Only this.
As the Little Wizard gently flicked his finger, an invisible yet powerful wave rippled out from within him. The wind suddenly halted at this moment, and the ashes permeating the air seemed to freeze under an invisible force, suspended in midair. An intangible power began to spread across the heavens and earth.
It was the mantle of paradox, a mysterious force that transcends time and space, challenging the natural laws. In the right hands, it started to unleash a power Helbo never dared to dream of.
In the next moment.
The fierce wind suddenly grew even more violent, letting out a piercing howl.
"Rumble!"
A massive roar echoed through the heavens and earth.
The sky and earth abruptly changed color, the dark red volcanic ash above was torn apart as if the cosmos was issuing its final warning, roaring to intervene in Ian's audacious defiance of nature.
"What are you doing?"
The Fierce Goddess swallowed hard, her golden robe fluttering in the winds, her eyes full of confusion. On the other side, the Sun God shuddered slightly, with a look of shock.
"You..."
He wanted to raise his hand to stop.
But he couldn't make it in time.
"I'm proving that Wizards can possess all possibilities."
Ian ignored the warnings from heaven and earth.
The mantle of paradox was fully unleashed at that moment.
"Since it's my story, I prefer a true fairy tale."
Ian whispered softly.
His gaze remained calm.
The apocalyptic disaster continued, yet he had preset an outcome.
Thus.
Everything that occurred during the process began to lose its significance.
...
Bright sunlight poured down onto the wide street, the marble pavement reflecting dazzling light. Lined along the street were numerous shops, with vendors loudly hawking their wares.
The air was filled with the scent of fresh bread, spices, and wine. The inhabitants of the ancient city, wearing vibrant robes, shuttled through the market, living busy lives.
Laughter and chatter intertwined into a lively symphony—the city that once flourished now thrived again, as if time had flown back to its prosperous era. In the square where the crime took place yesterday, the fountain splashed with water as children chased and played, and minstrels strummed their harps.
Melodious songs.
Amidst this flourishing scene, Ian stood in the shadows of a small alley, shouldering the unconscious Malfoy, clutching Riddle tightly bound by the Magic Rope.
Since regaining consciousness, Riddle had been behaving as obediently as Neville. Even when Ian bound him like a sausage, he chose to help Ian tie the final knot with his mouth.
Who would believe this was the rebellious Tom?
"You're truly a genuine madman."
A voice of admiration came from behind, and Ian turned to see the Fierce Goddess leaning against the wall, arms crossed, with a mix of fear and admiration in her eyes.
"This isn't just overstepping boundaries; it's a desecration of nature." She remembered Ian's actions yesterday vividly, a kind of attempt that none dared imagine.
No one could afford the cost of failure.
And such actions were almost destined to fail.
Yet somehow... a miracle occurred, a miracle greater than divine intervention.
"Perhaps, at least the city is alive, my story must end in a way that satisfies me." Ian spoke breathlessly, which was not something a legend should experience physically, but rather the weakness of an overexerted Wizard. Despite that, even Riddle dared not move his eyes.
"Let's head back, quickly." Ian longed to return to Hogwarts, yearning for peace at his true home, Azkaban, believing only there could he find tranquility.
"Don't worry, it's soon, I've already felt the call of time." Ian looked past the Fierce Goddess, towards Cassandra, who gazed at him with eyes full of fanatical admiration, wearing a simple white long dress.
"My lord, are you leaving?" The little girl asked with eyes full of reluctance, looking up to Ian, her eyes as clear as a lake, with a face of infallible faith more devoted than any zealot.
"Of course, I never belonged here." Ian chuckled softly, gently ruffling Cassandra's hair, still holding affection for the first person he met in this era.
After all.
Who wouldn't love a child who treats them as Gods?
"Will we meet again?"
Cassandra mustered the courage to ask.
Her eyes full of reluctance.
"We will meet again, surely." Ian's hand gently brushed Cassandra's forehead, where the previously dim Raven's claw mark transformed into radiant gold under his touch.
Every story has an epilogue.
The connect from the future began to appear, and unlike the first time he felt this power, Ian now could clearly sense time's force enveloping him.
The torrent of time surged towards him, a force irresistible and unavoidable.
"See you in two thousand years." The Fierce Goddess regained her mature aura, evidently able to feel this force too, leaning against the wall and waving goodbye to Ian with a smile.
"See you in two thousand years."
Ian's expression appeared complex, hesitating but ultimately choosing not to tell the Fierce Goddess about her future, where she would become an amnesiac Skeleton.
The bright light flared.
As the light faded, Ian, carrying Malfoy and dragging Riddle, vanished from the scene. Cassandra gazed forlornly at the spot where Ian disappeared.
The Fierce Goddess felt the same.
But the thoughts in their minds were assuredly different.
"It's time to return."
The Sun God appeared silently again.
He issued a command of authority to his daughter.
"Okay, father."
The Fierce Goddess slowly withdrew her gaze.
"I haven't had the chance to ask, after he became a legend, what scenery he saw on his journey ahead." The Fierce Goddess lamented regretfully.
She still couldn't believe history had truly been rewritten.
"He already said, just a Wizard." The Sun God seemed unperturbed, his eyes flickering, expression stern, spoken with a complex feeling.
"Wizards can't achieve all this, neither you nor other Gods." But the Fierce Goddess felt Ian wasn't truthful, unable to accept such an answer given her understanding.
"But indeed, he achieved it."
The Sun God surveyed the surroundings, rarely displaying patience.
"Indeed, that's what I can't comprehend." The Fierce Goddess wanted guidance from her father, the great Sun God, feeling she could never forget yesterday.
"You only see the surface, not the essence, of course, it's hard to understand, child, you need to learn to use your brain, it wasn't meant to be just a decoration."
The Sun God evidently had a sharp tongue, quite like he expected more.
"What essence?"
The Fierce Goddess remained puzzled, perhaps her Divine Level brain calculated that the fastest way to obtain an answer was to ask her father.
"That's the essence of his remarks." The Sun God's eyes reflected the entire flourishing city, passing this vision to his daughter.
"Child, the Elder God has awoken."
"He is pursuing his path with action, proving his truth with facts—Wizards are the true Gods, and you, I, and all the Gods are merely... Pseudo-Gods,"
The Sun God sighed softly.
"In his eyes, that's the so-called scenery he perceives."
He spoke in a low voice.
Revealing to the audience the insight from the Little Wizard... and that sense of disdain.