Raven slept for a very long time.
Thankfully time here is frozen or else he will discover that he had been sleeping for at least a year and a half by now.
For some reason, he completely underestimates just how much he 2nd trial drained him. Well, he did spent 2,000 years in there under constant alertness. He did get some rest from time to time but even as he rested, heâs still looking after the star.
Now that he returned where itâs safe, he dropped his guard and immediately exhaustion took him.
That being said, this long slumber or hibernation isnât all that bad. It will replenish his energy and allow him to return to his usual self after its duration.
Itâs just that he was into much of a deep sleep that he actually is wrapped inside a cocoon.
As for how this happened, well itâs because of the Brush of Wisdom. It was the one who caused this.
The changes of the brush takes some time every time it happens. The first time it changed was when Raven visited the sectâs treasury. After the brush fused with the materials he got, it became unable to use for an entire year.
This trend was supposed to continue when it was fused with the topaz crystal back at the 1st trial but it didnât happen. Itâs as if the brush delayed itâs transformation willingly. After finishing the second trial, Raven got the turquoise quartz crystal and brush fused with it.
It delayed itâs transformation once again, but it didnât take long this time. Itâs as if it was waiting for Raven to return here and for him to take rest before it took over.
Raven has no idea what kind of abilities the Brush of Wisdom will give him after the transformation, heck heâs not even aware that he had already been hibernating this long.
The Brush of Wisdom has a consciousness of its own, and it definitely didnât mean Raven any harm. If anything, it wants to help Raven achieve his goals since heâs bound to it.
The moment Raven got a hold of the quartz crystals, the Brush of Wisdom began treating him as its rightful owner. This process wonât only benefit the brush itself but Raven as well.
Raven had already made a breakthrough in his sleep.
From being at the early stages of Lord Knight, he jumped straight towards the Knight Monarch Realm.
Which means that as he slept, the 2nd Chapter of the Book of Chaos circulated. Raven actually forgot to lift the seal suppressing his cultivation base, he left it there for 2,000 years and when he returned itâs already on the verge of shattering due to how condensed Raven strength had become.
When he felt asleep, the seal shattered on its own the moment the Brush of Wisdom took charge. Raven remained asleep while his body literally re-forged from head to toe.
He reached his first Transition which is âMonarchâs Roadâ. His domain evolved into a Monarchâs Domain, the kind that can cover an entire planet or plane due to how massive it was. Not only that, the constellations he deciphered were infused with his domain, to put things simply, it will be very difficult muster up any energy to fight Raven once he unleashed his Monarchâs Domain.
And because of the Brush of Wisdomâs presence, the constellations looked and felt alive. Just a reminder that the Brush of Wisdom was the husk of what was once known as the Scepter of Wisdom â the item that was used to draw the constellations themselves. The brush might not be at itâs complete form right now but itâs presence was genuine enough.
In addition to that, Ravenâs Destruction and Spacetime Laws entered their respective 4th Concepts. Heâs a concept away from mastering them. In fact, he might just be able to master them before becoming an Empyrean, but thatâs an issue for later.
Ravenâs hibernation lasted for two and half years before consciousness returned to him piece by piece.
With his still fuzzy mind, he fumbled around and felt as if he was trapped within a brittle cage. He pushed them and heard it break. His mind is still not working properly at this point, this was his instincts taking control for a brief moment.
His eyes were still closed but he was moving. He then felt extremely hungry all of a sudden so he fumbled around again and sniffed. He smelled something delicious on his palms, he licked it and he liked it.
He reached out, tore a piece and chewed on it. It tasted good to him. Whatever it is he was eating, it was crispy, a texture similar to that of a breadâs crust.
Raven saw on his spot and opened his mouth wide. A strong suction which similar to that of a black hole appeared. It siphoned all that crispy things into his mouth, allowing him to easily digest it.
When he devoured everything, more of his consciousness returned to him, and this time it included some clarity.
He opened his eyes and saw that his tent was in shambles which shocked him. Then he remembered what he was doing just now and noticed that heâs still doing it.
Raven raised a brow and wanted to stop but his instincts told him no so he didnât.
âDid I just summoned a black hole connected to my stomach? I donât remember being able to do this.â He thought to himself, âAnd what am I eating exactly? I donât what this is but itâs fucking tasty. What is happening?â
His eyes roamed his surroundings and caught sight of the things he was eating. For some reason they look very familiar to him but he just canât put a finger on it right now.
It wasnât until he devoured every single bit of that âthingâ that he felt satiated. He dispersed the black hole and was again shocked on how easy he did it. However, there still remains a frown on his pretty face as he legitimately had no idea what happened to him.
âUh, guys? What happened to me?â Raven asked his avatars.
And thank god for them really, if he didnât have them heâll probably never know what just transpired.
âGeez.â
This was all Raven can say after listening to what his avatars told him. He was speechless, who wouldnât be after hearing all of that? He can access their memories so he knew they werenât lying to him.
He summoned the culprit to all of this. The Brush of Wisdom. The moment it appeared on his hand, he sighed and said: âA simple message would suffice you know? Itâs not like I will prevent you or anything.â
Right. The Brush or Wisdom couldâve given him a warning or two but it didnât. It just did things again on its own. Then again, itâs not like it did something that isnât beneficial for Raven so he isnât mad.
He took a good look at the Brush of Wisdom and discovered that if felt denser in his hands, it also looked longer and thicker than before. He saw the two crystals embedded at the neck of the brush. Originally, the crystals were palm-sized but they shrank once they fused with the brush.
He twirled the brush in between his fingers and familiarized himself to how new it feels. Then, he triggered its transformation into a spear and marveled at its changes.
Itâs not fit to call it a spear anymore though, calling it a Trident would be more apt. Its certainly denser compared before and heavier, still Raven had no problems working with it.
The Trident was extremely sharp. He casually waved it and saw that he almost drew a line on Space. Had he placed more strength in that, it wouldâve cut space itself and thatâs just ridiculous considering where is currently.
After familiarizing himself with the new form of the brush, he sighed and looked at his wretched tent.
He wasnât sad about the tent since he had spare but the pillows that got ruined were his best ones. Also, before sleeping, he prepared some soup so that when he wakes up, there will be something delicious to eat. However, he slept for so long that everything was burnt and beyond saving so he could only lament on it.
Not the end of the world though, he could just start over, plus eating the cocoon from where he emerged from filled his empty stomach and it tasted delicious too.
After setting up a new camp and preparing some food, he began doing his regular routine.
There was so much he needs to catch up with. He broke through and has yet to stabilize his realm, he had to get used to his strength quickly since he already spent too much time resting here. He had to start the third trial as soon as he could. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Additionally, thereâs still the things that the Brush of Wisdom unlocked, he had to explore that too and see just what kind of surprise it will bring him.
All in all, the next couple of daysâ¦possibly months will be very hectic to for him.