Infinity: Rising of the Soul Weavers

<You are currently in the presence of the Voice of the World, kneel!>

A message that came as both sound and image flashed through Raven\'s mind. 

Even though the space around her looked endless, she could feel the ground underneath, and consequently, she could feel her knees hitting it against her will.

\'What the f*ck?!!!\' she screamed in her mind. Although she had her strongest skill activated, she felt so weak and sluggish in front of the mysterious presence of the Voice of the World.

<Arrogant brat, we finally meet!> 

Although she felt the presence of the Voice getting closer to her, she could barely move her body to observe.

Clack! Clack! Clack!

She could hear the sound of heels hitting the invisible surface of this weird space, and getting closer to her with each passing moment.

With each step this presence took, Raven could feel her body tearing apart slowly and mana escaping away from her.

\'What is happening?\' she thought, feeling her consciousness drifting away at an alarming speed.

Suddenly, she felt a cold grip getting a hold of her chin and raising it upwards. The motion was so simple yet was akin to someone smacking a meteor against her face.

She wanted to scream or run away, yet she could barely keep her eyes open. She couldn\'t hear Kayla or Tu\'s voices but this time she wasn\'t sure she could fix that herself. 

\'No, I can\'t let this happen… I can\'t be defeated here,\' she thought, mustering every bit of strength she has left and focusing on her will power.

<What do you think you\'re doing? 

The Voice asked while making sure Raven could now see everything.

In front of Raven, stood a very young looking girl that seemed no older than fourteen. Yet, everything around her indicated that that wasn\'t the case.

Her skin had a beautiful bright green tone to it, making her resemble a dryad or a fairy, a true spirit of nature.

Her eyes were dyed dark green and her gaze was sharp and threatening.

<Answer me!> 

The young girl demanded.

<What do you think you\'re doing, creating such monsters that can threaten my existence?>

Noticing that Raven wasn\'t speaking, she grit her teeth in anger.

<Fine, then just die!>

As soon as she said, she readied her hand, as if getting ready to plunge it into Raven\'s throat.

"Hands off of her, b*tch!!!" A feminine voice called out, breaking the spirit\'s focus and confusing her. Feeling danger, she quickly jumped away.

Raven who was trying her best to stay awake was suddenly overcome by fatigue. She slowly felt the darkness devouring her consciousness and making her body succumb to the gravitational force of this weird place.

However, before her body could hit the invisible ground, a hand supported her. "It\'s ok, honey." The feminine voice said kindly.

Feeling a familiar touch, Raven tried to open her eyes, but then all of a sudden a white radiance blinded her and numbed her senses.

\'Eh? Did I die?\' Raven wondered since it was so sudden. \'But… why? I had plans… wait, I can still think, so I still exist… no?\'

Realising that she wasn\'t actually dead, she tried opening her eyes again. In her disoriented vision, she watched as a faint azure light completely faded away.

Smiling softly while realising that that must have been her mother, she tried to regain her strength as she didn\'t want to look weak in front of her. 

\'You may have your reasons for always disappearing,\' Raven thought since she couldn\'t completely forget the visions of that azure light, even though it was clear that someone was actively trying to erase her memories of it. \'But you know, the thought of you watching over me is so comforting, mum…\'

Feeling her powers and consciousness getting back to normal, she stood up and tried to focus on what was happening.

In front of her, she saw the girl on the ground, fear and anger apparent in her eyes and expression. 

Next to her, was the familiar figure that was emitting the white aura: the fragment of the Primordial Dragon of Light she had within her body.

\'Oh, that\'s why my powers are suddenly back,\' she said, feeling the white radiance refreshing her and regenerating her energy. 

<Why are you supporting her?>

The girl\'s voice came from inside Raven\'s head which was pretty disorienting and annoying.

"I\'m merely doing my job," the fragment said while glancing at Raven then back at the young girl. "You have to know that she will help you if you ask her nicely, don\'t attack her out of nowhere and expect her to read your mind, explain everything clearly."

<But she\'s just an arrogant weakling who is borrowing someone else\'s powers, how will she understand?>

"Just do as I say, please. Introduce yourself." The fragment said to the girl.

<Fine…> she grit her teeth. <My name is Gaia. I am the spirit of this world, this planet that you call Earth. And in terms of explaining… I am f*cking dying, would you please stop f*cking harassing me?>

Raven looked at the young girl, many questions roaming her mind.

*Sigh*

"I\'ll explain then," the fragment said with a sigh since Gaia had only made things even more complicated. "First, even though I\'ve introduced myself in our previous meeting, I believe I haven\'t told you my name. You may call me Aether." He said while looking at Raven.

"This youngling is the spirit of Earth, the Mother Spirit. She is quite irritated because many of your actions have led to her weakening as well as inflicted harm upon her. 

"One result of your actions was the widespread of the supernatural powers humans now have control over. 

"Those powers weren\'t meant to be for humans, hence why Gaia is suffering because of this newly brought unbalance.

"Additionally, your newly named demons will potentially bring in more irregularities since their powers will be infused with mine. That is simply too much for this planet, for the Mother Spirit, to withstand."

Hearing that, Raven\'s already tired mind felt as if it was on the verge of exploding.

\'I am the cause of powers? What?\' she shook her head. \'This young girl is Earth? And I am making her suffer?\'\'

<If you knew already, then why haven\'t you said anything?>

The girl said to Aether while lifting her sleeve up to the level of her shoulder, showing the crack marks on her otherwise healthy flesh. Raven flinched at the sight.

Her healthy tone was interrupted by the presence of what seemed like small fissures running along her arm.

<My body can\'t take it, you know! If I die, everyone dies! I am this planet, and I sustain life here! How hard is it to understand that you should save me and not f*ck me?>