Way of the Knights

Chapter 302 - Points, Lines And Marks

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'Breaking…' This word repeatedly surfaced on his mind. 'Breaking…'

'Breaking, my understanding about it is completely lacking.' Raven muttered inwardly in his enlightenment.

'I thought of it as just as simply applying great force onto something until it cannot bear the burden anymore and explode into pieces. In a sense, that is true, but if it was that simple that how can it be a Law?'

'No…' Raven shook his head inwardly, 'Breaking something is much more than that.'

Raven's thoughts were silent for a bit, seemingly in deep thought. He then went and said: 'Does breaking something always needs a great force?'

He currently is in the process of reconfirming his understanding about the Law of Destruction. The said Law is divided into 5 fields of study: Breaking, Shattering, Pulverizing, Disintegration, Annihilation. So far, what Raven understood about the Law of Destruction is the first field of study, but what he understood about it is completely scarce.

It all started when he saw the carapace of Myrna started breaking. As he witness how it broke to reveal the hidden body of the Moonlight Butterfly, he started questioning himself. If, only if, he had to assist her in breaking out of her shell, can he ensure that she won't be harmed? 

Surely she would've been fine, after all she is a high tiered beast. But then comes the question of, does he really need to apply a great amount of force into something in order to break it? This question then transformed into: Does he need to always pump excessive amounts of his law power into something in order to achieve what he desired? 

The Law of Destruction has a very aggressive nature. It was berserk, unruly, and doesn't want to restrained. It even caused him to lose his composure upon gaining enlightenment of it. All of this added to a conclusion that: if he's going to use his Laws, it better be on the similar wavelength on how it behaves, that way he can get the most out of it. 

'Yet again, does it have be like that? Do I not have any choice other than to conform to that way of thinking?'

When his thoughts reached this far, he actually had the sudden urge to laugh at himself.

'Who said that it have to be like that anyway? Who said that I didn't have a choice? Who said that I can't change my mind? Who said that I should conform to this when it was me who figured all these things out?' 

Raven's eyes started lightening up. Thinking about it even further made him realize that, all this time it was he himself who was restraining him all this time. 

'It was me who imposed this limited thinking to myself. So it should also be me who could defy this logic that I imposed to myself.'

'Laws are forces of nature. What I was enlightened of and what others understood are not the same. No one, not even Nature itself, told me how the Law of Destruction works. What I understood is merely my speculations that I need to prove. Which means that the path I'm walking on, is mine alone. In the end, it was me who limited my own growth. How funny.'

'Oh, well. It's not like Laws were easy to understand anyway. If it was, then this world should be filled with Gods already.'

As Raven's eyes regained it's clarity, he lifted his arm. He gazed at an empty space in front of him, the strength of his Laws gradually crept up to his hand. With a clench of his hand, he ripped something that only he could feel. After that, cracks appeared in front of him, similar to a broken glass. Everything that these cracks touched would rumble, though since he didn't applied to much force about it, the damage it caused was almost non-existent.

'This is how I usually do it.' Raven told himself, 'But I know I can improve.'

He closed his eyes and reaffirmed his thoughts. His enlightenment is still not over. 

'Breaking something doesn't need to forceful, it does not need to be always aggressive. Aside from knowing how much force I need, I also have to pay attention to the thing that I want to break as well.'

'Weakness…' Raven whispered to himself, 'That's right! That's where the answer lies! If my Laws attacked a weakness then it doesn't need to have a great force behind it.'

The gears of Raven's brain are on full throttle right now. There was no stopping him here. 

'Fragile…' Raven's eyes bloomed in splendor. 'Yes! Yes that's it! Any defense has a weak point, and that weak point is where it's fragile. A fragile defense is prone to being destroyed, meaning that I don't need to exert as much to get the result I want!'

Raven's eyes widened in his realization. As he gazed at what's in front of him, the world transformed. All of a sudden, he could see things that he could only feel before. 

Everything that he laid his eyes on has something 'new' present. Lines, marks, points. At least one of these could be seen on everything that is tangible to him, even the air itself has them. 

As his view of the world changed, a distinct feeling started welling up on his chest. Raising his arm, his eyes were focused at a 'point' that's within reach. Using a finger, he poked it and his Laws suddenly moved. 

In a blink of an eye, the space in front of him cracked and not just in a miniscule size like before. This time, the cracks spread so fast and so wide that he started thinking that he lost control yet again.

*Boom!*

The effect was evident. There a huge explosion followed by a ferocious shockwaves after the cracks appeared. The winds howled and the ground rumbled. The aftermath was so strong that even Raven himself had to erect a barrier to prevent it from affecting him. 

All this while, Raven's eyes were wide open. He almost couldn't believe that he was the one who caused that. He kept thinking about the fact that all he did was to simply poke the 'point' he saw and it caused this much. 

After everything calmed down, he gazed at the devastation around him. The blades of grass were flattened, the flowers were plucked from the ground by the air and were scattered everywhere. Some trees were permanently slanted while some were directly pulled our from their roots. Some leaves were still falling due to the raging winds that are only started to calm down. 

"H-Hory shit."

Raven slurred in shock. Aside from shock, he could feel glee creeping up on his heart. He gained yet another trump card, one that could seriously mess up his enemies once he completely mastered it. He could prevent himself from grinning ear to ear. He didn't expect this kind of development at all. 

If anything though, it seems that he couldn't use his new found strength too often. He figured this out when he saw how the lines, points or marks which are present onto everything earlier were missing. He tried actively searching for them no avail. But this wasn't so bad, he had a feeling that the more he practiced the more he could see. For now, this is enough. 

He looked around him and sighed in relief, saying: "Good thing they already left. Otherwise, Myrna will be pissed. I basically ruined her entire garden."

Judging from the sun's position, it seems that his enlightenment lasted a whole day. Enough time for Myrna and her children to proceed with the migration. He smiled and hoped that her reunion with Elmar would be warm one. 

"Hmm?" Raven frowned when he suddenly felt something strange on his body. 

Upon inspecting his body, he realized that there is a foreign energy that invaded him without him knowing. He took a closer look and found out that it's not something malicious. In fact, it's quite to opposite actually. 

It was milky white orb, resembling a small moon. It radiates with gentle yet robust energy fluctuations. Upon further inspection, he came into conclusion that it should be Myrna who gave this to him. 

Judging from the density of the orb, he knew that if he absorbed this it will push him to the limits of what his body could handle. He looked around him first, and when he saw that he was still surrounded by those thorny briars that acts as his defense, he steeled his mind and unsealed the white orb. All of a sudden, Myrna's voice could be heard:

"I planned to bid you farewell but you were in the middle of Enlightenment. I can't bring myself to interrupt you so I did it this way."

"Thank you, child." Myrna said with heartfelt emotions. "No matter if Elmar still hates me or not, I still am indebted to you. This orb is my gift for all you've done. Use it well and I hope that you remain safe throughout your journey."

As Myrna's voice faded, a dense amount of energy flooded Raven's body. As he chanted the Book of Chaos, these energies were quickly refined and absorbed as his own. As time went on, Raven was once again trapped in a cocoon of solidified energy.

He is now experiencing his 4th Transformation.