Chapter 214: White Knight
Purgatory, The Land Where Life and Death Intersect
POV of Domeric Bolton
Dark Knight, Dark Noble, Dark Prince, and so on... These were the titles Lady Death gave to her champions.
Domeric intervened and asked, "But didn't you address me as the White Knight? I assume this is a champion title like the others, but why is it different from the others?"
"Because your situation is different from the other champions. Due to the intervention of the Young God, the fates of the worlds of the Harry Potter universes had become extremely critical and fragile. Therefore, I couldn't send someone from outside there, or even give my blessing to someone from that world."
Lady Death said, and then Lady Terra added. "Worlds whose fate lines have been significantly damaged and deviated from their path often go into self-preservation mode. They try to fix their fate lines in their own way, but this last-ditch effort is often not enough. And if worlds in this situation sense external interference, they may overreact. This can cause things to get even worse."
"In this situation, as a last resort, I had to choose someone from that world as a savior. But because of the fragility of the world, I couldn't bestow my blessing. All I could do was send a prophecy to warn the necessary people in advance. And with the prophecy, I ensured that the savior wouldn't die until the time came to face his duty." Lady Death said.
"Either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives… Yes, I remember the prophecy well, but I can't say it was very useful in giving advance warning to those in need." Domeric said in a sharp tone.
"That's not entirely true. In your world, Dumbledore tried to manipulate events to his own liking by keeping the prophecy a secret. There are versions of Harry J. Potter in other worlds who didn't lose his family after the prophecy was revealed early and who began training for his future task at a young age." Lady Death said in a sad tone.
"That damn Old Goat. That fucker..." Domeric was about to start swearing at Dumbledore in every way he could think of and inventing new curses if necessary, but before he could speak further, the two goddesses in front of him intervened.
"Language."
"Language."
Domeric took a deep breath, collected himself, calmed down a bit, then looked at Lady Death and asked the question he had always wanted to ask.
"Why me? Why not someone else? Why does it have to be me and the Harry Potters from other worlds who have to take on this task?"
"Frankly, it's because the world you're in is trying to save itself. Although the last-ditch efforts of worlds with such damaged fates usually aren't enough to save them, that doesn't mean they don't know what they're doing. They just don't have enough power. And the worlds in Harry Potter universes were all channeling their power into one thing to save themselves: protecting the Harry Potters." Lady Death said.
"I'm so lucky, aren't I?" Domeric said sarcastically.
"You're not exactly lucky, but worlds in that state don't consider the feelings of others. They do whatever they can to avoid their destruction. And in that case, I choose those the worlds choose as my champions and try to ensure my champions' survival until they finish their task. Since I can't give them my blessing, I thought it more appropriate for them to take the title of White Knight instead of Dark Knight." Lady Death said.
"No blessings, so no special powers. Just being saddled with the responsibilities of saving the world as a normal person. I really am an unlucky person, aren't I?" Domeric said wearily. He was past the point of even getting angry about it and had accepted the situation.
"I know this situation isn't fair, Harry. So, I'll try to make it up to my White Knights as much as I can afterward. For them..." Before Lady Death could continue, Domeric interrupted her.
"Do you call my current situation compensation for me, Lady Death? With the White Walkers about to knock on my door, what other choice do I have but to become the savior of this world again, or die trying?" Domeric retorted.
He might have accepted the events of his previous life and put them behind him, but when he considered the danger this world situation posed to his loved ones, he couldn't help but be angry.
"This wasn't my plan for your second life, Harry. Will you please let me explain?" Lady Death asked gently.
Domeric glared into Lady Death's eyes for a while, but then he turned away with a grunt and gestured with his hand for Lady Death to continue.
Lady Death snorted at Domeric's attitude but continued.
"Under normal circumstances, after you had lived your life in the old world and died, I would have sent your soul to a new world to be reincarnated. In that world, you would have been reborn as a baby, you would have had a loving family, you would have lived a normal but comfortable life that you had never had the opportunity to live before, and you would have made many friends. I had prepared all of this, and I was waiting for you to die and your soul to leave your body." Lady Death revealed to Domeric the plan she had prepared for him.
"Then why didn't you send me there?" Domeric asked, still angry.
"Because you ruined all my plans by making a stupid decision all by yourself, you prat." This time, Lady Death was the one who angrily responded to Domeric.
"Language, please, Death," Lady Terra interjected to soften the situation, then added, "I think I know why Death had to change her plans. Because Harry threw himself into the Soul Destroyer, right?"
"Exactly," Lady Death said, leaning back and throwing her hands up in the air.
"Uh... The Veil, right? What exactly is this Soul Destroyer? Why is my walk into the Veil causing so much trouble for you?" Domeric asked cautiously. It seemed his past life behavior was a bigger deal than he'd anticipated.
"As the name suggests, a Soul Destroyer has only one purpose, Harry. To destroy souls. If a soul walks into it, the soul begins to fade and vanish. And if someone's soul is destroyed, that's the end for them. Even we Primordials cannot bring back a soul that has been destroyed."
Domeric paled at this, and cold sweat began to pour from his forehead. But his concern wasn't for himself, to be honest. After all, he had somehow escaped that situation, most likely thanks to Lady Death.
Domeric's concern was for Sirius. After all, Sirius had fallen into the Veil. Did this mean Sirius's soul was destroyed?
Even if he found a way to bring the dead back as planned, would he never see Sirius again?
"You don't need to worry about Sirius Black, Harry. He's better off than you could ever imagine." Lady Death said to Domeric while smirking at him.
"Huh?..." was the most intellectual response Domeric could come up with.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.215: Be My Champion Again
Ch.216: Multiple Champions?
Ch.217: Your Friends are Waiting for You