CHAPTER 259: CHAPTER 258 - RAVEN’S PLAN.

BOOM.

The floor rumbled. Stone shifted beneath their feet. The once still cavern began to tremble with subtle menace.

The voice, now cold and commanding, echoed with finality:

"The reunion is over. The next trial begins now."

Myria clung tighter to Lia. Jessy raised her sword. Clara tensed. Rufus muttered something under his breath about "ominous timing."

Even Nibbles flattened his ears, clearly sensing something was off.

All of them had heard this voice before. It was the one responsible for everything that was happening.

Myria was abducted right after she had heard this voice, and all others were also teleported to the maze when they heard it.

Growing tense would be an obvious reaction they would have if they heard the voice again—especially when it was talking about a greater challenge.

But Raven?

He stood slowly, adjusting the collar of his coat, brushing some nonexistent dust from his shoulder. His golden eyes flicked toward the unseen sky of the cave.

"Wait."

The voice paused.

"Look," Raven said calmly, almost diplomatically, "If this second trial is going to be harder than the first, I’d appreciate a moment to strategize with my group."

A long silence.

Then the voice returned—softer this time, the feminine tone slipping back in like silk on stone.

"...Fine. You have five minutes."

Raven nodded once. "Much appreciated."

Everyone instinctively huddled around him—Selena and Clara at his sides, Jessy and Rufus standing ahead, and Alex and Jake sliding in. Lia pulled Myria close while still glancing around warily.

"So what’s the plan?" Graye asked, voice steady, if a bit excited. "Smash whatever it is, or...?"

"Hey!" Alex frowned from the side. "I do the smashing. Don’t take away the only thing I’m good at."

Raven, however, wasn’t listening to them.

He was focusing on something more important.

He quickly flicked his fingers subtly in the air. A transparent interface, invisible to the others, shimmered before his eyes—his system menu.

[TRADE INTERFACE: OPEN]

Contact: Grandpa_Hot_Pot

Message: "I constructed the link, and you don’t need to worry. I have my divinity restored and also had enough rest, so you can stay here for as long as you want."

There it was.

A shimmering [LINK]—pulsing like a heartbeat.

Raven didn’t hesitate.

He clicked it.

The moment he did, the digital pulse fired through his system—

WHOOSH.

The cavern dissolved.

Everyone vanished from the ruin in a blink—leaving only echoing wind and the stunned silence of a trial cut short.

.........................

Stone turned to mist.

Heat became a cool breeze.

The scent of dust was replaced by that of blooming flowers, sunlit marble, and something vaguely suspiciously pink.

The entire group blinked.

"Uh..." Jessy squinted. "Are we dead? This feels... too comfortable."

"No," Clara muttered. "We’ve been... teleported."

Selena nodded from the side as she recalled the feeling she had whenever she was teleported.

It was a different feeling from the way they had shifted to the maze a while ago.

Graye’s eyes narrowed, her grip on her sword tightening. "Do we smash—?"

She paused as she heard Alex groan.

With a frown that made her burn more brain cells than she had, she hummed until she finally came up with an alternative. "Do we shatter something here?"

Then she turned toward Alex, her brow raised and her lips curled into a smug smile.

Raven, on the other hand, casually dusted his coat, as though he hadn’t just dragged his entire team across realms.

"Welcome to Arietta’s domain," he announced, deadpan.

"WHAT?!" Half the group screamed.

The floor beneath them was smooth ivory stone, dotted with ornate runes that pulsed gently with magic.

Floating gardens spun lazily above their heads, tethered by golden chains of light. It was beautiful, perfect—and entirely unnerving.

Especially because—

"Raaaavennn~"

The voice was unmistakable. Sweet. Dangerously so.

From a swirl of rose-gold mist, Arietta emerged, barefoot and radiant, in a flowing silk dress the color of the first dawn.

Her long silver hair floated like it had its own gravity, her eyes zeroing in on Raven as if he were the only real thing in the world.

"Did you miss me?" She purred.

Raven smirked. "Well, I did click the link."

Arietta’s smile widened—then narrowed slightly as her gaze swept across the group behind him.

Selena, Clara, Jessy, Lia, Graye, and even Nibbles all stood in various levels of disbelief, tension, and unease.

"...One of them is missing," she frowned.

"Oh? Are you worried about Siris?" Raven asked in surprise.

"No," the goddess shook her head so quickly that it seemed offended. "I would rather she never came. She keeps stabbing my domain, saying that she is testing its durability."

Others didn’t say anything, as they could understand her feelings—at least this once.

Raven, however, wasn’t going to miss out on this chance, so he stepped forward, staring down at Arietta with a smirk. "Just accept it. You miss her. You missed all of them."

Arietta’s eye twitched.

"I tolerate them," she said with dangerous calm. "Because they’ve grown on me. Like moss. Loud, chaotic moss."

Jessy raised a hand. "That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said about us."

"I was talking about literally moss," Arietta replied coldly.

Graye snorted.

