Way of the Knights

Chapter 867: Homecoming

—

"…home sweet home." 

Geezer sighed and whispered to himself. He looked at the majestic scenery outside of the shuttle and felt a wave of nostalgia hitting him. 

Divine Realm. Finally, after so many years of running away and being captive by the Abyssals, he's back home. Oh how he missed this place. He missed it more than he's willing to admit. 

Granted that those who chased him out probably still lives at this very land, at the end of the day, home is home. He will always want to return here and if possible, he wants to be buried here when he dies. 

The moment Raven spatial shuttle entered the territory of the Divine Realm, he was approached by the Wall Guardians. They were currently finishing the paperwork while Geezer remained within the shuttle. Raven said that he'll handle everything from here on out anyways. 

'The Eternal Division Wall…it really is different now.' Geezer mused to himself. Then his eyes landed on the worlds under Divine Realm's territory and smiled to himself.

'Even the vibe of the whole realm feels different. It seems that my boy truly did wonders upon claiming the throne and becoming Humanity's True Leader.'

During their trip back, Geezer asked Raven about his life and his heir told him about the developments that happened while he was gone. 

Truly, Geezer never thought that the little boy who once lost everything he held dear, will reach this far. The achievements he piled up using nothing but his own wits and effort alone isn't something that any other person could replicate. 

Geezer felt proud. Hearing that his heir is now the leading figure of Humanity and one of the most powerful beings alive practically erased every fear he has of returning. Why would he be afraid when his own Heir was the Big Boss of Humanity? 

Besides, even if he dies, Geezer would still be laughing on his grave. Why? Because his own heir was the one with the highest chance of reaching the Realm beyond Divinity. That itself is a one hell of an achievement that sets Raven apart from the rest. 

After talking to the Wall Guardians for a bit, Raven returned to the ship and they were granted entry. They passed through the Eternal Division Wall and entered Divine Realm proper. 

Geezer felt the shift on his surroundings. He shivered upon the sensation. He recognized this feeling. He could sense the Order, something unique to the Divine Realm. 

He could feel his spirit singing in glee with this homecoming. The sense of familiarity and belonging baptized him once more. He felt ever more alive than ever. What a wondrous feeling this was. 

"Master…" 

Geezer turned around and saw Raven opening the door to his room. He smiled at him and tilted his head. 

"I'm going to drop you off to my home, the Grand Ancestral Plane." He said, "I've told my Seniors that I'm coming home with you and I think they'd like to meet you again."

"Ah, those brats." Geezer chuckled. "Very well. Though I'm guessing that you won't stay for long, yes?"

"Yeah." Raven sighed, "I need to return to the Dawn Council and warn my team about the Abyssals. They know of their existence already so we should be able to shorten the amount of time we need to prepare. I'm afraid I'll be very busy though."

"Indeed, you will be." Geezer nodded, "This is your responsibility. One that you willingly carried. That being said, don't be afraid to ask for help. Protecting Divine Realm isn't a task that you to carry alone. I'm sure that even the twisted bastards would help you in mission."

"I'm aware of that, thanks for the reminder though." Raven nodded, "As for you, I believe that you will like my home. Feel free to take it easy there. You've been through a lot already. I don't want to burden you as much as possible. Try to enjoy some peace while we still can." 

"I'll take you up on that offer then." 

Geezer didn't stand on ceremony with Raven and accepted the deal. Whether he likes to admit it or not, Geezer still hasn't fully recovered from the years of his captivity. Even though he's fully healed, his mentality was badly battered by the constant torture he had to endure. 

This is why he accepted Raven's offer right away. He needed to cleanse himself off of those nightmares and it's going to take a while before that happens. Being around a peaceful environment might just help him with that.

After their brief discussion, Raven called upon his authority to use the Realm Door which directly teleported the shuttle to the Grand Ancestral Plane's territory. 

He kept the shuttle away and scanned the entirety of his home to search for his senior's whereabouts. Raven found them shortly after and teleported to where they are. 

It was awkward, their first meeting with Geezer that is. Thankfully, the old man seems to know just what to say in order to get rid of the atmosphere. 

Raven spent some time with them, just enough to catch-up with them. By the end of the day, the Heirs was no longer estranged from the old man. Sadly, that's all the time that Raven could spare, he still has many things to do after all. 

He already told them how he found Geezer, as it turns out, Meryl's guess was spot-on. 

Raven received their support. They said that they will try their best to cultivate and hopefully become useful by the dawn of war. Raven appreciated their willingness but he also told them that he'll understand if they're done with all the fighting. 

Of course, that was met with violent reactions. He was bombarded by the scolding of his seniors, which painted a hilarious scene since they were currently kids while Raven was a full blown adult. 

Either way, Raven knew that they'll participate no matter what he said so he dropped the topic. Then he said he farewells since it was time for him to return to his family. 

He called upon the Realm Door shortly after and left Geezer in his home, hoping that the old man will truly recover in his time there. 

—

The first thing Raven did upon returning was to of course, go to his wife. 

He missed Luna's company as well as Vanessa. However, his daughter is currently training and is in middle of her breakthrough so he didn't bother her for now. 

Entering the room where Luna is, he found her sleeping on their bed. 

A smile appeared on Raven's face as he silently went towards the bathroom to clean himself and change his clothes. Once he was done, he crawled into the bed and laid down next to her. 

He saw Luna's lips curling into a smile as she automatically gravitated to his warmth. She wrapped her arms around his waist and sighed when she smelled his familiar scent. 

Her eyes fluttered open and found Raven smiling down at her. He planted a kiss on her forehead which made Luna hum in satisfaction. 

"I'm home." He whispered.

"Welcome back." She said, tightening her hug around his waist. "How's your trip?" 

"Got the Old Man back which is great. I also provided some comfort for a small group of Outsiders." 

"Where did you find him?" She asked.

Raven stayed silent for a bit. He hesitated whether to her now or later. He then decided to tell her about it later, after all he needs some rest too knowing how busy he'll get later. 

"Let's relax for now." He said, "I can tell you're exhausted too, I am as well. We'll talk about it once we rested enough." 

"Sound good." Luna murmured as she snuggled into his arms. 

"How about you and the rest though? Why is everybody tired?" Raven couldn't help but ask since he saw everyone resting upon his return when he scanned the area. 

"We just returned recently as well. About three or four days ago." Luna replied, "We started some of the projects we have when you left. We thought that a little push won't hurt since we're going on the right direction anyways. It was exhausting you know."

Luna yawned and rubbed her cheeks on his chest. Raven smiled and pulled her closer. 

"Is that so? Well then, good work. We earned this rest." 

"Yeah." Raven could tell that she's barely awake due to her slurred words. "Let's rest for a bit. There's still a pile of paperwork that needs to be filled." 

"Aw, damn. Why did you have to remind me of the paperwork? What if it hunts us down to our dreams? That would be a literal nightmare don't you think?" 

Luna chuckled softly but didn't say anything. Raven knew that she had fallen asleep already due to the rhythmic breathing she has. 

Raven remained awake for a bit but didn't move. He didn't want to disturb Luna's slumber. He paid attention to Vanessa discretely, watching as she broke through. He stayed up just in case but thankfully, nothing wrong happened. 

He watched her daughter until she returned to her own room and rested, once she fell asleep, Raven also decided to have his well earned rest.