Beneath a twisted, purplish-red sky, the land had transformed into pulsating hills of flesh.
In this desolate, despair-filled sacrificial scene, a huge, jet-black raven emerged from the shadows of a fallen obelisk in the distance.
Its feathers gleamed with a metallic sheen in the dim light of the evil gods. Its eyes were as deep as the darkest night and watched Karina and the others coldly as they marched towards self-destruction.
And it also watched that piece of "Ian."
This avatar carried Ian's memories, magic, and unyielding will... enough to play the role of 'Ian' perfectly: to fight, exhaust, and probe the limits of the evil gods and even 'sacrifice' itself. Ian's true focus, of course, was on the ultimate evil god, which hovered in the sky and radiated an aura of 'perfection'.
Composed of countless tentacles and fleshy masses, that evil god floated between heaven and earth in its perfect form.
It had 'perfected' itself.
It was now a 'god.'
It radiated a pressure capable of bringing an end to everything.
Yet even this 'perfected' evil god failed to notice the raven lurking in the shadows. Having shed its Embryo form and the shells of truth, goodness, and beauty, it had lost the ability to sense the aura of 'fate'. This naturally made it incapable of perceiving the Raven's presence.
It could not realize that the entity it had been battling all along was merely an avatar created by Transfiguration and based on Ian.
How should one put it? This situation was perfectly normal. Setting aside its belief that it had grasped fate and would become the new fate, Ian had already been discovered once before, even in the most basic sense of perception. How could he possibly allow himself to be discovered a second time?
As a young wizard whose talent had astonished even Albus Dumbledore, Ian's ability to learn and adapt was extraordinary. He could, of course, analyse how he had been detected and promptly adjust his concealment methods. After all, he was no mindless NPC in a level-grinding game.
Adaptability and the ability to quickly identify and resolve problems were fundamental qualities of a truly exceptional wizard. So too was the cautious handling of every situation.
Because of this...
From the moment the evil god was born, Ian had hidden his true body and relied entirely on avatars to probe its weaknesses. In this ancient era with a completely different understanding of magic, tricks from Hogwarts became 'heavenly secrets' that no one could comprehend.
No one knew. No one could understand.
Ian, the 'crafty' student who, back in the Hogwarts library, had been obsessed with combining the Multiple Shadow Clone Spell, the Undetectable Extension Charm, and Apparition, how could he possibly have been foolish enough to let his real body face an existence capable of devouring everything?
The evil god devoured merely a 'vessel' carrying Ian's will.
What Karina and the others mourned was nothing more than a magnificent 'performance'.
The real Ian, whose true body was, at that very moment, like the Raven itself: a symbol of 'shadow' and 'observer,' hidden within the cracks of reality.
With the calmest gaze, he observed the evil god's 'perfected' form, searching for even the slightest 'flaw' behind the so-called perfection of legend. After all, belonging to Ravenclaw House proved that Ian was a symbol of intelligence and power.
The crystallized 'Ian' was indeed him, but not the whole of him.
That body had been imbued with enough magical power and memories to confuse truth with falsehood. Even pain responses and combat habits had been replicated perfectly. But falsehood remained falsehood. The body created through transfiguration would only serve as a planted bomb to bring about the evil god's downfall.
Waiting in the shadows for the right moment to strike unexpectedly could also be seen as an application of military strategy. Truth be told, such methods were often highly effective.
However, this evil god truly possessed strength worthy of pride. Despite Ian's keen observation and intelligence and despite using his avatar to conduct a comprehensive evaluation and probe, leaving behind certain hidden contingencies within the evil god, he still lacked confidence in achieving a complete victory.
"Its abilities are far too broken."
The Raven tilted its head and let out an extremely faint click, as if evaluating the outcome of this farce.
In his Raven form, Ian Prince stood silently on top of a broken stone pillar, his sharp avian eyes fixed on the evil god in the distance undergoing a transformation.
The form of Set-Apep continued to shift.
At times, it expanded into a mountain of flesh that blotted out the sky. At others, it compressed into a black crystal of terrifying density.
Each transformation was accompanied by the wailing of tens of thousands of souls. The lives that had been devoured were becoming nourishment for the evil god's evolution.
"Even my attacks are nothing more than nutrients to it."
A faint glow of magic flickered within Ian's raven eyes. Through advanced sensory spells, he could clearly perceive the fundamental workings of the evil god's power. It wasn't just devouring; every attack that landed on Set-Apep, no matter how powerful, would be analyzed, adapted to, and neutralized in an extremely short time.
