Confined in his office with Warcrest checking Raven's body along with a few doctors. The past three days, Raven was unconscious. Not by choice, but due to his body's adjusting to the situation. His consciousness fading in and out. Sane and able to make decisions but he would write what he viewed was necessary according to the data before suddenly going unconscious. This was the result of not being within the VS Suit and his body trying to heal itself. A new VS Suit was being worked, one that had a slimmer profile. Lacking the bulkiness of the usual VS Suits equipped with thrusters. Something to help Raven get back on his feet.
Fading in and out of consciousness. Drifting at any moment's given notice. Whatever it was Raven was trying to keep himself sane. For the first time in his life. He felt. Vulnerable. Not in the way he could die. But in a way that was much crueler. The vulnerability of falling asleep and unaware of what will happen. That is the one thing Raven loathed the most. Unable to do anything in his moments of sudden unconsciousness.
"It's okay, Raven. It's okay." Those words from Corona echoed into his ears. A day or two passed. Raven lost his sense of time, everything was blurry. He found himself in another VS Suit. One that was smaller than the one he originally wore.
"Finally awake?"
"Yeah... What is this?"
"It's a suit designed for you. Lightweight, lacks any boosters. Makes it so you can move around a lot. You can use it with the Ashen Wing. This one is just to keep your body in place. Focusing more on healing rather than anything else. I didn't think that you'd be using so much more energy than expected. It means that we need to rethink about your Ashen Wing Custom. Might be suitable for void missions but outside of that? That's a no go. This one is mainly to conserve as much energy as possible. Focus is keeping you awake, so don't move around too much, twerp."
"Sorry. How much energy that I used?"
"Nearly all of it. This one, you just need one void energy tank to keep you going for 12 hours. If you lie down and don't move much. It can go up to 18 hours. It's more of a second skin than armor. So don't be too reckless with it. You nearly gave us a heart attack." Warcrest flicked Raven's head.
"Ow. Wait, how can I feel it?!"
"It's currently simulating pain to your body. As a means to get back your bodily functions. Corona, the energy tanks here are the ones he needs.. You just put it into his back." Warcrest had Raven sit upwards to show the cylinder right behind the neck. There was an indicator on the percentage of void energy and the expected time for the change.
"Keep an eye on him. Oh yeah, Scorpio. There's a void crack nearby. I'll be taking the spent charges. Right now we're going to map it out and see what we can find. A bit of recon might help you."
"As long as you guys come back safe. Expedition is in two months."
"Yeah, yeah." Warcrest left as Raven was able to glance to the next set of reports. Giving his acceptance and denial on what had been reported. Corona was still seated by his side, leaning on Raven's shoulder.
"I met some of your other wives too. I was able to get along with Yennifer." A moment to meet Corona's eyes, he was trying to warp his head around this fact.
"Do you resent me, Corona?" Her answer was just a peck to his metal helmet, which Raven could remember the sensation. It was what she would always do for him. Putting on Abyss Gaze's Gloves as he stepped out from bed. Stretching his body, getting a feel for his range of motion. Crucial for Raven to know this as he would need time to prep for the expedition.
The gloves that held a variety of weapons that he could use. That was what Raven needed. Options. The Abyss Gaze's weapons were special in that regard. Blades that were sharpened by hatred, bullets loaded with wrath. That was all necessary for Raven's use. Though moving his fingers did feel like he was lifting heavy weights.
"This is as far as I can go for today. Here's hoping I recover faster. Make sure you two go and eat. I'll be fine alone."
"We've had our meals, dad. Just lie in your bed. You're restless but moving your body too much isn't good for you. At least not now." Corvus's words had Raven defeated. His son was right. He got back on the bed as Corona made sure he was comfortable. Raven's vision blurred once more. It seemed that was his limit in staying conscious.
This is such an annoyance. With that thought he faded once more.
This time finding himself in front of a door. Looking around to see a hallway that was filled with darkness to the left and to the right. Only this door had a light shining on it. Placing his hand on the knob, where he felt a jolt of memories. The sights of children who were crying for their parents, demons that began to feast upon them. Memories leaking in that told different tales. A thousand? Maybe a million of them all at once. Many visions of different Ravens.
"Raven." In that moment he was on the ground. Turning to Vinter.
"What is this?" Vinter snapped his fingers as Raven was back on his feet.
"Causalities. These ones were not fit for your use. You needed strength but these worlds needed saving. If you consent. You can be their hero and saving grace..." Raven clenched his fists, he wasn't a hero in any sense of the word. He was nothing short of a murderer. The battlefields he roamed. The blood that he spilled? It was more than an ocean's worth. No, he'd drown worlds with the blood.
"But I need to sort this causality first." Raven said as his appearance returned to the VS Suit that Warcrest had made. Where Vinter gave him something. A tablet.
