Way of the Knights

Chapter 911: The Empyreans Felt It

Years passed peacefully…

Divine Realm remained calm and prosperous. The ever growing providence of the realm continued flourishing under the protection and lead of the Dawn Council. 

If they’re asked, the veterans of the Divine Realm will easily say that the realm has never been this prosperous and vibrant. It is teeming with so much vitality and it shone like a jewel amongst the sand. 

Thanks to the Dawn Council’s efforts, cultivating and achieving a long lifespan has never been easier. During the past century, there were many experts who rose on the ranks and made a name for themselves. In addition to that, the Divine Realm just changed so much under their care. For the better of course. 

If things continued this way, who knows what they could do next? 

Unfortunately, there’s just something that will really get in the way of their peace and prosperity. 

See, around 50 years had passed since the council sensed that the Abyssals were on the move. Judging by the time, they are getting very close to finding them. 

At first, it was only the Divine Knights who could vaguely sense their presence. Even then, it is too weak which means that they still have time. However, each passing day, the presence grew stronger, which means they’re getting closer. 

It worried the Divine Knights a lot. The presence was foul and it gnaws in their core, causing them to feel restless and uneasy. The Divine Knights did everything they could to prepare themselves in order to distract themselves but the sensation never really let them rest at ease no matter what they did. 

The worst part is that, some of the Empyreans who had sharper sense are now starting to feel their presence as well.

This was made obvious by the fact that not too long ago, a group of Empyreans visited the council. They brought up this topic. They said that they could sense something bad at the horizon, it’s as if a terrible calamity is upon them. 

See, at this point, the council could no longer hide the presence of the Abyssals from them. Lying won’t do any good so instead of that, they decided to call all Empyreans for a meeting.

Luna replaced his husband, she become the one in charge since he’s in seclusion and she’s also the one who revealed the approaching threat to the Empyreans. 

At first, some of them were in-denial and even accused the council of being alarmists, but when the Divine Knights swore an oath that whatever they revealed to them was nothing but the truth, they can’t deny it anymore. 

The Divine Knights had been suffering from anxiety for quite sometime now because of this, and when thinking about how they were acting recently, everything started making sense. 

This was why they were working very hard all these years. This is why they’ve been in some sort of a hurry. It all makes sense to them now.

The Dawn Council forbid them from spreading this information at first. They said that it wouldn’t be wise to do that since it will trigger a realm-wide panic and things will get incredibly chaotic. If that happens, they might destroy themselves even before the Abyssals arrive. 

Once they were dismissed, the Empyreans felt mixed-emotions. They never would’ve thought that a day will come where something could threaten them this badly. They also never imagined that they will experience something like this in their age. 

It seems unlucky, but crying about unfairness won’t really solve their situation. It wouldn’t help them in any way, shape or form. 

And as days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months and months turned into years, more and more Empyreans were starting to feel it.

It’s really as horrible as they said. The presence was stifling, foul and incredibly overbearing. What ridiculous about this is the fact that they haven’t even seen a silhouette of them yet they are already exerting this much pressure. What would it be like when they’re right next to them? 

The killing intent was heavy. It caused those with weaker Wills to feel despair and hopelessness. Then again, it still wasn’t enough to break them completely. 

They are Empyreans. And even though they are one step short of the peak, they are still considered as pillars of humanity. They can’t allow themselves to cave-in from this due to their dignity. 

Some of them more ferocious and determined Empyreans even saw this as a chance. The pressure being exerted on them was so heavy that it triggered their slumbering spirit to fight back. 

They started using this invisible oppression to sharpen themselves instead. Through this, they are effectively loosening up their bottlenecks and some even showed signs of advancing. 

This approaching calamity is already squeezing their potentials out of them and frankly, not taking advantage of this seems dumb. After all, they stronger they are when they arrived, the better their chances would be for them to survive. 

Still what’s worrying them is the fact that as they drew closer, their presence would become more difficult to hide. 

The fact that almost all Empyreans could already feel them coming is a sign that things are already starting to get out of hand. 

Don’t get these people wrong, they held nothing but admiration for the Dawn Council. They respected their decision simply because they’ve done so much for their home without even asking for anything in return. 

This burden is something that nobody’s willing to bear yet they did without any complaints. They were true to their oaths and they’ve never, even once, took advantage of their position for personal gains. 

Everything they did, they did with the safety, security and comfort of the Divine Realm and its citizens in mind. This is why they’ve won the respect of all people. This is why many people worshipped them and treated them as true gods. 

Nobody had any doubts that by the time the war begins, it is also the Dawn Council who will lead the charge to protect their home. 

Still, this might prove really difficult for them to handle on their own. Whether they admit it or not, they need help. Thankfully, some people didn’t mind offering theirs. 

Most of these people, believe it or not, aren’t really indebted to the council. These people were just hermits, people that had long seclude themselves from the bustle of the world around them and didn’t interfere. These people chose to come out of their seclusion in order to express their unyielding support for the council. 

Just like the council, these people share the same sentiment. Hair cannot survive without the skin. Divine Realm is Humanity’s home and it is their duty to protect it from invaders. 

It is unknown if there’s other places out there that can support humanity’s need. And for the record, the Outposts that had been roaming around had been sending feedback and so far, there’s nothing like that in the vicinity of their realm, therefore even if there is one, it would take a long, long time to arrive there, much less start over from the scratch. 

Because of this, they might as well treat Divine Realm as humanity’s only home. If they lose it, they will surely become extinct. 

All traces of their history, culture, discoveries, everything about them will be wiped away. 

Just the mere thought of that is enough to send shivers to their spine, which is why these people didn’t hesitate to come out of their shells and answer the call to arms. 

For now, everything is still fine. There’s still time. Even though the Empyreans are now included amongst the people that seems to he sitting on pins and needles, most people are still unaware of what’s really happening. It’s fine to let them enjoy this peace for now, they will realize the threat sooner or later anyway, by then it wouldn’t be too late for them to do something. 

Still, if they’re talking about sheer burden, perhaps there isn’t anyone who could even hold a candle to the kind of pressure Raven had on him.

As the proclaimed Leader of Humanity, it is Raven who’s under the heaviest pressure. In the instance that they fail, he’d be the first one to be condemned. 

Every death will be his fault. Every failure will be blamed on him. Even by simply doing nothing, he has the highest chance of being Humanity’s greatest sinner. And that is some burden that nobody could imagine themselves carrying. 

Honestly, nobody would blame him if he complains. The very fact that he’s still around and still doing his best to make himself stronger is already an evidence that he’s treating this seriously and he had no plans on running away from this responsibility. 

That’s an admirable behavior right there, so they could only wish the best for him. 

As for how high their chances are, nobody had the heart to ask that. Honestly, every superstition might count at this point, they don’t want to jinx it so it’s better to not ask. 

All these people know is that, if they want to destroy them, then they gotta show some real effort on doing so since they won’t back down that easily. 

Who knows? Maybe…just maybe…they do have a chance.