WebNovelBranwen76.60%

Going forward

It hadn't even been a full day and Raven found Yang, Ruby and even Shirou in a precarious situation. Salem stepped in and blinked, watching the fire spread with a small grin. Qrow was next, about to complain to Raven before he saw the scene. Raven just looked at the dead kid on the floor, much to Ruby's horror.

"What is this..? Why is there a dead child on the ground? Why is this house burning? Who is the other girl with Ruby? Why do I feel this repulsive mass of bugs all around us?" Raven sighed and asked, looking at Yang.

"Oh.. uh.. Hi.. Mom. It's just.. well, Shirou was worried about his friend and we came over to find this.. piece of flaming garbage about to force himself on her and.. Well things got carried away" Yang started to explain.

Hearing the last part, Raven grabbed onto Shinji's soul before it could leave and cast it into the shared dimension after a black snake latched itself onto his soul, sinking its large fangs into him. Ignoring the screams from the boy, Raven looked up at Ruby and Sakura and made the connection. Then she saw the increasingly nervous servant and saw her clench her blades. Seeming to sense her Divinity, Rider almost attacked then and there. But something in the back of her mind told her she was not a God. Not like those she knew, anyway. Lowering her weapons, she quickly returned to Sakura and Ruby, nodding gratefully at the redhead.

"I see. Ahh.. so adventurous" Raven sighed and pulled Yang into a hug before doing the same for Shirou.

"Mm.. I'm happy you saved that girl though. I'll have to talk to Ruby too, she looks a little shaken up" Raven rubbed their heads as she looked up at the slightly shaking Ruby.

Though Qrow quickly made his way up and pulled her into a comforting hug.

"Ruby.. You did nothing wrong, okay? Scum like that deserve every form of torture.." Qrow assured her as Ruby just held on to his shirt tightly.

"Are.. you okay, Mom? You feel so.. different.." Yang asked, tilting her head up to meet Raven's gaze.

"I'll go over the busy day I had after we finish up here. This is my lover, Salem, by the way" Raven introduced.

"My goodness you look so much like your Mother.. Just, not as ed-" Raven shot her a withering glare Salem chortled in response to.

"Ed..?" Shirou asked, seeming more than a little confused at the situation regarding Raven.

"Ignore her, she's crazy" Raven replied before quickly appearing in front of Sakura.

"Those worms inside you.. Mind if I deal with them?" Raven asked, seeing Sakura nod her head slowly in befuddlement.

"Greed, Wrath" Raven muttered as she placed her hand on Sakura's head.

At once, a possessive aura marked every last worm within her and started to steal their ability. A single attribute was stolen from the worms before they were all burned from within by Wrath's flames. All while greed protected the rest of her body. In no time at all, the worms were erased and Raven pulled her hand back, holding onto the attribute before Envy assimilated it.

"Hm.. 'Bestowment' huh?" Raven mused, ignoring the look of shock and happiness from Sakura as she expanded her senses.

The bugs all around the household and any outside of it were lit ablaze as Sloth maintained the link between the destroyed worms and the rest of the bugs. Tiny crimson flames burst around them, along with the screams of a dying, elderly voice. Raven found herself grinning to the noise before jumping back down, to the wide eyes of Yang and Shirou.

"What.. did you do?" Shirou asked, swallowing back his awe.

"I just killed some bugs. I think we should let your friend stay at your house. As long as her servant agrees to keep her weapons sheathed" Raven looked back up at Rider, who was looking at Sakura before she nodded back at Raven.

"I agree. I owe you for freeing my Master from all this" Rider responded as she picked the still shocked Sakura up.

"Good. Now let's get back to Summer. There's quite a lot to go over and I want to get back and check on Akame, Kurome and Esdeath as soon as I can" Raven said while opening up a rift again.

"Can't wait to hear this.." Yang muttered as she waited for Qrow and Ruby to go in.

Upon entering the dining room, where Kiritsugu, Summer and Tai were waiting.

"Rae! You're ba-" Summer froze as she saw Raven's appearance and Salem step in behind her, along with with everyone else.

"Is.. Is that..?" Tai pointed at Salem, who smiled and waved at him.

"Yes. Now if you don't mind.. Let's settle in before I go explaining things" Raven closed the rift after everyone had walked in.

"Ruby..? Are you okay?" Tai asked as Qrow brought her over.

She was still shocked she had helped take a life but given the circumstances, nobody would blame her. Yang, Summer, Tai and Qrow comforted her while Shirou brought Sakura over to Kiritsugu. After they had settled down, they turned to Raven expectantly.

"First thing's first.. I killed the gods of Remnant"

-Thirty minutes later-

Raven had explained in detail about her encounter with Artoria, her fight against the Gods trapped in mortal flesh, her ascension into Godhood, her return and meeting with Neo and Lilith and the Pantheon they had began. Then the whole Sakura and Shinji situation as explained by Yang and Shirou. It was a far tougher pill to swallow for Summer and Tai, though Qrow attested to everything that happened. Even his own transformation had left him changed.

"So.. to avoid this corruption.. do we also have to.." Summer asked, though Raven shook her head.

"No. Thankfully, I just stumbled upon something quite useful when I killed off the bugs. I can bestow a 'sin' on you all. It's a far less.. drastic change than the black waters. Though it will amplify those desires. Greed will make you greedier and so on. I'll have to bestow you all some of the sins if just to keep you safe from the other Gods" Raven finished with a huff.

