Inside the abandoned building, Raven was on his knees, tears streaming down his face. He had never tried searching for his father; to him, that man had abandoned him long ago. But now, after seeing the truth, he couldn't stop himself from thinking: What if?
What if he had searched for him? Maybe he would still be alive now. Maybe he wouldn't have faced what he did in that warehouse.
These thoughts threw open the gates of guilt. What if…? The question echoed endlessly in his mind.
In front of him stood Valentine Crow, frozen in place, tossing out sarcastic remarks in an attempt to provoke him. But Raven wasn't listening. He didn't care. His mind was elsewhere.
The sword clattered to the ground beside him with a faint screech. For a moment, Raven didn't even know why he suddenly thought of Jevan. Maybe because Jevan was the first person he could actually call a friend. Or maybe because he was the first person who never wanted anything from him, never expected anything.
Raven pulled himself together, wiped his tears with his sleeve, then rose to his feet. He bent down, picked up wave blade, and this time didn't attack right away. He chose silence.
Minutes passed as he stood motionless, completely quiet, until his heartbeat slowed and a strange calm washed over him. Suddenly, everything was clear.
He closed his eyes and activated the Authority of Silence, erasing his presence from the world for a moment. Valentine vanished too.
In that instant, Raven felt he had assimilated his Authority on a deeper level. He could now control his emotions and he realized something was wrong. There was an external force influencing him.
He had assumed it was Valentine, but the traces of that Authority were not the same. That meant there was someone else. Someone with power equal to Valentine's or greater who had been trying to manipulate him.
He immediately stopped using Silence. Overusing it risked robbing him of speech forever. Gasping for breath, he stared at the shattered wall before shifting his gaze outside, where the battle still raged.
There he saw the real Valentine fighting Lionel and Iris, who could barely stand, wrapped in Valentine's giant serpentine arms.
Raven's grip on Wave blade tightened. He unleashed a massive water wave that forced the arms away from Iris.
With his deeper understanding of his Authority, his connection with Wave blade felt stronger not just as a weapon, but as a partner.
He leapt toward Valentine. The Wave blade expanded in size, and Raven drove it forward, striking Valentine's bare arm directly.
Both Valentine's and Lionel's eyes widened in shock at the same moment. Raven spoke coldly, his tone laced with mockery:
"What? You didn't expect me to show up?"
Valentine opened his mouth to respond, but the Authority of Silence surrounding Raven smothered his voice. Not a sound came out. In a blink, Raven disappeared from in front of him and reappeared behind, plunging Wave blade into his chest, then released a violent burst of water inside the wound, sending Valentine flying, thrashing in midair, ravaged by internal injuries.
But for a man who had assimilated the Authority of Madness to such an extent, those wounds were far from fatal. In fact, the worse his injuries, the stronger he became, and the faster he healed. Still, even that had limits and Raven was determined to push him there.
Valentine withdrew his monstrous arms back into his body, then lunged again, one arm stretching like a serpent. A toothless mouth opened in its palm, snapping at Raven. Raven vaulted over the strike, countering with a swift slash at Valentine's neck.
Valentine blocked with a brutal kick, sending Raven flying backward. Raven vanished again, reappearing behind him, with wave blade water surging into sharp blades spiraling around him.
Valentine thrust his arms outward to block, but the blades shredded them one after another.
Suddenly, a massive arm swung down from above, only for Raven to cleave it in two with a single strike.
Meanwhile, Iris watched from the ground. After overusing her Authority of Fire, her body felt like it was boiling. But thanks to Raven's Silence blanketing the area, the noise in her head eased, and her thoughts cleared.
She wondered why was she even here? Why was she chasing revenge like this? Sure, she hated Valentine, wanted him dead but she had never been reckless enough to hunt him into an abandoned district and start a suicidal fight.
And yet… it was as if he had been waiting for them. Who told him? Who betrayed them?
On the other side, Lionel stood stunned. This wasn't part of the plan. This wasn't the script the Sixth had written.
Raven was supposed to be drowning in despair, his memories resurfacing to tear him apart from within, losing control of Silence until it consumed him. But that wasn't happening.