Yes.
This monster's core ability went far beyond mere "consumption" and "assimilation."
Even more terrifying was its ability to adapt and become immune.
Any form of attack, whether Hogwarts' legendary magic or the lingering echoes of ancient Egyptian divine arts, once parsed and absorbed by this evil god, would trigger an instantaneous, targeted 'evolution' within its living tissue, forming the perfect defense or absorption mechanism.
The ultimate techniques that the avatar had unleashed moments ago... "Falling Star: Echo of All Worlds" and "Forbidden: Dimensional Collapse"... had indeed left wounds upon it.
Now, however, those wounds had been transformed into the strongest 'memories' and 'antibodies' within its body.
The next time the same magic was used, it would merely serve to increase its power.
Its cells seemed to possess a limitless learning capacity, instantly comprehending the principles behind any magical or physical attack and evolving a countermeasure.
That alone would have been terrifying enough.
Combined with its seemingly inexhaustible vitality, seemingly drawn directly from the warped origin of the universe, it became almost impossible to kill in a single blow, granting it an innate position of absolute invincibility.
It was not a creature of flesh.
It was a living, ever-evolving embodiment of cosmic law itself.
'This is far more troublesome than Voldemort...'
Ian's consciousness trembled slightly. The Dark Lord, though powerful, still adhered to the fundamental rules of magic. But this evil god was practically cheating.
Any attack would only work once.
Coupled with its unreasonable vitality and adaptability, it was an unsolvable problem.
And besides, Voldemort relied on Horcruxes. His weakness was obvious: destroy the Horcruxes, and he could be weakened or even destroyed.
But this entity had no fixed 'core,' no separable 'Horcrux.'
Every 'death' it experienced was merely the prelude to a more perfect evolution.
Not only had the sacrifice of the avatar failed to severely damage it, it had instead 'refined' its flaws, making it even stronger.
In order to eliminate it once and for all, one would require the ultimate form of magic, something capable of completely 'corrupting' its evolutionary mechanism or negating the very logic of its existence. This would require a spell capable of acting simultaneously on the physical, magical, spiritual, and conceptual levels... a true 'rule erasure'.
However, Ian's level of existence was inferior to that of his opponent.
The power of Paradox could hardly be fully utilized. He feared that, if it failed to destroy the enemy in one strike, the evil god might adapt to the Paradox Divine Authority itself, so he had not dared to use it.
As for conventional magic...
Within all known magical systems... Such a thing bordered on myth.
As one of the greatest spell creators in Hogwarts' history, Ian had never felt more helpless. Every strategy he devised was instantly overturned: conventional magic was ineffective, forbidden spells might backfire, and time magic might not affect a being that had already transcended normal timelines.
"There must be a way. Wizards are omnipotent."
His thoughts raced like a galaxy in motion: Hogwarts' library, forbidden Egyptian scrolls, and legends from other worlds. Countless fragments of knowledge collided, yet none could be assembled into the blueprint of a decisive strike.
Time itself had become the most precious luxury at this moment.
And then...
His attention was drawn to the movements of the priests below.
The priestess Karina and her remaining followers were performing their final ritual. The faint divine power of the Sun God Ra, gathered in their hands, flickered like a dying candle in the wind beneath the evil god's purplish-red radiance.
They pointed the light towards their own hearts, a final act of resolute dignity following the complete collapse of their faith.
Karina had already guided them through the preparations for the suicide ritual. Sharp daggers gleamed coldly in the dim light.
Ian's raven eyes narrowed slightly.
But he did not act immediately. It wasn't only because he lacked confidence.
That was certainly part of it, Ian was not the self-sacrificing type. He knew that recklessly revealing himself and attacking with his true body might instantly trigger the evil god's adaptation mechanism, exposing his final trump card or even placing his true self in danger.
More importantly... He still needed to observe.
In this apocalyptic moment, he needed to see how the gods of ancient Egypt would respond. As a wizard from a thousand years in the future, he had always been cautiously curious about the gods of this era.
Were they truly supernatural entities?
Or were they merely manifestations of collective belief?
And would they answer their followers' prayers at the moment when they needed them most?
Would they answer their prayers?
The 'fall' of the avatar, along with the priests' collective suicide, crushed their faith once and for all.
