Way of the Knights

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"You two, come in."

Raven and Luna heard this outside.

Raven got up from his seat and nodded towards Luna. Both of them had been nervous and didn't really talk much since leaving the room. 

He opened the door and went in, followed by Luna. She went behind Balmung once again while Raven went back to his position at the other end of the table.

Raven saw their serious expressions and thought that something must be up. His heartbeat quickened, thinking that he might've missed something important in the creation of the documents but couldn't remember anything for now.

"Tell me." The King spoke after a bout of silence. "How long have you been thinking about this reform."

Raven was momentarily stunned by that question, nevertheless he answered truthfully.

"The idea came to me a long time ago. But back then, I just didn't know which direction the reform should go. As I was introduced to more and more people and was gradually exposed to the true state of the kingdom, slowly the idea took form until it reached the point where I only need one more catalyst to make it happen. And the project that Your Majesty gave me was the one I've been waiting for."

No one spoke for a good minute, the King once again asked:

"I think most of us knew the reason why you wanted this reform, even we ourselves have our own answers. Still, I want to hear it from you. Why do you feel that this change is necessary?"

Raven took a deep breath and answered the question.

"Pardon me for my unfiltered opinion Your Majesty but believe it or not, the Kingdom is on a steep decline." He paused to allow his words to reach the hearts of everyone here. And even though no one spoke, everyone inwardly nodded their heads in agreement.

"On top of this decline, we are also exposed to dangers. We are always under the threat of a beast horde, we are also being targeted by the Black Curtain Guild. It would've been fine if they would give us time to recover the quality of our forces and numbers but as if they're going to do that."

"I might sound like an alarmist but if things were to remain stagnant, within a decade we might face a great calamity that will cause the Kingdom's foundations to be uprooted."

His warnings brought shivers to anyone who listened. Specially those who are aware of the true mastermind behind the Black Curtain Guild.

"The invasions and the beast horde opened my mind. If we really wanted to survive, something has to change. It's gonna be a long work and the results might be uncertain but its better than leaving the situation as it is. I have faith in our people. If the aim of this reform was achieve then I could almost guarantee that in less that a century, there are no place in this world where our people couldn't go."

"In that future. This world would be centered around us, humans. Nothing will be able to threaten our race. I want to live until the day that our kingdom will grow so big that it's inappropriate to call it a kingdom anymore, instead it shall become an empire. The Final Haven Empire."

As soon as he said that, everyone's breath hitched. Their eyes brightened as they were able to somehow see the visions inside Raven's mind. 

A thriving world where countless of humans live in peace and harmony. A world completely focused around humans and humans alone. The true Golden Age where humans no longer have to hide and could stand proud and tall. Without a doubt, everyone in this room wanted to witness such a thing happen, this specially goes well to the older one's since they witnessed the cruelty of the world outside. 

If there's someone who's bold enough to dream about such thing, it would be Raven. Which is why he's standing in front of everyone right now.

Raven finished his speech with a nod to everyone inside the room. The King had a serious expression and was looking at him intently. It was like he was trying to see through Raven's true intentions even though he himself knew that what he said earlier was his true intent. In the end, no one could really tell how the King's thoughts work. 

After a high tension silence, everyone heard the King spat a long sigh. It was as if he was holding his breath for a long time. 

Raven saw how the King's attitude change. A smile appeared on his lips as he rested his back on the chair. 

"Well, what can I say? I'm impressed, child. Very well, I approve of this reform!"

'Hell yeah!' Raven inwardly yelled. His face lit up as he hurriedly bowed towards the King. He was applauded by the people inside the room, which served to raise his elation even more.

"Hey, brat!" Ian called out, "Don't think that your job is done. When the Academy is finished, I want you and your group to become Instructors for some time. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Headmaster." Raven nodded and continued: "I'll make sure to help out in the construction as much as I could."

"The construction of the Heavenly Cloud Academy will begin a month from now. For now, we have build as many Worker Construct as we could and also don't forget about the construction of the Skynet Array. Once all the requirements are complete, the construction of the Academy should be kicking in full gear." King Alexander explained.

Raven agreed to this as well as the rest, everyone inside the room is looking forward towards the construction of the Academy.

"As for the rest of you all." The King spoke once more, "Vendrick already sparked the change, you are all aware that this is just the beginning. There will a huge adjustment in many sectors so take this time to brainstorm some proper response towards these changes. You may discuss it with yourselves and just give me a briefing on what you have decided upon."

"You are also free to mobilize the resources as you see fit, just see to it that you don't go overboard. We might have an excess nowadays but we absolutely can't waste them. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Your Highness." Everyone in the room responded. 

"Alright. That should be it for this meeting then. Good work everyone." The King said as he dismissed everyone.

Once that happened, Raven flicked his fingers and several books from the inheritance flew over towards the seated people before they could stand up. Everyone looked at him in confusion so he explained:

"I think these books should be of use to you so please help yourselves by copying the contents. Once your done, you may return it here for safekeeping."

Each person gave him a look of gratitude and appreciation as they each opened the book and read it's contents. As soon as they did, their eyes brightened and immediately started copying the contents so that they could bring them home. None of these people have bad memories, so the copying process was quick. It only took them mere minutes to copy the contents of the books they were given. 

Once they're done, they placed the books back in the shelf and didn't even bother checking the rest. There is just no reason for them to do that since the books that Raven gave them was enough to keep them occupied for a very long time. Any more and it would just be distraction which might hinder their progress.

Once that's done, the people who attended the meeting excused themselves one by one to return on their respective offices, a lot has happened in that short meeting and there's tons of work to do so they better get started.

Raven however, chose to stay behind and accompany Luna. Of course, not before informing his father and the King about it.

At Luna's room, the two sat on the couch. There was a comfortable silence between the two, they held each other closely and share this moment of peace and warmth.

Luna shuffled her head on Raven's embrace and said: "Congratulations, my genius. I'm so proud of you." She kissed his cheeks, earning an amused smile from him.

"Your genius?" Raven raised his brows.

"Mn!" Luna nodded, "What? You don't like it?"

Instead of answering her, Raven instead claimed her lips and gave a long and passionate kiss. 

Luna's breath hitched, she wasn't expecting this bold action from him. Nevertheless, his touch and kiss threatened to melt her. She couldn't help but to squirm in his embrace, yearning for more as she wrapped her arms around him. Her body unconsciously responded to the gentleness of his actions and the way he expressed his love and gratitude through actions.

Before this could go somewhere else, Raven pulled away and gave her a kiss on her forehead. He pulled her close to his chest, allowing her to hear his wild heartbeat.

He chuckled and said: "Does that answer your question?"

Luna blushed and lovingly pinched his arms, nevertheless there was a sweet smile in her face as she felt the warmth of his embrace.