73 73: RAVEN

17 advance chapters in my Pat.reon.

Pat.reon.com/Saintbarbido.

::-----------------------------------::

Chapter 73 RAVEN.

(Raven's P.O.V)

'That fucking idiot! Gah, he drives me crazy!'

Raven thought as she watched Davian fly after her father's spirit.

She could have gone after him. Helped him drive Trigon away now that he had refused Raven to imprison him again in the gem stone.

Not that she had gemstone in the first place. It had been shattered way earlier. However, with her new power...she was confident she could transmute an ordinary stone into what she needed. A gem powerful enough to contain the soul of a being like Trigon.

But...a part of her, a very huge part of her believed in Davian. He had promised her that he would deal with Trigon. Just because it was her destiny, didn't mean she had to refuse help.

Besides, this way Davian would not interfere with what was really important, fixing her mess.

Her magic had undergone an entire evolution.

If before she was a threat because of Trigon's hold on her if she lost control of her emotions, now she was a threat because of her own personal power.

She didn't even know how it had happened. Belief always held importance in magic. Maybe reconnecting with her missing soul piece had allowed her to accept her heritage and breakaway from it.

She had started out by fearing Trigon but at the end, after seeing how much destruction he had caused in just a few hours, the fear had been replaced by anger and hate.

She had promised herself to never be like him. And that evolution of self, had propelled a similar evolution in her magic.

The best thing, she could cite about the change was that her new powers were not meant for destruction.

There was a light inside her. One that felt pure and good. Light magic. Meant to create, heal and save.

It was the only good thing to come out of this. And she would use this light to make things right again.

She rose up, heading in a different direction from Davian and the others. Her father thought he had her beat. Her father thought she was weak.

She would show him that her strength was not dependent on any power she inherited from him. The high priestess in Azarath had always told her, light could be born in darkness.

And if her father was the darkness, Raven would ensure to stand in opposition to him. She would be the light.

She arrived at the spot where everything had happened. To think that all this had begun as a way to save a few kids.

Now the Cathedral was gone, the kids were gone. Artemis was gone too. All of them, tens of thousands of people...their lives ripped away in a single second.

The once sprawling, architectural hub was reduced to rubble, its towering skyscrapers nothing but twisted piles of steel and concrete.

Her hands tightened into fists.

She would make this right. Even if it took everything she had. She would make it all right again.

Her conviction led to her manifesting her soul self. The white Raven sang with power as it manifested around her.

"Raven!"

She had someone call out her name. Davian.

No she couldn't look back. She couldn't stop even if she wanted. He would understand. Maybe her destiny wasn't to defeat her father, maybe her destiny was to undo his actions. And her own as well.

So she ignored her friend's voice, going as far as to erect a barrier around her. The White Raven spread out it's wings, the light pouring out of it, enough to start purifying the area of the taint from the Lazarus Pit.

Her powers told her the pit had been created by a demon. It was a putrid thing. One that rubbed the edges of her mystical sense the wrong way.

Raven looked out once more. At the Gotham Skyline. There were already news choppers and military air crafts in the sky, most steering clear of the zone that the fight had taken place in.

Smart. The authorities seemed to be making their way inwards, but had decided to hold off on Coventry. Which was entirely destroyed.

She could change that. She took a deep breath and begun to concentrate.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

She chanted.

A soft glow emanated from her body, growing brighter and brighter until her form could be seen from anywhere in the city.

The light spread out, striking the shattered buildings and streets below.

She continued channeling her magic, the light began to spread, weaving its way through the debris and the ruins, knitting them back together piece by piece.

The rubble shifted and settled, the broken concrete and steel reforming into their original shapes.

Raven's eyes remained closed, her face set in a look of intense concentration. She could feel the magic flowing through her, surging from her core and radiating out into the city.

It was a power unlike any she had ever felt before, and for a moment, she felt as though she were one with the magic, and the magic was one with her.

And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, it was over. The light faded, and Raven slowly opened her eyes. Below her, Gotham City lay whole and unbroken, its buildings standing tall and strong once more.

