Primordial Expanse: I have the Strongest Talent! - Chapter 462

Chapter 462: Devestation
For a few tense seconds, the world around him held its breath.

Then came a low, ominous rumble — a sound so deep it seemed to resonate from within his very bones.

Dust fell from the cavern ceiling as the trembling intensified, spreading outward like the beginning of an earthquake.

“Wait!”

The voice echoed from the sphere, its calm demeanour replaced by something Alex had not anticipated — panic.

A sharp, grim satisfaction flickered through him.

“Too late for regrets now.”

Alex said in a flat and merciless tone.

“You should have thought about this before you ‘gifted’ me and Mira.”

He wasted no more words.

Teleporting back to his ship, he appeared within the main cockpit, his body settling back into the familiar controls as he fought to suppress the adrenaline still pulsing in his veins.

“King, take us back off this sorry rock. Set coordinates to Mars in the Solar System.”

Silence answered him. A moment later, the ship’s AI responded in its usual neutral tone.

“Access denied. 47 hours remaining before control is given back.”

Alex cursed under his breath, this was a complete oversight on his part.

A real punch to his gut.

He hadn’t considered the ship’s lockdown protocols, the very failsafe he’d enacted to prevent premature departure.

There was no time for regret, though — he needed a solution now.

“King, scan the planet!”

He ordered in a strict tone.

“Is there or is there not a planet-wide extinction event going on right now?”

A few nerve-wracking seconds ticked by as he waited for the AI’s response.

Finally, it spoke.

“Affirmative. Time until estimated planetary explosion: 01:27… 01:26…”

Panic clawed at him as he watched the timer ticking down.

His mind raced, scrambling for any possible loophole in the AI’s protocol.

“So don’t you think it’s imperative that we leave this planet!?”

He said, barely managing to keep his voice steady.

“Regardless of my being locked out of the system?!”

The AI took another few seconds to respond, feeling maddeningly slow given the circumstances.

“Affirmative.”

“Then get us the fuck out of here!”

Alex shouted, his voice hoarse with frustration and urgency.

There was a brief, infuriating pause, and then, with a low hum, the ship’s engines powered up, and Alex felt a shift as the thrusters began lifting them off Gorath’s surface.

He glanced out the viewport just in time to see the jagged landscape receding beneath them, distant plumes of smoke and dust rising from the ground as the seismic upheaval continued to intensify.

The ship ascended, passing through layers of turbulent atmosphere, and for a brief moment, Alex let himself breathe a small sigh of relief.

They were leaving.

The danger was behind them — almost.

He glanced at the timer on the console — the countdown continued to tick away, each second a brutal reminder of the devastation he’d set in motion.

Below, Gorath seemed to writhe, as if the planet itself were convulsing.

The dark clouds that shrouded its atmosphere churned violently, spiralling in response to the upheaval beneath.

In his mind, he imagined he could hear the planet’s final cries, the last remnants of its sentience shattering as it faced oblivion.

Alex’s jaw clenched.

Despite his anger, there was a hollow ache in his chest, a bitter finality to what he’d done.

Gorath had reached out to him in desperation, trying to escape its isolation.

But that didn’t excuse its manipulation, its assault on his mind, on Mira’s mind.

“Estimated time until planetary destruction: 00:47… 00:46…”

King’s calm voice broke through his thoughts.

“Push the thrusters to maximum.”

He instructed, his voice barely above a whisper.

He wanted as much distance between them and the planet as possible before it tore itself apart.

But he didn’t want to enter warp just yet.

He wanted to see the destruction caused by his own hands.

The ship surged forward, its engines humming as they picked up speed, racing through the void.

Alex kept his gaze on the viewport, watching as Gorath shrank to a distant, dying star in the backdrop of space.

‘I get it now…’

He thought to himself.

‘Why they were called celestial orbs…’

His mind was brought back to the time before he found out the planet itself was sentient.

‘They are plucked directly from the soul of a celestial body — a planet.’

His thoughts reached a halt there, as he took in the majestic sight before his eyes.

The trembling atmosphere surrounding it glowed with an eerie light, now crumbling to nothingness.

He tightened his grip on the console, his fingers numb.

In the silence of the cockpit, the reality of what he’d done began to settle in — a decision made in the heat of fury, in the throes of self-preservation.

And yet, it was a choice he knew he would make again.

“Time until explosion: 00:10… 00:09…”

He closed his eyes, blocking out the countdown.

A part of him wanted to look away, but another part, a quieter, more resolute part, forced him to witness the end.

At last, Gorath’s dark surface ignited, a blinding flash that filled the viewport, shattering the silence of space.

The explosion burst outward, its shockwave rippling through the void, a brilliant eruption that swallowed everything in its path.

Alex felt the ship shudder as the wave reached them, pressing against the hull with a force that rattled the controls.

Then, just as suddenly, it was gone.

Gorath’s light faded, leaving nothing behind but the cold emptiness of space.

Alex took a shuddering breath, his shoulders sagging.

The threat was over, but the silence that followed felt heavier than anything he’d faced on the planet’s surface.

He knew he would carry this memory, this final moment with him for as long as he lived.

“King.”

He said quietly in a rough tone.

“Record coordinates for Mars and set course.”

This time, the AI complied without hesitation.

The threat of being struck by some debris from the planet was more prevalent than rejecting Alex’s orders to leave.

‘Mira…’

Alex’s thoughts immediately returned to Mira, who was still stuck in her chambers from the beginning until this moment.

“King, unlock Mira’s door!”

The ship complied again.