Way of the Knights

Chapter 755

"…see, this plane is considered as a Lower Plane. While it's technically not included as part of the Divine Realm itself, it's under Divine Realm's jurisdictions." Raven stated in front of the two sets of sparkling eyes in front of him. 

"The universe is massive." Raven continued, "Let's say that this table in front of us; this would be the whole territory of the Divine Realm. See these lines on the edges? Think of that as the Lower Planes while the plate in the center of the table is the actual Divine Realm itself."

"It's not to say that the Divine Realm is one massive entity or a single planet, no. It's a congregation multiple Upper ranked worlds that's closely knit together. Stars, planes, planets, hidden realms, pocket dimensions, and so on, everything is present in this space and it all remains intact and functioning as a single entity. That's Divine Realm in a nutshell."

Raven had been pestered by Nina and Tori, the twins wanted him to explain what the Divine Realm was like. He knew that his sisters had inherited their father's wanderlust so he might as well educate them, after all he was planning on taking them there in the far future. It won't harm to give them a little clue on what to expect.

"How do you ascend anyways?" Tori asked, her sparkling gaze was adorable but Raven can see past those and understand what she's implying. 

"You're not ascending without my permission, both of you." Raven snorted as he took a sip of his tea, causing the twins to give him a lop sided smile. "It's for your own good. That place is too chaotic for you two. I'll take you to up there to play but not anytime soon. Got it?"

"Yes." The twins replied, rather dejectedly. Raven needed to warn them beforehand since he knows these two can be a handful. 

"To answer your question, there's three ways to do it." Raven stated, "The first one is by getting chosen as a disciple of a sect stationed in the Divine Realm. Once you passed their tests, they will open up a passage for you to use which will directly take you where the sect is."

"The second one is by having someone from the Divine Realm pick you up." Raven raised another finger. "This method is very unstable though since our plane doesn't let any outsiders in. Only those who were born here can return here, that's how a home managed to escape all unwarranted attention from outsiders."

"Escape unwanted attention? Why is that a bad thing?" 

"Because people are people." Raven explained, "You can never tell who's a nutjob and who's a kind person nowadays. If someone was having a bad day and managed to spot our home, they may very well sell its location to slave traders and before you know it, our lives were royally fucked." 

Raven's words sent shivers to their spine, and it doesn't look like he was lying either. 

"It's a defense mechanism. Our world is trying to protect itself an us. Don't worry though, so long as I'm alive, no one should think about harboring some ideas about our home." 

"The last method of ascending is the most direct one." Raven stated, "Do it on your own. You can ask the consciousness of the plan to open passage to the Divine Realm and you travel it by yourself. That's how I did it. Your sister-in-law and the rest used the first method."

"Come to think of it, where's your wife Son? Did she return with you?" Eva asked expectantly. 

"She did." Raven nodded, "She's probably spending time with her family. The rest are here too." 

"Oh, that is wonderful!" Eva clapped her hands merrily. "When can I have grandchildren?" 

"Mom!?" The twins were shocked, while their parents just laughed at their reaction. Raven himself felt a little bit embarrassed. Still, he answered her inquiry honestly. 

"Hopefully, soon." Raven said softly.

"Really!?" Eva's eyes were sparkling, even Luis looked expectant. The twins were surprised by their were excited too.

"She's not pregnant." Raven swiftly countered, "At least not yet anyway. We spent most of our time separated due to work. I owe her big time for that and it's about time we start our own family anyways."

"You should've already back then, before you two ascended." Luis sighed, "I mean, it's going to be challenging for you two to conceive a child now due to how strong you two have gotten."

Indeed, although Humans have an astounding capability to reproduce, it gets progressively harder to conceive children upon reaching a certain level of strength. This is a bane that not even Raven himself can get rid off easily so he just have to try. 

"Don't worry, I'm sure we will have children of our own, you'll get to play with them pretty soon." Raven re-assured. 

"Well, how about Ellen and Paul? Or Mark and Anne? Do they have children?" Eva asked.

"No." Raven shook his head, "I don't know if they're planning as well, I didn't ask since it's their decision anyways. They'll probably pay a visit sometime soon though, you can ask them." 

After that talk, the twins pestered Raven to tell more stories about his journey in the Divine Realm while the family ate. 

Reuniting with his family made Raven feel whole again, this blissful peace and serenity is something so precious that he wanted to protect it. Time and time again, these people are the reason why Raven was prepared to go all kinds of hardships, just to make sure that these people get to live safe and secure, there's nothing more he could ask…

Well, children…he wants children too but that's that. 

After enjoying the meal with his family, Raven retreated to a room that was prepared for him. Even while he's gone and their homes different, his parents made sure that Raven will have room that he can use for himself. 

Raven hopped into the baths and enjoyed some relaxation. After that, he changed into a more comfortable set of clothes before disappearing to somewhere. 

He reappeared at the Center or at the Heart of the Plane. There a certain man can be found kneeling in front of him. 

"I welcome your return, Young Lord."

"Mn." Raven nodded, "Thank you for keeping a eye out while I'm gone."

"I'm glad to be of service Young Lord." The man still knelt down, refusing to even look at Raven's face. 

Raven didn't mind this. It doesn't mean that he's looking down on the man, he's just letting him do his thing, he didn't tell the man to kneel so it wasn't on him. 

Arriving at the Heart of World, Raven saw that this place still looks as the same as the last time he left it, if anything it even looked prettier than before. 

The space was filled with silver dusts, resembling stars at the night sky. There a few constellations here and there. There's also familiar silhouettes of him and his friends. Additionally, he can see curtains of auroras here. 

In front of him was an orb releasing a brilliant glow. This was surrounded by a swirling mass of milky radiance which reminded him of the cosmos. This orb is the Heart of the World, the man who's kneeling in front of him was the collective consciousness of the plane. 

Raven's eyes glowed as he stared at the orb. It was currently displaying scenes of his wife and friends. 

Luna was currently talking to her parents while cradling her brother's child. Paul for some reason turned into a turtle with a child on his back while the rest pretty much just reunited with their families. 

It has been a while since they left and there's a lot of things that's needed to be done. After this reunion, they will immediately start with the phase two of their homecoming. 

Raven glanced at the man who's kneeling beside him and asked: "Have you made sufficient preparations for this?" 

"I have Young Lord." The man replied, "I have been preparing the moment you and your friends left. We can start anytime we want." 

"Good." Raven praised, "It's been hard on you, take a rest and let me handle it. Just focus on your evolution, okay?" 

"Then I'll be at your care, Young Lord." The suddenly turned into a streak of light and returned to the heart. 

Raven looked solemn. He took our the Scepter of Wisdom and began drawing the runes necessary for their plan to work. As he did this, he was also refining his connection to the plane, he wanted to make sure that he's fully attuned to the minute reactions of the plane to his work. 

What's he's doing was completing a huge project that he already started back then. So far the foundations where already built before they even ascended, however the resources haven't accumulated yet so it needed to be ignored. 

Right now, Raven has all the resources he needed. For the safety and security of his loved ones as well as making sure next generation's future is bright, he had to make this work. 

"It's time for this world to evolve."