Today was my birthday.
7th of January.
But what was far more exciting was the possibility that my Inner Gift might awaken today.
The probability of it appearing at seven, however, is small.
On average, in a single Hogwarts year there is one to two witches or wizards whose Inner Gift awakened at seven.
If my Inner Gift awakens today, it will be The Eyes of Mysteries, or an Inner Gift connected to the Black family, since my father is Regulus Black.
Right now I am standing before my grandmother, who is a magical portrait, and I am listening to her tell me about the origins of the Shafiq family.
Yes, even on my birthday I was not spared from lessons…
"The Shafiq family traces its origins to ancient Greece. Three millennia ago a powerful witch named Hecate Shafiq rose to prominence. It is said she was herself blessed by Mother Magic."
"She revolutionized magic by creating the branch of Transfiguration.
Later she became known in the Muggle world as Hecate, Goddess of Magic — a deity from Greek mythology."
My skin began to tingle and warm; annoyed, I ignored it and instead focused on my grandmother…
"When the Dark Lord Herpo the Foul overthrew the magical government in Greece — the Council — many families fled because of the dark wizard of the Sixth Maturity. We migrated from Greece as well. Thus we found ourselves in Great Britain, where a branch of the Shafiq family welcomed us."
My scalp started to tingle; I got a headache.
My vision steadily worsened and my eyes hurt, as if I were submerged in seawater with my eyes closed.
I squeezed my eyes shut and massaged my temples hoping the pain would lessen.
"We did not return to Greece because it is still in Herpo the Foul's hands. The once magnificent Greece no longer exists."
"Now it is a land of pirates, outlaws, and criminals."
It became increasingly difficult to concentrate.
A low, pain-filled groan escaped my mouth.
My grandmother did not notice and went on with her story, untroubled…
"Magical governments have often tried to free Greece from Herpo the Foul. In the year 60 AD, Italy attempted to conquer Greece. We, the Shafiq family, were involved as well."
"It was a one-sided massacre."
"Greece won by a large margin…"
"Since that day, only a few have tried."
"The fools who tried never returned…"
After that I understood nothing more.
My thoughts were in turmoil.
A loud scream tore from my throat.
My hands clutched my head and gripped it in pain.
In the background I heard my grandmother's panicked shout:
"BILLY! Fetch Morganna, quickly! Aurelius is awakening!"
My eyes began to ache unbearably.
As if nails were being driven into them.
I rolled on the floor.
If I had been in a normal state, I would have noticed that my hair had begun to turn golden-blond.
Or that my sapphire-blue eyes were, under my half-closed lids, turning golden.
But I was occupied with rolling on the floor, so I did not notice.
Suddenly the pain in my eyes became unbearable. I blinked once more and then lost consciousness from the pain.
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I woke lying on water.
My eyelids fluttered open.
Silver lines stretched across the sky, endlessly far.
They moved slowly and braided into one another.
I realized I was inside my Inner Mind.
But why?
Lying there, I watched the silver-painted sky.
An unfamiliar exhaustion overcame me.
I sat up and looked around.
To my left were my Occlumency shields; otherwise everything seemed normal.
Again I looked around, confused as to why I was in my Inner Mind without wanting to be.
To my right, about ten meters away, I spotted a discrepancy.
A small hole had formed in the otherwise intact landscape.
It spread wider and wider…
In panic I used my authority over the landscape to heal the hole.
I stretched out my hand and gathered magic to repair the damage.
Relieved, I saw the hole shrink.
If the hole spread, my soul would be in danger.
The Inner Landscape is, so to speak, the first defense to protect my soul.
If it's gone, only my Occlumency shields remain.
I increased the flow of magical power toward the Inner Landscape to heal the hole as quickly as possible.
Strangely, the smaller the hole became, the harder it was to heal.
Suddenly the hole grew larger and fractures like glass shards spread through my entire Inner Landscape.
