Way of the Knights

Chapter 312 - Tenrou

---

"Knock three times on the door with a constant rhythm. Wait for five seconds and then grab the knob, turn it counter clockwise and enter with your left foot first." 

Raven muttered as he sat on the bed. 

"Take the this diary and place it on the ground under the bed. Lay on top of the bed and wait until you heard a sound."

He did was her said and waited. It didn't take long before he heard a movement under him which made him smirk. He got up and pushed the bed aside, he then saw a staircase leading down to a dark place. The book was gone because it was the key to reveal this secret. 

Believe it or not, Raven never knew of this method in his past life. He unknowingly did all the requirements which in turn allowed him to go towards this secret underground passage. 

Raven walked down the stairs with a burning torch in hand. He carefully watched his steps since there are traps in here and he didn't want to trigger them. The path was narrow and it would be difficult to dodge the traps otherwise. The passage was quite long, nevertheless he eventually made it past all the traps and was now standing in front of a tall doors which gleamed with a silver hue. 

He placed the torch on the sconce available and stood before the door. 

There are two palm carvings on each side of the door. Raven placed his hands on each carvings and began pushing the doors forward with a grunt. The door was heavy, it took him a great deal of strength and effort to open it during his past life, he only managed to open it just enough so that he could fit in. 

However, the Raven of the past is a far cry from the current Raven. 

He could've just kicked these doors and they would swing open or even break due to his sheer power. He chose not to do so since that would be disrespectful. After opening the doors, he went inside and felt the doors closing behind him. 

Raven didn't mind since he knew that its bound to happen. Instead, he walked towards the right side and searched for a rune that's attached on the wall. Once he saw it, he placed his hand on it and activated the rune using his Chaos Force. 

The rune sparkled and Raven started to hear some noises. He then saw lights worming their way through the gaps on the walls, floor and the ceiling. Slowly but surely, the place got illuminated and everything it's hiding in the darkness was revealed for Raven. 

What welcomed him was a massive room, about 500 meters tall and wide, made out of metals and ores. The light sources were made out of the crystals which shimmered with a gorgeous blue lighting. 

The floor, walls and even the ceiling were made out of Deep Sea Sunken Silver. A metal that could only be found and harvested at seas that has a thousand kilometer depth. Even a fist size of this metal will be extremely expensive on the market, yet it was used to create this underground base. The doors were also made out of the same material. 

There are several doors leading to some other places here. In front of him, was a ritual circle surrounded with floating stones. In the middle, he found skeletal remains of a seated human. He sighed and stepped closer to the circle. 

As soon as he did so, the ritual circle glowed with a brilliant light which obscured his vision for a bit. When he regained his vision, he could now see phantom floating in the middle of the ritual circle while sitting in a meditative position. 

"Greetings, whoever you are from the future. If you can see this now, do not fret. This is but a remnant of myself, hoping to pass on a message to you who will inherit everything that I have owned when I am still alive."

A calm voice of an old man sounded on his ears. He spoke with Elven tongue, his silhouette was blurry which made it difficult for Raven to make out his features. Nevertheless, he didn't speak and allowed the elder to impart his message. 

"My name is Tenrou. Born from a Dwarves father and an Elven mother. My birth is considered as an ill omen, specially when you consider the fact that my parents are both of Royal Bloodlines. And even the two races worshipped Mother Nature, they have conflicting ideals which caused my life to be somewhat difficult."

Raven could hear the struggle and self-deprecating tone on his voice as he spoke of his origins. Saying that his life was 'somewhat difficult' is a severe understatement. 

The cold and callous truth is that, Tenrou's existence is forbidden, meaning that he should've never survived, born or even lived up to adulthood. 

Raven witnessed the strictness and narrow-mindedness of the Elven and Dwarven tribes. They stuck to their old way all the way to the dot. This goes specially well with those of Royal Blood since they are considered to be the hope of their tribes. 

It is a known fact that Royal Bloods must persevere to maintain the purity of their bloodline. Even going as far as delving into incestuous relationships just to follow this rule. This is a very common scenario in these tribes. Nevertheless, this also binds them since their fates are basically sealed from the moment they were born.

If, and only if, a Royal Blood wants to marry outside of their family. They have to gain the approval of their own councils. Only by passing the approval would they be allowed to marry their partners, even then their children would face a harsh life. All of this, just to marry out of the family. 

Marrying someone from a different race, specially the 'enemy' race, that's forbidden. In the premise of this happening, both of the tribes will not hesitate to join hands and execute the 'devil' spawn. 

This is why even though Raven never had the opportunity to meet Tenrou, he had nothing but awe and respect towards him for making it this far since he knows that his life was never easy. 

"But enough about me. I'm sure no one cares about the story of a dying man." Tenrou laughed, "What's more important is what I'm about to give you."

And just like a cue, the ritual circle transformed and revealed a spiral staircase leading down. He then saw Tenrou moving down so he followed him. After a short way down, they then arrived an altar. 

The altar was made out of ivory. The surface is filled with Elven Runic Carvings, there are also some Dwarven Totems erected on the altar and on the center, there is a blood vial and an old book. 

"This is it." Tenrou said, his voice filled with emotions. "My life's work."

He then faced Raven as if he could see him. "According to Elven History, the Elves are created by the Father Tree. They said that he was so tall and mighty that his branches could be found in all realms. In a way, this implies that he connects all worlds and that his branches could be used to travel between worlds."

"Elves used this tale to justify their talent towards perceiving Space. Some records even said that their Spatial Talents are the gift of Father Tree to their kind."

Tenrou paused and sighed. "On the other hand, the Dwarves worshipped the Earth. Calling it the 'Original Nature'. They said that without the Earth, nothing will exist. According to them, it was the Earth that gave birth to all creations - that we were all once came from mud, heated by fire and alive because the air breathed life onto us."

"They said that the very first Dwarf is the Earth's favorite because as soon as he was born, he created Time itself." Tenrou paused once more and sighed, as if it was difficult for him to tell this story. "Thus, the dwarves used this tale to justify their talent towards Time Manipulation."

Tenrou looked up and said: "The tales may be different but you have to agree that in a sense, they are similar right?"

"I never understood why these two races considered each other as enemies, when in their cores they were the same. Fact of the matter is, none of the legends were the truth anyway. It's not the tree nor the land that came first. I don't personally know what is but I'm certain that it's neither of those."

"Either way, knowing this won't help the tribes nor me in any way. If anything, they would execute me on the spot when they hear me talking about this. Well, it's not like they weren't doing so during the last centuries or so. But that's not why I told you this."

Tenrou looked at Raven once more and said: "Space for the Elves and Time from the Dwarves. They might treat me as an abomination but it doesn't change the fact that I have both talents in me."

"And to prove my existence, I am bestowing you the chance to have them as well."