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Arthur's hand rested against Raven's head, fingers barely touching skin, yet the contact was beyond a flesh contact.
Violet light bloomed in Arthur's eyes, deep and infinite, a moment later, Raven's eyes answered, soft indigo igniting from within.
She inhaled sharply at first.
Then… calm.
A warmth spread through her thoughts, smoothing the sharp edges, quieting the ever-present pressure she carried. The ache behind her eyes faded.
Arthur leaned closer, his voice low and steady, echoing not through air, but through her.
"Easy," he murmured. "I've got you."
Raven's lashes fluttered.
For the first time in a long while… she didn't have to hold everything together alone.
Her breathing slowed. Her grip on his wrist loosened. And as her eyes finally closed, her consciousness opened.
inward.
Arthur stepped forward.
Not physically.
Existentially.
The world peeled away in layers of shadow and light, reality thinning like mist beneath his feet. One moment he was standing beside her restrained body.
the next, he was inside her consciousness.
Raven's consciousness unfolded around him.
It was vast.
Endless.
A twilight realm suspended between meditation and storm.
The ground beneath his feet resembled smooth dark glass etched with glowing Azarathian sigils intertwined with unknown demonic symbols, ones Raven herself had never been taught. They pulsed gently, not aggressively, synchronized with her own heartbeat.
Above him stretched a sky of shifting violet and indigo, clouds drifting slowly, each one carrying fragments of memory, childhood loneliness, quiet strength, laughter carefully rationed, discipline forged through pain.
Floating islands hovered in the distance, connected by thin bridges of light and shadow. Each island radiated a different emotional resonance: control, fear, compassion, restraint, resolve.
Arthur's gaze sharpened.
"…Incredible," he said softly.
He took a step forward, and the world responded, ripples spreading beneath his boots, the very fabric of her mind acknowledging him as something permitted.
At the center of this inner realm stood a massive structure.
A cathedral.
Not built of stone, but of will.
Black spires curved upward like folded wings, wrapped in glowing runic chains, not restraining, but containing. At its heart burned a distant, crimson-black core, sealed behind layers of arcane geometry and spiritual force.
Arthur didn't need to ask what that was.
He felt it.
Trigon.
Contained. Bound and furious.
But even that wasn't what made Arthur stop.
What made him pause… was the scale of the seal.
Raven wasn't merely suppressing him.
She was overpowering him.
Alone.
Arthur exhaled slowly, something like awe passing through his otherwise iron composure.
"She is very powerful spiritually," he said, voice echoing gently across the inner sky.
"I don't even think she realizes how much she is…"
He turned, sensing movement.
Raven stood a short distance away, not restrained, not burdened. Here, she appeared as she truly was: composed, calm, eyes glowing softly, her cloak drifting.
"This is… strange," she said quietly, looking around. "You're really here."
Arthur faced her fully now.
"In the most literal sense," he replied.
She studied him for a moment, then asked the question she always asked when someone stepped too close to her truth.
"Does it scare you?"
Arthur shook his head without hesitation.
"No," he said. "It impresses me."
Something in her expression shifted, subtle, fragile, real.
"You've been holding a god in chains with nothing but discipline and empathy," Arthur continued, eyes drifting briefly toward the sealed cathedral. "Most beings with half your power would've broken under it…"
He met her gaze again.
"You are truly amazing."
The words were simple, too simple perhaps, but in Raven's inner world they carried a great weight. They didn't echo like a compliment thrown into empty space. They settled, warm and steady, threading themselves into the quiet places she rarely let anyone see.
Raven's eyes widened just a fraction.
Then she looked away.
Even here, within her own consciousness, where fear, desire, and truth lived unmasked, she felt… shy. A rare, almost foreign sensation. Her shoulders drew in slightly, cloak folding closer around her form as if instinctively shielding something tender.
"You shouldn't say things like that so easily," she murmured, though there was no reprimand in her voice. Just softness. "It makes them hard to ignore."
Arthur's expression gentled. The violet glow in his eyes dimmed to something warmer, something almost human.
"I say it because it's true," he replied. Then, more quietly, "And because you deserve to hear it."
Raven inhaled, slow and measured, an old habit, but the breath hitched halfway through. She steadied herself, then nodded once.
"…I should rest," she said. "I know I can't do much here beyond what I already am doing."
