"Why have you come back?" Yuri wondered aloud when Raven re-entered the room.
Raven remained silent and walked directly towards Starfire and Nightwing.
To the astonishment of those present, she began to use her magic.
"O, forces of nature, heed my command... I take your pain upon myself."
As Raven recited the incantation, a dark substance abruptly emerged from the bodies of Nightwing and Starfire, then entered Raven's own body.
In the next moment, Raven furrowed her brow, her face displaying signs of pain, which she quickly concealed.
Starfire and Nightwing, engrossed in the process, missed Raven's expression. Only Yuri witnessed it.
As the dark substance was extracted, a warm and comforting sensation enveloped their entire bodies.
"It's incredible. My headache is completely gone," Nightwing exclaimed in amazement, with Starfire expressing a similar sentiment.
"I feel perfectly fine, as if nothing happened. Raven, you've completely healed us. Thank you so much!" Starfire gushed with gratitude.
Raven nodded emotionlessly, then turned and walked out of the room.
Based on her previous experience outside the library, Yuri had a vague idea of what Raven was doing.
'She's transferring the remaining injuries of Nightwing and Starfire onto herself. How can there be someone like her in this world?' Yuri pondered.
While the injuries sustained by Nightwing and Starfire were not severe, the former's concussion would have lingered, and the latter's internal injuries, despite appearing healed, would have taken time to completely recover, even with the rapid healing abilities of Tamaraneans. However, Raven had prematurely healed both of them, probably even transferring the accumulated hidden injuries from years of battles onto herself. The cost was experiencing their pain.
Whether in the library or here, Raven's actions were unnecessary, yet she chose to do them willingly, enduring suffering so that strangers could feel better.
Ever since Yuri had met Raven, he couldn't help but feel a strange sense of inadequacy within himself. Previously, he had never doubted the sense of justice in superheroes like Wally or the Titans, nor had he questioned their combat abilities. Such thoughts had never made him feel inferior to them. On the contrary, Yuri always believed that superheroes, being human, couldn't possibly be as different from him as he imagined.
Superheroes were people too, with their own priorities and concerns, and they couldn't be completely selfless.
For instance, the Flash had once broken Reverse-Flash's neck to save Iris when her life was at stake, disregarding the consequences. It was an act of self-preservation, a momentary loss of self-control to protect a loved one.
But Raven's actions were on a whole different level. Yuri couldn't fathom the depth of her selflessness.
Bart was injured, and for the Titans, getting him to treatment was more important than anything else.
Wally and Linda shared a deep bond; if Linda were in danger, Wally would drop everything to save her.
Who wouldn't have some selfishness? It was just a matter of the degree.
For Yuri, Raven was the first person he had encountered whom he could genuinely describe as selflessly devoted.
The most selfish act she had ever committed was her inability to withstand loneliness, which had driven her from the desolation of Azarath back to Earth.
Sometimes, Yuri couldn't help but wonder about the education Raven had received in Azarath. Could that so-called mystical dimension really be a utopia?
Yuri left the medical room and caught up with Raven.
"Raven."
Raven stopped in her tracks and turned to face him.
"I have something I want to ask you."
"What?" Raven blinked and inquired.
"You're accustomed to transferring people's pain onto yourself, and many times, people don't even know that you've taken their pain for them. I want to know why you do this."
Yuri got straight to the point. There was no need to beat around the bush when speaking with Raven.
"Because when I see people suffering, I feel... sympathy, if I'm not mistaken in my choice of words." Raven replied calmly.
"My father's evil power constantly seeks to corrupt my inner self. If I can't persist in doing good deeds, sooner or later, I will fall under my father's control. I don't want to become like him, or at least, I should be different from Trigon in some way."
"Your reason for doing good deeds is because you want to do the opposite of what your father does?" Yuri wasn't sure if he should find this reason absurd or valid.
"There is another, more important reason." After a moment of silence, Raven continued.
"In Azarath, to prevent me from letting the evil of Trigon take advantage of my emotional vulnerabilities, the priests forbade me from engaging in any activities that could trigger emotional fluctuations. Even my mother could only see me during designated times."
"In my sixteen years of life, the only emotion I could truly comprehend was the deep-seated hatred I felt for him when he destroyed Azarath."
Yuri listened quietly.
"Until I came to Earth and saw the various emotions in people, I thought, since I can't have my own emotions, why not feel others' emotions?"
"I couldn't bear to take away someone's happiness, but even feeling emotions like sadness, pain, and sorrow is good. It can help others break free from their suffering, and that...satisfies me."
Raven's expression didn't change much, but Yuri could see a gleam in her eyes. She genuinely enjoyed doing this.
"Why are you willing to tell me this? Aren't these supposed to be your secrets?"
After a long silence, Yuri asked.
"Secrets? There are no secrets in Azarath. You asked me a question, so I answered."
Raven tilted her head slightly, not quite understanding why Yuri would ask this.
"But this is Earth, not Azarath."
Yuri shook his head. This girl was just too innocent.
"On this land, having no secrets is not acceptable. Everyone must have their own secrets."
"Why?"
Raven asked, puzzled.
"When you meet more people, you'll understand for yourself."
Yuri said, implying deeper meanings.
"Raven, can you promise me something?"
At this point, Yuri looked around and then subtly said to Raven, "What you told me today about your ability to transfer others' emotions, it's better not to tell others, and you should refrain from using that kind of magic again."
"Sometimes, pain isn't humanity's enemy. Blindly taking others' pain away may not necessarily be good for them. Besides, from what I know..."
"Someone really despises this act of depriving others of their emotions. Even if your intentions are good, he won't approve. So, if you don't want to be specifically targeted by him, I suggest you stop. Although you're probably already a target, reducing his resentment even by a little is a good thing."
Yuri stared into Raven's eyes and said seriously, "Let's consider this conversation as the first secret of your life. Our shared secret."
°°°
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