"I think I'm going to call it a night," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Beast Boy and Starfire paused the game, turning to look at her with concern. Nightwing straightened up, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"You okay, Raven?" he asked, his voice filled with worry. He may not be a full-time member of the Titans anymore, but they were like his family, a more normal family.
"Just tired," she replied, standing up. But as she did, her vision blurred, and she stumbled, catching herself on the arm of the couch.
"Raven, are you sure?" Starfire floated over to her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Yeah, just need some rest. Today must have taken a lot out of me," Raven insisted, forcing a reassuring smile. She then turned and quickly left the lounge, her footsteps echoing down the hallway. She could feel their worried gazes following her.
Once she reached her room, she closed the door behind her and leaned against it, taking deep, steadying breaths. But as she tried to calm herself, flashes of disturbing images filled her mind. Trigon, her demonic father, loomed large and menacing. A strange woman with green magic swirling around her hands appeared, her presence both powerful and ominous.
Raven's heart raced as she stumbled to her bed, collapsing onto it as darkness enveloped her.
When she opened her eyes, she was in a nightmarish landscape. Towering flames and shadows surrounded her. She turned to see herself reflected in a pool of dark water, her eyes widened in horror as she saw six eyes staring back at her, just like Trigon's.
"Submit or face oblivion," a sinister voice whispered in her ear, sending chills down her spine.
Pain exploded in her body, unbearable and all-consuming. She screamed, the agony overwhelming her senses.
Suddenly, she was jolted awake, gasping for breath and covered in sweat. The familiar surroundings of her room came into focus, and she saw her friends gathered around her, their faces etched with worry.
"Raven, are you okay?" Nightwing's voice broke through the fog of her terror.
"We couldn't wake you up," Beast Boy said, his usual jovial demeanor replaced with deep concern.
Starfire's eyes were filled with tears. "You were crying out in your sleep, Raven."
Raven sat up, her body trembling. "It was just... a nightmare."
'But it felt so real,' she thought, her mind racing. The vision of herself with six eyes and the voice threatening her lingered, a dark cloud over her consciousness.
"We're here for you," Nightwing said as he sat on the edge of her bed, squeezing her hand reassuringly. "Whatever it is, we'll face it together." The group nodded.
Raven looked at her friends, their unwavering support giving her strength. She nodded, taking a deep breath. "Thank you. I... I think I just need to figure out what this means."
The Titans exchanged worried glances but nodded in agreement.
"What happened?" A voice cut in.
"Roy!" Beast Boy observed as a man in red entered. "You're back!?"
Roy entered the room and nodded. "Can someone tell me why we're in Raven's room? I know it's her birthday but this is a bit much." But he stopped when he noticed the somber mood.
"What happened?" He asked more seriously.
Merno chuckled as he looked at Trigon and Enchantress. "And you wonder why gods and mortals prefer to have you locked away," Merno remarked as Trigon glared at him.
"That should whittle away at her sanity, I cast a spell over her soul, instead of Trigon and I manually attacking her soul, it should feed off her own power, it reduces the chances of us being tracked," Enchantress cut in before Trigon could bark back at Merno.
'I haven't been around these two very long but between the angel and the demon...' Enchantress mused before glancing between the two. 'I'd rather deal with Trigon... at least with him, I know where I stand, with this Angel I have no idea what's truly going on in his head... but so long as I bring their plans to fruition, I should be able to escape the gods chasing me, because they'll all be dead!' She thought to herself.
Merno turned his back to them. "Well, this was fun but I have to continue wrecking havoc in the way I know best," he explained. "Besides, all the gods and angels gathered, they aren't much apart but even I can sense that intense amalgamation of power, I should leave before they descend here and destroy you two, besides I need the Negaverse and its inhabitants to stay alive, I hid myself but I can finally feel Eclipso, and Anti-Monitor approaching and... is that Darkseid's presence I feel? How far must he have traveled through the Abyss to reach the Negaverse?" Merno wondered.
'That's strange, he wasn't originally supposed to be here when I thought of this plan... No matter, it changes nothing but.'
"Why is he bringing his entire presence?"
"Or is he coming after me? I can't really tell..." Merno guessed out loud before sighing. "Well, I have no interest in those three but maybe I can put them to use..."
Trigon chuckled. "We shall see who emerges victorious," he said as Enchantress just stayed silent.
'I have no interest in battling primordial demon gods,' she thought anxiously. 'I need to figure out how to hide myself thoroughly or at least stay out of their way, with any luck they will all kill each other,'
Suddenly, she realized something. "You said Darkseid? I thought he was defeated and sealed away?" Merno turned and looked at her, smiling.
"Ah, so that's why he's making his way across the Abyss... Keeping you with me seems like a prudent move. In fact, yes, I should. You're a little treasure trove of information," he concluded, his tone suggesting that integrating her into his plans had been part of his strategy all along.
Enchantress approached Merno. "Is there something else you need?" She asked the Angel who was looking at her.
"Come with me, I need you to do something for me," he offered Enchantress, but she looked reluctant. "Don't fret, if you assist me I will assist you... instead of waiting for an uncertain future I can do something nice for you..." Although the Angel had a devious grin on his face.
"Take a risk with me, an Angel or Trigon, a demon," Merno explained, the answer should be as clear as day but.
'Damn him... but perhaps it would be the smarter move.' She mused.