If even the most devout believers chose destruction in despair while the gods they worshipped remained silent, it could mean only one of two things: either those gods had long perished, or their power had withered away. What remained of the so-called 'divine power' was nothing more than an echo of history.
Of course...
More importantly, Ian wanted to confirm whether the Sun God Ra still retained any willpower. According to the ancient Hogwarts texts he had read, Ra should have been one of the most powerful beings in this pantheon. Yet, even at the moment when his most loyal priests faced collective suicide, Ra still refused to manifest his will...
Then this battle would likely require an entirely different strategy.
Tick… tock…
Time flowed through the suffocating silence.
That faint golden light was now less than an inch away from Karina's heart, resting at her fingertips. Her eyes were empty and her lips moved soundlessly, as though she were offering a final prayer. The other priests around her were the same — death's shadow blanketed the entire platform.
"Please… Great Ra…" Karina's voice trembled with despair. "Guide us to the eternal shore."
She raised the dagger, its cold edge glinting. The other priests mirrored her action, their sharp blades pointing towards their own hearts.
At this critical moment... Ian still did not act.
However...
BOOM!
A sudden upheaval erupted!
The sky was torn apart.
Not physically, but as if a dimensional layer had split open. The warped firmament was ripped apart by an invisible force, like a piece of rotten cloth. The sky, twisted by evil gods into a grotesque eyeball, shattered like fragile glass.
From beyond, a beam of pure, sacred, white light descended like a divine sword, splitting heaven and earth.
It enveloped the entire platform where Karina stood precisely.
Within the pillar of light, a figure slowly descended.
She wore an intricate, magnificent gown, and a double crown symbolizing the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt rested upon her head. Two tall ostrich feathers rose from the crown. Her face embodied a perfect blend of maternal compassion and divine majesty.
A soft yet unyielding green-gold radiance emanated from her body.
Wherever that light passed, the evil god's viscous, purplish-red glow melted away like ice and snow.
Isis:
The wife of Osiris and mother of Horus.
She was one of the most revered goddesses of ancient Egypt, the embodiment of motherhood and magic, famed for her immense power and her role as a protector.
"Lady Isis…" Karina murmured, the dagger slipping from her hand and clattering to the ground.
A goddess had descended into the human realm.
She said nothing, merely raising one hand with her palm facing upwards.
An overwhelming wave of green light, filled with the essence of life, spread outwards from her like a gentle tide, instantly sweeping across the entire city that had been taken over by the evil god.
Then...
Those civilians whose bodies had been mutating, sprouting tumors and tentacles, felt their pain ease instantly.
The writhing flesh on their bodies rapidly calmed and receded. Their skin returned to its normal color, and the berserk emptiness in their eyes was replaced by confusion and relief at having survived the catastrophe.
The wizards whose minds had been eroded, driving them mad and to the brink of suicide, felt the blood tears on their faces cease. The red in their eyes faded, and their shattered mental barriers were rebuilt and stabilized within the green light.
They collapsed to the ground, gasping for air like drowning people who had finally resurfaced. Though still weak, at least they had regained their human forms, a small blessing amid disaster.
The faint golden light at Karina's fingertips, the light that was meant to end her life, did not extinguish upon contact with Isis's radiance. Instead, like dry wood catching flame, it suddenly blazed brighter.
This light was no longer one of despair and self-destruction but one of gratitude for salvation and the rekindling of faith.
The divine power held by her and all the priests was purified and revitalized under Isis's blessing, as she is the goddess of life and magic.
"Hmm? This kind of Divine Authority..."
A flicker of surprise passed through Ian's raven eyes.
He could sense the essence of this healing power; it was not just a restorative spell but a conceptual-level 'reversal,' negating and erasing the concept of 'mutation' imposed by the evil god.
This level of power far exceeded ordinary magic.
Truly formidable. Divine magic certainly had its merits.
After all, she was a goddess capable of resurrecting gods, so reversing the influence of an evil god was well within her authority.
Just as Isis's healing light had yet to fully fade—
Space twisted violently once more.
A pitch-black rift opened up in the center of the plaza, and the icy waters of the River Styx surged forth from it.
Amid the sound of flowing water, a tall figure slowly rose from within the rift.
His skin was a dark, bluish-black. A white crown rested upon his head, and he held a crook and flail in his hands.
It was Osiris, the lord of the underworld.
The lord of the underworld.
A great ruler of ancient Egypt, he was second only to the Sun God Ra.
(End of Chapter)
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