Chapter 4: Echoes of the Past

The city was waking up under a gray blanket, with the rain falling incessantly, like tears that the sky shed for the dead that no one remembered anymore. Among the cobbled streets and shadow-infested alleys, Vladimir walked like a spectre, invisible to the living, a figure that glided through the night without disturbing the flow of time.

The raven hovered overhead, a silent guardian following him at every step, as if it were an echo of his own spirit. The creature's black eyes were watching everything, catching every movement, every breath held in the city that was crumbling under its own weight.

Vladimir felt the weight of the past pressing down on his shoulders. The faces of Alina and the men she had hunted appeared in her dreams, distorted and surrounded by the same haze that enveloped her memories of that fateful night. Sometimes, he wasn't sure what was real and what was the product of his broken mind. Had he finished his mission? Was the spilled blood enough?

No, something persisted. A dark feeling that dragged him deeper into the abyss. The emptiness did not disappear.

Shadows of Yesterday

Vladimir arrived at an old abandoned train station. The building, covered with graffiti and moss, looked like a forgotten mausoleum in the middle of the city. The rusty structure creaked with every gust of wind, as if the place still held echoes of a time when it was full of life. But now, only shadows and silence dwelt within its walls.

I had heard rumors about a man. A ghost, like him, that moved in the shadows and spoke in whispers. This wasn't one of the thugs at Top Dollar, but this man knew something else, something that could give him answers. He was known by many names, but in the city he was simply called "The Father".

Vladimir strode into the station, his footsteps echoing on the dusty floor. The raven perched on a high beam, watching from above. As he moved forward, the feeling of being watched grew, and the haze invading his memories began to thicken, as if the place itself was trying to cling to him, to draw him beyond the veil of the tangible.

Suddenly, a figure emerged from the shadows. A man of aged appearance, dressed in a long black coat and a wide-brimmed hat that hid most of his face. Despite his appearance, there was a vibrant energy in his eyes, as if he was seeing through the layers of reality itself.

"Vladimir Corvo—" he said in a deep, gravelly voice, echoing off the walls of the station. I've been waiting for you.

Vladimir frowned, his muscles tense. I knew that this man was not a mere mortal. There was something else about him, something he couldn't quite comprehend.

- Who are you? - he asked, his voice low but full of distrust.

The man gave an almost paternal smile, tilting his head slightly to one side.

- An echo of what was and what will be. My name doesn't matter. What matters is what I'm looking for, and what you're looking for, Vladimir.

The crow cawed from the heights, as if warning that something was not right. Vladimir did not let his guard down, but something in the man's words resonated deep in his soul. I knew that this meeting was not a coincidence.

—I have killed those responsible—" he said, his voice barely breaking. I have fulfilled what I had to do. What else is left?

The man advanced slowly, his steps soft but firm.

- Do you really think that this ends with the death of a few simple men? he said, his tone taking on a somber tinge. The truth, Vladimir, is that your pain goes beyond what these mortals did to you. They were just pieces of a much bigger game. One in which you were always a pawn.

Vladimir gritted his teeth, his fists clenching. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The anger he had tried to quell was burning inside him again.

- They killed her! - he roared —. They destroyed my life! What game are you talking about?

The man stopped in front of him, his piercing eyes fixed on Vladimir's.

- The game of death and rebirth. The endless cycle of suffering that has been going on long before you or I existed. Alina was just one more victim of that cycle, and you... you are the key to breaking it.

The revelation

The man's words hit Vladimir like an electric shock. There was something in his tone, in his presence, that made it all seem true. The crow cawed again, uneasily, as the atmosphere around them began to change. The haze at the station was getting denser, enveloping them in an almost unreal atmosphere.

—Your soul does not belong to this world, Vladimir," the man continued, his voice now in an almost hypnotic tone. The darkness that surrounds you is not only the echo of your suffering, it is the echo of something much older. Something that seeks to free itself, and that has been using people like you to achieve its ends.

Vladimir felt a shiver run down his spine. The haze in his mind was getting heavier and heavier, his memories mingling with fragmented visions. Alina... his death... his own resurrection. Nothing seemed to make sense, but at the same time, everything was starting to fall into place in a disturbing way.

- What do you want from me? - he asked in a strained voice.

The man watched him for a long moment, as if measuring every word before speaking.

- I want you to see, Vladimir. I want you to understand who you really are. Not just a man looking for revenge... but a herald of something much bigger. You are the raven, Vladimir. And the raven is the link between life and death. Your destiny was never simply to avenge the dead... is to set them free.

The man's words echoed through the empty station like an endless echo. Vladimir felt the ground under his feet becoming unstable, as if he was on the verge of falling into an unfathomable abyss. Everything he thought he knew, everything he had fought for, seemed to dissolve before the magnitude of the truth he now faced.

He was more than a man seeking justice. He was the guardian of an endless cycle of life and death. A cycle that, perhaps, could never be broken.

