Infinity: Rising of the Soul Weavers

"Raven… like the dark bird?" The girl sounded surprised and the crowd hissed again in fear, feeling their bodies cold all of a sudden.

"Err, I guess," Raven shrugged, seemingly not minding the remark. "I actually had a different name, but some stuff happened and I was forced to change my name." 

"Oh, I see," the little girl seemed to be lost in thoughts for a second before looking at Raven up and down for the first time. "Big sister, you're wearing a dark battle armour and you look beautiful and sharp. I think Raven suits you pretty well!"

"Hehe," Raven simply giggled, making the crowd go silent and stare at her in awe once again.

'Have there ever been such a tolerant and patient Ruler in the history of the Demon Realm?' Everyone's thoughts were going wild.

"Oh, by the way, Nimue, why are you here alone? Are your parents with you or are you lost" Raven asked calmly.

"My parents…" The girl suddenly left Raven's embrace and touched her lower lip using her index finger, as if she was lost in thoughts, while looking around. "Ah, dad!"

Nimue suddenly shouted while running towards a certain person in the crowd.

As she got closer, she hugged the man who seemed to have lost his soul. His face was pale like paper while looking at his approaching daughter.

The crowd looked at him sympathetically while showing pitiful expressions.

Little Nimue didn't seem to find anything wrong with her dad, but instead smiled brightly. "Dad, I met this pretty and kind big sister, and she protected me from the evil guy. 

"Look, she's over there, and the bad guy is standing behind her like a statue, not daring to move. This big sister seems to be pretty strong!"

"Enough!" The father finally said. Although he wanted to yell, it sounded more like a whisper. 

He wasn't angry, no. He knows that children are not well versed in the ways of life. It was his own fault his daughter was acting like this.

It was his own fault that they both were going to… leave the world...

"Nimue, I love you…" saying that, he silently hugged his daughter as if protecting her from some mortal danger that was going to take the lives of both of them.

Little Nimue didn't understand but rather simply repeated that she loves him too.

Watching the father-daughter duo like that, Raven faintly felt something wrong but she didn't bother saying anything. 'Are they that scared of me? Or is it Abbadon? Hm…'

*Sigh*

With a sigh, she stood up from her crouching position and looked around her, watching the crowd's various expressions speechlessly.

"Everyone," Raven suddenly said while shaking her head. "Don't stand motionless like this. Everyone must get ready for tomorrow's battle so stock up on everything you need and remember to rest well tonight! Tomorrow is going to be a long day."

The crowd was still in a daze as Raven nodded towards Abbadon and silently strode down in the lane the crowd subconsciously created for them. Abbadon followed in silence, not even looking back at the young girl.

"Bye Nimue!" Raven suddenly called out before disappearing down the street.

"Bye, big sister!" Nimue waved her hand enthusiastically before yelling in concern: "please be careful of the bad guy!"

"I know!" Raven smiled and said without correcting the little girl.

The crowd watched until there was no sign of the two of them before staring at the little girl with looks of surprise, envy, awe, and some other inexplicable expressions.

***

"Am I the bad guy?" Abbadon suddenly asked in a weak voice.

"What do you think?" Gaia, who was silent since they reached the Demon Realm, suddenly sneered while smiling sarcastically at Abbadon.

"Err, no you're not," Raven answered while looking at the scenery around her. Although she seemed to enjoy the surroundings, this was her attempt at avoiding eye contact with Abbadon.

"If Lady Raven says so, then I can be sure that I am not a bad guy!" Abbadon smiled happily.

*Cough* *Cough*

Raven suddenly choked on her own breath, but still didn't mean to say anything.

Gaia on the other hand didn't contain herself and burst into laughter. Although she wanted to throw some sarcastic remarks, she ended up choking on her words so she just laughed loudly instead.

Abbadon didn't seem to mind. In fact, he seemed to be thinking of something different.

*Achoo!* 

Abbadon sneezed yet one more time. Suddenly, he turned his gaze backwards, seemingly looking into the void with cold eyes. 

However, if one was to focus and follow the direction of his gaze, they'd notice that he was looking at the direction of the Teleportation Gate connecting the two Realms.

"Hm, that's the fourth time, Abbadon," Raven's concerned sound suddenly came into Abbadon's ear, knocking him out of his trance, or whatever he was doing. "Are you sure you're not sick?"

"Naturally not, Lady Raven," he said calmly, even though he appeared annoyed by his situation. "A Daemon like me can't catch a cold like normal people, it would be a disgrace to all Daemons if that was to happen…"

His face got suddenly dark with anger after he said that and he subconsciously looked back towards the Teleportation Gate for a few seconds before shaking his head and looking back forward.

"Ho~ maybe someone is gossiping about you!" Raven chuckled slyly while covering her mouth, appearing like a troublesome child attempting a big prank.

"Gossiping about me? Is there such a thing?" Abbadon raised his eyebrows before he suddenly looked around at the busy streets. 

This time, it seemed as though he deliberately avoided the direction of the Teleportation Gate for some reason.

Gaia suddenly looked at the direction of the Teleportation Gate for a few seconds before bursting out in laughter again.

Raven on the other hand simply shrugged her shoulders. "I'm joking, don't worry about it.." She finally said to Abbadon before looking at the direction of the magnificent castle in the distance, her expression getting more serious with every step she took.