Two and a half years ago, Raven first arrived in the slums from the north. The exact reasons were not known to anyone, but what was evident was his interest in criminal activity.
Anything that happened near his location would cause him to show up and cause chaos. The first time he was ever spotted was during a robbery at the common bank.
Three masked men have run out of the bank with gym bags full of cash. Stopping only because their leader got frozen in place.
"Shit! We have a Sephirah!" One yelled, before firing the gun into the air. While most people around ran for their lives the same couldn't be said about a certain individual. With a long white scarf around his neck and a black ponytail. He walked towards the gunner.
"You! You're Sephirah!" Getting a nod from the long-haired boy, he fired off his entire magazine, but a mere flick of the wrist formed a cold fog, which froze the bullets.
Dropping to the ground just like little pallets the boy finally spoke out. "Why do you need this cash?" Walking closer to the armed man, he grabbed a pistol from the frozen leader and the bag of cash.
Done with the reloading, the robber fired his gun again only for it to have the same effect.
"Why, why do you care!?" Yelling at the boy, he gets a smile. "No reason, just pure curiosity."
Finally standing so close, they could feel each other's breath. The robber fell to the ground yelling. "Our boss! He just needed funds! That's it! I swear! No, leave me alone! You..."
Smiling widely, he said. "Raven, call me Raven." The boy snapped his fingers, freezing the robber in ice.
........
Spinning on her legs, and wrapping her arms around her waist. Lilith yells. "Isn't it like out of a story!? Appearing out of nowhere, and doing what he wants?!" Not being able to say anything to the crazy-struck Lilith, I see her sigh. "To think he was 16 at that time."
.........
Many similar actions happened. Anything flashy would now get Raven's attention. He would simply show up, and take one's hard work. He became a myth which was told to the new criminals.
And soon, no flashy crimes happened. Even back then when the title of a crime boss didn't mean as much, all of us were carefully moving in the shadows out of Raven's sight.
This went on for a month before something terrible happened.
"Alice...." Speaking with pure malice in her voice, Lilith continued.
Alice caused quite a commotion on that day. She stole something very precious to certain people.
"The mask of Verona" Similar to the orb Ken saw the cultists use, the mask was the origin of said power. It stole light and colors, causing the world to go black.
Sadly, the said mask was stolen by Alice.
Raven was resting on some roof thinking about his life. Suddenly in a nearby park, the feeling of reality being changed by the Sephs caught his attention.
Jumping over the roof, Raven arrived at the park where he saw a woman with long black hair and skin like snow. Fighting dark-robed men, with what looked like a silver mask in their hand.
No one knows why Raven got involved, but rumors say it was because something flashy happened. But in truth, he was star-struck.
Jumping down, he fired off bolts of ice at the cultist.
Taking everyone by surprise, he charged the leading cultist and struck him down with a staff of ice. "Raven... I advise you to stay out of this for once."
The leader said before Raven hit him in the head again, knocking him out cold. "Sorry, but I do as I please." Trying to take the chance to escape, the woman tries to escape but ends up being pushed back to back against Raven.
"So? What did you steal to make them so angry?" Raven asked as he stabbed a guy. Raising one of her hands to show I'm the solver mask, he chuckles but stops at the hands crawling on the ground out of her shadows.
"That's some nasty change. Why would out of all possible things you want to make hands out of your shadows?" Raven asked only to be handed the sliver mask by one of the many pale hands.
Smiling widely, Raven grabbed it and stored it inside his clothes, not even realizing that he suddenly became the primary target.
Jumping into a gap between the cultists, the woman tried to escape, but a sudden strike at her chest threw her back. It was a cultist woman with blonde hair.
........
Cutting Lilith off, Ken tries to get up while asking. "Wait, you were there?" Getting a chuckle out of her, she pulls her dress down slightly revealing a Lantern tattoo on her breast. "Shadow swallows! Ken!"
Realizing that Raven's warnings of calling her a witch, and claiming a connection to a mysterious cult were all true! Foolishly, I tried to strike Lilith, but her quick hand grasped my neck. "The story is not over, Ken."
..........
When Lilith kicked Alice back to Raven, he tried to joke that she's sure as hell she's handy! To his surprise, he got a small chuckle out of her. Raven told her that luck is on their side.
With a single strong stomp, the grass was frozen into a thousand small blades. Instead of snapping under a person's weight, the grass pierced the boot and stabbed at the cultist's feet.
So in a last desperate attempt to stop the duo from escaping with the mask, Lilith jumped at the duo. Wrapping her inky hand around them, she slammed them both into a tree.
Twitching in pain, Raven stabbed an ice spike into Lilith's back knocking her out. But her charge wasn't pointless. Alice the dark-haired lady was impaild on a branch.
.......
Sighing deeply, Lilith rubs her shoulder. "One doesn't know why, but Raven took pity on the young woman and saved her life. Together they started to strike each of our cult's dens, finally earning their title."
[Nightmares of the Underworld]