Chapter 14 Despair
(Third-Person POV)
For several seconds, the Forbidden Forest was completely silent as a beautiful woman appeared between the ancient trees. She had snow-white skin, long silver hair, and piercing blue eyes surrounded by a faint pink glow. Two black horns curved from the top of her head, while enormous wings spread behind a body with muscles and curves that seemed to defy reality.
However, none of that was as noticeable as the emotions pouring from her.
Sadness, depression, rage, and absolute despair radiated from Valentine so intensely that the forest itself seemed to recoil from her presence. Leaves curled inward, animals froze inside their burrows, and the ancient trees groaned as the overwhelming pressure settled over them.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
A shock wave of raw magic exploded from Valentine.
Everything within five hundred feet of her was eradicated. Trees, plants, insects, magical creatures, and even the stones beneath her feet were reduced to dust before being blown outward by the expanding wave. The destruction did not stop at the newly formed crater, either. Magic continued pulsing from her like a beating heart, each wave traveling farther than the last as the sky above the Forbidden Forest rapidly darkened.
Black clouds spiraled into existence. Blue lightning crawled through them while black-and-blue Phantom Fire appeared across the ruined ground. Poisonous green mist rose from cracks in the earth, only to freeze into glittering crystals as Valentine's Ice Magic activated alongside it.
The Class 5 Ley Line beneath the forest had recognized its Guardian.
Unfortunately, it had also recognized her pain.
(At Hogwarts—Godric's POV)
"Helga, did you finally find all the House Elves we will need to run this school?" I asked, dipping a piece of bread into the stew she had prepared.
"Not yet, but they are hardly difficult to find," Helga answered with a charming smile. "With the amount of work and shelter we will be providing, I believe many of them will be happy to join us."
I was about to reply when Salazar stood so quickly that his chair flew backward and crashed against the stone floor. Rowena was only a second behind him, her face becoming unnaturally pale as both of their magical auras flared around them.
Before I could ask what was wrong, a wave of magic washed through the castle.
It was so dense that breathing became difficult. The magic carried despair so deep that tears immediately poured from my eyes, accompanied by an anger that felt as if it were only moments away from consuming everything around it.
"Wh-what the hell is that?" I gasped, trying to wipe the tears from my face as another wave passed through us. "I have never felt magical pressure like this before."
Salazar did not answer. Instead, he stared at Rowena, almost begging her with his eyes before he finally managed to speak.
"Rowena, please tell me that the aura we are feeling is not what I think it is."
The fear in his voice shocked me more than the magic did. Salazar was one of the most arrogant and fearless men I had ever met. I had watched him face armies, dragons, and ancient curses without so much as blinking, but right now, his hands were visibly shaking.
"Unfortunately, I cannot do that," Rowena answered quietly. "If you are sensing the same thing I am, then it is most likely a demon. A very, very powerful one."
She closed her eyes for several seconds, feeling the magic as another pulse passed through Hogwarts.
"However, something is wrong. I have met powerful demons before, but I have never known one to radiate emotions this strongly. This is not simple hatred or bloodlust. Whatever is out there is experiencing a level of grief and despair that I did not believe an infernal being was capable of feeling."
"And the anger?" Helga asked.
"Growing."
"Wonderful," I muttered. "A grieving demon with enough power to make the four of us cry from miles away."
I looked between Salazar and Rowena, realizing there was another issue that had temporarily been forgotten.
"How could either of you possibly recognize a demon's aura?" I asked. "And why did the two of you react before Helga and me?"
Salazar released a long breath and glanced toward Rowena.
"Godric, as you know, I have studied the Dark Arts extensively. Rowena has done the same, but what you do not know is that Rowena is—"
"I am Fae," Rowena interrupted. "Specifically, I am an Unseelie Sidhe. I left the Court to be with Salazar."
I stared at her.
Helga stared at her.
Rowena smiled awkwardly.