The darkness behind the raven

Vladimir took a step back, trying to process what he had just heard. But the truth was like a shadow that enveloped him, implacable. There was no escape. He was no longer just a man looking for revenge. It had never been.

The crow, overhead, let out a deep, resonant caw. It was as if the creature knew what was happening, as if it had always known Vladimir's true nature and purpose.

"The time of doubts is over, Vladimir," the man said, his voice almost a whisper. You have to accept who you are... or the darkness that surrounds you will completely consume you.

Vladimir took a deep breath, feeling the weight of the revelation crushing his chest. The image of Alina was still floating in his mind, but now it was tinged with something deeper, something that transcended the simple loss.

It was the raven.

It was death.

The raven's burden

Vladimir stood motionless in the center of the station, his gaze lost in the stranger's words. Everything he had believed until that moment was crumbling like the wet, mossy bricks that surrounded him. It wasn't just revenge. It had never been. And now he understood. The raven was not just a symbol of death and justice; it was his own destiny, a tie that bound him to something much deeper and darker.

The crow cawed again from the beam, and Vladimir looked at him. In the creature's eyes he saw his own soul, broken but still dormant, throbbing under layers of anger and suffering. The raven had chosen him, or maybe he had always been part of this macabre dance, only now he was beginning to see it.

The man, whom the city knew as "The Father", was looking at him from the shadow with an enigmatic smile, as if he enjoyed watching Vladimir process the reality around him.

- What should I do? - Vladimir finally asked, his voice heavy, but with a resolution that I had not felt before. It was no longer just the pain that moved him. Now there was a mission, a burden I had to carry.

"Accept who you are—" replied "The Father," as if the answer had been there from the beginning. You are the raven, Vladimir. An emissary between the world of the living and the world of the dead. Your purpose is greater than revenge, even if that has been your gateway.

The air around them became dense, as if the words had altered the atmosphere. Vladimir felt that everything around him became more unreal, as if the border between this world and the other began to dissolve. The city itself felt far away, its lights and sounds muffled by the revelation he had received.

"There are more souls to be freed—" the man continued. Souls trapped in this cycle of pain, just like you. You're not finished, Vladimir. This is just getting started.]

The damned

Vladimir clenched his fists. The anger he had felt at first, the hunger for justice that had driven him to hunt down the men who destroyed his life, was transforming into something deeper. It was no longer a personal revenge; it was a need to break the cycle of suffering that seemed to consume him and everyone around him.

- How many more? - he asked, his voice low, but loaded with the determination that had begun to grow inside of him.

"Enough," replied "The Father" enigmatically. But it's not just the living who must pay. There are darker forces in this world, and they are pulling the strings. The men you killed were just pawns. Little demons on a board that you haven't fully seen yet.

Vladimir frowned. There was something about the man's words that resonated with the shadows he had always felt lurking from the back of his mind. I knew it wasn't just a matter of murderers and gang members. There was something else, something much bigger and older lurking behind the tragedy of his life.

- And where do I find these "others"? - he asked, his voice hardened by the decision.

The man smiled slightly, tilting his head as if considering the question.

- You'll find them, Vladimir. Or they'll find you. The shadows are always on their way to the light. And you... you are the darkness they fear.

Vladimir did not immediately respond. The crow flew down from the beam, descending to perch on his shoulder, his gaze fixed on "The Father." Silence settled between them, broken only by the faint rumbling of the distant train, as if the outside world were just a distant echo of the reality they inhabited now.

The next move

—I'll be waiting for your next move—" "The Father" said as he took a step back, his figure beginning to fade into the shadows. But remember, Vladimir... the path you have chosen has no return. There is no peace at the end of this road.

The figure completely disappeared, leaving Vladimir alone once more, standing in the immense empty station. The cold, damp wind blew through the cracks in the walls, but he did not feel it. His mind was elsewhere, processing the revelations he had just received.

Vladimir looked at the raven on his shoulder, his dark eyes reflecting a new determination. There was no peace for him. There never would be. Not while the shadows were still breathing, not while the souls trapped by suffering were still crying out for justice.

Shadowhunter

The days passed and Vladimir continued his mission, but now with a new consciousness. He was no longer just hunting for those who had destroyed his life, but he was looking for something deeper. In every dark corner of the city, in every crime-infested alley, he looked for signs of what "The Father" had warned him about. The little demons, those who manipulated from the shadows, hid well, but not enough to escape their new purpose.

One night, while walking through the lonely streets, he heard a whisper. It was almost inaudible, like a distant wail seeping through the wind. He followed the sound to a collapsed building, an old ruined theater that had been forgotten by all but the souls who still inhabited it.

Vladimir stopped in front of the entrance, feeling a presence that was not of this world. Something dark and ancient was waiting for him inside. The crow on his shoulder cawed, uneasily. He knew that what he was about to face was not a simple criminal. It was something more, something that resonated with the swirling shadows within his own being.

With a last glance towards the deserted city behind him, Vladimir pushed open the doors of the theater and stepped into the darkness.

The hunter had found his next prey.