Way of the Knights

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A curtain of light enveloped the old man as he uttered words of promise.

As he continued speaking, the light surrounding him intensified until it got to the point where the light morphed into a scroll written in an very unique language. 

The old man then bit his thumb and smeared the scroll with his own blood. This was him signing the oath and making a promise to never tell a soul about what Raven was about to tell him. Should he break this oath, he will be erased by the own laws that he's governing.

Seeing that the oath was fulfilled, Raven sighed and nodded. He then raised a finger and pointed towards the old man. 

A beam of light flew towards the old man as soon as the Oath of Secrecy was established. 

Instantly, he noticed that there is a huge chunk of unknown memories in his mind. Even without Raven telling him what to do, he viewed the memories that no one else other than him and Raven knows for now. 

It was a memory of a miserable young man that had grand ambitions. Sadly his fate was dictated by a worthless standard of talent measurement, pushing him to live a life of mediocrity. He tried his best to achieve his dreams but he could only go so far. 

Then a disaster occurred. A huge swarm of demonic beasts assaulted his home, and destroyed everything that he cared about.

The old man watched as the young witnessed the death of everyone that he loved and cared about. He felt his regret and his despair, he watched as the young man slowly sank into a depths of misery and self-loathing. He heard the young man asked the heavens, of all people, why him. Why was he the one to survive. Why did he do to suffer like this and why did his loved ones sacrificed themselves for him?

The old man watched as the young man encountered something that utterly changed his fate. He watched as he swore to the heavens that he will do everything he could to bring them all back. He saw how he fought savagely against beasts in order to survive, he saw how the young man worked tirelessly in his cultivation, eventually reaching the heights that no else reached. 

But more importantly, he felt just how much loneliness this young man suffered. 

Perhaps he'll never understand how he felt, but he could tell that the young man would jump into any chance, no matter how difficult or little it is, just to bring his loved ones back. He knew that he was willing to sacrifices everything, and he meant everything, if that would bring them back. 

Alas, fate never gave him a chance. 

He saw his desperation and his sadness as he left his home to search the Divine Realm for tools that could help him. He witnessed how much humiliation he suffered, how much he endured and worked hard day and night to achieve his dreams. 

The old man also saw how his world crumbled when someone from that land informed him that his chances were lost. And that no matter what he did, he could never bring them back. 

He witnessed how much despair the man felt. So much so that his failure become the most difficult heart demon to ever assault him, it even almost killed him at one point. 

The old man saw how the man sank in an all time low. He became a suicidal maniac, a criminal, a heretic and some even branded him as a tyrant or outright evil. 

He was hunted down by many forces, but none of them manage to bring him down. He wasn't even trying to survive. He was so miserable that he didn't care about his well being anymore, nor what people think of him for that matter. He blamed everyone and everything. He stopped giving a damn about the rules nor the laws. He killed everyone that came for him, not because they were hunting him down, but because he last desire is to die fighting. 

Maybe if he died that way, he could use that as an excuse for being late once he meets with his loved ones on the other side.

Despite being misunderstood, the man never cared anymore. His heart was already dead. He saw no point on living anymore. All of his effort were for naught. Good? Evil? He doesn't give a damn, if it will bring them back, he wants it. But sadly, it can no longer happen. 

Before he lost them, they told him to live on. He wanted to die and be with them but he also wanted to honor their wishes. 

In his misery, he often recalled the memories of his loved ones. Sadly, because he was alive for too long and he spent so much time pre-occupied with his useless efforts, the memories he once cherished also left him. He sank into an even deeper misery once he noticed that he couldn't even remember what they looked like anymore. 

It was his parents' lessons that kept him going. He remembered what his father always told him. 

'It is okay to rest, but it is also our curse that we have to keep moving forward. What ever happens, no matter what kind of set backs you suffer, you must always bounce back from it and live according to how you see fit. Failure is not a bad thing, it is a friendly reminder that mistakes can happen. What's important is the lessons that you learn from that failure. That will shape who you are.'

This was the words that brought sanity back to the young man. And just like what his father told him, he had to stand back up and stop wasting his life in misery. He felt ashamed of himself and his actions, therefore he decided to make peace with himself and at least die doing a good thing.

It was then that he was finally acknowledged by a companion that he never thought was with him all this time. As the old man saw this item, it finally became clear to him. 

The disturbance that he felt a couple of years back. It was due to Raven's soul experiencing rebirth. 

What the old man lost was the Ancestral Divine Crown, that originally a treasure appeared here during the Plane's birth. What he gained was a soul that experienced myriad of tribulations and also once stood at the top of the world. The plane gained the acknowledged owner of the same thing it lost. Which means that plane gained something ever greater. 

The old man was incredibly gratified to know this. At the same time, he also couldn't believe that such a thing could truly happen. Rebirth was possible, even him as the Plane's Consciousness could hardly believe such a thing, yet the evidence was sitting right in front of him. 

But what bothers him the most is the creatures that Raven faced during the peak of his previous life. 

The Abyssals. 

As a Creation himself, the old man could feel an intense hatred and loathing towards these creatures. It's an instinctual feeling brought certainty that this things are evil. And this instincts will never wrong. 

The old man even watched as he and the plane was devoured in one sitting by one of those abominations. In fact it wasn't only him. Many planes and stars under humanity's jurisdiction, no matter how big they were, were swallowed by these foul creatures. 

The war against them was long and bitter, many of humanity's leaders were eaten. Humanity was in the brink of extinction, but it was Raven who never stopped fighting. 

It was him who always fought with life on the line. He never back down from any challenge since he had nothing to lose. He rose to the ranks and became humanity's beacon of light. 

Unfortunately, the Abyssal Emperor was just too strong. Had Raven known how to borrow the power of the crown, he might've been able to defeat him. In the end, he didn't want to be swallowed and be used as a nutrition to these pests so he chose to ignite his cultivation base in attempts to bring the Abyssal Emperor down with him. 

The memory ended with Raven opening his eyes to the familiar sight of his home and to the knowledge that the Ancestral Divine Crown brought his soul back in time. 

The happiness and relief that Raven felt genuinely made the old man happy. More importantly, his conviction and his desire to never lose his loved ones ever again, shook the old man. 

His feelings were more certain than any kind of oath possible. It came from a man that once stood at the same height as the highest heavens themselves. Undoubtedly, his words carried weight that no one could even carry besides himself. 

The old man gradually woke up from his stupor. He now realized that he would never look at Raven the same ever again after knowing all that he had been through. 

With his chest filled with numerous emotions, he uttered:

"We welcome your glorious return, Your Majesty Vendrick."

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