Way of the Knights

Chapter 728 - Outsiders

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"...right, so now that you've stabilized, we can get rid of your life support." Raven muttered as he slowly landed on the outer crust of the star. 

He pondered over his options for a bit before he eventually waved his hand and retrieved the massive runes that he attached to the star before and placed it to the brush, for safe-keeping. 

These runes are no longer needed since the star already stabilized.. If anything, leaving it here will be more risky since they might overload the star with energy. 

"There's some semblance of Laws here, the pulse is strong and steady. The space is a bit fragile but that's to be expected and time flows already. The atmosphere is ready and can hold up on its own, life is also starting to appear. Even if I leave it like this, it will grow into an Independent Star on its own. However, it's going to take some time. I might as well do something to accelerate that process."

Although Raven has no idea how much time he had spent here so far, he's still trying to finish this trial as early as he could. Thankfully, the difficult part is over, once the star stabilized, it's no longer on the verge of dying which in turn doesn't threaten Raven anymore. 

What follow this is just helping the star mature. At this point, Raven can only provide support for the star. There's not much he can do since exerting influence over this star might cause it to stagnate or worse die instead. He had to help the star become independent, and he can't do that if his influence over its growth was too large. 

Weighing his options for some more, Raven eventually decided on the method he will use. 

First, he will create a rune that will serve as a 'Library' for the star. This rune will scan the star and will record all of it's parameters as well as the keep records of all lifeforms that was created by the star itself. The purpose of this rune is to aid the forming sentience of the star. 

Raven named this rune 'Acacia'.

Next is another rune will allow the star to recycle is longevity. Since creating lifeforms costs the star's longevity, this rune will allow the star to recycle the longevity it spent from its creation so that it can create the same thing or something way better.

He named this rune 'Gaia'. 

And the last rune he was planning to create was something that will act as guardian of the star. Something that it can use against other stars or colony that tries to threaten it's existence. Since the star is fairly young, the rune will just isolate the star for now in order to hide from potential threats. As the star grows in the future, the rune will improve and will form natural defenses against outsiders. Raven made sure that this rune can never used offensively. It's exists just to protect the star.

This rune is named 'Aegis' by Raven. 

'Acacia', 'Gaia', and 'Aegis' are runes that exist to serve this young star. It doesn't answer to Raven at all but he did leave an 'off-switch' to them just in case. When the star gathers more sentience, these runes will be its initial tools to help with its growth. Raven created them all at the same time, fused it with the star and left.

What comes after this is was a long wait. 

Like what was mentioned earlier, Raven can't recklessly do anything at this point. The star is currently at its most crucial time for growth. In order for it to be completely independent the star needed to learn things on its own. 

Raven had already done everything that he could at this point. Any more than this will be poisonous to the star. Therefore, he can only wait and observe from afar. 

As he waited, Raven decided to train on a nearby asteroid. He knew that it's going to take a very, very long time before the star makes another breakthrough, he didn't want to sit idly somewhere and wait for the transformation to occur. He wanted to use time wisely so he focused on cultivating. 

Just as well, he's at the vacuum of space. Laws here are Chaotic since he's too far away from the Divine Realm. Due to that, the Laws are mixed and the insights he's receiving at quite all over the place. This serves as a challenge to Raven. Risky, since if he comprehended the wrong thing, he'll be stuck in a bottleneck, nevertheless it has it own charms too. 

Due to the chaotic mixture of Laws here, everything is non-linear unlike when he's at the Divine Realm. The Heavenly Law Order is stiff, linear and predictable. It is perfect for keeping up the structural integrity of the Divine Realm but it is troublesome for those who are trying to transcend it. 

This why many people who are striving to become Empyreans or Divinities ventures out of the Divine Realm to experience the Chaotic Nature of the Outer Worlds. Many believed that the Chaotic Nature is the original structure of things, therefore searching for the paths they chose to follow will be easier here. 

These people will only return once they're about the breakthrough. Those who are born from the Divine Realm and its subsidiary worlds aren't meant to become Empyreans or Divinities to the Outer Worlds, if they do, the Heavenly Laws of the Divine Realm won't allow them to return. They'll be tagged as Outsiders.

Raven of course has no desire on making a breakthrough here. He just want to observe now the laws interact here and gain some knowledge that he can use. He using this chance to broaden his horizons per se. 

'Hmm!?' 

Raven broke out of his reverie when he felt his instincts warning him. He sharply turned around and activated his ocular technique. 

"Are you sure we are going on the right direction?" 

"Yes and we're getting close so stop whining!"

Raven saw a group of people travelling in the vacuum of space. He felt an instinctual aversion to them which is a sensation that everyone who's born within the Divine Realm feels when they meet an Outsider. 

'I have a bad feeling about this.' Raven silently summoned the Brush of Wisdom and teleported towards the star he's in charge of. 

The fact that he could see them closing in on the same star caused Raven's brow to furrow. He's really not liking this at all. 

"Hey, there's somebody there!" 

"I'm not blind, I can see him." 

"Be alert guys, he is an Insider."

The people whispered to each other, feeling rather wary and worried when they heard that the guy in front of them was an Insider, they slowed down, retracted their aura and hid. They don't know that Raven can hear them loud and clear. 

"You guys!" Raven called out. The people who were hiding on a nearby asteroid flinched but they didn't step out. "I'm talking to you people who's hiding on that asteroid! I already saw you, come out."

"Shit! He's a sharp one!" One amongst the group snarled in a low tone. 

"I heard that!" Raven said which caused the group to flinch once again. 

Left with no other options, the group revealed themselves. They appeared to middle-aged men, all wearing a dark velvet robes and riding a space craft which looked like a boat. Each of them had tribal markings on their left arms. 

This tribal markings were a clear sign that they were Outsiders.

Their space craft slowly approached Raven who flew out and stood between them and the star. Once they were a few meters apart, Raven said:

"Greetings, Outsiders." Raven said in a gentle tone. "May I know the reason why you gentlemen appeared here?"

The group was silent. It was obvious that they are wary of Raven even with his mild tone. The gripped their weapons tightly and was prepared to fight at the first sign of conflict. 

"We're Outsiders..." One of them stepped forward and replied, "This is the border of the Outer Worlds. It shouldn't be a surprise that our kind will appear here. That question is, why are 'You' here? Are you lost? You're far from home, young man." 

"Thank you for your concern, Sir. However, I am not lost. I am here under the orders of my superiors. I am currently in charge of this star behind me." Raven replied, still gentle and polite. 

The Outsiders looked at each other. Raven can tell that their communicating through voice transmission but he didn't pry or interrupt them. 

"Pardon us for not easily believing that, Young Man. You're gonna have to show us some proof of your claim. Otherwise, we can only ask you to step aside since our Lords had taken fancy to that star." 

"You are already looking at the proof, Gentlemen." Raven said with a thin smile on his lips, "Do you believe that an Insider like me will venture this far out to the home, alone,  just because I feel like it? Trust me, Gentlemen. If I had a say to this, then you'll never see me here."