Black cracks appeared across my whole Inner Landscape.
Panicked, I maximized the magical flow, hoping to mend the damage.
It was in vain…
The cracks flooded the entire landscape.
The black void enlarged by the second…
Again and again I used my authority over my Inner Landscape to close the black shards.
For every shard I healed, two black shards spread even more quickly.
But what could I do?
If the black shards reached my soul, I would literally be dead.
By then the black shards had already claimed my entire Inner Landscape.
Only the center, the Occlumency shield in which I stood, was still protected.
What could have caused this disturbance?
A Legilimency attack?
Abruptly I turned my head toward the black hole — the paradox that should not exist…
Soft, slow footsteps echoed through the landscape.
A foot emerged from the paradoxical black hole.
A woman appeared.
Reality seemed to bend to her presence.
Gold-blond hair, golden eyes, and a dress of a color I had never seen before.
Blue as the sky and yet also red?
Her golden eyes, radiating an enormous intensity and framed by dark circles, drilled into me.
She opened her mouth and a silky voice sounded in my thoughts: "Aurelius Shafiq, what a joy to finally see you in person, or should I say Arlo Flord?"
My eyes widened.
She knows?
Amused by my reaction, an amused smile spread across her face, amplifying her already divine beauty.
"Why so surprised, Arlo~? After all, I am the one who brought you into this world."
So it really was her…
My mind, previously frozen, finally woke.
"Why? Why did you bring me into this world?"
Her amused expression suddenly turned serious; she looked thoughtful, regretful even.
After a short silence she answered:
"That… is a long story."
"I brought you, Arlo Flord, into this world because you are not bound to this world."
"Simply put, you are fate-less. A paradox that should not exist…"
Fate-less.
Paradox.
"Long ago I made a mistake. I experienced something I should not have known."
"This created an imbalance in the world."
"The seven Arch-Daemons attacked the seven Archangels because of the imbalance that arose."
Archangels?
Arch-Daemons?
I did not dare interrupt the woman.
'The Seven Archangels, however, had a traitor in their ranks. At that time, we called him:
'The Lightbringer'
"He sabotaged his colleagues, and with the help of the Seven Arch-Daemons, defeated the Seven Archangel"
"The Lightbringer joined the Arch-Daemons and became their ruler."
"When I heard this news, I confronted the Arch-Daemons."
"The seven Arch-Daemons and their new ruler, the Lightbringer — now a Fallen Angel, the personification of death, Lucifer — spoke of their ambition to take the Earth and rule over it."
"When I learned this, I went on the offensive."
"They were, however, stronger than expected and struck back."
"When I saw the hopeless situation, I sealed the Earth against the Daemons and fell into a deep sleep because of the sealing."
"Yet the Daemons could still indirectly influence events on Earth."
"The Daemons exploited the situation to spread Black Magic across the Earth, to weaken the seals."
"When I awoke and saw the Black Magic walking the Earth, I acted."
"I had myself reincarnated as a newborn in ancient Greece."
"Under the new name Hecate Shafiq I created a new form of magic: Transfiguration, hoping to strengthen witches and wizards."
"In the years I walked the world, I fought the dark powers that grew stronger every day."
"My days on Earth were, however, limited."
"The Daemons noticed my intervention and sent lesser demons to the Earth to eliminate me."
"One day, when I was careless, I died because of an assassination."
"A second time I fell into a deep sleep."
"The Daemon of Fate and the Daemon of Deception recently exploited the situation to weaken my connection to witches and wizards."
"They instigated the witch trials and forbade traditions that had given me the power to maintain the seal."
She drew a short breath to speak.
"Since I cannot directly intervene in events on Earth, I chose a soul from a distant universe — you, Arlo Flord."
"Intelligent, ambitious, and now fate-less."
"The perfect candidate."
".."
I quickly realized: I was a puppet, a chess piece of a goddess.
The will-less pawn, chosen to drive out the darkness.
