Whoosh—
Sirius fell toward the Veil, his body moving beyond his control.
A sense of cold and deathly silence spread rapidly through him. His face, once filled with the adrenaline of battle and excitement, was now frozen in a mask of shock and terror.
It was cold. So cold.
The white gauze, as light as mist, swirled around him, caressing his body and sealing him off from the outside world. The last vestige of warmth was stripped away in an instant.
His blood felt as though it were congealing; his limbs gradually grew numb and immovable. Eventually, Sirius could barely even hear the rhythmic thumping of his own heart.
He felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, sinking into a world of darkness where there was neither light nor sound.
Harry...
Sirius's throat constricted, but no sound escaped.
His grey eyes, weathered by years of hardship and sorrow, stared fixedly at the fading light far above. The pain, anger, resentment, and fear he usually hid beneath a reckless, carefree exterior were laid bare in this final moment.
Since the day James and Lily died, he had never truly found peace.
As a member of the Order of the Phoenix, he had witnessed countless departures. Sirius had prepared himself for a long time to face the sudden end of his own life. He had imagined it might be a flash of the Killing Curse, or perhaps being shattered into pieces after a Full Body-Bind.
Regardless of how it happened, he believed he would keep moving forward, enduring the cold darkness of death to embark on the "next great adventure." He had no intention of lingering as a ghost, like a coward.
Ethan, I'm leaving Harry in your hands...
James, Lily... I'm coming to find you now...
Just as Sirius's eyes began to flutter shut, a sharp, piercing cry descended from above, ringing out like a sudden, jarring alarm clock!
Then, something akin to talons suddenly seized his body, hauling him upward with immense force!
Fwoosh!
The light in front of him expanded rapidly. Sirius felt himself being hoisted toward the surface. He recognized the creature capable of crossing to the other side of the Veil—it was Ethan's Death Bird, wreathed in eerie, spectral spirit-fire!
However...
Even the bird could not truly pull him across the boundary between life and death. It was a stalemate; the bird strained as if trying to lift a mountain of lead.
Thank you, Ethan...
A flicker of warmth passed through Sirius's eyes. But it was too late—
In that exact moment, hands suddenly reached out from the void ahead, grabbing Sirius's falling body from every direction!
Their palms were scalding, branding his freezing skin like hot irons and pumping a powerful, surging life force into him!
Suddenly!
The talons and the countless arms pulled together with a unified heave. As if defying Fate itself, they exerted every ounce of strength to drag him upward!
Rip!
Like breaking through the surface of water, Sirius was wrenched out from within the Veil!
Sirius's vision blurred. The cold, dark world vanished, replaced by a circle of anxious faces.
"Sirius!!"
Harry screamed, his voice raw. He began frantically pumping Sirius's chest—Heaven knows where he had learned such a technique.
Hermione was at his side, casting Warming Charms one after another with such intensity that Sirius had the misplaced thought that he was a piece of frozen meat being defrosted.
And the leader of this group, the President of the Enlightenment Society, Ethan Vincent, flew down from above and tipped a golden cup over him!
A liquid like celestial dew slid down Sirius's throat. Instantly, a violent surge of life force erupted within him!
Sirius's eyes snapped open. He could hear it again—the beating of his own heart!
Thump-thump, thump-thump!
It hammered against his ribs, clear and powerful!
"Cough! Cough, cough, cough!"
Sirius rolled onto his side and sat up, coughing violently. He looked up, his gaze sweeping across the figures surrounding him. The students were all staring at him, their eyes filled with nothing but the purest concern.
They had no idea what a monumental feat they had just accomplished.
They had reached into the depths of the Veil—a place where a person is declared legally and magically dead—and physically dragged him back to the world of the living.
It was nothing short of a "miracle."
And the one who had led them to do it...
Sirius turned his head, his eyes landing on the black-haired youth in the center of the crowd. Ethan was stroking the feathers of the Death Bird, which had been heavily corroded by the energy of death. He looked up and flashed a smile.
Ethan gave him a playful wink and said, "It seems Lily's magic has truly carried over to the next generation."
The magic of love can create miracles.
Tsk, tsk. The rules of the wizarding world really don't make much sense, do they?
[Congratulations! You have successfully saved Sirius Black and completely altered his fate!]
