Chương 85: Chapter 78: The Forgotten Hearth

The sun was beginning its slow descent over the island of Patch, casting a warm, golden-orange glow across the dense canopy of the surrounding forests. Because the western coast of Vale sat four hours behind the continent of Anima, the violent midnight aftermath of Haven Academy felt like a world away from the quiet, tranquil afternoon settling over the Xiao Long residence. In the front yard, Taiyang Xiao Long stood with a green garden hose in hand, his thumb pressed over the nozzle to create a gentle spray.

He was watering a row of vibrant yellow sunflowers planted near the porch. The rhythmic, soothing hiss of the water hitting the damp soil was the only sound cutting through the quiet, save for the rhythmic, vibrating snores of Zwei, who was entirely sprawled out on his back on the wooden steps, sunbathing in a patch of fading light. Taiyang sighed, a comfortable, if somewhat lonely, sound.

He reached over to adjust the valve on the spigot when a sudden, barely perceptible rustle of leaves echoed from the tree line just beyond his fence. It wasn't the heavy, clumsy footfall of a Grimm, nor the erratic scurrying of a forest animal. It was deliberate. Taiyang turned off the hose, letting it drop to the grass. His muscles tensed on pure instinct, a remnant of his days in Team STRQ, as his blue eyes scanned the shadows of the tall oaks. Then, he saw her.

Standing perfectly still in the shade of a massive oak tree, just beyond the boundary of the yard, was Raven. Taiyang's breath caught in his throat. His eyes widened, completely betraying the sudden, violent hammering of his heart. She was wearing her familiar red and black garments, but they were torn, scorched, and covered in gray dust. Her dark hair was unkempt, and there was a profound, exhausted hollow in her crimson eyes that he hadn't seen since the days they were students at Beacon.

She stood in absolute silence, staring at him. Her hands hung loosely by her sides. A storm of mixed, chaotic feelings swirled behind her gaze. Fear, regret, and a desperate, unspoken longing.

"Raven?" Taiyang called out, his voice cracking slightly in the quiet air. Raven didn't move. For a long, agonizing moment, she just looked at him, as if ensuring he wasn't an illusion. Then, she took a hesitant step out of the shadows.

"It's... been a long time, Tai," Raven said softly, her voice raspy, entirely stripped of the fierce, untouchable bandit queen persona she usually wore like armor.

"Yeah," Taiyang breathed, taking a tentative step forward.

"It has." He looked at her bruises, the exhaustion radiating from her posture. His protective instincts immediately flared, overriding decades of hurt and abandonment. He gestured toward the small porch.

"Do you want to stop by?" Taiyang offered gently, his voice warm and steady.

"I can make some coffee. Or tea. Whichever you prefer." Raven looked at the house. She looked at the porch swing, the flowerbeds, the sleeping corgi. She looked like a wild animal being coaxed into a shelter. She hesitated, her boots shifting in the grass. But then, slowly, she gave a stiff nod.

Ten minutes later, the scene shifted to the wooden terrace at the back of the house. The fading sunlight cast long, melancholic shadows across the floorboards. Raven sat rigidly in a cushioned wicker chair, her gloved hands wrapped tightly around a steaming porcelain mug of black tea. Taiyang sat across from her at the small, round patio table, a mug of coffee resting in front of him. Raven kept her gaze fixed on the dark liquid in her cup. The house hadn't changed.

The scent of pine, the slightly squeaky floorboard near the door, the wind chimes hanging from the eaves. It was all exactly the same as she remembered. A suffocating, painful wave of nostalgia washed over her. It was a life she had actively chosen to throw away, and sitting in the middle of it now felt like a physical weight pressing against her chest. She wanted to look at Taiyang, to study the new lines on his face and the gray in his blonde hair, but she couldn't bring herself to make eye contact.

A heavy, oppressive silence hung between them, thick with decades of unsaid words. Neither of them knew how to navigate the chasm that separated them.

"So," Taiyang finally began, his deep voice breaking the quiet. He kept his tone incredibly gentle, leaning forward slightly.

"How have you been, Rae?"

"I'm fine," Raven replied automatically, her voice slipping slightly into its usual, cold detachment. Taiyang offered a sad, knowing smile. He took a sip of his coffee.

"You look like you went twelve rounds with a mountain, Raven. And you don't just show up at my front door on a Tuesday afternoon because everything is 'fine'." Raven's jaw tightened. She closed her eyes, the phantom ache in her chest throbbing. She knew she couldn't lie to him. Taiyang had always been able to see right through her walls.