"So that is your plan, …Mother Magic?" I said quietly, sneering the last word.
I stared into her golden eyes.
"A single wizard who shall banish evil and darkness"
"I don't even possess exceptional powers."
"It's the opposite."
"I am a natural Occlumens, cursed not to channel emotions into magic."
"Me? I'm supposed to be the Chosen One?"
"The Chosen One of you, Mother Magic?"
"As if."
"The outcome of your little plan to save the world will be horrific."
She did not look offended.
Only neutral.
As if she had expected this reaction from me.
"Who says you are weak, Arlo Flord?"
"My blood runs in your veins."
"You are a descendant of a goddess."
"You are my descendant"
"The one blessed by me."
"As a natural Occlumens you enjoy many advantages — why do you always see everything negatively, Arlo?"
I did not answer her question.
"You are not alone either, Arlo."
"The blessed of the five Archangels are also on Earth."
"Together you can defeat the Daemons."
I knitted my brows.
"Why can you and the Archangels defeat the Daemons?" I asked.
"Alas, after the battle against the Daemons we were weakened; one Archangel was killed so that the others could flee. We can only hope that our blessed ones can stop the catastrophe."
Only because of the Archangels' incompetence and this woman must I now become a slave, obey every command unto death… how pathetic.
"What will you do if I refuse — refuse to become your chess piece?"
A smile spread across her face that sent shivers down my spine.
I swallowed.
"That will not happen, Arlo~. We will now make a pact; the universe will be our witness," she replied cheerfully.
A pact?
More like a slave contract.
Shit.
I am screwed.
The broad smile on the woman confirmed my thoughts: I had no choice.
Pressure gathered around her.
"I, Aerysanda, Mother Magic, Pillar of the Universe, swear by my existence to appoint Aurelius Shafiq, the reincarnation of Arlo Flord, as my Blessed. In return I ask you, Aurelius Shafiq, reincarnation of Arlo Flord, to dedicate your existence to the annihilation of the Daemons and the Fallen Angel Lucifer, personification of Death."
"May the universe be my witness and judge."
"Do you accept these terms, Aurelius Shafiq, reincarnation of Arlo Flord?"
I stared at her.
What choice did I have?
To die a torturous death, or to become a slave and most likely die anyway.
A deep sigh escaped my mouth.
"I, Aurelius Shafiq, reincarnation of Arlo Flord, accept the conditions. I swear by my existence that I will dedicate my life to the annihilation of the Daemons and the Fallen Angel Lucifer, personification of Death. In return, Aerysanda, Mother Magic, Pillar of the Universe, appoints me as her Blessed."
"May the universe be my witness and judge."
The woman who had made me a slave looked satisfied and spoke solemnly:
"So be it."
A pain spread through my chest… no, more precisely through my soul.
Like an invisible chain it forced me to dedicate my existence to the task of destroying the Daemons.
If I refused to devote my life to this task, the universe would literally judge me and erase my existence.
Aerysanda, Mother Magic, Pillar of the Universe, said: "I wish you good luck, descendant; may the universe guide you."
She turned gracefully and stepped into the black hole from which she had come.
The goddess who had forced me into a slave pact glanced back over her shoulder one last time.
Her golden eyes met mine.
Complicated feelings reflected in them.
Regret, anger, sadness, determination.
Anger rose in me.
I am the one forced into a slave pact, not her!
I should be angry… not her!
Finally the black hole closed, severing eye contact between the goddess and me.
The black lines that had disfigured my Inner Landscape receded.
My Inner Landscape returned to its normal silver sheen.
Silver lines stretched across the sky.
Everything seemed normal.
But it was not.
From that moment on, nothing was ever normal again.
***
[A/N
Hey, I hope you like the new elements I've added.
As promised, this chapter is longer than the previous one, which was shorter than usual.
If you want, feel free to write a review about how you like my fanfiction.
Have a nice day!
:)
]
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