"I am not malicious or evil like your folklore portrays my kind," she continued. "At least, I am not anymore. However, that is not important right now. What matters is that my nature makes me extremely sensitive to dark, infernal, and emotional magic. I have also met demons before. In fact, all of you have met demons, and we are currently trying to hire several of them to help look after this castle."
"You have got to be shitting me," Helga said in exasperation.
"That is correct. House Elves are actually a very low-ranked species of demon known as Imps. Several thousand years ago, a powerful Archmage required servants and summoned a large number of them, but his summoning ritual was—"
"Rowena," I interrupted before she could fully enter her lecture mode. "As fascinating as it is to learn that House Elves are apparently demons, we have more immediate problems."
I pointed toward one of the windows.
A massive herd of centaurs was racing toward Hogwarts. There were hundreds of them, including young colts and fillies who had been placed across the backs of warriors. Several centaurs were pulling carts filled with food and supplies, while others kept glancing fearfully toward the Forbidden Forest.
"I believe they are about to break down our doors."
(Centaur Tribe Elder Theron's POV)
A young filly had been about to hand me my dinner when we felt it.
A howling storm of dark magic swept through the forest, carrying emotions so thick that they physically hurt. The trees trembled, animals screamed, and the clouds overhead darkened with alarming speed.
Before the clouds completely swallowed the sky, I looked toward the stars.
What I saw terrified me more than the magic.
Mars burned brighter than the sun itself, raw and unforgiving, while Saturn followed close behind, heavy with judgment. However, neither of those signs was the worst of it.
Two stars that should have been there were gone.
They had always burned brightly beside one another, appearing in every chart our tribe had maintained for generations. They were not dimmed or hidden behind the gathering clouds.
They were simply gone.
In their place, a single unfamiliar star burned with a cold blue light, surrounded by a faint ring of crimson.
My legs shook beneath me. The filly standing beside me was not doing any better, her entire body trembling as the magical pressure continued to rise.
We needed to leave.
Standing was difficult for my old bones, but it was infinitely easier than remaining near whatever nightmare had awakened within the forest.
"Warriors, gather the fillies and colts and whatever food you can carry," I ordered. "We are leaving immediately. Orion, travel to the other tribes and warn them if they have not already felt this magic. Tell them to meet us at Hogwarts."
"Yes, Elder."
The young black-haired centaur nodded. The frightened flick of his tail suggested he was more than happy to begin running away from whatever was causing the storm.
"Do not investigate it," I warned him before he left. "Do not approach it. If another tribe refuses to listen, leave them behind."
His expression tightened.
"Yes, Elder."
The stars had warned us that something new had appeared inside the forest.
Something born from the death of two ancient powers.
We had no intention of being the first beings it encountered.
(Valentine's POV)
|WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!|
|Extreme emotional instability detected.|
|Your newly evolved Primordial Soul Core has reconnected with the claimed Class 5 Ley Line.|
|Current external magical intake exceeds the safe capacity of your Level 0 racial structure.|
|Current Internal MP: Recalculating.|
|Current External Mana Intake: 18,740,000 MP per second and increasing.|
|Warning: Your emotional state is influencing the Class 5 Ley Line.|
|Warning: The Ley Line is attempting to fulfill its Guardian's dominant desire.|
"Then take me back!" I screamed at the windows floating in front of me. "If it wants to fulfill my desire, tell it to take me back to Lindsey!"
The ground beneath me split apart.
Silver and gold light shone from the cracks as the Class 5 Ley Line pushed more of its power into my body. It hurt, but I barely noticed. All I could see was Lindsey's tiny face inside my Mind Palace.
I remembered holding her.
I remembered her fingers wrapped around mine.
I remembered handing her away as if she meant nothing.
"Open a portal to the Empire Building World!"
|Notice: Dimensional coordinates unavailable.|
"Use my connection to Lindsey!"
|Notice: Devil Queen's Dominion retains a valid connection to Lindsey Silver.|
My breath caught.
