Way of the Knights

---

"1000 miles left people! Come on, we so close!" Raven stated in order to make his teammates feel better. 

Although he himself didn't feel any encouragement from his own words, he figured that he should still remind them about this. Anything works so long as they could reach their destination. 

Obviously, a few weeks passed and the team was doing their best to reach the peak as soon as they could. They encountered spikes and increases in pressure which delayed them even further but the team powered through them and were nearly adjusted themselves at the increased pressure within 1000 miles distance away from the peak. 

Looking at the faces of his teammates, Raven sighed to himself. It was obvious that all of them, including him were battered. It was as if they've been fighting against an endless wave of enemies all this time without any rest.

This might all seem unnatural, and that's because it is. Raven figured this out a little too late, and couldn't do anything against it. 

Typically, although the pressure is heavy and irritating since it increases ever so often to delay them in their journey, that shouldn't be enough to leave visible traces of severe fatigue and mental distress to his teammates, or even himself however for some reason, it does. 

Raven of course noticed this and investigated it but unfortunately, he's a little too late in his discovery. 

As it turns out, the pressure contained a hidden element that completely evaded Raven's senses, bypassing even his ocular technique as if it was nothing. It had to be known that Raven's ocular technique allows him to see a lot of things, even Heavenly Laws couldn't escape his gaze through its use but for some odd reasons, this hidden element completely rendered his ocular technique useless. 

However, even though this 'hidden element' was invisible to Raven, it doesn't mean that he's out of ways to discover what it does. And to his surprise, the effect was more scarier compared to what he originally suspected. 

The 'hidden element' could be mentioned at the same air as the 'irritating' nature of Asphodel's temperature. 

Asphodel's temperature was hot, not only that it was also cursed by the Deadly Sin of Wrath, causing anyone exposed to it to be irritated. The more irrational they got, the more reckless they get and the more they are susceptible for corruption. 

This concept was practically the same with this 'hidden element'. It contained an 'intent', and by Raven's estimations, it is the reason why they are feeling extremely battered right now even though they were getting enough rest. 

Raven theorized and he came up with a possible answer. The hidden element in here, drains their energy faster and contains some form of mental pressure. This isn't surprising considering that the pressure could even slow down the rate at which their energies circulate throughout their bodies. 

Due to this, they get tired faster and it would also seem that that closer they get to the peak, the faster this exhaustion gets to them. Additionally, since the pressure spikes/increases at certain distances, they were delayed again and again, causing them to feel like this trip is never going to end, increasing the mental burden even more. 

Raven discovered this way too late. He tried to fix this problem but lo and behold, none of his trusted runes so far worked. Well...it's not like it's completely useless. His intent was strong due to his soul being stronger and will was firmer compared to his teammates, therefore this hidden element didn't really affected him greatly. 

That being said, he discovered that any rune he creates in this place that has his intent and will, will be eroded swiftly and wouldn't even last for a day. The rune was still effective, but without his intent and will, it's effects were greatly diminished and didn't have much effect towards his teammates. 

This really bummed him out. This was actually the first time that his rune had failed in solving his problems. He wasn't so upset, just bummed out. He already knew that sooner or later, someone or something will come to prove that his runes aren't going to solve everything, and he already accepted that. 

The reason why he's bummed out, is because he can't see what's causing it. That's all there is to it. 

Raven was of course worried about the mental states of his teammates. Although he didn't inform them what was going on, he still tried to lessen the effect of this hidden element to them for as much as he could. 

Unfortunately, he couldn't much from here on out. And if his theory proves him right, then his assistance will greatly diminish the closer they got at the peak. 

'Hopefully they could prevail from this. We're so close. Failure isn't an option now.' Raven thought to himself as he placed incense sticks and lit them up, placing them within their tents. 

---

"Come on guys. We can do this. Straighten those backs. We only have 500 miles left and we're at the peak. This is the last time that we'll do this. Come on!" Raven encouraged his exhausted teammates, trying his best to light up a fire within them so that they could continue and put an end to this tiring journey. 

He saw the War Gods nodding softly. Although he got an affirmative response, he couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed with that reaction. At the same time though, he can't really blame them. 

The War Gods were tired. Completely jaded. They felt that taking even one step forward seems impossible. Their eyes were completely dull, lifeless. Even Logan who's the most boisterous amongst them, was awfully quiet. 

The only thing that's keeping them going was Raven and what's little left of their resolve to surmount Mount Olympus. The moment one of these factors were gone, they'd probably topple over and whole-heartedly give up. 

Raven felt awful. He didn't like this situation at all. 500 miles isn't much to cover but considering the state of the people around him, that distance felt extremely far. 

'Note to self. Remind the War Gods that their Will still has a long way to go once the trip is over.' Raven murmured inwardly while sighing. 

He didn't want to be mean but he truly expected more from them. Raven was helpless though, his assistance was greatly limited at this point. His runes were rendered completely useless, and at this point, he's not even sure if he could still use a rune to disperse this suppression. 

Although he told them that this is the last time that they'll be needing adjust to the spike of pressure, he himself wasn't so sure about that since he had never been here before, so how can he know? It was unfortunate but he had to lie and hope that what he said ends up happening. 

They're so close. Only 500 miles left. If they could persevere through this, then they could completely close that distance within a day with their pace. They just need to hold on. 

At this point, since only Raven was energetic enough in the team, he had no choice but to lead them while also making sure to provide assistance. The effects of the hidden element didn't bother him at all, so he could only step forward and become the beacon of hope for his teammates. 

Raven still tried his best to at least give them some hope, but he could feel them slipping away fast. At this point, he's completely convinced that his theory was more or less on point. 

The closer they were at the peak, the faster it drains their hope and resolve. This much was clear looking at the current state of the War Gods. 

*Thump!*  action

Raven was startled out of his thoughts when he heard a sudden sound nearby. He looked over and saw Logan toppled over with his face buried on the ground. Raven felt chills creeping up his spine upon seeing and this, and rightfully so since...

*Thump!* *Thump!* *Thump!*

Logan's fall trigger a chain reaction. Seeing one of their teammates giving up, caused the other War Gods to follow suit as well. They were just too tired, they just wanted to rest, they couldn't care less about the peak anymore. They just wanted to really rest. 

Raven bit his lips in frustration as he saw this. Nevertheless, he also can't blame them. The hidden element really screwed them up.

Thankfully, since Raven was fine and dandy still, the team wasn't ejected out of the mountain just yet. If he really wanted to, he could just yell 'We give up!' And all of them will be transported back to the previous checkpoint to find a portal leading to the sect. 

But would Raven do that? The answer was completely obvious. 

He went to his unconscious teammates, picked them up and said: "Aish! You guys are so heavy!" 

Raven then placed them inside the formation and inside their respective tents while he himself rested at the table he set up whilst in deep thought. 

"Well, fuck it I guess! We're surmounting this damned mountain by hook or by crook!"