"What about this business about going to fight the Gods..? You don't need to do that, right Mom?" Yang asked, grabbing her shirt.

"I do.. They'll never simply leave me be after what I did. They may come for you too. I refuse to allow that.." Raven scowled.

"....I wanna help!" Yang declared after a moment of silence.

"Yang.." Tai sighed.

"I know I'm not anywhere near strong enough but.. I can't just sit here! The Grimm won't be a problem anymore thanks to Salem getting cured. I just need training" Yang stared at Raven intensely as she awaited a response.

"Hmhmhm.." Salem was first to respond though.

"She reminds me so much of you. In our last lives. That fire.." Salem smiled as she watched Yang.

"Haaah.. I hope she's not too much like me.. Okay. I'll take you with me on.. safer worlds to train and get experience. If Summer agrees" Raven responded, seeing her daughter's face light up in eagerness.

"As long as you're with her, Rae" Summer looked at Raven for a few seconds before answering.

"For now, I think we should head back. I don't think mister Emiya's house can fit all of us another day" Tai commented while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Hm.. certainly not. You are free to visit though. I don't think Shirou has enough friends" Kiritsugu responded, much to Shirou's mild embarrassment.

"Dad..!" Shirou complained, hearing Yang's snicker.

Raven smiled and opened a rift once again, right to Akame.

"All right, let's get back then. I have some more checking up and explaining to do" Raven gestured to the rift.

"Actually I'd like to set up your own space in that shared dimension. Our old house maybe? Nothing as dreary as my old castle" Salem interjected.

"Hn.. Alright just don't go overboard. I'll send Cinder over to you once I find her" Raven replied before sharing a chaste kiss with the white haired woman.

"Me? Never! Though I do want to get Tearwyn's opinion on design.." Salem mused as she returned to the shared dimension.

"....That'll probably be fine, right? Tearwyn seems sensible.." Raven muttered before walking into the rift after her family.

-Two hours later-

Upon meeting with Akame and Kurome at Beacon and seeing they were safe, Raven pulled them out. As there was no need for them to be Huntresses any longer. For a strange reason, she couldn't reach Esdeath. She felt through the bond that she was still alive and well but something was actively blocking her from Esdeath. She decided to bestow all of her family first before searching for Esdeath.

Yang got Wrath, Ruby got Gluttony, Tai got Greed, Summer got Lust, Akame got Pride and Kurome got Envy. After the bestowal, Raven took off to find Esdeath and Cinder. She had sent Cinder to Esdeath during the fight and now, she couldn't help but worry. Thanks to her Ascension, she could feel a strange presence on the world. Though it was technically her territory, that was why she could feel it.

As she flew over Mistral using Pride's shadows as makeshift wings, she heard Pride speak up, ~"Hold on. This isn't a Light or Dark champion. Some neutral faction is trying to establish themselves here. In OUR territory"~

Pride sounded outraged as she spoke in her head.

"Doesn't necessarily mean we're enemies.. yet. If they dare hurt Cinder and Esdeath though, I'll kill them and take their planet" Raven muttered before furrowing her brows at her own words.

"That seems.. excessive.. Hm. I suppose I did change due to that abyssal water.." Pride chuckled in her head.

~"Your protectiveness has always been there. Now you're just more fierce about it is all. I'll keep you in check if you consider going too far. I mean.. for your children's sake anyway"~ Pride assured her.

"Ah.. yeah. I'd hate for Yang to see me as some kind of monster. Even if I know-" Raven was cut off by a growl from Pride.

~"D̸o̵n̴'̷t̸ ̶y̸o̶u̷ ̶f̸u̸c̴k̷i̵n̷g̸ ̴f̴i̵n̴i̵s̴h̵ ̷t̴h̴a̵t̴ ̵s̴e̵n̸t̷e̵n̸c̷e̸ "~ She heard Pride's voice shift, oozing malice.

"...." Raven stopped, feeling the malice oozing from her voice.

But before Raven could say anything, the malice retreated and she heard another voice. Lilith's voice resounded in her ears.

"Oh don't worry about your friend, Dear Daughter~ She needed a little help against an intruding force so I decided to give her a little boon. She's currently in your dimension with her little helpers. I believe she's sizing up Salem at the moment~" Lilith said, the implications sending a shiver up Raven's spine.

"What...? She's meeting Salem..? Unattended...?" Raven muttered, hearing a small chuckle from Lilith in return.

"Thank you for saving her though.." Raven sighed in relief before she thanked the Goddess.

"Think nothing of it~ I do want my Daughters to be happy after all. Have fun with the 'meeting'~" Lilith chuckled before her voice faded away.

"...."

~"...."~

"I'm sure she'll react reasonably.." Raven said, not believing her own words.

~"Salem or Esdeath?"~ Pride asked.

"....Yeah, nevermind. That was just wishful thinking" Raven rubbed her eyes in frustration.

~"Hm.. Raven.."~ Pride's tone changed again.

~"You are not a monster. And if you are, you aren't the one who yourself to be one. Your soul is far older than you think. I am the holder of the memories you possessed from all those lives so trust me, I know you best"~ Pride stated.

"..I see. I had a feeling.. Will I get my memories back?" Raven asked.

~"I hope you don't. It could change who you are at your core. Every life you lived was... It would change you, Raven.. I don't wish for that. Never"~ Pride sounded sorrowful.

"Then I trust you with them. For now.. let's go check the damages.." Raven responded, sighing after at the future headache.