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Credit to the Guilty Gear Wiki
Close to a thousand years ago, Raven was born during the reign of the Holy Roman Empire, somewhere in the Kingdom of Germany. He lived a very average middle-class life, until he was enlisted as a soldier in his mid-twenties and sent far away. He became an accomplished knight, waging war in foreign lands, but the campaign quickly became an unsustainable one a little over a year after it had begun. The unit to which he belonged attacked a small village to obtain supplies, but their enemies had planned for it and attacked them in the middle of the night.
Raven woke up and, sensing danger, left his room. Avoiding the enemy soldiers, he fled on horseback but he—and the horse—were struck down by a hail of arrows. Defenseless, he was stabbed to "death" by five soldiers. However, rather than dying, he found himself in a strange cylindrical space, as if caged with birds of prey, and felt immeasurable pain. After a few minutes, the pain abruptly ended, and he woke up in a pool of his own blood. Somehow alive, his wounds had closed, leaving faint scars. His aging halted on this first recovery from death, Raven thus began his infinite circle of death and life.
At some point, Raven settled in a village and started using his powers to help people, at times healing the sick and wounded, and at other times overthrowing tyrants. For these deeds he was punished and even executed, but his many returns were celebrated as miracles, and they began to view him as a god. As word of his deeds spread, outsiders sought his aid and left the village to help other settlements. When things settled down, he returned to the first village thinking that he would be welcomed back with open arms, but instead found that the villagers blamed him for every problem that occurred during his absence. Raven then realized that he was no god, but a simple repairman to them.
In time, Raven grew apathetic and tired of living, and attempted suicide many times, only to be met with failure. It was then that he drove an experimental device with spikes on either end through his skull, in an attempt to prevent his brain stem from regenerating, but this too was unsuccessful. Eventually, he met That Man, who gave him a new lease of life, and pledged his allegiance to him.
In October 2180, after Justice's death at Sol's hand during the Second Holy Order Selection Tournament, That Man learns that his design plans for her still exist, and asks Raven to secure and delete the samples. He eventually intervenes, confronting Sol Badguy; Sol attempts to incinerate Raven with a powerful Tyrant Rave, but Raven simply regenerates his charred flesh and expresses disappointment that he didn't feel even a little warmth. He later recovers the sample from Faust and Ky Kiske, defeating Faust in battle in extra-dimensional space. Before vanishing with the specimen he tells Ky to warn Sol not to approach the resonance.
In 2181, the world learns of a self-reliant Gear Dizzy, on whom a large bounty is placed. In one of Sol's paths, after Raven's report, That Man is surprised to know that "there was a daughter" and orders Raven to keep an eye on Dizzy without being detected.
In Eddie's third ending, after Eddie fails to make Dizzy his host due to I-No's interference, That Man orders Raven to take Eddie as a sample, while he chats with Dizzy. In Axl's first ending, That Man tells Axl that Raven is an "identical existence" to Axl, which causes Axl to time-slip because they naturally repel each other. In I-No's first ending, she is about to kill Sol, but Raven orders her to stand down, while That Man is forced to punish her transgressions.
In 2186, in the aftermath of a battle between Valentine's forces and the Illyrian knights, That Man seals Ky Kiske away in Illyria Castle's throne room. When Sol, Sin Kiske, and Izuna come looking for him, Raven appears before Sol, subtly confirming his master's participation in the ongoing incident. Raven and Sol fight for a bit until Raven backs off, noting Sol to be "one of the wheels that moves the world" and laments that he can't kill him yet, then vanishes.
After Valentine's death at Sol's hands, Raven discusses the possibility of more Valentines appearing with That Man, and informs him that Sol's Dragon Install has started to encroach. Raven expresses concern that Sol may stand in their way again, and vows to protect That Man, but he tells Raven to let history write its own course, for Raven's responsibility is simply to be there at that time.
After That Man is imprisoned by Bedman on November 2, 2187, Raven finds him, but That Man is unable to break free, and instructs that Jack-O' should be awakened, for she is to replace Elphelt in restoring Justice to humanity. However, when she is awakened by I-No, Jack-O' decides to get some fresh air and runs away. On November 9, Raven is forced to ask Sol for help, who brings Sin and Ramlethal along.
Thanks to I-No, they find Jack-O' at Heaven's Edge; during the encounter, Raven explains to Sin that immortals like himself unavoidably grow apathetic, and That Man is trying to prevent humanity from following the same path. Raven, in turn, is taken aback by Ramlethal saying he treats Jack-O' too coldly for being "a doll". Finally, Sol pieces from Raven's explanation that Justice was Aria Hale all along, but Raven offers them his gratitude and teleports away with Jack-O'. Back at the Sanctuary, Raven chastises Jack-O' and, after briefly discussing Happy Chaos, leaves to find I-No. At Neo New York, she refuses to return. Though Raven shares her pain, I-No says that he is now on the "other side". As they are to part ways, Raven is upset when I-No says it's not like they ever were friends, so she adds that they might still see each other from time to time as she leaves.
Raven then returns to the Sanctuary, and watches alongside Jack-O' how events unfold while waiting for That Man to return. Noticing her leg wound, Raven heals it. Jack-O' says there is no need and wonders why he is being so nice; Raven reflects that he wantonly hurt Ramlethal's feelings earlier, but he himself has forgotten what being human is like, to which Jack-O' calls him a "softie".
When Elphelt's signal appears in Scandiva, That Man returns, and Raven leaves to check the signal. When Ramlethal is unable to get out of a Gear's explosion range, Raven manages to save her, though everyone is led to believe that she died. Upon healing her wounded leg and arm, Raven and Ramlethal go to the Celestial Altar to unexpectedly contribute to Ariels's defeat and the successful merge of Justice and Jack-O'.
In the aftermath, after That Man—or rather, Asuka—issues his challenge to Sol, Raven meets his former master one last time to inform him that preparations are complete. Asuka is about to say his usual farewell, but stops as Raven no longer works for him. Raven asks why Asuka once seemed to want Raven to live as a "storyteller" when peace finally came. Asuka admits that he just wanted to part ways as friends. Raven then tells the story of how he once tried his hand at playing God, concluding that as a storyteller he might be able to truly save people. Vowing to live up to those words, as a friend, he asks Asuka to say the line, which he does. Afterwards, Asuka turns himself in to the American government.
Three weeks later, after the conclusion of the G4 Summit incident, Raven finds himself alone watching L'oro Di Illyria from the top of a building.
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