Primordial Expanse: I have the Strongest Talent! - Chapter 460

Chapter 460: Temptations
Alex stood in the cockpit, watching the planet grow larger in the viewport, its dark, storm-laden clouds swirling as if waiting for him, drawing him closer.

Gorath’s surface loomed beneath him, an unforgiving landscape of jagged cliffs and shadowed valleys stretching across the barren world, but it was more than just the sight that sent chills down his spine.

There was something beneath that surface, something that seemed to be reaching out, like spectral fingers, clawing at the edges of his mind.

Each second they descended, he felt it intensify — a whisper, a seductive lull urging him to give in, to silence the doubts, to trust whatever force had led them here.

It pulsed in time with his heartbeat, syncing to the rhythm of his thoughts and fears.

He clenched his fists, trying to steady his breathing, but the closer they got to Gorath’s surface, the harder it became to maintain his grip on reality.

It was inescapable now: a constant, relentless tug pulling him to abandon all caution.

His doubts, his questions — he could almost feel them melting away, like ice under a blazing sun.

The notion of resistance itself felt hazy, something distant and insignificant. What did it matter?

There was no reason to fight, no reason to question; everything would become clear if he would just let go, surrender…

“No!”

The word came out strangled, almost unrecognisable, and Alex’s hands shook as he forced his grip tighter on the control panel.

He squeezed his eyes shut, summoning the clarity, the defiance he had clung to days ago.

But the insidious influence continued to creep into his thoughts, promising peace, promising purpose if he would simply surrender.

This was the moment he had dreaded since leaving Gorath — since feeling the change in himself, the unsettling sense of detachment.

The ship’s thrusters rumbled as they drew closer, settling in for a landing, and he could feel his body acting almost without his consent, his hand hovering over the release lever to disembark.

The air felt thick, saturated with the planet’s pull, and his muscles tensed in response, his heartbeat erratic as he fought to keep hold of himself.

He staggered slightly, bracing his hands against the wall to steady himself.

Somewhere, buried beneath the growing haze, he could still hear the sound of Mira’s voice, the memory of her defiance, her unwavering will echoing in his mind.

She would never let him submit to this — she would fight him, call him a fool, demand he keep his resolve.

“Hold on.”

He whispered, though he wasn’t sure if the words were meant for himself or Mira.

The landing gear deployed with a hiss, and the ship settled onto Gorath’s surface with a dull thud.

The vibrations seemed to resonate with the darkness inside him, urging him forward, whispering that he was exactly where he needed to be.

Alex fought it, his mind screaming for one last grip on reason, but the planet’s pull only grew stronger, tempting him to surrender to the void.

He felt the weight of the darkness pressing against him, unrelenting and unforgiving.

He took a shaky breath, looking back at the controls one last time.

In his final, tenuous grasp on sanity, he sent a command to the ship’s AI.

“Open… open Mira’s door.”

The words escaped his lips, against his will, but they were out.

The ship’s AI replied in its flat, emotionless tone.

“Access denied. Command locked out for 48 more hours as per protocol.”

A cold wave of relief washed over Alex, grounding him in the tension of that single breath.

His conscious mind, still barely hanging on to clarity, welcomed the denial, and for a moment, he almost let himself believe it would be enough to hold the darkness at bay.

But that feeling was short-lived.

Almost immediately, an anger that wasn’t his own surged up, filling him with a primal urge to destroy.

It was foreign, vast, and enraged.

His vision blurred, a creeping red tinge edging around his sight.

He felt himself clench his fists involuntarily, a visceral frustration pressing down on him with unnatural force.

The pull wanted Mira there with him, he realised with chilling certainty.

It wanted them both—together, exposed, defenceless against its influence.

He staggered back, pressing himself into the cold steel of the wall, fighting the urge to slam his fists into the console and override the system entirely.

This wasn’t him; it couldn’t be.

The anger, this consuming rage—it was too foreign, too disconnected from any sense of reason or rationality.

It was as though something was clawing up from within, demanding Mira’s presence, as if her very proximity would be the final key in unleashing the madness Gorath had planted in them.

“No… no, this isn’t… I can’t…”

He struggled and muttered, trying to force the words out, hoping to dispel the tension building inside him.

And yet, even as he resisted, he could feel the rational part of him slipping, like sand trickling through his fingers.

He needed to know what it wanted from her.

If he was infected, Mira likely was as well, but they had been careful to avoid delving into the details since leaving Gorath.

Had they both been too afraid of acknowledging how deeply the influence ran?

His thoughts twisted, paranoid and frenzied, as the dark part of him argued that perhaps she was his only way to understand.

To let go.

To find peace in surrender.

It would be easier, he thought—so much easier to give in, let Mira step onto the planet’s surface, let her stand beside him in that forsaken place.

But he shoved the thought away, gritting his teeth as he tried to ignore the pounding in his head, the low pulse that echoed in his veins, each beat pressing him with a single, malevolent idea.

‘Together. Together you’ll understand. Together you’ll be whole.’

He sank to his knees, his hands gripping his head as he wrestled with the voice—his voice but not his own.

His breath came out in ragged gasps, the cold metal of the ship grounding him in reality, his heartbeat slowing as he dug his nails into his palms.

He could wait.

He had to.

But deep inside, he knew he was fighting a battle he could not hold forever.

It was only a matter of time before his will broke.