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A silhouette of a person was standing in front of Raven as soon as he entered the Crown Space.
This person is a woman, stood about 6'3 inches tall. Just like Inos, she appeared as a re outline, a ghost per se. Which gave of an impression of mystery for Raven. And because she appeared to be at the sa state as Inos, Raven thought that this person must be an important one for the Crown. He also didn't feel any kind of ill intent from her.
"Well t, Young Candidate. I am Astrid, the 7th Heir to the throne." The silhouette perford a curt bow, to which Raven followed unconsciously.
"I thought as much." Raven mumbled, he then decided to introduce himself to her. "Well t, Madam. My na is Vendrick but I go by Raven. It's a pleasure to et you."
"Oh, you." Astrid laughed rrily and said, "Drop the formalities. No need to call Madam or sothing. Just refer to by my na, and I'll do the sa."
Raven was a little stunned to hear that, however it seems that she nothing could change his mind so he could only nod.
"We've been watching you since the mont you touched the Ancestral Divine Crown you know." Astrid said, which made Raven perk up and listen closely. "Though it's a pity that we are reduced to such state, and were forced to slumber for the most parts. We still are aware of what's going on, specially with the matters of the crown."
"When you said 'We', that ans you along with the rest of the heirs I assu?" Raven asked.
To which Astrid nodded. "Yes, the 8 of us had been watching you all along."
"Am I doing a terrible job?" Raven asked, wanting to receive so sort of guidance from her.
"Not really." Astrid replied, she gently sat down and gestured Raven to do the sa. "You're doing just fine. You can take your ti since you have lots of it. From what we've seen so far, you can tell when to pick up the pace and when take it easy so you don't need my advise for this."
Raven smiled wryly and sat down with her, now he was certain that she was the real deal.
"That's right, you have my thanks for helping step out of my slumbering area and stretch for a little bit." Astrid said which made Raven confused.
"What did I do?" He asked.
"It's your Destruction Laws that awakened ." Astrid said in a aningful manner. Raven's eyes glead as he ventured a wild guess to which Astrid confird. "Yes, I did cultivate the sa Laws that you now possess."
"That's aweso!" Raven exclaid, "If it's not too much, I might ask for so tips in the future whenever I hit a wall. Please do guide then."
"That will depend if whether or not I'm awake during that ti or on your questions." Astrid replied. She wasn't really refusing to help him but said that it will depend on the situation. "Laws that you comprehend by yourself would always be better. You know this right?"
"I do." Raven replied unhesitatingly, of course he knew that comprehending Laws will always be a long and hard-fought journey. Stumbling upon so roadblocks happens a lot and a little guidance from seniors would always be helpful.
But at the sa ti, relying on their knowledge would only lead to a flawed understanding, which is possible to completely block their way out and prevent them from going any further. This is why one has to rely to one's self in this journey.
"Comprehending Laws are akin to a never ending puzzle. You answered one, two more questions will appear. The closer you get to the source, the harder the puzzles are. But once you answered all of them and mastered your chosen Law, you will wield an imnse power that could completely change the world according to you liking. But wielding a great power had it's own responsibilities as well."
Astrid said in a profound tone, which sounds like she was talking to herself more than reminding Raven. Nevertheless, it wasn't his place to pry so he didn't ask any further.
"Is Inos still slumbering?" Raven asked, carefully in order to not offend her in any way, shape or form.
"Yes he is. He will be slumbering a lot like the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and the 5th. His soul is incredibly weak after all." Astrid replied, seemingly not bothered.
"Would you be able to tell what happened?" Raven asked out of concern. He wanted to know since he wanted to check if there's sothing that he could do for him.
Astrid sighed and had a saddened expression on her face. "I know that you wanted to help him but for now, you're too weak to do so."
"Certinos is an extrely formidable man, he mastered Space Laws after all. At the peak of his strength, creating a space that is a big as a Universe is just a minor effort - a wave of his hand per se. He could even expand even the tiniest fabric of space if he decided to do so."
Raven's mouth twitched upon hearing that ridiculous tale of Inos. For so reason, it was hard to believe that the amicable man was that strong, but who amongst the True Heirs aren't formidable? In fact, he should've seen this coming.
One thing that Raven took away from what Astrid said about Inos is that, he didn't just gain enlightennt to Space Laws, he Mastered it.
It had to be known that even in the Divine Realm, those who could Master a Law could counted on both hands. And all of them are people who stood at the very top, untouchable existences that even soone like him could only look up to.
"You know about the Pocket Dinsions around us right?" Astrid asked, to which Raven nodded unhesitatingly. How could he not know when everyone he faced in those made his life difficult?
"He's responsible for creating them." Astrid said once again, making Raven's lips twitch again. "These were created a few monts before his death, which is why they are a little bit unimpressive. He decided to place the remnant soul wisps, which were arranged by , and place them inside so pocket dinsions in order to create a real testing grounds for the next potential heir."
"Wait! You were the one who place all those people here?" Raven exclaid in shock.
"Yes." Astrid confird, "And by the way, they aren't just so random people. Those people are very similar to the current you, they were Candidates as well."
"That…" Raven was gobsmacked. He didn't know what to say nor feel after knowing that.
So the people that he was fighting inside the pocket dinsions were people who got their hands on the Crown during their lives. And because Astrid said that they were soul wisps, it must an that they all died already.
"My original plan on locking away wisps of their soul is to raise them through various ans and have them to beco foot soldiers when the ultimate showdown begins. Yet I died before I could release them, so instead it was Inos who put them into use. Which is of course, helping you a lot on your growth."
Raven understood this but he wanted to know: "Why did you say that Inos has to slumber frequently?"
"A large part of his original soul was devoured." Astrid answered, which caused the hairs on Raven's body to rise up uncontrollably. "The sa happened to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th. Technically, none of them should remain after all this ti. It was due to the mystical power of the 1st that the tiniest piece of them still remained in the crown. If it weren't for that, then they might've already dispersed."
"Is it the Abyssals?" Raven asked with so much fire in his eyes. Astrid understood his anger very well since she too felt the sa but unfortunately it wasn't them.
"No." She shook her head, making Raven freeze on his seat.
"If it weren't the abyssals, then who?" He asked in a confused manner.
"It is too early for you know. In our current state, we couldn't even utter its na. Else we run the risk of danger." Astrid shook her head in sha, parts of her mory that she hid at the depths of her mind started to get roused but she suppressed it. "Rember, all of us Heirs are formidable on our own right. But we all died at the hands of one enemy."
Her tone was grave, it was like she really wanted Raven to be extrely careful with his actions and inquiries.
"When it's ti for you to know, you will know. And when that ti cos, you will understand why we are asking you to be extrely careful. For now, all you have to do is to make sure that you are the person that we are looking for. Inherit the throne, and beco the 9th True Heir of the Crown.. You will understand everything by then."
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