"Then she is alive?"
|Notice: Lindsey Silver's Dominion Mark remains intact.|
|Notice: Precise health, location, and condition cannot be determined across the dimensional barrier.|
She was alive.
My baby was still alive.
That knowledge should have calmed me, but instead, it gave my rage something to focus on.
"Then follow the Mark and bring her to me!"
|Warning: The Dominion Mark is not a dimensional pathway.|
|Warning: Attempting to force a connection without accurate coordinates may breach an unknown world, dimensional void, hostile plane, or unstable section of space.|
"I DON'T CARE!"
I reached for Lindsey's Mark.
It was incredibly distant, almost too faint for me to recognize, but it existed. A tiny silver thread stretching away from my soul and disappearing somewhere beyond the universe.
All five of my minds focused on it.
My primary mind pulled at the connection while the others constructed runes around it. Space Magic was not one of my listed affinities, but Gravity Magic, Summoning Magic, Soul Magic, and Runes could imitate many of the same effects if used correctly.
Or they could tear a hole in reality and kill me.
At this point, I didn't give a fuck.
Silver runes appeared around me. Black Summoning Runes formed a second layer, followed by blue Soul Runes and dark-purple Gravity Runes. The magical circles expanded around the crater as I tried to turn the connection to Lindsey into a path.
For a moment, it worked.
A small crack appeared in the air.
There was nothing beyond it except darkness, but I felt something on the other side. Not Lindsey, but another world. Another reality pressed against this one with only a thin barrier separating them.
"Lindsey!"
I poured more magic into the spell.
The crack widened.
|WARNING!|
|Dimensional target does not match the Empire Building World.|
|Unknown plane detected.|
|Atmosphere: None.|
|Ambient Conditions: Lethal.|
|Unknown entities have noticed the breach.|
The darkness on the other side moved.
Thousands of tiny white eyes opened within it.
I did not care.
"Find her!"
|Warning: The dimensional breach is destabilizing.|
|Warning: Incoming contact detected.|
A long, pale hand reached through the crack.
It had seven fingers, each one ending in a hooked claw. The limb was wider than my entire body and covered in runes I had never seen before.
Some distant part of my mind found that fascinating.
The rest of me was too angry to care.
"Wrong fucking world."
I thrust my hand forward and released a wave of Phantom Fire. The pale limb ignited instantly, causing a sound like an entire species screaming at once to echo from the other side.
The creature pulled its hand back.
I slammed the dimensional crack closed.
The backlash exploded outward.
Trees for several miles were ripped from the earth as a wall of Gravity Magic passed through them. Blue lightning struck the ground hundreds of times in less than a second, while Ice Magic froze the rain before it could fall.
The next wave of power reached Hogwarts.
(At Hogwarts—Godric's POV)
The castle screamed.
That was the only way I could describe it. Every ward we had placed around Hogwarts activated at the same time, creating a blinding dome of light over the castle.
For a moment, the wards held.
Then cracks spread across them.
"What is happening?" Helga shouted as the floor shook beneath us.
"The wards are failing!" Salazar yelled.
"That is impossible," I said. "It took all four of us months to create them!"
Another pulse of magic struck Hogwarts.
The outer wards shattered.
The windows throughout the Great Hall exploded inward, forcing us to raise shields as glass and debris filled the room. Several newly finished towers cracked, while suits of armor and unfinished furniture were thrown across the stone floor.
Outside, the centaurs screamed and stumbled as the magical wave passed over them.
Rowena grabbed the edge of the table to stop herself from falling.
"It is not attacking us," she shouted.
I looked at her as if she had lost her mind.
"It just shattered our wards!"
"The magic was not aimed at Hogwarts," she yelled back. "We were simply in its path."
"That is supposed to make me feel better?"
"No!"
A third pulse passed through the castle, but this one was weaker. The stones still trembled, although the remaining internal wards managed to hold.