Raven smiled in relief, feeling a sense of satisfaction and pride in what she had accomplished.

She had done it. She had saved...

Her body felt weak. And cold...so so cold. She lost control of her flight, as the White Raven looming over her faded into motes of light with another song, this one sad and mournful.

"Raven!!"

Strong arms managed to grab her from the air.

'Davian.'

She thought, seeing the purple eyes staring at her in shock, hurt and anger. His silver hair was loose and framed his strong chin and jawline. 'He should keep the hair loose more often', she noted.

"What did you do?! Why Raven?!! Why the fuck would you do this knowing it would kill you?!"

He yelled in fervent panic

'Oh, she was dying? Was that why she felt so weak?'

"I..."

She started to speak only for him to shake her head at her.

"Save your strength."

He told her, landing on top of a rooftop belonging to a building that stood on the street across the Gotham Cathedral.

From the corner of her eyes, the gray color of the stone and marble making up the Cathedral's spires seemed to gleam beautifully.

The stone had the same light woven in it as she did. She had purified it and now it was back to being a place of worship and sacredness.

Davian unstrapped his sheath from his hip and placed it on top of her chest. Immediately, vitality begun pouring in through to her.

The power was immense, containing the same essence as she did, only difference being that Light Magic was not exclusive to her.

His powers though...they felt wholly him.

But she was light. And the light refused to be changed. Magic had a price. If the price was her life...so be it.

"Dammit! Why is it not working?! Chase, a little help here!!"

He shouted.

Raven found herself shivering. The edges of her vision begun to darken. She didn't have a lot of time.

Using that much power to restore Gotham had taken a lot out of her. Not only had she done that, but she had also healed anyone who had been injured.

It was like the events of this morning had been wiped clean. Too bad she couldn't bring back everyone who had been killed.

Her hand weakly came up and touched Davian's palm. The man she had saved looked at her with grief and pain. He had allowed her to find companionship.

"Thank you..."

Her body started flaking off into motes of light, similar to her Soul Self. The last thing she heard before the light took over was a single curse.

"Damn you...Rachel."

Rachel... She liked it.

(Davian's P.O.V)

It all happened so...fast.

One second, Trigon was no more. John had dragged his ass along with him to hell and then the next, the city was whole again, back to it's old archaic structures and general gloominess.

Except the gloominess was not entirely there. Whatever Raven had done, she had achieved more than just putting everything back together, she had healed Gotham.

The trade off being...she was dead.

Raven was dead.

And I couldn't save her. Her soul had simply flowed through my fingers like water. I couldn't even touch it before it dispersed into light through the air, into... something.

It felt as if she hadn't moved onto the afterlife. Instead she had melded with this stream of energy that I couldn't sense.

I looked at the red gem stone on the floor where her body had been.

"Is this supposed to comfort me?"

I wondered out loud, grabbing the gem off the roof.

Chase was quiet. I appreciated the silence. I hated being consoled. It made me feel weak and more times than not, it wasn't even genuine.

I felt a few people enter my range. I tightened my hand on my sword, grabbing the sheath with the other hand.

I wish they would.

I hope they try me.

The first one to step forward was Wonder Woman.

"I am so sorry."

The first statement out of her mouth was not what I was expecting. It caught me off guard.

Still, I wasn't in the mood.

"She died saving this wretched place. She died because Batman was too stuck in his ways. In his Paranoia. And yes, incase you were wondering, I am totally blaming him."

None of them said a word.

"She died because I was weak. She died... because this world is fucking cursed."

I didn't know it at the time, but a trail of tears was falling from my eyes.

Weakness. The last time I ever shed tears was when Nick...

"It's okay to grieve. There is no weakness in mourning for a loved one."

Chase finally spoke out.

Fuck that. Be strong.

I stared out at the city she had sacrificed herself for.

This city didn't deserve it. Rotten and corrupt to it's core. She had brought it back, but it would only take about a week for things to go back to the way they always were.

Fuck Gotham.