Raven Esteed vs. Thanatos

Raven Esteed vs. Thanatos is a battle that takes place in Mount Anthor after the defeat of Dahhak.

Prologue
After hearing Ken’s endgame, Thanatos is enraged to find that the Order of Darkness’s true aim is to rid the world of evil. Thanatos tells Ken that they were supposed to throw the world in chaos and disorder. Ken tells him it wasn’t and that he’s sorry he lied to him, prompting Thanatos to attack him unexpectedly. Ken blocks the attack and says he reconsiders; he isn’t sorry and he lied to him just like he lied to everyone else. Thanatos then becomes even angrier and prepares to attack him again when Ken interrupts and tells him that raising his weapon to him is futile as he is going to die here. Ken is about to summon his sword when Raven tells him not to as he’s been anxious to fight Thanatos because he thinks his methods are inappropriate. Raven then goes on to say that the only person to hate Thanatos more than him was Lilith. Ken backs down as Thanatos then laughs and says he’s going to kill Raven with the weight of oceans.

Battle
Raven appears directly behind Thanatos, but just as he’s about to unsheathe both his blades, Thanatos creates a water barrier and deflects Raven’s attack from both sides. Thanatos summons his scythe and attacks Raven, but his attack is blocked. Raven backs away and asks him when he learned that technique. Thanatos tells him it came with his Affinity from the very beginning. He continues to say that he has never shown anyone the true power of his Affinity. Before Thanatos can finish, Raven appears behind him again and slashes him across his back, telling him he doesn’t care what power his Affinity has, as he is about to die anyway. The Thanatos that Raven slashed turns into water and another Thanatos appears behind him just as his attack connected. Raven parries; however, yet another Thanatos appears behind him and successfully attacks Raven, much to Raven’s surprise. Thanatos explains that he can create clones from the water he commands. Raven tells him he is confused and doesn't realize there's water in a volcano. Thanatos laughs again and tells him he can harness the water from the atmosphere itself. He then moves in for another attack.

Raven and Thanatos exchange blows, but neither of them can inflict wounds to to each other. Thanatos backs away, and tells Raven that he's arrogant because he thinks he can can defeat him without using Affinity. However, Raven tells him he never said that, and that he shouldn't make any presumptions. Raven goes on to say the same thing, and notes that Thanatos himself hasn't used Affinity either. Thanatos says he doesn't need to use it on weak opponents. As Raven appears in front of Thanatos, he tells him that he's the arrogant one and slashes Thanatos across the chest. Angry that Raven was able to inflict a wound on him, Thanatos creates distance between Raven and himself, and activates his Affinity, Aqualung. Thanatos begins an attack, but suddenly disappears and reappears as he attacks. Raven is caught off guard and is dealt a severe blow. Thanatos then says that it's over and that Raven was a fool to think he could defeat him without using Affinity. Raven asks who the fool is, causing Thanatos to turn and see Raven standing a few feet away, unscathed. Confused, Thanatos doesn't bother to ask what just happened and readies his Affinity's ultimate attack, Tsunami. Raven, tired of listening to his arguments, activates his Affinity, Last Stand, and fires his Gae Assail, destroying Thanatos's Tsunami. As Thanatos looks on, he asks how Raven destroyed his attack. Raven ignores his question and appears behind him and points Gae Assail at Thanatos. Enraged, he disappears and reappears away from Raven. Raven then asks him why he backed away. He then proceeds to tell him that backing away from an opponent is only meaningful when facing another opponent of equal power. He then charges his Gae Assail for another volley. Thanatos appears behind Raven and is shocked to see that Raven anticipated his move and fires at point-blank range.

As the debris clears, Raven is surprised to see that Thanatos is still alive. Thanatos rushes Raven and notes that Last Stand is a long-range Affinity. Raven engages Thanatos at close range and reminds him of what he told him earlier about making presumptions. The two clash, sending a massive shockwave below, causing Reika to shield her eyes. Ken assures her that everything will be fine, and that a lowlife like Thanatos can never defeat Raven. The two then continue to watch the battle.

Raven inflicts several wounds to Thanatos, while sustaining very few himself. Wounded, Thanatos backs away again. Before Raven can taunt him a second time, Thanatos tranforms into his Vampyr form as he tells Raven that this is his true form. Raven is surprised, as he was led to believe that Vampyrs were long-since extinct. Thanatos tells him that is not the case, and that Kinam himself was a Vampyr. Raven then realizes that Thanatos was playing the fool the whole time, and is much more powerful than he always made out to be. Thanatos confirms this and teleports behind Raven, lightly injuring him, despite the force of the blow. Feigning that he's hurt, Raven falls to the ground and recovers quickly, firing off a blast. Thanatos doesn't bother to avoid the incoming blasts. Raven looks on in astonishment as the volley merely passes through him. He tells Raven that Vampyrs are immortal and that he's the most powerful one to have ever existed. Thanatos turns into a cloud of bats and he manages to deal several more wounds to Raven, while healing himself in the process. Shortly after, Raven escapes the barrage and creates distance between the two. Thanatos becomes whole again as he mocks Raven and asks him why he backed away. Raven laughs it off, retaliating by telling him that no matter how strong he becomes, he'll never be an equal to him. Raven then tells him he's going to prove it and aphenes to second stage of Last Stand.

As this is happening, Thanatos proceeds to tell him his lowly Affinity can never equal his and that he will crush him with the weight of oceans. Raven further provokes Thanatos as he tells him that he must be afraid, seeing that he is reassuring himself of the victory he thought was absolute. Raven then rushes to attack Thanatos. Thanatos, expecting a point-blank shot from Gae Assail takes a defensive stance to parry and counter his attack, but Raven surprises him by instead forsaking his defenses and using Renzokuken. Raven follows the attack with Lugh's Revenge, his most powerful attack, and fatally injures Thanatos. As Thanatos falls to the ground dying, Raven tells him it's over and that he was crushed by the weight of his own ocean.

Aftermath
As he dies, Thanatos becomes enraged and yells that it's not fair and how he should have been the winner and that Raven had no right to interfere with his fighting Ken. Raven tells him he would not have been able to even scratch Ken. As Thanatos begins to self-destruct, Ken steps in and teleports Thanatos to a different dimension through Axiom. Shortly after, Raven regresses and falls to the ground, exhausted. Reika rushes towards him as Ken states it's time to return. He teleports the two and then himself back to Excelia, where Ken asks Shana to heal Raven and Reika. Ken then says that it's almost time for the true decisive battle. As the group prepares to depart for Abyssea, Reika tells Ken and Shana that Raven seems to have calmed down since Lilith's death.

As the group is ready to depart, Kharsis appears over the skies of Excelia lamenting on the group's course of action. He proclaims that he is now invincible, as there are not enough "transmigrants" to defeat him. He then engages Terra Break and destroys much of the human world below, to the horror of the group. As he leaves, he finally asks the Enlightened why they decided to fight amongst themselves, instead of worked together to prevent his eventual return. Ken admits to never knowing how to prevent his return; Kharsis returns to Firewall as he fails to understand Ken's reasoning. As the group prepares to depart, Shana stops them, and explains to the group the meaning of "transmigrants" and the sole way of defeating Kharsis.