Arthur inclined his head, respectful. "Yes, you should."
She hesitated, then added, softer still, "Thank you… for doing this."
Before he could answer, her presence began to fade.
Like mist dissolving under morning light. Her form thinned, her glow dimmed, until only a faint warmth lingered in the air where she had stood.
Arthur closed his eyes.
Then… he smiled.
He continued walking.
Raven's consciousness shifted around him as if responding to his movement, revealing deeper layers now that her active will had withdrawn. The sky brightened slightly, as though some unseen dawn had begun to rise.
And then
He felt it.
Not darkness or power.
Affection.
Arthur stopped.
Ahead of him, resting on a quiet island suspended above a sea of soft shadow, stood something… different.
At first, he didn't understand what he was looking at.
It resembled a figure, tall, familiar in silhouette but not solid. It was made of light and shadow interwoven, violet and silver.
The figure stood facing outward, toward an unseen horizon, one hand extended as if offering help to something beyond the world.
Arthur took a cautious step closer.
The closer he came, the more details emerged.
Ashen-white hair stirred in an unfelt wind. Violet eyes, piercing and commanding, but also gentle and watchful. Around the figure's feet, faint images bloomed and faded: broken chains, quiet nights, deep breaths taken after fear had passed, moments where Raven's weight of existence had eased.
Hope, Life and Safety.
Arthur's breath caught.
"…Is this…" he began, then fell silent.
Understanding settled slowly, heavily on his heart.
This wasn't how Raven saw him in battle. Not as a monarch. Not as a god or even as a protector.
This was how she saw him when she was tired. When the world felt too heavy on her. When the darkness inside her pressed too close.
A constant. A presence that did not demand control, but shared the burden. A symbol of hope, safety and the reason to live.
Arthur reached out, stopping just short of touching the construct.
For the first time since his rebirth, since power, responsibility, and cosmic awareness had reshaped his existence, something inside him wavered.
"Raven..." he murmured, voice barely more than a thought.
He didn't smile this time.
He swallowed.
Then, carefully, reverently, he turned away.
The air darkened again as he approached the cathedral at the center of her consciousness.
The sealed core pulsed, angry and constrained, crimson-black light clawing uselessly against runes and chains forged of Raven's will.
Trigon sensed him now.
The presence inside the seal shifted. Arthur could feel the hatred from it.
He stepped close and placed one hand against the seal.
The runes flared in acknowledgment.
His eyes burned violet, brighter than before.
"Let us have a talk," he said calmly.
Then, colder.
"Demon."
The seal trembled.
And somewhere deep within Raven's soul, something ancient realized.
It was no longer merely imprisoned.
It was being addressed.
The crimson-black light within the runes thickened, until a voice came.
"Monarch of Shadows."
The words were layered thousands of voices speaking as one.
"We meet again."
The runes trembled under the pressure of his will.
Arthur did not flinch.
He lifted his gaze,
"Yes," Arthur replied calmly.
"For the last time."
"You should not be here," the demon growled.
"This mind is my fight. This soul my battleground. You trespass here.."
Arthur's hand tightened against the seal.
"Listen carefully," Arthur said, voice low and resonant. "You are a parasite… a thing she tolerated because removing you would have cost her too much."
"But that was before me."
He leaned closer, forehead nearly touching the burning surface of the seal.
"I won't rip you out screaming," Arthur continued, almost conversational. "That would harm her. And I won't erase you here… not yet."
A slow, dangerous smile curved his lips.
"So I'm going to do something far more considerate."
Arthur's fingers shifted, tracing the runes, not breaking them, but rewriting their intent.
"I will unfasten your chains," he said softly, "not as mercy… but as invitation."
The seal cracked.
Not shattered, opened.
"Come," Arthur whispered.
"Step outside this sanctuary. Face me where your screams won't echo through her soul, in my very own consciousness."
The pressure exploded outward.
"You dare challenge me..." Trigon roared.
Arthur's eyes flared brighter than ever, violet eclipsing red.
"Oh, I dare," he replied.
/-\
If you Like this story! Check out my other stories! Solo leveling in Westeros.
&
If you wish to read more or simply support me than check out my patreon at
"https://www.patreon.com/FrenzyAren"
You can Get Access to 3 More Chapters OR 7 More Chapters if you want