Way of the Knights

Chapter 853: Impressions

—

As it turns out, Raven's confidence about his Spatial Shuttle wasn't unfounded.

At this current moment, a great spatial storm was wrecking havoc on their surroundings. It left several tears and disturbances on the space around them yet it only caused minor vibrations for Raven's shuttle. 

Lenna pursed her lips as she watched in awe. She could feel a pang of bitterness beneath all the awe due to how big the disparity was in their living conditions. 

Sufficed to say, a spatial storm this strong would've absolutely maul anybody who tried to challenge it, yet it didn't even leave a scar on Raven's shuttle. All it did was to shake it a little. 

A great spatial storm was reduced to nothing but a mild inconvenience. The difference was truly painful. 

That being said, Lenna was lucky to be on this shuttle. Luckier that Raven wasn't like the rumors she heard about the Children of the Divine Realm. She was safe and sound here. The vibrations of the ship did nothing to disturb her rest. 

If it's up to her, she would've loved to stay in this shuttle forever. She felt safe here, especially with Raven around. However, she knew that this is just her being delusional. There's no way Raven would allow her to stay here forever. 

Raven was largely unaware of what Lenna was thinking. Even if he's aware of it, he'd probably cast it aside. He had no interest on taking her in. 

He had nothing against her. They're civil to each other at best and it's clear that she's not a veteran of the Outer Worlds. He only allowed her in because their interests aligned, after this, they'd part ways since he had other matters to attend to. 

Lenna's home is still a bit far from where they're at. Like a month and half away considering the current speed of the shuttle. 

Even amidst the unending barrage of Spatial Storms, Raven had no intentions of driving the shuttle faster even though he could. This is him being careful.

With the pace he set for himself, his adventures to the Outer World will inevitably turn boring after a while. Good thing he had things that could keep him occupied, at least that alleviates some of the boredom he felt. 

The boons he received ever since he became the representative of Chaos, were still around. He already digested most of it when he stabilized his cultivation realm but there were still some of it that's left. 

These discoveries fell into the more complicated stuff about the existence of everything. He hadn't been able to properly take care of it back at the Divine Realm but when he stepped out to the Outer Worlds, the knowledge pour restarted once more. 

This made him think that the left over knowledge probably has something to do with the existence of the Outer World. It could only be that since up until now, he's still digesting knew information from it. 

So far, all he grasped wouldn't even scratch the surface about the Outer Worlds. It wasn't even enough as a foundation really, but it's a lead. 

The documents he had been reading up until this point were all about the known documentations about the Outer World. 

Raven was trying to piece clues by himself. Clues that might help him understand the strangeness of the Outer Worlds. Yes, this isn't what he's out here to do but it's a great distraction for him in this boring trip so he might as well, right? 

As what has been established before, the Outer World is a wild and chaotic – not the good kind either. 

Everything out here was a hot mess and the sheer size of it was mind-boggling. There was no semblance of order here which makes it a bit inhabitable. Still there are living beings out here who managed to survive and carve a piece of land for themselves. 

Lenna is a great example of that. 

The moment he laid eyes on her, Raven automatically knew that Lenna isn't human. She looks like one but in truth she isn't. Under his gaze, her true form was revealed. 

Lenna is a hybrid of a Space Beast and a Spirit. This was obvious by her aura and some of her physical features. She has pointed ears, reptilian eyes, a tail and hooves for legs, the rest of her body resembles that of human. She also posses a vast energy reserves, although her energy isn't like the one that Raven was familiar with. 

When he read her aura back then, her energy felt murky and unstable. It's like a poorly concocted cocktail, yet for some reason, it's not hurting her.

…that or she was just used to it by now. Either or really. 

Moreover, it seems like she can use it freely as she pleases. Maybe it's because of her Spirit Lineage that allowed her to do that. Raven's not sure but she's making it work for some reason. 

She also recovered from her injuries pretty swiftly. Raven hardly did anything to heal her, her natural recovery kicked-in after a little bit of help. This is probably due to her Space Beast Lineage. 

To top things off, she's probably either raised by a Human Outsider or her and her family adopted the lifestyle. She knows how to speak Humanity's language and her mannerisms evidently screams Humanity. 

Most of his guess were from his mere observations. It is also limited since he only had Lenna. He'd probably narrow down more information once they arrive at her home. There will be more beings to observe there after all. 

The one thing that really puzzled Raven about all of this is that, for some reason, Lenna could use Laws – Outer World Laws in her case.

This shouldn't have been possible since she's half Space Beast. 

Space Beast can't use any kinds of Laws. They are beings that are abandoned by it. 

According to the documents he read, this shouldn't have worked this way. Sure, in a sense, Lenna is still a Spirit – a race loved by Laws, which might be the thing that neutralized the disadvantages of her Space Beast counterpart but there's no proof of this.

Heck, he's not even sure how she was possible. A hybrid of Space Beast and Spirit? Weren't those two races hate each other? 

The only possibility of her existing should through artificial means. But that complication should've left some traces on her existence – something that Raven would've sensed by now if that's the case but he hadn't sensed it at all. 

See, all of this are what made this boring trip more bearable for Raven. 

He can't help it. It's in his nature to be curious. 

—

Time passed by silently. 

The two of them rarely interacted still. They minded their own business and peacefully coexisted. Both were aware that they are nearing their destination and made their own preparations for it. 

One week away from their arrival, Raven's senses actually touched the hem of the Lenna's home, the Broken Badlands. 

The image was reflected on his eyes. A broken and almost lifeless star. It's almost split in the middle, barely able to hold up it's shape. 

The outer crust looked like a dead tree bark, dry and flaking, he could even see ashes of it floating around. 

Raven sensed lifeforms habituating the core. There is large plateau in there where its citizens lived. The atmosphere wad gloomy but considering that this is the Outer World, that place might as well be considered as a small paradise. 

Lenna didn't lie. Her home was relatively safe from invaders due to the existence of the Spatial Storms. It really did form some kind of natural defense barrier around it.

The broken star was small, probably just as big as the old Grand Ancestral Plane, yet not as prosperous even at its decline. 

The unstableness of this world is what made Raven frown. 

To Raven, this place was inhabitable. He wouldn't consider living here if he has a choice. But then again, this is the Outer Worlds. Beggars can't be choosers. 

As they got closer to it, Raven observed the place even more. 

From his rough estimations, the population of this place roughly exceeds the 10,000's. It's quite populated given how small this place were. 

He also witnessed some people having conflict against each other. He couldn't hear them but if he had a guess, it's probably because of living space. 

Majority of the people here didn't have houses. Their homes were roughly patched up tents. The fee houses he could see wouldn't even be considered as a 'home' in his book. A stone cave would feel more like a home compared to those. 

There's food here – disgusting but edible. There's enough for everyone so nobody complained, 

For the most part, they all seem to peacefully coexist. It wasn't as chaotic as Raven was expecting but it definitely could be better. 

Now that he had seen what this place was like on the surface, Raven already has an impression. He's not expecting much to be honest but he wouldn't mind a surprise. 

"We're here."  action