"I saw the girls," Raven said quietly. Taiyang completely froze, his coffee mug stopping halfway to the table.

"Yang and Ruby? Are they... are they okay?"

"They are fine," Raven assured him, finally lifting her crimson eyes to meet his blue ones.

"More than fine, Tai. They are strong. Stronger than we were at their age. They are with their friends, the Schnee girl, the Faunus, and Team JNPR. They survived the attack on Haven Academy tonight." Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Taiyang let out a massive, shaky exhale, slumping back into his chair as relief washed over him.

"Thank the gods. I've been going crazy here reading the scattered reports out of Mistral-- Wait..." Taiyang's eyes widened.

"Tonight? You were at Haven?"

"I was," Raven admitted, her grip on her mug tightening until her knuckles turned white under her gloves.

"Qrow is with them, too. And Ozpin." Taiyang frowned in confusion.

"Ozpin? But the CCT broadcast... the reports said Ozpin died at Beacon."

"He did," Raven said grimly, leaning back.

"But you know how his curse works, Tai. He's already reincarnated. He's sharing the body of a young farm boy from Mistral. He's leading them toward Atlas now." Taiyang processed this with a heavy sigh, rubbing his forehead. Team STRQ had known about Ozpin's true nature, about his endless war against Salem. Taiyang and Summer had never been in the deepest core of the inner circle like Qrow, but they knew enough to understand the stakes.

Only Raven knew the darkest, most terrifying secret of all, about Salem immortality. But Taiyang knew enough to hate that his daughters were tangled in it.

"They shouldn't have to carry his burdens," Taiyang muttered bitterly.

"They chose it," Raven said, a hint of reluctant pride bleeding into her voice.

"Glynda tried to send them back to Vale, but they refused. They are determined to see this through." Taiyang smiled proudly, despite his worry.

"That sounds exactly like Yang and Ruby. Stubborn to the bone." He paused, looking at Raven curiously.

"But... if they're heading to Atlas, why are you here? What made you come back to Patch?" Raven's cold exterior finally cracked. A look of profound, comical bewilderment crossed her face, completely shattering her stoic demeanor.

"Because a bald idiot in a yellow jumpsuit told me to," Raven deadpanned. Taiyang blinked. Then, slowly, a massive, booming laugh erupted from his chest. He laughed so hard he had to put his coffee down, holding his stomach.

"You met him?!" Taiyang laughed, wiping a tear from his eye.

"You met Saitama?" Raven stared at him, bewildered.

"You know him?"

"He was here in Vale!" Taiyang chuckled, shaking his head in fond disbelief.

"I met him about five months ago, when Beacon was still under heavy reconstruction. I thanked him for saving Yang and Ruby from the fall." Raven just stared, her brain struggling to process that her ex-husband had conversation with the man who punched a hole in reality.

"Hold on," Taiyang frowned, his laughter subsiding as he realized the geopolitical implications.

"The news broadcasts, the CCT web... everything says the 'Hero of Vale' is still patrolling the city. But he's in Mistral?"

"Ozpin is covering it up," Raven explained, shaking her head in exhaustion.

"They have some poor janitor in a bald cap running around Vale to keep the public and Salem's spies fooled. Meanwhile, ther real one was in Mistral, completely ignoring the apocalypse to complain about vending machines." Raven sighed.

"He... he is an anomaly, Tai. He defies everything we know about this world."

"He's a good guy, though," Taiyang said warmly, leaning forward.

"A bit dense, sure. Okay, incredibly dense. But his heart is in the exact right place. When he fought here, he didn't care about the fame or the politics. He just wanted to help." Raven looked down at her tea.

"He shattered the Vault of Haven. An indestructible, magical gateway forged by the Brother Gods themselves... and he just punched it open because he didn't want to wait." Taiyang's eyes widened in sheer shock.

"You're kidding."

"I wish I was," Raven murmured. She took a slow, deep breath, finally laying her greatest failure bare.

"Cinder Fall was there, Tai. She ambushed me. I... I was the Spring Maiden." Taiyang froze, the pieces suddenly falling into place in his mind. Her disappearance, her fear, her immense power.

"Was?" Taiyang repeated softly. Raven closed her eyes, the shame burning hot in her chest.

