"Time for what?" asked Raven, trying to reach him.
"Time for you to remember who you really are," Simon replied, his eyes blazing with an intensity she'd never seen before. "And, when you're ready, I'll be back to take you home."
With those words, Simon's image vanished, and Raven awoke with a heart full of fear, but also curiosity.
All the questions that had been haunting her began to press for answers, and she knew that no matter what, Raven could no longer run from the truth of who she was.
And, deep in her heart, Raven felt that night was the beginning of a journey into the darkness she had been avoiding.
That night, after the anxiety continued to haunt her, Raven decided to take a walk on campus.
Raven chose to walk alone even though Meredith offered to accompany her to spend the night.
The blonde-haired girl walked outside, down the hallway around her room to the dormitory courtyard.
Under the moonlight, her steps echoed in the deserted dormitory hallways. Suddenly, she felt like something was watching her, and the air around her suddenly became cold.
"Raven," a heavy voice sounded from behind her, cold and threatening.
Raven choked up at the sound that was so real. Her footsteps stopped dead in their tracks, the young girl's body seemed to stiffen.
After a few moments, Raven slowly turned around, and right in front of her stood a figure she knew very well-Simon, the man who often appeared in her dreams almost every night.
However, this time he wasn't just a shadow; Simon Oberon was now actually there standing tall looking at her with a sharp, unfeeling gaze.
"Simon..." her voice trembled, but Raven tried her best not to show her fear.
Simon smiled faintly, but it was a smile filled with darkness. "It's been too long, Elara," he said, repeating the name Simon Oberon always mentioned in Raven's dreams.
"What do you mean?" Raven took a step back, her eyes wary. "Why do you keep appearing in my dreams? What do you want? And, Elara... who is she, why do you keep calling me by that name?"
"I don't just exist in your dreams, Elara or should I call you by your new title... Raven." Her voice was calm but dangerous. "You won't be able to escape anymore. We are bound... by something far more powerful than nightmares."
Raven felt the tension in her body, wanting to run away, but her eyes could not escape the figure of Simon who was slowly approaching.
When Simon reached out, a flash of blue light appeared from the pendant around Raven's neck. The light burned brightly, creating a thin barrier around her.
Simon paused for a moment, staring at the pendant with a hateful gaze. "Ah, your family relic pendant," he said sarcastically. "You think it can protect you from me?"
Raven felt a strange power flowing into her veins from the pendant, giving her strength. "I don't know who you really are, Simon and what you want from me. But, one thing is for sure... I will never back down or give up on you."
The sentence after sentence that slipped from Raven's lips seemed to have a tremendous effect on Simon Oberon who still continued to stare at Raven without blinking even for a moment.
Simon's gaze turned cold, and without warning, he launched an attack, his hand swinging towards Raven with surprising force.
The blue light from Raven's pendant expanded, forming a shield that deflected Simon's attack, but the impact sent them both flying.
Raven fell to the ground, her breathing ragged, while Simon got up with a face full of anger.
He had a scratch on his cheek, but he didn't seem to care. "Elara, you are not the weak girl you think you are. Your memories may be erased, but the strength remains in you."
Instantly, fragments of memories appeared in Raven's mind. An image of herself running in the forest, with Simon chasing her.
An image of herself standing in the middle of a field looking at a woman tied to a pole and standing on a pile of burning wood while uttering curses in front of Simon Oberon.
Ancient voices and incantations that somehow felt very familiar. And the flashes of faces she didn't recognise, all felt like part of her.
Raven tried to focus, tried to remember more. "What... what do you mean by erased memories?" Raven felt dizzy, as if her head could not contain the memories that came flooding back.
Simon looked at her with intensity. "You're part of a larger bloodline than you ever imagined, Elara. You are part of the Blaise family... the family that seals the greatest power of darkness in this world. The family that I must wipe off the face of this earth even if I have to chase them to hell."
Raven felt her breath catch. All of this sounded absurd, but in her heart, she knew there was truth in Simon's words.
And, in an instant, flashes of memories filled her mind-the great power, the sound of ancient spells, the bloody battles, and her mother who had to burn alive after being captured and tried as a witch by the man currently standing in front of her.
However, the skirmish that had just taken place had done more than just unlock Raven's memories.
Unbeknownst to them, the ancient magic sealed by the Blaise family's ancestors had begun to weaken.
Inside an old room hidden deep within a remote castle, the ancient symbols that had for centuries sealed away dark entities began to tremble, losing their light one by one.
The hidden power slowly rose, emitting a black aura that felt cold and threatening.
Raven raised her face, looking at Simon who stood above her, her eyes implying something sinister. "You just need to remember one thing, Elara," Simon whispered in an eerily quiet tone. "When this all unfolds, you will be the key. The key that can set us all free or destroy us all."
As Simon disappeared into the darkness, Raven fell silent with bated breath. Her memories continued to rise and Simon's threats made her feel on the brink of destruction. Now, there was no turning back.