Salazar stared toward the forest.
"What is it doing?"
Rowena closed her eyes and focused.
"It is reaching for something."
"What?"
"I do not know, but whatever it is, the demon believes it has lost it."
Helga looked through the broken window toward the black storm covering the Forbidden Forest.
"Then perhaps it is not here to harm us."
Salazar laughed once, although there was no humor in it.
"That thing could destroy Hogwarts by accident. Its intentions may no longer matter."
A loud pounding came from the entrance of the castle.
"The centaurs," I muttered.
I turned toward the doors, only for another wave of grief to pass through me. My knees nearly gave out, and for one horrifying instant, I experienced the certainty that I had abandoned someone I loved more than anything in the world.
The emotion was not mine.
It belonged to the being in the forest.
"She lost a child," Helga whispered.
I looked toward her.
Tears were streaming down Helga's face, but there was no fear in her expression anymore.
"Whatever she is," Helga continued, "she believes she abandoned her child."
(Valentine's POV)
The first dimensional breach had failed.
I tried again.
My Parallel Minds altered the runic structure, removing the pathway that had connected to the unknown void and replacing it with a sequence designed to follow the connection to Lindsey's Dominion Mark.
The new runes activated.
The air split open.
This time, I saw an endless ocean of molten glass beneath a green sun.
"Wrong."
I closed the breach and tried again.
A world filled entirely with water.
Wrong.
A dead planet covered in ruins.
Wrong.
A forest where the trees had eyes and the sky was made from flesh.
Very fucking wrong.
Each failed attempt increased the pressure inside my Soul Core. The Class 5 Ley Line continued feeding my spell because it could sense how badly I wanted to reach Lindsey.
The Ley Line did not understand dimensional travel.
It only understood that its Guardian wanted more power.
|WARNING!|
|External mana intake has exceeded 50,000,000 MP per second.|
|Your current body has not completed racial stabilization.|
|Primordial Soul Core integrity: 94%.|
|Warning: Continued dimensional attempts may damage your new body, the surrounding Ley Line, and the local world boundary.|
"Then help me!"
|Notice: Insufficient information.|
"You are an X-Ranked Gamer System! Figure it the fuck out!"
|Notice: The classification of your Gamer System does not grant unlimited knowledge.|
"USE THE SOULS!"
|Notice: Clarification required.|
"The people from Vask. Search their memories. Find someone who knows about other worlds or dimensional travel."
The doors to my Soul Dominion opened inside my Mind Palace. Thousands of souls were immediately separated and searched according to magical affinity, profession, known skills, and memories.
I did not experience their lives or deaths. Information simply flowed through my Parallel Minds while the souls were sorted.
|Notice: 43 souls possessed theoretical knowledge of dimensional magic.|
|Notice: 6 souls performed minor spatial storage rituals.|
|Notice: 1 soul assisted in the construction of an unstable summoning gate.|
|Notice: No claimed soul possessed the ability to travel between worlds.|
"Fuck!"
I released another pulse of magic.
The crater surrounding me expanded as the ground collapsed. Phantom Fire spread across the newly exposed stone, burning without fuel while poison and Necrotic Magic seeped into the earth.
The forest around me was dying.
I knew that.
I didn't care.
The centaurs would probably hate me even more than they already did. Hogwarts's wards had been shattered, and I could vaguely feel thousands of living creatures fleeing from my location.
None of them mattered.
Only Lindsey mattered.
|Notice: Your Observer Challenge remains active.|
|Notice: Events caused by your return and involuntary magical instability are part of the protected timeline.|
|Notice: Deliberate attacks against protected historical individuals remain prohibited.|
"Wonderful," I hissed. "At least the fucking timeline is safe."
I tried pulling on Lindsey's Mark again.
Nothing happened.
The silver thread remained, but I could not follow it. It was like holding one end of a string that passed through an infinite number of locked doors.