Lionel muttered:
"I need to inform the Sixth…"
But he held back. Leaving now would draw suspicion.
Could he intervene and end the fight? No.
First: it would look too suspicious. He was supposed to be nothing more than an "assistant inspector in training."
Second: the Sixth had warned him not to use his power recklessly. Any careless move would attract the attention of the Shadow Investigator. And crossing paths with that man? Not even the Sixth wanted that. For now, all Lionel could do was watch.
Meanwhile, Raven unleashed wave after wave of water at Valentine. The latter dodged with skill, blocking with his many arms, though one massive surge knocked him backward. Raven vanished, reappearing at Valentine's back, blade aimed for his waist.
Valentine leapt away at the last instant, then countered with an arm strike that slammed into Raven's chest, forcing him back several steps.
Water surged around Raven, forming a barrier that shielded him from Valentine's faster, fiercer barrage. Valentine tried to throw him off with illusions, but they had no effect. Raven's newly awakened Authority of silence shielded his mind.
Raven retaliated with a massive wave. Valentine vaulted high, then lunged at him with an extended arm, only to be parried by wave blade.
Raven soared upward, his blade swelling, then brought it down in a crushing arc that severed one of Valentine's arms.
Valentine staggered back, glaring at the stump in irritation. But moments later, the arm regrew, flexing as he tested it.
Raven unleashed a flurry of razor sharp water blades, riddling Valentine with wounds. But they closed instantly. Raven charged again, severing his other arm only for it to reattach moments later.
Valentine struck back with a powerful blow that hurled Raven away, but Raven recovered mid step, steadied himself, and launched forward, cleaving through both arms before Valentine could react.
Each strike was met with regeneration, until suddenly, dozens of arms erupted at once, converging on Raven. But he cut them down relentlessly.
Normally, wielding Wave blade with such intensity would have drained him to collapse. But with his deeper resonance with his Authority, he could fight freely.
Valentine lashed out with even more arms, trying to overwhelm him, but Raven danced around them, slicing them apart. Anxiety flickered across Valentine's face he was nearing his limits, while Raven showed no signs of exhaustion.
Usually, Valentine would use his illusions to escape, but they no longer worked on Raven.
Valentine had consumed countless souls, conducting endless experiments, until with the aid of the Authority of Madness, he managed to assimilate them into his body.
That was his trump card, one he never intended to play. Because using it would draw attention anyone in the city who possessed Madness, or anything like it, would sense it. And the Bureau, which had ignored him for years, would not this time.
But he had no choice left. That man would handle the aftermath. He never liked anyone ruining his performance.
Without warning, Valentine's body convulsed. His limbs stretched grotesquely, his face twisted beyond recognition, and from every inch of his body sprouted gaping mouths and bulging eyes.
The curtain was falling. He was tired. He wanted nothing more than to end the show.
For him, embracing Madness further was the last chance to cling to what little remained of his mind a mind he had fought forty years to preserve, in vain.
He had committed forbidden experiments, pushed his body and nerves to the brink. With every step, he absorbed more of Madness, yet it was useless.
In the end, he gave himself to the man who had promised him:
"At the end of the play, you'll have your rest."
Suddenly, Valentine lunged at Raven like a rabid beast, seizing his throat with monstrous strength. Raven barely broke free, yanked back wave blade, and stabbed but the blow failed.
More arms burst from Valentine's body, slamming Raven into the wall of a derelict house, shattering it and scattering rubble everywhere.
Raven coughed blood, staggered to his feet, and swung his blade, releasing water blades but they clashed against Valentine's arms without leaving a mark.
Raven vanished again, striking from behind, but Valentine anticipated it and blocked.
Raven pulled back, vaulting to dodge one strike, deflecting another with his sword but his water shield shattered, throwing him off balance. In an instant, he recovered.
Then he lunged once more, driving his sword toward Valentine's chest. Valentine smiled or rather, tried to. In a blink, his arms converged, surging toward Raven all at once.
But Raven dismissed wave blade, leapt back, and avoided the swarm.