Chapter 97: The Broken Man
After Katarina emerged from the Green Gate ten years ago and became one of the Five Rulers, she changed significantly from the person Tobias had once known.
Katarina first dedicated her life to creating the BloodRaven guild and she expanded its influence across the whole of America and made it into one of the most powerful guilds in the world before finally hiding away in this mansion and refusing to leave anymore.
The only interaction Katarina had with the outside world was through her Gift, which she used to support all the members of the guild, and through the vice-captains who sometimes came to give her reports of what was happening. She never left this building and had no means of communication with the outside world.
Tobias knew that Katarina’s fear of the outside world had something to do with the Primordial she met inside the Green Gate. That experience changed Katarina for the worse and made her lose interest in anything that had to do with the world outside these walls! It was for this reason that Tobias decided not to tell Katarina about many of the things he did for the guild — like the assassinations he carried out to stop the King from emerging.
Tobias was one of the only people Katarina had told the truth about the Primordial that was coming for them. She told him that there was someone who would be hailed as the King — the strongest member of their race and that killing this person and preventing their rise to power was the only way they could ensure they weren’t completely wiped out.
Immediately after the revelation, Tobias began to kill anyone and everyone who seemed like they could grow powerful enough to become the King. Katarina never asked how Tobias was handling things, and Tobias never told her the details of his actions and it was only after he was done with the assassination that he would tell her, so she could bless him with more of her support.
In a way, Katarina believed that by allowing her brother to do her dirty work for her, she was somehow keeping her hand free from blood.
Katarina stared up at the statue of Christ looming over her. She felt a knife of guilt stab into her heart as she felt the statue judge her actions, and she closed her eyes tightly and said a prayer for forgiveness. There was nothing she could do. Nothing at all! Before becoming a Superhuman, Katarina had been studying to become a nun in the church. She dedicated her life to daily prayer and servitude and it was her desire to help others that made her go into the Green Gate with the other Rulers, even though she knew it was dangerous. But she now knew that she had no right to become a nun anymore. Not after everything she had done. Katarina still prayed every day out of habit, and it was always for forgiveness.
"Thank you for coming to inform me about the guild’s activities, Tobias. My heart melts with gratitude for your continued loyalty."