Selena just leaned on Raven’s shoulder. "At least she didn’t call us fungus this time."

"Progress," Clara muttered.

Lia gently nudged Myria behind her, still unsure of what kind of being Arietta truly was.

Myria, however, was staring with wide eyes.

"You’re really pretty," she muttered.

Arietta blinked.

Then... almost smiled. "You’re not too bad, little bug."

"See?" Raven nudged her. "You’re warming up to them."

"I am not."

"You are."

Her lips parted to protest again, but then she closed them, sighing.

Then, with a wave of her hand, couches appeared. Tables formed. Tea poured itself.

Raven casually flopped down onto one of the newly appeared seats, stretching his legs like a man who had just successfully dodged a divine nuke.

Arietta sat beside him—of course—crossing her legs with elegance and territorial flair.

She had now gotten better at acting elegant—so much so that no one other than Selena and Raven noticed how she was still somewhat awkward.

The rest of the group hesitantly took their seats. Even Nibbles was given a tiny cushioned throne.

"So..." Rufus leaned in, sipping cautiously from his cup. "Are we safe now?"

Raven leaned back in his seat, arms spread along the cushions, expression unreadable beneath the shadows cast by the floating gardens above.

"Yes," he said at last. "You’re safe. Arietta’s domain isn’t bound to the rules of the trials or that thing outside."

Jessy let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. Clara shifted slightly, her shoulders relaxing. Even Myria tucked herself closer to Lia, a rare sense of relief washing over her expression.

But then Raven added, quieter this time, "I’m going back."

The room froze.

Clara blinked. "What?"

"No." Selena was the first to stand. "You just pulled us out of there. You’re not going back alone."

Jessy stood too. "Exactly! What part of ’team’ do you not understand?"

Even Nibbles squeaked out something that sounded suspiciously like a protest.

Raven smiled faintly and stood as well, facing them all. "You think I dragged you here just to keep you warm?"

He met their eyes one by one, his gaze burning with that quiet certainty that always seemed to ripple just beneath his cool exterior.

"I’m going back," he repeated. "And I won’t call you until it’s done."

Selena’s eyes narrowed. "Why would you—"

"Because," Raven cut in softly, "I fight better when I know you’re all safe."

Silence fell.

His words weren’t laced with arrogance. There was no bravado. No smugness. Just... truth.

He wasn’t calling them weak. He merely knew that the opponent they needed to face wasn’t easy.

Raven didn’t know how strong that being was, nor did he know what it was. There was literally no information on it.

He was able to save his teammates once because of the divine bombs, but would the same trick work on the entity again?

Raven didn’t think so.

Above all, he could make risky moves if he were alone and not with them around.

Then, his gaze swept across the group, unblinking. "Why the long face? Do you think I’m weak?"

Not a single soul dared to answer.

Graye’s sword dipped. Jessy stared at the ground. Clara folded her arms tighter. Rufus muttered a quiet curse under his breath.

Even Alex—who’d usually throw in some half-witted challenge—was quiet, staring at Raven like he was seeing him in a new light.

"Then trust me," Raven said.

For a moment, all that could be heard was the gentle chime of wind through the glass blossoms above.

Then came Arietta’s voice, light but firm. "You don’t have to go now."

Raven turned to her.

"You should stay," she continued. "Grow stronger—at least use this domain to elevate your power by a level."

Raven shook his head.

"I’ve already received more than I could’ve asked for," he said. "It is thanks to you that we have grown as strong as we are."

Arietta’s brows furrowed. "But—"

He looked at her then, eyes soft but resolute. "Arietta. I know what you are trying to do. But I won’t stay."

He had already told her everything, yet she was trying to stop him, which she was doing out of worry, but after what had happened last time, Raven wasn’t going to take risks.

Arietta flinched, just slightly, but enough.

Raven stepped forward.

"You helped. That’s more than enough. But if you overuse this place to protect me, then I’ll be dragging you into danger too."

The goddess said nothing.

Because deep down... she knew he was right.

He exhaled, gaze flicking up toward the sky above. "Besides, even if I waited here and grew stronger... there’s no guarantee I’ll be able to defeat what’s waiting for me on the other side. We are all going to appear right where we vanished from."

He closed his eyes for a moment. "But what I can do... is face it alone, without worrying about all of you."

"Raven—" Selena began again, desperate now.

But he raised a hand.

"I’m not saying goodbye. I’m just asking for time."

He turned toward Myria then—smiling gently.

"Keep being brave, Princess."

She blinked at him. "Promise that you’ll return?"

"Yeah," he said with a wink. "I’ll also show you who Omni is."

With that, he turned back toward the open space at the center of the marble courtyard.

He nodded at Arietta, who reluctantly snapped her fingers.

The winds shifted.

Magic coiled around his boots.

The magic was sending him back to the cave, as that was the only place it could send him.

"Raven," Clara said softly, "we’ll be waiting."

He gave a small nod.

A final smile.

Then—

WHOOSH.

He vanished, leaving only the golden trails of magic in the air... and a heavy silence in his wake.