"Good luck. My friend." Raven took the tablet as he woke up to find Corona by his side, glancing at Corvus who was asleep by the sofa. Glancing at the clock, it was 5 AM in the morning. So he had been asleep for 12 hours. Moving his fingers wasn't a chore, his heartbeat wasn't irregular nor did he feel his lungs reject the oxygen he needed. The stinging pain from his body had faded but it was now necessary for Raven to test his abilities once more.
A few hours pass as Raven finally got up. Stretching his limbs once more. His movements felt natural. Doing a hand stand as a test. A cartwheel and a backflip. All of it had its purpose, to get a feel for his current body's movement. It was better than his first time of stretching. Near 1 to 1 perfect synchronization. Makes it best for his body.
When Corona and Corvus were awake, they see Raven moving around. Placing breakfast for them as he went to do his work. Tracy came in.
"Mister President. There's a Void crack that's quite large in the capital."
"Thanks for the update, Willers. Corvus, Corona. Shall we?" The pair got their gloves as they headed out with Raven, wearing a three piece suit. Getting into a car that was being driven by a chauffeur. Silence in the car as Corona checked on her guns while Corvus made sure to check on his blades.
"We've arrived, Mr President." Stepping out with their gloves as cameras snapped photos of Raven with Corona and Corvus. They leaped into the void crack, finding themselves in an alternate version of the same street with the same buildings. Seeing the horrors stepping out with a few of the Titan-sized horrors from the other day.
"Dad. Don't push yourself too hard." Corvus said as he drew his longsword, within an instant Raven watched the titans fell. Slashed into more than a hundred chunks all at once.
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"Their weaknesses lie in the seams that make up their body. Strike deep enough and they'll fall apart." Raven drew a scythe as he went after the smaller horrors. Harvesting them within mere seconds as they see smoke emitting from his jaws. The scythe glimmered with the black blood of the horrors as Corona fired her rifle at the ones lunging from the shadows to Raven's side. The three of them fought in a way that turned this crack's denizens into victims of a one sided massacre.
Titans fell by Corvus's blade, horrors gunned down by Corona and Raven being the one to draw their attention. Corvus's presence masked within his father's shadow, giving him ample opportunity to attack the horrors that did not pay any attention to him. Changing the dynamics of the fight. Horrors swarming to their location but the might of the three was enough to stop them dead in their tracks. Corona danced with her rifle, with Raven and Corvus leading a waltz with their blades. The father's wrath and the son's fury, complimenting each other's movements with their different attack styles. Corvus was precise, Raven was raw strength. Crashing into the swarm with a great sword that sent some of the horrors into the air. Corona would gun them down as Corvus would be clearing a path for Raven's next movement.
In that brief moment, they fought as a family. Another family reunited in combat and doing what they do best. Whatever that was in their path, it was something that needed to be culled. By the time it was done, they just took a moment to glance at their surroundings. A true mirror of the world. Only if the buildings had corpses strung up the buildings or if the horrors skittering about like rats. Exploring the area brought them more questions than answers. Walls of flesh that would block certain areas and gates of bones and flesh. Blocking their path.
Corvus would explore the workings of the mechanisms to see inner workings. They were gears and he just needed to find keys. Multiple locks that were varying in size. The question as to where to find the keys had been brought up. Glancing around as they kept searching for clues.
"Maybe the clues are part of the expedition. Would this be a maze?" In that moment a light shined on Raven's hand a key made from bone appeared to his hands. That was an answer on its own.
"Do you want to unlock it?" Corvus asked as he went to glance at one of the locks.
"I doubt one key will make a difference. We'll save this for another time. Good work." That was all to be said as they left the void. Where Raven found Crimson and Specter waiting for the trio outside. Something felt different. Raven was trying to wrap his head around it, it was something very obvious but it was escaping him at the moment.
"Dad. We started at noon. Now it's already midnight." Corvus was right as Raven checked the watch on his wrist. They were inside the void for only 2 hours but somehow time outside had changed.
"Time accelerated in those voids..." Raven paused to think for a moment.
"What about you two? Got a key?" Crimson and Specter showed their keys, different teeth and colors but now begs the question.
"They're the same size as we have but the locks on the gates have different sizes...." They had to think about what they were seeing. Something was amiss. Not the 'I think I forgot my phone in the room' sort of problem but rather the 'Something will blow up my house and set it on fire' sort of problem. Raven tapped his earpiece as a radio antenna poked out.
"Vesper."
"What is it, Scorpio?"
"Look for black void cracks all over the world. We might have a working theory on this."
"Got it. I'll do a search soon. But looking into things from your perspective... FUBAR?"
"FUBAR. This world's changing and it's getting worse. It seems like everything's been accelerated." Raven glanced to the key, seeing a timer appear by the key's frame. 751:15:00. The timber began ticking, rolling downwards. 751:14:56. Silently shifting to the next number.
"I don't like timers. We might have to accelerate our plan." Raven said as suddenly time and the world froze all around him.
Causality is unstable.
Mother Of Horrors has now emerged in your world.
Error.
Error.
Error.
Causality has been terminated.
Mother of Horrors is unleashing horrors.
