Chapter 410: _Do Not Call My Son A Threat

"There is something else."

Nobody said anything after those words left Ambrose’s mouth.

All five of his partners kept their eyes on him, all thinking the same thing.

Was this it?

Was Ambrose about to actually come clean about Orion’s origins before the Pantheon? A decision that could potentially put the system’s main mission in jeopardy.

Thoth arched a brow, studying Ambrose’s face.

There it was.

Whatever he was referring to was definitely about to be the whole truth he’d been hiding.

"Well?" Wukong faked a cough. "Go on with it. We haven’t got all night."

"Wukong." Kali gave him a disapproving glare.

"What? Isn’t it pissing anyone else off that despite everything we’ve been through, this guy is still hoarding secrets?"

Ambrose scoffed. "Everything WE’VE been through?" He placed enough emphasis on the word ’we’ to cut. "And yes, forgive my need to keep some things to myself. You can’t blame me when it’s the well-being of my family on the line."

He curled his fingers.

God, these people never stopped putting him on edge.

"Ramona mentioned my son," He finally let it out. "Orion."

Apollo’s brow shot up.

He didn’t bother saying anything.

But deep down he was curious to see where he was going with this.

After finding out that Ambrose Hale somehow had a son who seemed oddly close to Devon, he did some digging. There were no records on the boy anywhere.

No hospital visits. No prior schools before Blue Diamond.

It was as though the kid randomly appeared one day some months back.

Ambrose adjusted in his seat. "Remember the AI system? The one that I said pulled my soul from another universe?"

Thoth’s brows drew together. "What?" He cut his eyes to the others. "What’s he talking about? What AI system?"

"It’s how I got my ’reawakening’." Ambrose’s head tilted. "They didn’t fill you in?"

Yemoja’s lips curled sarcastically. "If he wanted to find out sooner, he could stick around us more."

"Yemoja, that isn’t—"

"Anyway," the SS-Rank didn’t have the patience for another one of their banters. "On top of helping me level up, this system also brought in... an anomaly. A child tethered by the disturbance my presence in the universe caused. From an alternate future timeline. One where Devon and I were able to have him."

Wukong frowned. "Have him?"

"I didn’t stutter," The former deadpanned. "Orion Hale-Ferguson’s origins aren’t the only interesting thing about him. He’s also something classified as an ’Aether Hybrid’. Half Guide and half Esper." His head turned to Thoth. "Like me. That’s why you perceived two separate pathways in me. I’m both and none at the same time."

"Orion is classless. Even the system can’t gauge his powers. What we do know is that his mind can change reality at its most fundamental level... the perfect vessel for a being who wants to dwell permanently in our multiverse."

Kali’s instincts rang.

The ability to change reality?

So powerful that even a mysterious system capable of pulling souls across universes couldn’t fully grasp what he was.

Such unfathomable power...

"Wait a minute," Wukong straightened up. "When you say he can change reality... could that also mean he can mess up the world?"

Kali brought her focus to Ambrose.

Then to Devon and the others.

Something finally clicked.

"... The zombie apocalypse."

All heads swerved to her.

"He caused it," her voice was barely above a whisper. "Didn’t he?"

The room seemed to shrink.

Apollo’s eyes slowly widened. Yemoja’s lips parted.

Even Loki, who usually carried an answer for everything, simply stared at Kali.

"What?" Wukong finally asked, his voice sounding strangely hollow.

Kali never looked away from Ambrose.

"The zombie apocalypse," she repeated quietly. "It was the boy... wasn’t it?"

Silence answered her.

A silence that lasted just long enough for everyone to notice Ambrose wasn’t denying it.

Wukong’s pupils contracted.

His breathing hitched as memories he’d much rather forget came crashing back all at once.

The streets overflowing with corpses.

Hunters tearing through endless hordes.

The moment yellowed teeth had sunk into his arm before he ripped the creature off.

He still remembered believing that was how he’d end up dying.

His head slowly lifted toward Ambrose.

"You’re not telling me..." His voice rose with every word. "You’re seriously trying to say that whole zombie apocalypse—the one that nearly wiped out humanity—happened because of one little kid?"

Ambrose lowered his head. "Yes."

The answer landed like a bomb.

Apollo shot to his feet first. "Do you have any idea what you’re admitting?"

"Hundreds of thousands were displaced," Yemoja added, disbelief colouring every word. "Entire countries had to be quarantined. Hunters died trying to contain it."

"And you knew?" Wukong barked. "You knew the entire time?"

Ambrose’s jaw tightened. "I knew."

"You should’ve reported it!"

"I couldn’t."

"You couldn’t?" Wukong laughed bitterly. "Humanity nearly went extinct for several hours!"

"I know!" Ambrose’s voice cracked louder than he’d intended.

The room fell quiet again.

"I know exactly what happened," he said, forcing himself to stay calm. "You think I don’t replay that day every single night? You think Orion doesn’t wake up crying sometimes because he remembers pieces of that nightmare? He wasn’t trying to kill anyone."

"He still almost did," Wukong shot back.

"He’s six!"

"So what does that make him?" Apollo asked, his expression hardening. "If a frightened child can accidentally rewrite reality on a global scale, then he’s an unregistered threat unlike anything we’ve ever documented."

The words barely left his mouth before the temperature in the room plummeted.

Ambrose was already on his feet, silver eyes locked onto Apollo with enough intensity to make even the god of light pause.

"Do not," Ambrose said quietly, "call my son a threat."

Neither man looked away.

"He is a child," Ambrose continued. "A scared, confused little boy who had one nightmare he couldn’t control. If you’re looking for someone to blame, blame me. I should’ve known what was happening sooner. I should’ve protected him better. But don’t stand in my home and start talking about Orion like he’s some monster."

Before Apollo could answer, another voice cut cleanly through the tension.

"Enough."

Thoth’s single word carried a calm authority that settled over the room like cool water, every raised emotion easing just enough for reason to return.

He regarded Ambrose for a long moment before asking, "Has the boy received any training since then?"

"...Yes."

"Can he regulate his emotions?"

Ambrose nodded. "The system and I have been teaching him for weeks. He’s made tremendous progress. His imagination doesn’t spiral the way it used to."

"And can he consciously wield these abilities?"

A brief hesitation crossed Ambrose’s face. "Not reliably."

"I see."

Thoth folded his hands in front of his chest, thoughtful rather than alarmed.

"Then arguing over what has already happened serves no purpose." His gaze swept across every member of the Pantheon before returning to Ambrose. "Before we decide how to face the Archons, we must first understand the very child they crossed universes to obtain."

A faint pause followed.

"I would like to meet Orion soon."