My magic surged in response to my frustration.
|CRITICAL WARNING!|
|Primordial Soul Core integrity: 82%.|
|Magical pressure has reached catastrophic levels.|
|Estimated result of uncontrolled release:|
|Severe destruction throughout the Forbidden Forest.|
|Complete failure of all remaining Hogwarts wards.|
|Permanent saturation of surrounding land with Infernal, Necrotic, Poison, Soul, Gravity, Ice, Lightning, Hellfire, and Phantom Fire Magic.|
|Possible damage to the Class 5 Ley Line.|
That last warning finally reached me.
If I damaged the Ley Line, I would lose one of my Soul Anchors and the greatest source of magical power I possessed. More importantly, the Ley Line might eventually be the only thing powerful enough to help me reach Lindsey.
I could not destroy it.
"Tell me how to stop this."
|Notice: Recommended actions:|
|Sever the connection to the Class 5 Ley Line.|
"No."
|Release accumulated magic through controlled spells.|
"That would destroy even more of the forest."
|Notice: That is correct.|
"Next."
|Use a sufficiently durable magical structure as an external mana reservoir.|
My inventory opened.
The Necromancer Fortress Core was glowing intensely inside it.
"Will the Fortress survive?"
|Notice: Estimated survival likelihood: 87%.|
"Good enough."
I pulled the Fortress Core from my inventory.
It was a black crystal sphere slightly larger than my fist, with blue flames and thousands of tiny runes moving beneath its surface. I pushed the Core into the shattered ground and poured enough magic into it to activate the structure.
The earth shook.
Walls of black marble erupted from the crater. Towers surrounded by blue fire rose into the dark sky, while enormous bones and rune-covered battlements formed around them. The Fortress expanded rapidly, crushing several remaining trees and filling most of the ruined area around me.
Its internal dimensions unfolded.
My laboratory, bedroom, library, Soul Forge, workshops, treasury, and stored equipment returned exactly as they had been before the Fortress was compressed.
Except they were empty.
No Vera.
No Hedwig.
No Zaric.
No Lindsey.
Seeing the empty Fortress almost broke me again.
"Absorb it," I ordered through clenched teeth.
The Fortress connected to the Class 5 Ley Line.
Blue flames erupted from every tower as excess magic flooded into its wards, storage chambers, weapons, and internal dimensions. The walls cracked almost immediately, but the Fortress held.
|Notice: The SS-Ranked Necromancer Fortress has become temporarily connected to the Class 5 Ley Line.|
|Notice: Excess magical pressure is being redirected.|
|Primordial Soul Core integrity stabilized at 78%.|
|Warning: Emotional instability continues to affect mana flow.|
"Five minds," I whispered. "I have five fucking minds. Use them."
I forced the Parallel Minds apart.
One controlled the Hellfire and Phantom Fire.
One controlled the Poison and Necrotic Magic.
One controlled the Gravity, Ice, and Lightning.
One managed the Fortress and Ley Line connection.
The fifth remained with me.
It watched Lindsey's memories.
It watched her open her eyes for the first time.
It watched her tiny hand wrap around my finger.
It made sure I did not forget why I was doing this.
The magical storm did not disappear, but it stopped expanding as quickly.
Black clouds continued circling the forest. Lightning struck continuously, while blue flames burned across the dead ground. Gravity shifted unpredictably, causing stones to rise into the air before crashing back down.
However, Hogwarts was no longer in immediate danger of being erased.
|Notice: Catastrophic magical eruption delayed.|
"Delayed?"
|Notice: Your newly created species requires time to stabilize.|
|Estimated stabilization period: Seven days.|
|Notice: You must maintain control of the accumulated magic throughout this period.|
I stared at the floating window.
"Seven days."
|Notice: That is correct.|
I slowly lowered myself onto the black stone outside the Fortress. My wings folded around my body, creating a barrier between me and the ruined forest.
