Way of the Knights

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"Might as well clear some of your doubts." Old Man Geezer sighed, "Kid, I am the creator of that precious crown that you currently hold."

"What!?"

Raven's eyes bulged from their sockets as they heard this revelation. His mind turned blank, seemingly unable to make sense of this situation. 

"I know, I know. Shocking right?" Old Man Geezer sarcastically remarked. "Right now, its still too early for you to know everything. I just told you that since I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to say it to you."

"Wait you're dying?" Raven unconsciously blurted out, causing Geezer to spit consecutively in a mocking manner.

"Ai! You brat! You're cursing me! What if you jinxed it, huh? I just told you that I was the one who created your precious crown and the first thing you say to me is this?" Geezer spat once again, causing Raven to smile mirthlessly.

"Sorry, I was just too shocked. I-I just can't process this right now…" He said while coughing dryly. 

He wasn't lying when he said this. This matter is just too shocking for him. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine ever meeting the one who created the most prized possession of his. 

It was the Ancestral Divine Crown who bestowed him another chance. Everything that he achieved during his previous life and the current one, is all due to the crown's support. No one could question just how much importance he placed in this item, so much so that not even his parents nor his lover knew about it. 

It wouldn't even be an exaggeration to say that even Empyreans will wage war because of this item. This crown is absolutely one of a kind. Therefore he had to be careful with it. 

Old Man Geezer sighed, he then asked: "Do you know why I summoned you here?" 

Raven was stunned, he didn't even bother to hide his confusion before shaking his head. 

Geezer was silent for a bit before saying: "To be honest, this is not the first time that I met you." 

Raven's whole body froze upon hearing that. His eyes widened in shock but he remained silent. Many thoughts surfaced inside his mind but none of them made him recall meeting with this person before. 

"You need not to think too hard about it." Geezer chuckled, "You won't have memories of it. As the previous one's on your position didn't have any as well."

"I made a rule upon creating the Ancestral Divine Crown." Geezer said in a melancholic manner. "Every candidate will be summoned here only three times."

"The first time is during your first transformation. I summoned your consciousness here, but you don't have any memories of it since you were at the precipice of life and death."

"The purpose of the first summoning is to bestow you with Cosmic Energy." 

"Cosmic Energy?" Raven raised his brow in confusion. 

"Its the proper term instead of Chaos Force." Geezer informed flatly, causing Raven to be astounded. He then continued:

"Cosmic Energy is the result of combining the Holy Trinity - Vital Essence, Energy Essence and Spiritual Essence. Through this fusion, the resulting product will - in theory, be the most abundant, adapting and purest form of energy. Some even said that should there be a chance that someone manages to fuse all of these energies, then they'll be able to cultivate this energies and trace it back to its true origin, allowing them to see the truth of the Absolute Beginning!"

"In the realm of Myriad Creations, many have had ideas about combining all of this, yet none of them succeeded. That's of course, aside from me." Geezer said proudly, he even puffed his chest out proudly yet it deflated as quickly due to some reasons. "However, though I succeeded, the product somehow turned different from what I was expecting."

"Originally, we are hoping to re-create Origin Energy. The reason why, is because without it, we won't be able to discover the true secrets of Absolute Beginning."

Raven was astounded upon hearing this revelation. 

The true secrets of Absolute Beginning. This is something that he had never even thought about, not even during his previous life. This is mainly due to him trying to find a way to resurrect his deceased loved ones. He had originally thought that ascending to Divinity is the only way to truly resurrect someone from the dead without implications, yet he was wrong. 

But now, everything has changed. He managed to return to the past, correct his mistakes and save all of his loved ones. Still, his desire to return to his rightful throne didn't diminish. In fact, his desire even burned stronger. The reason is partly to ensure the safety of his loved ones and to truly grasped the strength to eradicate everything that threatens their safety. 

If this was his previous life, then this reason was absolutely enough. Yet now, somethings has changed. 

Before, he believed that the Divinity Realm is the peak. That he achieved the absolute peak of existences, remaining eternal throughout the ages, master of all existences and all powerful. 

Yet this knowledge was ripped apart upon battling the Abyssal Emperor. 

During their final showdown, he briefly achieved a strength that went beyond what ordinary Divinities could achieve. Though he only manage to catch a brief glance of that realm before ultimately dying and experiencing Soul Rebirth, the impression he received was too enticing. 

So much so that he whole-heartedly yearned for it. At the same time, one thing became extremely clear to him…

Divinity is not the end. It is not the peak amongst the peaks. The sky between the skies. There's an even higher realm. And Raven yearned to reach it. 

Unfortunately, he had no clues as to how to achieve just that. His breakthrough during his previous life was too forceful and too brief. It didn't allow him to discover the true meaning behind his breakthrough, yet when Old Man Geezer talked about the 'Absolute Beginning' for some reason, its resonating within him. 

This made him think that the true key in order to chase after the realm beyond Divinity is by comprehending the secrets of Absolute Beginning. 

"Precisely." Old Man Geezer said, waking Raven out of his stupor and causing him to smile wryly. 

Right, he forgot that this old man could read his thoughts…

"It wasn't just you who came into that conclusion. All those who reached Divinity, all felt the same way, later on coming into conclusion that Divinity, is in fact, not the end."

"All of us wanted to reach that stage, yet none of us succeeded. Some Divinity experts even died due to their relentless pursuit of that path."

"We've spent countless amount of time, trying to search for clues but so far, everything leads to Absolute Beginning. But the problem is, no matter how hard we tried searching for it, we didn't make any breakthroughs."

"As time went on, desires became obsessions. Some Divinities even suffered serious setbacks in their cultivation due to their obsessions turning into Heart Demons, permanently making them incapable of reaching that step in their entire life. It was too ruthless and too disheartening…"

Raven sharply inhaled upon hearing that. Oh, how cruel fate must've been to them. Their desire backfired, turning into obsession and later, turning into heart demons that they couldn't extricate themselves from. Eventually, it was their desire that betrayed them and destroyed their hopes. 

How lamentable…

"Even I nearly succumbed to it." Geezer laughed dryly as he admitted this fact. "My desire to search for the next realm is too strong that I, too fell victim to it. Fortunately, my desire to live is even stronger, therefore giving me a chance to before its too late."

"Ultimately, it was my desire to 'seek' the sky beyond the skies that nearly caused my demise. Since that's the case, I gouged my eyes out and destroyed it using my hands." 

"Now, I could no longer 'see' any roads. Allowing me to regain my clarity and saving myself from ruin." Geezer laughed, "Well, you win some, you lose some. Losing my eyes are just a small price to pay if I get to live in the end."

A desolate feeling gnawed at Raven's heart upon hearing this. In the end, the pursuit for their goals caused these brilliant figures to stumble and fall to despair. Though he was different from them, he couldn't help but feel saddened. 

"Well, everything worked out in the end. But still, my curiosity and my desire to search for my goals persisted even after all this. Though I'm not obsessed over it anymore, I still wanted to see it."

"It doesn't have to me. It could be someone else. It doesn't have to be a human, nor anyone from our universe. I just want to know how to achieve it. After that, I could perish with a satisfaction in my heart. In fact, its not only me. There's many of us who also stubbornly held onto our lives, just for a chance to catch a glimpse of it."

"All of us, had our own thoughts and methods to achieve it. As for me, like I said, it no longer has to be me. But wouldn't it be wonderful if the one who achieve this is someone that I raised?"

Upon hearing this, Raven finally understood what Old Man Geezer wanted.