Way of the Knights

Chapter 780: Parting

“…I can’t do this.” 

Raven stared at Luna’s tear-drenched face, feeling a pang of bitterness and pain his chest. Luna was currently sitting at the edge of the bed, her head was down with tears streaming down her face, she’s not even looking at Raven, she just gripped the edge of the sheets while sobbing as quietly as she could. 

He didn’t like seeing her like this…

Moreover, he also didn’t like what he’s making her do. It pains him so deeply to do this but there’s no other way. That being said, Raven could only remain quiet because he trusts that his wife also knew why they have to do this. 

Even then…Raven couldn’t stop hating himself. If he could only do this entire thing alone, he would. He would rather leave Luna here to raise Vanessa as he carried their burden all by himself. He wasn’t a stranger to loneliness either anyway so he’ll be fine. 

Unfortunately, he couldn’t. Even though he’s incredibly strong, the things he could do by himself will always be limited. He needed Luna and the others in order to accomplish their ultimate goal. 

As Raven lamented to himself, he felt his wife approaching him. He stood up and brought her to his embrace. None of them spoke, they just silently cried on each other’s arms. None of them raised their voice nor argued since that’s just useless. 

Luna understood that the pain he felt isn’t any less than hers. If anything, she could tell that Raven is currently deliberating if he should just runaway from his responsibilities and just quietly live in peace with them, staying away from all the harm and dangers. 

Raven was torn, Luna can hear his heart breaking over this which brought even more pain to her. It was clear that both of them didn’t want to do this but they must. 

“She’s here.” Raven softly muttered. Luna nodded, she also felt the presence of their child. She just arrived. 

Raven wiped his and Luna’s tears away. He then smiled, wearing a fake mask to hide the unwillingness he felt inside.

At very next moment, Vanessa entered the room and looked up to them with a wide smile on her face. At any normal day, that smile was enough to make their day but today, that just brought them even more pain. 

“Hello, Little Princess.” Raven greeted, he then knelt down while Vanessa rushed to his arms. He planted a kiss on her cheeks which caused the little girl to giggle. “How was your day?” 

“Fun!” Vanessa replied, “Richard and Vanessa got better at the games so I have to take them even more seriously this time!”

“Is that so?” Raven chuckled as he sat down with her on his lap. 

Vanessa then began telling them how her day went. Neither Raven nor Luna interrupted her. They let her talk as much as she wanted. This was everything they wanted. The contentment of being a normal parent. Unfortunately, there are things that they must do. 

“…that’s great Princess. You shouldn’t slack off alright? Or else Richard or Jeanne will catch-up to you.” 

“Mn! I’ll work hard! I won’t let them catch-up to that easily.” Vanessa nodded eagerly. 

Raven smiled and brought her head on his chest. Vanessa giggled and hugged him back. Raven gave Luna a look and she joined them. 

The three of them stayed like this for a while, Vanessa had her eyes closed as she enjoyed the warmth of her parents. 

Meanwhile, Raven and Luna were staring at each other, seemingly communicating with their gazes. They’re currently debating on who should bring the topic up since both of them were reluctant to do it. 

In the end, Raven sighed and bit his lips. He decided to be the one to do it…

“Hey, Vanessa…” 

“Yes, Papa?”

“Your Mama and I have somewhere to go…” Raven bit his tongue when he saw Vanessa staring directly on his eyes. 

He found any traces of surprise of confusion on his child’s eyes but he couldn’t find any. He only discovered sadness and reluctance. 

This made him inwardly gasp. He understood that look. It meant that Vanessa knew about it. 

“…how long will you be gone?” 

“I…” Raven never wanted to lie so bad in his entire life until now. He wanted to tell her that they will only be gone for a few hours but he can’t. He didn’t want Vanessa to think that his was liar. 

“…I don’t know Princess.” Raven bit his lips. His voice choked, he could no longer take it. Tears started streaming down his face as he held Vanessa’s hand tightly. 

Luna was openly sobbing right now. She too held onto Vanessa’s hand like it was her lifeline. She couldn’t handle it. 

