Chapter 19 - Awakening(1)

"What? You went…to another world? That's impossible. The theory of otherworlds has been proven false many times. If anything, you might have actually travelled to another planet."

Kase rolled his eyes. While he might not be as educated as Blaike, his wealth of knowledge brought him close to the top of the league of prodigious scholars. 

He was no fool. Following the start of New Order's supremacy, they embarked on interstellar journeys, travelling through space to achieve numerous projects like the Second Colony. However, even after all that, to his knowledge, there was never an encounter with an "other world". Sure they could encounter mysterious entities… that originated from faraway planets or galaxies, but not other worlds!

In this topic, Kase was like a traditional man who believed in protecting the sanctity of his mind. Matters of the unknown were utterly frowned upon. If it wasn't screaming in his face, it wasn't real. If he couldn't touch it, it never existed. Ambitious thinking often spiralled into madness. 

Kase frowned and shook his head. "Think again. What did you experience?"

"I know what I saw. I perceived a world vastly different from ours. It wasn't exactly a world—Argh, I don't know how to explain it. A… realm? No, a mirror plane, reflecting the nature of our world, but in a twisted way. There, light becomes darkness. Goodness becomes evil. Even the simple act of breathing felt reversed. I–I—" Raven's tone was croaked as he realized his words weren't exactly rational.

Raven couldn't exactly put his thoughts into words. After all, he was still a newbie to the supernatural. His experience was worth jack shit. 

When finding oneself in another plane, the regular person would never experience the plane far deeper than Raven. However, because Raven had [Seventh Sense], he could easily connect to worlds on a deeper level than expected. Hence, what he perceived was always different from the regular person. So, although he couldn't explain his experience, he sure as hell knew he was right. 

Raven fell into deep thoughts. 'The mirror plane felt like a reflection of this world. But the astral realm was weird, another dimension entirely!'

Blaike appeared to be in deep thought. "Hmm…"

"What is it?" asked Kase.

"He might not be wrong." 

"How could such a thing be possible? There is something you are not telling me." Kase questioned with a skeptical gaze.

"Fine." Blaike's eyes paced around as if hesitating on something. "Raven, do you know the story about the Advent?"

 "Yeah, why do you ask?" Raven raised his brows. "The Advent began in the year 2030 with the Arcane Meltdown…"

According to history books, the world fell in 2030 after the arrival of ether. The world, which was in the middle of the third world war, was caught distracted by the birth of the supernatural, the revival of cults, and the surge of monstrous spawns. This led to 6 years of cataclysm. After this period, no old-world nation survived!

"We all know that, but why was the Advent termed an apocalypse? The arrival of the ether brought many unstable possibilities, but that wasn't enough to cause so much chaos."

Raven brainstormed for an answer to Blaike's question. He felt she was hinting at a closely guarded secret. He had always wondered why the new world was so desolate. People think the monsters caused it, but monsters were immensely territorial, and not all of them were evil; some could be managed. As long as their habits were studied, living amongst them wouldn't be difficult. Hunters understood this best.

Soon, Raven's eyes sharpened! 

"I remember now! After the Arcane Meltdown, the following five years of cataclysm were called the 5 years of tyranny because of Arvalyos, the Tyrant, but… isn't that a myth?"

 "Arvalyos, the Tyrant. The Order has proof of its existence. It was a mighty dragon that wantonly sought destruction. Now, where do you think such a creature came from? Certainly, it couldn't be from the ground like most idiots think. It's not Godzilla."

"Another world…" Raven's voice trailed. He realized Blaike was showing him a hidden layer of the world, beneath the lies and propaganda spread by the Order and its opposing factions.

"Arvalyos came like a silent storm. I have seen what remains of its cruel destruction. I once saw its flames, immortal even after decades passed. The other worlds are mysteries symbolized. The Order has had proof of other worlds for a long time now, but information like that is highly classified. So, yes, I believed that you ventured into a mirror plane."

Raven's eyes brightened as he listened to Blaike's words. 

Yes, the other worlds were really mysterious. The two worlds he had ventured to didn't obey the same rules. 'Hmmm… perhaps the Grove has information I need about the other worlds. I think I remember Amethyst explaining some sort of cosmology.'

After that, Blaike asked for more information about his experience. Because Raven didn't want to make his relationship with them awkward, he kept the astral realm a secret. Mentioning that would lead to the unravelling of the Pandora box. Raven had just begun to get closer to the two, he didn't want to risk breaking that bond.

Blaike warned him to not enter the mirror plane again. The ghost was a dangerous entity and from now on, Kase wanted Raven to prioritize his safety before anything else… not that that wasn't Raven's current plan. 

He decided to continue cultivating his strength before he retired to the astral realm to fulfill his newfound duties.

….

Days passed by like fleeting clouds.

"It's not good enough." A young boy with grey eyes sighed as he practiced a unique body stance.

Raven closed his eyes and extended his senses to his surroundings. A 3d image of the immediate environment appeared in his mind, along with trails of grey-like energy whirling mysteriously.

Following a silent hum, the ether trails chimed and flowed into his body, strengthening him beyond mortal comprehension. His arcane sigil on his hand grew hotter as he pulled more ether into him. To the outside world, Raven had merely closed his eyes, but suddenly his aura grew more profound until it couldn't be contained anymore. The most shocking part was that it all occurred in a matter of seconds.

*Boom*

Raven moved like a thunderous storm. The air cracked as he wheezed past his room, appearing in the kitchen a few moments later. The moment he stopped, a feeling of weakness washed over him, but he paid no attention to it. Instead, his face beamed like a firefly.

"I did it! I really did it!" Raven couldn't contain his joy anymore. "I can't believe it. Oh—"

"Would you shut up? Unlike you, some people are trying to work here. It's just a mere mastery of the fundamentals. Why are you so worked up?" A grumble echoed from Kase's room, pouring cold water on Raven's jubilant emotion.

'Tch, salty old man,' Raven retorted inwardly as he retreated to his room.

However, Raven wasn't deterred. He knew the implications of his achievements. It was almost a month since he had become supernatural yet he had already gained mastery in [Fundamental Ether Channeling] and [Fundamental Ether Cycling].

This was too marvellous to believe. 

'I am a crazy genius.' Raven allowed a rare moment of pride and delusion.

Indeed, his achievement was totally unbelievable.