Way of the Knights

Chapter 942: Raven vs. God Emperor (III)

It was obvious that Raven wasn’t taking God Emperor’s words seriously. 

He didn’t believe it but he absolutely loved it. Which is precisely why God Emperor felt so unsatisfied and angry, 

Could it be that he got it wrong? Was his deduction not right? 

“Of course it’s not, idiot.” Raven stated, causing the God Emperor’s expression to warp in surprise. 

“How…?”

“Hmm? Didn’t I say that you’re too predictable? I can literally read your thoughts just by looking at your face. You’re too obvious.” He snorted in reply. 

“…”

“Seriously. Did I really scramble your brain that much that you started losing it? Or you’re just really didn’t like the idea that you’re being beaten so bad that you’d rather point fingers instead just so that you can save whatever dignity and pride you have left in you?”

“How much of a sore loser are you even? And how pathetic can you get? Is this your final form? Don’t tell me there’s more…well, if there is it might he fun to see that too. I mean it was fucking hilarious how you come up with so much bullshit just because you were losing. I wouldn’t mind hearing how ridiculous you can get.”

“After all, I don’t get this kind of entertainment every day.” Raven concluded.

His words made Augustus really uneasy. How come? Why? So he was wrong? How can this be? This doesn’t make sense at all. 

“Your destiny is to become the Absolute One? Pfft. Yeah, right.” Raven scoffed in disdain. “That’s probably the best joke that I’ve heard so far.”

“Imagine being that delusion. Whew, I can’t relate.” Raven rolled his eyes, “You said that I am tool of fate being used against you, yet you keep on saying that your fate is to transcend everything. Aren’t you contradicting yourself here? Seriously, how dumb can you get?” 

“Don’t even get me started with you telling me about my existence.” Raven placed his hands on his hips and chided: “I don’t want to hear that from someone who’s using the flesh of their victims as their own while calling themselves ‘Immortal’ and ‘Eternal’.”

“You can me ‘fake’ yet you face me without eve wearing your own flesh and skin. The sheer hypocrisy leaking out of you is insane.”

“The funny thing is that you seem so confident that you saw through me. Yet in truth, you see nothing at all. You failed to see a damn thing since you’re too obsessed with your delusional thoughts and this laughable entitlement you receive out of nowhere.”

“When it all boils down to it, you are nothing more than a leech with delusions of grandeur.” Raven shrugged while coldly mocking him. “A sentient core that dreamed of the impossible.”

“You, out of all creatures in the entirety of the Outer Worlds, has no right to tell me who I am.” 

Raven folded his arms in front of him and stared coldly at the God Emperor. 

“Learn your place, pest. The only reason why you’re still alive at this point is because I’m holding back against you.”historical

“Everything that we’ve done so far? To me, all of it was just fun and games. Nothing too serious. I don’t want this to end just yet because I still find it fun and engaging, that’s all.”

“All this time, your life or death, solely depends on my whims. Drill that your brain will you? And keep entertaining me since you’re so good at it.” 

Raven sneered and waved his fingers towards the God Emperor. His attitude just now was something that could even rival the sheer arrogance of the God Emperor or even the Abyssal Race as a whole. 

Every syllable pierced the heart of the God Emperor and tore him from the inside. Just as he thought that he couldn’t get any angrier than this, Raven keeps on proving him wrong. 

What probably hurts the most, is the fact that Raven is telling nothing but the truth. 

Indeed, the God Emperor had no right to mock Raven and question his existence when he himself already forgotten what he truly is. 

It hurts that Raven saw through him completely just like that. He thought that it was the other way around, him seeing through Raven, but he guessed incorrectly. 

In the end, Raven’s words were true. The only reason why he came up with the idea that Raven was a gatekeeper sent by the world to prevent him reaching his destiny, was nothing but bullshit. 

He’s really in that much of a denial that he’s losing even with the help of the Forbidden Ultima Core. Much less to a human out of all creatures. 

Augustus was already a sore loser to begin with. Add this salt to the injury and now he’s flailing like a fish out of the water. He truly couldn’t take it. 

“…aww, you’re broke already? But we weren’t done yet.” Raven sounded so pitiful when he spoke. 

Raven saw that the God Emperor was going through the stages of grief and was constantly losing it as time passes. He’s experiencing some serious existential crisis right now and he doesn’t know what to fucking do or think anymore. 

“Oh well, I guess it was fun while it lasted. Too bad I won’t be getting another toy like you anytime soon.” Raven looked really hurt when he said that, “Ah, it truly pains me to see a good toy broken. But oh well, life’s just like that.”

“I will remember the joy you brought to me even after you’re gone.” Raven wiped a fake tear on his face while saying that. “As this is our farewell, I might as well show you what you’re missing at this time.” 

Raven instantly appeared right next to the God Emperor – who didn’t even sense him coming even though he’s still on full alert. Raven grabbed a fistful of his hair and tugged it hard, forcing the God Emperor to look at the boundless sea of stars above them. 

“Open your eyes clearly and see it for yourself. See, the real me.” 

This was not a request but a demand that nobody can ever defy. Not even him, the God Emperor. 

And thus, without wanting to, Augustus searched for what Raven was trying to show him.

He was greeted by the endless blanket of stars, it is all that occupied his vision. Augustus had seen this lot, he often spent time looking at it while being immersed on his own thoughts.

…yet for some reason, something’s wrong here. 

He knows it. He’s aware that something’s wrong. He just can’t tell what it is just yet. He kept looking subconsciously and at the corner of his eye, something moved. 

It was anything big. Just a distant star that seemingly vanished out of existence. 

‘But that’s not right…’ Is what he thought. 

He looked at it again and to his shock, it is indeed not right. Something was at play here. The star that saw vanished, didn’t vanish in reality but just moved instead. 

His eyes traced the movement of that star. It seemed to be a lead. 

And it was…

It lead him to see something grander. 

Something so unbelievable that he can’t wrap his mind around it. 

At first he saw an outline. 

Then a shape.

Followed by marks.

Then features. 

One by one, the pieces started falling into place and it allowed him to see the full picture. 

He saw an entity. 

So massive and so grand that ‘it’ contained the very cosmos itself. 

Earlier, he thought that he was seeing five pillars erected around Paradise but in truth he was mistaken. 

Those weren’t pillars. They were fingers. 

That shape, that figure, that features, those fingers…the entity itself. When he saw it all. All he could feel was a sense of dread and unparalleled sense of despair and loss. 

The last words of Raven still echoed on his mind. 

‘See the real me…’ 

Augustus felt the world spinning. He could hear his heart shattering into millions of pieces. He could feel everything around him crumbling to dust. 

His bravado, ambitions, dreams, visions…all of it was fake. All of it was for nothing…

He’s a damn fool. A jester. A whole-ass clown. Raven was right to see him as such since right now, he truly felt like one. 

Like a damned fiddle, he was played. Oh, how cruel. 

It was so laughable when he looked back at it. He talked so much crap about how it is his destiny the become the one who transcends everything yet when it manifested before him, it didn’t take much before he completely broke. 

This is probably the way of fate mocking him. Telling him that he took his sweet ass time so now it is too late. 

The Absolute feel impatient waiting for him so it decided to pay him a visit instead. It made fun of him and spat that he’s ‘unworthy’ on his face. And he was completely powerless to stop it. 

As he stared at the entity who looking down on him like the piece of trash that he is, it opened it’s mouth and spoke:

“Farewell, Augustus. It’s been fun playing with you.”