“…do you really have to go?” 

That question broke the two of them. Raven gnashed his teeth, his eyes nearly turned red. He wanted to tell her no, he nearly broke his promise to himself and to the rest of the world. He never wanted to be selfish as much as he wanted to right now. 

Then again…he can’t. He needed to do it. 

“Yes, Princess.” Raven replied after a while of silence. His voice was meek and weak. He felt his energy leaving him as he said this. 

With his lips shaking, he planted a kiss on Vanessa’s head and said: “You see, there are terrible dangers outside of our world. In order to make sure that people – no, in order to make sure that you and our loved one’s are safe, we need to eliminate them.”

“Is there a lot of them?” 

“Yes…” Raven nodded his head. “Their army can easily swarm our world within seconds and they’re strong too.” 

“Since we are part of Humanity’s forces, we are expected to do our part.” Raven dreaded telling her this, but he had no other choices. “If we don’t heed the call, we will be exiled and you as well as out family will be in grave danger. Papa doesn’t want that to happen, so we need to go there.” 

“Sweetheart, look at Mama.” Luna softly said, Vanessa turned her head and stared at her. “Papa and I didn’t mean to leave you behind, okay? In fact, if we could help it, we also don’t want to go.”

Luna grasped Vanessa’s hands, “Sadly, this isn’t about whether wanted to or not. We simply must. Without the skin, hair cannot survive. The Divine Realm is the last home for Humanity. If we gave up on it, there would be no place for us left. That is why we have to go.” 

“But don’t worry, Sweetheart.” Luna tried her best to smile and comfort their child. “We will make sure to return as soon as we can. We also don’t want to part with you for too long.” 

“While we’re gone, you have to listen to Grandmas and Grandpas okay? Don’t give them too much headache.” Luna reminded, “Don’t eat too much junk food either. Take a bath at least twice a day if you can. Be careful when choosing your friend and be wise with your money. Don’t let other people take advantage of you.” 

“If someone hits you, hit them back. Don’t worry about repercussions, just tell them I’m your father.” Raven added, causing Vanessa to chuckle. 

“Work hard in your training. Cultivate the techniques your Papa and I taught you so that you can extend your life and wait for us.”

“No boyfriend until we return!” Raven stated strongly. 

Luna shook her head and said: “At least pick someone worthy.” 

And the parental nagging continued for hours until it’s way past Vanessa’s bed time. After the two of them reminded Vanessa about everything, they verbally expressed how much they loved her and cared for her. 

That night, they went to sleep. Raven gave Vanessa an amulet which functions were kept as a secret for now. He also told her a bedtime story until the child finally went to sleep. 

Raven and Luna stayed with Vanessa until midnight, they didn’t say anything and just stared at the face of their sleeping child, wanting to memorize every single detail on her face. Once it was midnight, Raven and Luna got up from the bed. 

The rest of their friends entered their room. Just from brief glance on their faces, they all can tell how much pain and reluctance they are feeling right now. 

Ellen and Paul brought Richard with them. Anne and Mark also brought Jeanne. Their mothers carefully placed the sleeping children beside Vanessa. 

The Grandparents are also here. They watched as the legendary six stared at their sleeping children with great reluctance on their faces. 

“It’s time.” Raven said softly. 

All six of them threw one last glance at their children before reluctantly stepping out of the room. They went at the open space at the Sky Palace. Before they left Raven looked at his parents and in-laws. 

“We’ll leave them to your care. Please make sure they grow up healthy and happy.” 

“Leave it to us, Son.” Luis patted Raven’s shoulder. “Focus on whatever it is you needed to do so that you can return as soon as you can. Pay attention to your safety.”

“I will, Dad.” Raven nodded, his eyes were firm and determined. He then turned around and opened a tear in space. 

Raven, Luna, Paul, Ellen, Anne and Mark walked inside of the portal along with Raven’s twin sisters and his disciple. 

As soon as the entered the spatial tear, it closed behind them. 

“There will be some small changes to the plan…”