Way of the Knights

Chapter 97 - Candidate

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"Hi there, Partner."

Raven's brain almost since functioning by then.

In front of him was an outline of a man, aside from his piercing golden eyes and the outline of his lips, the rest of his facial features are pretty blurry. He stood about six foot and some inches tall, judging from the outline of his body, it seems that he was wearing an armor as well. There is a sword hanging by his waist and it seems that he was holding a scepter on his left hand.

Did this man just called me Partner? Who is he? Is he related to the crown? Is he the previous owner of the crown or the so called 'artifact-spirit' of the crown?

These are just few of his numerous questions, he stood there gobsmacked, seemingly forgetting that the supression of the palace was still pressing down his body. There is a visible expression of confusion on his face which made the man in front of him chuckle.

"Let's get you back a couple of steps so that we could talk…"

With a gentle wave of his hand, Raven felt his body sway and by the time he realized this, he was already standing back to the place where he was before. His body visibly relaxed and his breathing eased up, but Raven failed to notice any of this since his attention was fixed at the man in front of him.

"You might wanna do something about your injuries, I'm afraid you pushed yourself a little too hard earlier."

The man mentioned casually, it was only this time that Raven's attention went back to his body and the pain came after that. He felt every piece of his body groaned in pain, he felt waves of throbbing and it was specially strong on his legs. He paled and tasted something metallic on his mouth, he forcefully swallowed and fought back the urge to spit out blood. With shaking hands, he reached out for a pill inside his spatial ring and consumed it quickly. He then sat down and started recovering, leaving him vulnerable.

He wasn't afraid that this entity would attack him during his recovery. In Raven's mind, he already knew that this man held no malice towards him, and if he really wants him dead, then he should've already attack him when he was weak and injured earlier. And because he already calmed down for a bit, he could now deduce some hints from the words of this man earlier.

He recovered for an hour, after which he opened his eyes and breathed a mouthful of foul air.

With an earnest expression on his face, he searched for the man and saw him sitting in front of him and seems to be smiling at the moment.

"You…" Raven uttered with hesitation, "Called me Partner earlier. I've always talked treated the crown as my partner but it never spoke even once throughout the time that it's been with me. I'm mostly doing that because I've no one to talk to and to express my gratitude to the help it gave me throughout my life. So…are you the spirit of the crown?"

The man was silent for a while before chuckling, this chuckle then became louder and louder until it turned into an uproarious laughter. At this point, Raven's confusion shot up as he thought if he said something funny.

"Don't think too much." The man said after seeing his confused expression, "I'm just feeling a little bit emotional. It's been eras since I've had a face to face talk with a fellow human. Being trapped here is quite lonely you know?"

"Trapped?" Raven's brow raised as he heard this.

The man in front of him nodded and said: "But not the kind of trap that you're thinking of. It was my choice to do so, I am willing to endure loneliness and be trapped here. Plus, I could sleep it off anyway so no worries there."

"Wait…" Raven traced his temples and continued, "So, since you said that you trapped yourself here, that means that you aren't the spirit of the crown. Who are you really?"

"Ah right! I haven't introduced myself yet, my bad haha!" Raven's shoulder involuntarily dropped when he heard him say this. Before he could think too much, he heard the man cleared his throat and say…

"My name is Certinos Von Mal'hari, call me Inos. I am the 8th True Heir of the Ancestral Divine Crown."

Raven was again stunned speechless by this sudden revelation. 8th True Heir? Is that the proper definition instead of being an 'owner'? Why would would this person choose to trap himself inside this castle? What are his intentions? Just what is the origins of this crown?

Too many questions surfaced in his brain but there were no answers so far, he knew that in order to clear up the doubts in his head he had to personally ask Inos.

"So uh…Inos." Raven hesitated for a bit before asking. "Can you clear up what's going on here? What is this Palace doing here? What's inside? How come it's suppressing me? Wait! Am I like you anyway? I am just so confused…" he sighed helplessly.

Inos briefly chuckled and started explaining.

"I'll explain as best as I could." Inos adjusted the way he seated and continued, "Partner, in front of you, lies an extremely huge lucky chance. Something that could only be encountered by chance and not to be sought after."

"As there are somethings that I can't reveal to you yet, I cannot tell you much. But to answer your questions…" Inos lifted his scepter and pointed at the Palace behind them and said: "That, is the True Heir's Palace. A place where all sorts of wonders exists and would be your ultimate testing grounds."

"Raven." Inos looked at him sternly when he said his name and emphasized his next words properly. "You, are now an official candidate to become the 9th True Heir. The reason why you are feeling a heavy supression is because the whole Palace Grounds is testing you. Every plant, every stone, even the air itself inside the palace would be testing your capabilities and judge whether you are a worthy heir or not."

Inos went silent afterwards to let his words sink in Raven's mind. And without a doubt, he was feeling a massive headache with all of this revelations.

'So I am a candidate, not even an official heir. But why is there a need for any of this? What's the true purpose of this test? Inos said that he can't reveal much, why is that so? This seems to be a bigger deal that what I was expecting…'

"I've been watching you, you know? I've seen all the setbacks that you experienced and the sheer conviction you have as well as your desire to protect your home from the dangers. I'm telling you right now, if you truly want to save them, then you could only do so if you become an official inheritor."

"You might feel that there's no way of that happening since your soul experienced rebirth after all. But the truth is far more sinister that what you know. If you fail, you will witness those nightmares all over again. The death of your parents, your lover, your friends, the people around you, the destruction of this kingdom, the crisis of humanity, the merciless plaque of the Abyss. All of those will occur once more if you fail. Everything you do will be useless..."

"Trust me, Partner. I've been watching the world for millions of years now through the vision of the previous handlers of this crown. I've seen pretty much everything. I even experienced it first hand." His voice carried a profound sense of sadness and desolation.

Raven's eyes constricted fiercely, Inos' words hit a very sore spot on his heart. He can't help but shudder with the thought of his words being real. By now, there is no reason for him to doubt Inos' anymore, he knew that there is a high chance that his words might very well happen. And it is something that he absolutely have to avoid. He made a firm decision in his heart…

If being an official inheritor is the only way he could protect everything he cared for, then he would do everything he can to prove himself worthy.

"I can tell that you've made the decision." Inos smiled despite himself. "Don't worry Partner, I'll give as much assistance as I could. Your success will determine my fate as well as the others' anyway."

"Others'?"

Inos nodded but didn't say anything. Raven decided not to pry since it seems that he didn't want to reveal it just yet.

"I am able to assist you, but I also have to follow some rules since I am a resident of this place." Inos informed after standing up. Raven similarly stood up and once again gazed at the majestic scenery of the Palace. "You overall goal to become a True Heir is simple."

"To become one.. You must conquer this Palace."