[This is a miracle achieved by the collective effort of many; it is the fruit of the seeds you sowed in the past.]
[You have usurped the authority of the Reaper! You have significantly weakened Death's control over the power of Fate!]
[Weakness Level Reached: 31%]
[When the Weakness Level reaches 100%, the Reaper will manifest its true form. Note: Its true form is extremely powerful; please ensure you are fully prepared!]
Ethan's eyes brightened as he murmured to himself, "Reversing fate and crushing the Reaper's remains both weaken its power. But at the same time, it loosens the Reaper's shackles."
After all, "Fate" likely acts as a constraint on the Reaper as well. Otherwise, the old fellow wouldn't have gone to such trouble to possess others just to deal with him.
"Hiss—why do I get the feeling that every time I cause a massive scene, the world moves one step closer to its demise?"
It's an illusion. It has to be an illusion.
As long as I defeat the Final Boss, everything will be fine~
Ethan nodded to himself, fully convinced of his own logic, his heart brimming with anticipation. Nothing could make the world appreciate "Great Art" more than witnessing the defeat of an impossible enemy.
Just then, Ethan felt the Spinal Cord Sword in his hand give a slight tremor.
Sensing something, he squinted his eyes and looked toward the stone archway where the Veil continued to flutter.
...The materials used to forge the Spinal Cord Sword included the "Guiding Bone." It was designed to lead him toward the remaining fragments of the Reaper.
And now, it was reacting to the "other side" of that Veil.
"Could the Reaper's remains be inside the Veil? Typical for a god of death—he certainly knows how to pick a spot," Ethan whispered.
Inside the Veil lay the land of the dead. Just now, the Death Bird had only been inside for a few moments and was already half-corroded, rendered unable to fight for the time being. It was certainly not a place an ordinary person could step into.
Ethan: "Well, at least I have a direction now."
He hadn't expected this trip to the Ministry of Magic to yield such an unexpected discovery.
As he was musing, Ethan turned his head and met Sirius's eyes, which were fixed on him with a deep, intense stare.
Ethan raised an eyebrow and said warily, "I'm not going to be jealous that you've been to the other side of the Veil, so don't even think about bragging!"
Okay, maybe I'm a tiny bit jealous. What exactly did the world after death look like...?
Sirius: "..."
Are you some kind of atmosphere-killer? Who on earth would brag about that!
"Heh, you really are something else."
Sirius gave a bitter laugh and stumbled to his feet. He looked at Ethan and said with genuine solemnity, "Thank you, Ethan."
"In that moment, I had already accepted death... It was you who led everyone to drag me out of that dark grave."
That pull felt as though it had snapped an invisible set of chains. From this moment on, a fierce will to live began to sprout within him. It lit up his mind like a lamp.
"Death? Hmph." Ethan crossed his arms, looking completely self-assured. "I went to all that trouble to clear your name; you still have to help me complete my Great Work."
"If you died this early, it wouldn't be a very good return on my investment."
"Hahaha, of course."
Sirius laughed heartily. Looking at Ethan, he made a silent vow in his heart: he would give everything he owned to follow this merciful, if eccentric, leader.
Harry had once dropped hints, asking if Sirius had ever considered a connection between [Mr. Lamp] and Ethan.
What the kids didn't realize was that in the eyes of the adults—especially those who worked closely for Ethan—the answer had been obvious for a long time.
So what if he had different identities? Sirius followed his own heart, not the labels of society. Sirius was convinced that while the process might be filled with Ethan's particular brand of "Art," the result would undoubtedly bring a brand-new future to the world, shining like the light of a lamp.
—This was the rise of the light.
Hmm, I wonder if Ethan is interested in money, Sirius thought. Would it be too tacky to just give him an entire Gringotts vault? Or maybe I should give him the ancestral house? Should I just change my last name to Vincent?
As for his "dear son" Harry, Sirius was confident that as long as the boy followed Ethan, he'd never have to worry about having a seat at the table!
Suddenly, a trembling voice broke the silence. "U-um, if I could just interrupt for a second..."
Ron, his face ghostly pale, was pointing shakily toward the ceiling. He said in a voice thick with terror, "Is really no one going to pay attention to the thing up there?"
"Because it looks like it's about to explode with rage!!"
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