Way of the Knights

Chapter 879: Projects: Completed

“God damn! Finally done with this thing!!” Raven exclaimed as he felt energy leaving his body.

He looked at the masterpiece in front of him. A gorgeous array of intersecting lines of dark gold and pale silver painting a mysterious yet elegant formation that no man would be able to decipher for millennia to come.

This was Raven’s final project for the Divine Realm. He calls it, the ‘Seed of Absolute Beginning’.

For now, this thing has no use. Time will come when Divine Realm would need this the most but for now, the success of creating this thing should be celebrated.

With this done, Raven can confidently say that he had done all he could in order to make sure that his home is ready for the Realm War…for now at least.

Finishing the projects means that he and his team could finally have that well-deserved vacation.

They had bought Divine Realm a lot of time but wrapping this up. It is unknown how long this false sense of peace could last but it should be enough to see results.

Right now, Raven is banking for the efforts of the other leaders. He had done his part, the rest is up to them. Whether Divine Realm comes out on top of the Realm War, will be up to them in the end.

With all of the projects done, Raven summoned the Realm Door to return to the Dawn Council.

He wasn’t surprised when he felt that it’s too quiet. A brief scan is all he need to know that the rest of his team and his wife are all in deep slumber. Everybody was too tired from all the hustle they did during the past few years, they deserve rest for what’s about to come next.

Raven found Luna slumbering on their chambers. He smiled and shook his head faintly. He scanned the Dawn Council once more, this time to search for his daughter

He found Vanessa working hard as well. She was training to improve her usage of the Umbrella that Luna gave to her.

Raven smiled and alerted her of his presence by releasing a fluctuation that only she could feel. She saw how Vanessa’s eyes gleamed as she unhesitatingly vanished from her training room and appeared right in front of him.action

“Dad! You’re back!” Vanessa cheered and immediately leapt on to his arms.

Raven chuckled and hugged her back.

“How’s my little princess doing?”

“Training! Richard and Jeanne are out in a mission without me so I was bored. I thought that since I’ve nothing better to do, I should at least train so that we can go out on a mission together next time.”

“How very responsible of you.” Raven nodded, “How’s the rest? Have you made others friends too?”

“Of course!” She nodded eagerly as she accompanied him towards a table. “I’ve made lots of nee friends too. Actually, we’re thinking about registering ourselves as unit so that we can take harder missions.”

“That’s nice. But remember, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask okay?” Raven advised.

“Yes, Dad. I won’t hesitate. I just don’t need anything for now. You and Mom gave me way too much stuff already, most of them are just collecting dust in the corner since I have no use for them right now. I’ll be fine don’t worry.”

“As long as you know how to be careful and keep yourself safe, that’s all I and your Mom can ask for.” Raven stated.

The two of them spent some time catching-up. Raven was gone for a long time and he missed his daughter a lot. Vanessa didn’t mind spending time with him and informed him about most of the stuff that happened to her recently.

They spent the rest day just like this before Vanessa told him that she should return. He didn’t hold her back and allowed her to do so but before she left, he told her that he’ll be slumbering pretty soon.

Vanessa already knew that her father was dead tired. She had caught him zoning out throughout the day but he insisted to spend time with her still since he missed her. This is why she didn’t mind.

Luna was like this when she returned earlier. Their schedules makes it difficult for them to actually spend time together but their doing their best to make-up for it. Vanessa appreciated this dearly so she didn’t mind at all.

If anything, this just further increaser her drive to become stronger so that one day, she’ll be able to share their burden too.

After she left, Raven didn’t waste time. He took a warm bath and changed into his most comfortable clothes. He then entered his and Luna’s chambers to find his wife deep in her own slumber.

He sat at the edge of the bed, drying his hair while inspecting his little disciple through the eyes of his Avatar.

Roughly two weeks passed since Stephen made his existence known to Raven and the little guy was already showing promise.

He was certainly sharp for a 13 year old kid, not like any other he had seen. Obviously, he didn’t count himself since he’s a special case. Additionally, the Grand Ancestral Plane was more dangerous back then so everyone was forced to mature way earlier than necessary in order to make sure that their kingdom is safe.

Now that the Golden Age arrived thanks to him, people are starting to get complacent. It isn’t as dangerous before but problems are still rising, corruption was spreading due to the prosperity of the world but so long as Raven exists, they will not succeed in their plans.

As for Little Stephen, he’s learning how to read and write now. Raven’s avatar was the one teaching him.

The boy still doesn’t know what future awaits him and Raven didn’t say anything too. He didn’t want to distract the kid from what’s important. They have time, there’s no need to rush.

Slowly but surely, Raven was subtly changing the way Stephen viewed the world.

Sure, the kid had it rough but it’s no reason to generalize completely. He was unlucky, yes. But it doesn’t mean that he’ll stay like that for the rest of his life.

Stephen was learning. He absorbed knowledge like a dry sponge thrown in a sink full of water. Raven barely had to give him encouragement since the boy had a thirst for knowledge too.

Raven didn’t hold his hand too. He’s trying to make Stephen independent. Although he had given him a shard of a pocket dimension where he can safely go and enjoy peace, he didn’t make him stay there all the time.

He wanted Stephen to carve a piece of the world for himself. He didn’t want the boy to run away from reality. He want him to see the world for what it is and make a decision for himself.

After all, whether Stephen ends up as his Legacy Disciple, will depend on Stephen himself rather than him.

For now though, teaching the kid how to survive on his own would be enough. All he’ll teach him would be the basics, if he wants to learn more, he had to step outside and learn it himself. This way, Stephen will be forced to interact with other people and have is own adventures.

After checking how his prospective disciple was doing, Raven cut the connection to his avatar and returned to his reality.

Raven felt really drained. He was barely keeping his eyes open at this point and that is proving to be more and more difficult as time passes.

He already dried his hair, he kept the towel away and lied down beside his slumbering wife. He took her into his arms and unconsciously groaned when he felt the familiar warmth of her body.

Luna seems to be craving for his warmth as well as even though she’s slumbering, she snuggled deeper into his arms.

A contented smile appeared on Raven face. If only moments like this would last…

Well, that’s the reason why they’re working their asses off anyways. It wouldn’t be long now. Soon, they will achieve their true peace.

Now that the projects are done, all they need to do is to focus on increasing their personal strength.

Raven already has plans for that. Most likely, they’d start spending a lot of time in seclusion to make sure this works but it wouldn’t be too bad compared to doing all of those projects.

The rest are nearly there anyways. Just a shy step away from knocking at the doors of the Divine Knight Stage. Just a little push and they’ll be good. The success of the breakthrough will ultimately depend on them at the end, Raven’s help would only make sure that the road to it becomes easier.

As for Raven himself, well he’s still leagues far from his goal – the Realm Beyond Divinity.

This upcoming seclusion would be helpful in gathering all kinds of knowledge he will need. He could probably theorize as well but unless he’s a hundred percent sure he’ll succeed, he can’t take risks.

Only time will tell if he’d be able to make. For now though, these thoughts are unwarranted.

He should really sleep.