Way of the Knights

Chapter 608 - Visions Of The Peak

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The team finally continued their journey towards the peak. 

Now that Raven created a rune which serves as a ward against the hidden element poisoning their system, there's nothing barring their way towards the end of this long journey. They had long since adjusted to the pressure and had no difficulties moving despite it weighing down on them.

They've been travelling at a constant pace, even though they were near, they don't see any reason to hurry towards the peak, wasting their energy in the process. It's better if they conserve their energy, just in case something unexpected was waiting for them at the peak. 

During their journey, Raven couldn't help but feel a little bit shocked when he looked at how much the road beneath then shrank in size. At this point, Raven could easily see both ends of the road with his peripheral vision. It was still wide for them to use but comparing it to what it's like before could be really disconcerting. 

Additionally, looking above him feels like they were so close to the stars. It felt like he just reached out with hands, he'll be able to touch them. It was a profound experience really, Raven never felt anything like this, even with his previous life included. 

The team had been travelling for a few hours now. When they arrived at the 10 mile distance away from the peak, blurred images of what's on the top began appearing in their vision. 

"Hey, look!" Theo pointed above, catching the attention of his teammates. "What is that?" 

Everyone looked at where he's pointing and squinted their eyes on their attempts to figure out what exactly it is they were looking at. 

"Looks like an enormous construct to me." Henry replied, there was a trace of hesitation on his voice. 

"Really? It looks like a giant being to me, though. I could even see it moving." Logan stated. 

"No, that's not right. It's like a pillar of light to me." Charles said, earning a frown from his teammates. 

"Well, I can't see it properly so I can't tell what it is." Theo shrugged, he then looked Raven and asked: "How about you? What does that look like to you?" 

"I would love to tell you, but I can't see anything." Raven replied while smiling wryly. 

The War Gods look at him weirdly. They initially thought that he was lying but that doesn't seem to be the case. 

Raven was indeed, telling the truth. He truly couldn't see anything. He didn't see any blurred images, a massive construct, a giant moving nor a pillar or light. It was just empty for him. He was actually surprised that the War Gods could see something and not him but he thought that maybe something's up. 

It might be possible that there is a certain element that is playing with this senses right now. Although he can't say for sure, that's what he would like to think. 

"Anyways, we'll eventually discover it once we get there so let's go. We're really close.' Raven said, causing everyone to agree. 

All of their previous worries and regrets had been forgotten. All they want is to reach the peak and find out what waits for them in there. Raven was also excited, of course he was curious about what lies at the top but what he truly was excited for, is to leave this place and go back to the comfort of his own place. 

With this little distance to cover, the team eventually reached their destination. Right now, they are one step away from the peak of Mount Olympus. Along the way, they shared details on how the view of the top looked like to them since it was changing as they went closer. 

On Henry's eyes, there was a massive construct at the peak which became clearer and clearer as he come close to it. He also said that the construct looked rather familiar but he just can't put a finger on it. 

For Logan, it was a giant being similar to the guardian of the 1st Checkpoint. Only, this one was standing and Logan felt incredibly dwarfed by it. Similar to him, the giant also has six-arms, and Logan even said that he could feel his bloodline behaving restlessly the closer he got to this giant. He had some premonitions about this encounter but he kept it to himself. 

As for Theo, it was all blurry. The closer he got to the peak, blurrier it gets. This confused him greatly and it certainly didn't help that he could feel some kind of warmth seeping through he body the closer he got to it. 

In the eyes of Charles, the view remained the same. It was an enormous beam of crimson light which seems to be coming from the beyond the stars. Despite it being this way in his perspective, he couldn't help but feel extremely mesmerized by this sight. So much so that he couldn't even speak the right words to describe it. 

And then...there's Raven. 

Even though they are clearly one step away from reaching the actual peak. He still sees nothing. The only reason why they haven stepped on the peak just yet is because there is a layer of what looks like a barrier preventing them from moving forward. He wanted to inspect it first just to see if they could pass through it safely. 

After inspecting it for quite some time, he discovered that he had nothing to worry about. The barrier doesn't seem to be preventing them from moving forward, it also didn't feel like it would hurt them if they pass through so Raven got the attention of his teammates and told them to step at the peak at the same time. 

*Weng!*

The moment their bodies made contact with the barrier, they felt some form of resistance but not strong enough to repel them. As soon as their foot landed at the peak, Raven discovered that his teammates disappeared mysteriously, causing him to panic briefly. 

He was on-guard all this time, yet even with that the War Gods still disappeared without him being alerted of it. It didn't allow him to react at all, they just instantly disappeared like they weren't there in the first place. 

Nevertheless, Raven calmed himself down. He still have the Life Jades of the War Gods and they remained intact, meaning that they're still alive and well. It's just that they were transported somewhere Raven couldn't reach with his current power. 

Knowing that they're safe was enough for him. He sighed in relief and had an idea of what happened, however now's not the time to focus on that since he had other matters to attend to. 

"Is this...it?" Raven asked with uncertainty as he looked around him...only to see nothing. 

The peak of Mount Olympus was an empty flat ground to him. Nothing, not even a blade of grass could be seen around him. Only a clean and flat ground. 

This confused him greatly and betrayed his expectations. All this time, people were telling incredible stories about their adventures on Mount Olympus, there are even text he read that implied some of the things that they saw at the peak, yet now he's met with this. 

Who wouldn't feel betrayed and dejected after encountering this situation? 

Raven looked around once more, he even opened his ocular technique in attempts to cover every inch of this flat ground, thinking that he might be missing some clues in here. Yet despite his efforts, he was met with nothing, and it's quite disheartening for him. 

"Oh come on..." Raven groaned in irritation as he placed his hands on his hips. "Seriously? All of that for nothing? That's quite disappointing." 

"Now's not yet the time, that's why..."

"Who!!?" Raven was alarmed when he suddenly heard a faint whisper close to his ears. 

He looked around with a serious expression on his face. The Brush of Wisdom appeared on his hands and was glowing with light, he was clearly prepared to draw a rune just in case a fight occurs. 

To his surprise however, it didn't matter how much he looked around. He saw nothing, just like before, even with his ocular technique active, he could find the source of this voice. 

"Now's not yet the time for you to see what's in here." The disembodied voice once again sounded near his ears, causing Raven to flinch. Now he's sure that whoever it is that's speaking, was clearly beyond his understanding and won't show itself to him. 

"What does that mean?" He asked, trying to probe information from the disembodied voice. 

"It's too early...oh so early..." The voice said, carrying a tinge of amusement. "You still have long ways to go Child, that is if you truly want to see what's hidden in here." 

"Then what do I need to do if I want to see what's hidden here?" He asked. 

There was a long period of silence before the disembodied voice sounded next to him once more. 

"When you are strong enough to unveil the real mystery behind this place, it would be the same day that you will come back here to search for answers."

"When that time comes, you will see. When that time comes, what's hidden from you, will be revealed." 

*Swoosh!*