"Cinder stole it. All of it. She possesses two Maidens' powers now. I barely survived. Salem's faction is stronger than ever. They have the power to level cities." Taiyang stood up from his chair. He walked around the table, the wooden floorboards creaking softly beneath his boots. He knelt down beside Raven's chair, entirely ignoring the terrifying implications of Cinder's new power. He looked at her, his blue eyes filled with an unwavering, fierce optimism.

"The kids will be fine, Rae," Taiyang said firmly, his voice an anchor in her sea of anxiety.

"If Salem has two Maidens, but our girls have a guy who can punch through god-tier magic like it's wet paper? I like our odds. As long as the hero is with them, Yang and Ruby are safe." Raven opened her eyes, looking at Taiyang's face. The absolute, unshakeable faith he had in the future, in their daughters, was blinding. It was the same warmth that had drawn her to him all those years ago. Taiyang slowly reached out. He placed his large, calloused hand gently over hers, resting on the armrest.

Raven flinched slightly at the contact, but she didn't pull away. His hand was so warm.

"Stop running, Rae," Taiyang pleaded, his voice dropping to a desperate, incredibly tender whisper.

"You don't have to carry this fear anymore. You don't have to hide in the woods. You lost the Maiden power... which means you are finally free. Salem has no reason to hunt you." Raven's breath hitched.

"Come home," Taiyang said, his thumb gently brushing her knuckles.

"Stay here. Be with me. We can fix this. We can be a family again." Raven stared at him. The temptation was agonizing. The warmth of his hand, the safety of the house, the promise of a quiet life free from the shadow war. It was everything she secretly craved. She closed her eyes, a single tear slipping free and trailing down her bruised cheek. For a long, suspended moment, she allowed herself to imagine it. Waking up in a real bed. Drinking coffee on this porch. Watching Yang come home to visit.

But then, the dark, cynical reality of her life dragged her back down. She was a bandit leader. She had blood on her hands. She had abandoned them. She didn't deserve this warmth. And more importantly, her tribe, her family of outcasts, needed her to survive. If she stayed, she would only bring the violent consequences of her past to Taiyang's doorstep. Raven gently, but firmly, slipped her hand out from under his.

She stood up from the wicker chair, wiping the tear from her cheek and instantly rebuilding the cold, impenetrable walls of Raven Branwen.

"I can't, Tai," Raven whispered, her voice devoid of emotion. Taiyang stood up, his face falling in heartbreak.

"Rae, please..."

"My tribe needs me," she said, stepping away from the table, putting physical distance between them.

"I have a responsibility to them. This... this isn't my life anymore." She turned her back to him and walked off the wooden terrace, stepping down into the grass of the backyard. The sun had finally dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in deep, melancholic hues of purple and twilight blue.

"Raven!" Taiyang called out, rushing down the steps after her.

"You don't have to do this! You don't have to be alone!" Raven stopped near the edge of the tree line. She stood still for a moment, listening to the desperate, loving plea of the man she had never truly stopped loving. She turned around. Before Taiyang could say another word, Raven stepped forward, closing the distance between them. She reached up, framing his face with her gloved hands, and pulled him down into a deep, desperate kiss.

It was a kiss filled with decades of unspoken apologies, profound sorrow, and a fleeting, agonizing glimpse of what could have been. Taiyang's eyes widened, but he immediately wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her tight, hoping against hope that she would stay. Then, Raven slowly pulled away. She looked up at him, her crimson eyes softening for one final, genuine moment.

"It is good to see you again, Taiyang," she whispered, her voice trembling slightly. She stepped backward, slipping out of his embrace.

"Rae, wait!" Taiyang reached out, his hand grasping empty air. Raven turned and walked into the dark shadows of the tall oak trees. The twilight swallowed her crimson and black silhouette instantly.

"Raven!" Taiyang yelled, running into the tree line, his boots crunching against the fallen leaves. He looked frantically around the quiet forest.

"Raven, come back! Please!" But the woods were entirely empty. There was no rustle of bushes, no snap of twigs. She was completely gone. Taiyang stood alone in the darkening forest, his shoulders slumping in heavy, profound defeat. He lowered his head, a heavy sigh escaping his lips as the cold reality settled over him once again. High above him, perched on the thick branch of an ancient oak tree, a large, dark-feathered bird looked down. The raven stared at the sad, defeated man standing in the dirt below.

Its beady, intelligent crimson eyes lingered on him for a long, silent moment, entirely hidden in the canopy. With a sudden, sharp flutter of wings, the bird pushed off the branch. It soared up through the leaves, catching the cold night wind, and flew away into the dark, boundless sky.