Beneath all worlds, all realms, and all magic…
There is Yggdrasil.
And beneath Yggdrasil, where even the gods dare not step—
Lies its root: a twisting anchor of fate, memory, and endless possibility.
With the Starforged Rune Key in hand, Aarav stood before an ancient arch of silver bark and burning sap—hidden behind the veil of the Room of Requirement's seventh door, which only opened for those who had defeated a demigod without becoming one.
He touched the key to the arch.
The air folded.
The temperature dropped to absolute zero, then surged into molten calm.
A portal opened—silent, slow, alive.
System Notification:
You have opened a Path to: Yggdrasil's Root
Warning: Reality will be fluid. Magic may not behave predictably.
Divine Presence: Detected
Do not lie in this place.
Aarav stepped through.
The Root was not a place.
It was a concept.
He stood on a bridge of woven light, surrounded by infinite root-veins, pulsing with magic older than time.
Floating before him were shards of realms—flickers of Asgard, Earth, Midgard, even Hogwarts and Kamar-Taj—overlapping, bleeding into one another.
The center pulsed with a living heart of runes.
She appeared without footsteps.
A tall, veiled figure, robed in blue mist and gold thread. Her face was hidden, but her voice struck like bells woven from time.
"I am Vör, Seer of Unwritten Fates. You who wear Death's Crown, who wield Time's Will… are out of place."
Aarav bowed. "I seek to understand. Not to control."
Vör lifted a single finger.
"Then you will choose."
She summoned three threads, each shimmering with possible futures:
The Path of Flame – Burn all timelines but one. Absolute power, no return.
The Path of Division – Split yourself across worlds. You exist everywhere, but never fully.
The Path of Binding – Seal the timelines into one flow. Great stability… and permanent sacrifice.
"You may choose one. You may also walk away."
He stared at each thread.
Flame tempted him. Dominion. The Omega's choice.
Division teased him. Infinite selves—but no home.
Binding… hurt the most. To stabilize all magic, one life must be frozen inside the Tree itself.
He reached for the third.
"I choose Binding," he whispered.
"But I will not sacrifice another. I offer myself."
Vör said nothing.
She only opened her hands.
The threads surged into Aarav's chest. Runes bloomed on his skin—living veins of reality-binding magic. His System glitched, then reformed.
SYSTEM EVOLUTION:
CLASS UPGRADED: Anchor of Fate
— Passive: You stabilize collapsing timelines within 10 km
— Ability: Threadbind – Seal magic anomalies using root-energy
— Curse: Rootbound – If you fall, this world's flow collapses
— Trait: Reality Tether – Cannot be erased from time without Tree's permission
Aarav's hands trembled.
He was no longer just a wizard.
He was woven into the fabric of all things.
"Your final battle approaches. Not against Voldemort.
Not against your Omega self.
But against what lies beneath Death."
"The Void stirs."
She turned away.
"When you next return… you will not be whole."
The root bridge collapsed.
And Aarav was flung upward—back toward Earth, Hogwarts, and a war that had only just begun.