spot where he had experienced hundreds of deaths.

The sight caused his expression to darken further as he turned toward Liora, who stood beside him with her hands folded behind her back.

"Where are the Aurax?" he asked.

Liora lifted her hand and pointed toward the black-haired Vereena who was being disturbed, then responded, "Nox has them trapped in the void."

Marlon observed Nox closely. Their eyes met briefly, but the latter’s expression remained unchanged.

"Don’t mind him. He is always like that, but he is the most caring deep down," she added, though Marlon did not really care.

Liora seemed to understand the look on his face, so she proceeded to explain how Nox’s ability worked and how much time they had left before the Aurax reappeared.

Hearing her explanation gave Marlon all he needed to know regarding that aspect.

Orion finished healing Draven and strolled toward them.

"Are you ready?" he asked Marlon.

"For what?" Marlon asked, genuinely confused.

Orion did not respond verbally. Instead, he brought out two crystal orbs that Marlon quickly recognized as the True Orbs.

He passed one over to Marlon and said,

"You’re the only one with the ability to consume the core of the forbidden race."

Marlon looked confused at the mention of the forbidden race. He had only ever known them as the Aurax.

Orion noted this and explained further.

"The Aurax are one of the two races that worship the cosmic entity known as the Planet Eater, an evil being that terrorizes the galaxy by consuming planets. The Aurax, especially, are its acclaimed prophets. They are capable of determining its next meal, and they are in charge of softening the meal and garnishing it," Orion explained calmly.

"Meal, garnish, soften? Explain," demanded Marlon.

"Heh, I thought the chosen one was supposed to know about all this?"

The annoyingly arrogant Vereena he had noticed earlier arrived and interrupted.

Marlon tilted his head toward him and shot him a cold glare.

"Come on, man. We’re on the same side..."

the Vereena said as he raised his hand in a gesture of surrender.

"Solan, do not interrupt."

Liora appeared behind him and pulled his ear, dragging him away.

Orion seemed unaffected by the brief disturbance and continued his explanation.

"The Planet Eater consumes planets for their aether. The Aurax infiltrate planets that are poor in aether. They send in monsters and aether-rich treasures in order to fatten the aether supply, making the planet far more enticing to the Planet Eater. Their current target is your planet... The next is ours."

Hearing all of this, Marlon gained a brief understanding of what Orion was talking about.

But it also raised further confusion. Solan had referred to him as the chosen one, and earlier, the Aurax had spoken about the same thing.

"Have you ever heard of the prophecy of the Originless One?" Orion asked.

Marlon shook his head.

Orion frowned slightly.

Just as he was about to explain further, Nox approached them and said in a bored tone,

"We have only a little time left..."

Though he spoke casually, his words carried undeniable weight.

Orion turned to Marlon and gently pointed toward the True Core in his grasp.

Marlon understood what needed to be done and consumed it.

[ You’ve consumed an Index-2 True Core. ]

[ You’ve obtained the following:

1,000,000 EXP

1 Skill Fusion Card (has been transferred to inventory)

300 Strength Points

30 Free Stat Points ] I

"No skill upgrade core... try this one..." Orion said as he brought out another True Core.

Marlon was surprised by how Orion knew he had not obtained one, yet retrieved another without hesitation. He needed to become stronger to kill those bastards.

To avenge his friends.