For the first time since returning, I stopped trying to open a portal.
Not because I was giving up.
I would never give up.
But I finally understood that blindly tearing holes between worlds would not bring Lindsey back. I needed knowledge, control, and a way to find the correct world before opening another pathway.
I had time.
I was immortal.
Lindsey's Mark remained intact.
"I'm coming for you," I whispered. "I don't know how long it will take, but I am coming back."
The Ley Line pulsed beneath me.
The Fortress groaned as another wave of magic entered its walls.
I closed my eyes and entered my Mind Palace, splitting my attention between controlling my magic and searching through every piece of dimensional knowledge I possessed.
Outside, the storm continued.
(Seven Days Later—Godric's POV)
The storm had not stopped for an entire week.
The black clouds remained over the Forbidden Forest, and lightning struck so frequently that night never became completely dark. Blue flames could be seen between the trees, while unnatural snow fell across parts of the grounds despite it being far too warm for winter.
The centaurs had filled every courtyard around Hogwarts. Thirteen tribes had gathered together, along with several unicorn herds, Acromantula colonies, and magical creatures I had never seen before.
None of them were willing to return to the forest.
Neither were we.
Our wards had been rebuilt three times during the week, only for every new layer to crack beneath the pressure radiating from the storm. The being inside the forest had not attacked us, but its magic was slowly soaking into the stones of Hogwarts.
Torches now burned blue.
Shadows occasionally moved without their owners.
Several suits of armor had become sentient and started patrolling the corridors on their own.
One staircase had developed teeth.
Rowena claimed that the castle was adapting to the magic rather than being corrupted by it.
I wasn't sure that made me feel better.
"The storm is weakening," Rowena said as the four of us stood near the edge of the forest.
Helga carried baskets filled with food, healing potions, and several blankets. Salazar had brought enough enchanted weapons to fight a small war, while I carried my sword and wand.
Rowena had brought nothing.
When I asked her why, she simply said that if the being wanted us dead, our weapons would not matter.
I hated that she was probably right.
Elder Theron stood several yards behind us with a group of centaur warriors. None of them had agreed to enter the forest, but they had offered to watch the border and drag our bodies back if we somehow survived long enough to escape.
"How long until the magic is safe?" I asked.
Rowena stared into the darkness between the trees.
"It will not be safe."
"Of course not."
"But it is calmer," she added. "The despair remains, although the uncontrolled rage has weakened. I believe she is capable of recognizing someone approaching her now."
"She?" Salazar questioned.
Rowena nodded.
"I am almost certain the being is female."
Helga adjusted the baskets in her arms.
"Then we speak to her."
Salazar looked at her as if she had suggested walking into a dragon's mouth.
"Helga, this being destroyed several miles of forest by screaming."
"And she has been grieving alone for seven days."
"She is a demon."
"So are House Elves, apparently."
"That is different."
"How?"
Salazar opened his mouth.
Then he closed it.
I couldn't help smiling despite the terror twisting in my stomach.
"Helga has you there."
"Both of you are impossible," Salazar muttered.
We stepped beneath the trees.
The difference was immediate.
The air became thick with magic, making each breath feel heavy. Blue flames burned across the bark without consuming it, while black flowers had grown from ground that had been dead only days earlier.
The farther we traveled, the stronger the pressure became.
Whatever waited at the center of the storm was far more powerful than Rowena had originally believed.
After almost an hour of walking, we reached the edge of a massive crater.
A black Fortress stood within it, surrounded by blue fire, floating stones, and runes that hurt my eyes whenever I looked directly at them.
At the center of it all sat a woman with enormous black wings wrapped around her body.
Her head slowly lifted.
Piercing blue eyes opened within the darkness.
Every instinct I possessed screamed at me to run.
The woman stared at the four of us for several long seconds before her gaze moved to the baskets in Helga's hands.
"What do you want?" she asked.
Her voice was quiet.
However, the entire forest heard her.