This Causality has destabilized.
You must leave.
Technology you gained here will be useful.
Vinter : Can't do anything about this.
"Wait, then that means." In an instant Raven found Marvelina in ruins. Tracy's corpse was mangled as the horrors had appeared. The heads of his four advisors before him along with the corpses of everyone in Marvelina.
"Shit. We-" In that moment Raven was outside, back in Cherry Blossom Empire. Seeing Aisha and Rodin crushing some horrors with their fists. Hunters were mobilizing as Raven's allies were working on the frontlines. General Lowell giving commands to the others in the fight.
"Foxes, Jeanne! Maintain firing lines! Jack, lead Durandal to the front! You're the vanguard! Aisha Rodin, Book Keepers keep them away from the civilians! Cloudbreakers, cut them down! Solomon! Debuff our foes as much as you can! We need to buy the civilians time!"
"Lowell! What's the situation?!"
"Private! An F-Ranked Dungeon mutated into S-Rank and it's unleashing all of these monsters!" Raven wielded Thousand Eyes, leaping into the air. Mana surged within his veins, as Raven's eyes glowed azure. Drawing out the blade as the horrors turned into bloody stains on the environment. Yennifer and Ciara watched how all of that happened in an instant with Raven gritting his teeth. Glaring at the damned dungeon portal that started all of this.
"Whoa." Aisha spoke up as she watched a giant horror appearing before them. The same ones that Corvus handled earlier, a glare from Raven who drew Thousand Eyes once and that giant turned into a massive pool of blood.
"I want all of them dead." Raven said as they felt the sudden burst of bloodlust. One that found its way to their bodies, sending shivers down their spines. Their hands trembled, their legs were losing strength by the minute. Even Crimson and Specter were feeling this. It wasn't the bloodlust of an ordinary man. This? It was the bloodlust of the Man Who Slayed the World. Even Astravion who was within Raven's shadow emerged. Jumping into the shadow of a car as it was the furthest. A bloodlust that would make an eldritch feel fear.
"I'm heading in that dungeon alone. Make sure nobody else follows." His words were the last thing they heard as Raven went into the dungeon alone. Stepping in to find the Mother of Horrors along with her children waiting for him. Roughly 20 billion horrors of all shapes and sizes lying in wait.
"Welcome... I can't wait for y-" Whatever that the Mother of Horrors was saying? Raven didn't care to listen. It was all one ear in and out the other. He was thinking of his options. 20 billion horrors. Just him alone. An air of nostalgia blew in. His mind remembering how he had to face odds like this before. Rage swelling in his veins, not a smile on his face. A deadpan gaze of boredom laid on the Mother of Horrors.
"If you let yourself be mine, all of this could've been prev-" Before the Mother of Horrors could finish her words. Everything before her had vanished. Glancing at her hands as the trembles took over. All she could feel on her body was the blood splatter from her children that had died. Yet, by the time she realized what had happened. Her skin began to peel off. Screaming in pain as she felt her organs burst into flames. A knife lodged into her chest as her eyes gazed upon a small ember.
Whatever that was right before her. It wasn't human. All she could see was a writhing mass of darkness. The thickest scent of blood. Putrid smell of guts. A red ember before her, the smell of tobacco and the glowing azure eyes. She could not see the face. She could not see any features that made it seem human. Not a humanoid shape. It was like whatever she was seeing was beyond her own existence.
"Please... Have m-" Her jaw flew off to the side, and her tongue was torn off. She could not scream. She could not beg. Nothing was going to be worth it. For whatever this being was. It's anger has already had her in a state of panic. Her own body was accepting of death but the mind still searched for a way to escape. All she could hope for. Was the sweet release of death.
There was no words to what Raven had done. It was a slow kill, one that had the Mother of Horrors losing her sanity by the minute as Raven finished wiping the blood off his hands. Puffing smoke out of his lungs as he took a moment to think about what had happened. A causality destabilizing that bad? It's the first time this has happened. Thousand Eyes resonated with his bloodlust.
"How was that meal?"
"Splendid... But... I've not seen you this defeated."
"I failed a causality and entire world died. I can't exactly be feeling good after all that." Just those words had silenced Thousand Eyes. He was feeling the sorrow because he just met the people in that world. He was ready to keep friends and to talk to them but. Lo and behold. Things just died right before his eyes. It was sudden. Too sudden. A bad taste in his mouth. It wasn't supposed to go down this route.
"System. I need answers."
Confirming status.
Vinter : I don't have an excuse.
With that answer, Raven just took a seat on a piece of rubble. Puffing out the smoke from his lungs and he just needed a moment to process what has happened. His mind going into sequences to how did a causality break that way? Was it because of the allies? Every question had a follow up.
He needed an answer. It wasn't that he grew close to Tracy and the advisors. But, it was just. The way they died so suddenly without any chance to help? That was worse than any other physical pain Raven has experienced. Now, he had another notch onto his heart. Another scar because he had failed. Again.