Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 81: The Lady of the Lake
She offered a warm smile and made a dismissive gesture with her hand. "No need for that, my child. I am no longer the powerful force of nature I once was. If it wasn't for you, my essence would have scattered on this pond in a matter of a few years."
"My Lady. It's good to see you again after all this time," Harry said. "I didn't expect to find you so far away from Camelot."
"Much time has passed, but perhaps not for you," she said, her eyes examining his body. "You are a new person now. Reincarnation, some mortals like to call it."
"You know about this?" Harry felt like the Lady of the Lake knew something that he didn't.
Neither he nor Morgan was able to figure out why his soul remained in the realm of the living and ended up being reincarnated into the body he now possessed. This was a true mystery to them, as there were no records of anything of the sort happening to someone else.
"Tell me, Merlin. How did you die?" There was a knowing look on her face.
"I…" He recalled his last moments. They were engraved very vividly in his mind, although he wished that was not the case. "King Arthur, he stabbed me in the chest."
"He stabbed you with Excalibur, did he not?" the Lady asked.
Harry nodded.
"Was it broken already?"
"How did you know?" Harry asked.
"I knew something terrible had taken place when this came back to me." She dipped one of her hands into the pond and pulled out a sword.
Harry's eyes opened wide with shock. "Excalibur!" But he gasped when he realized that she only had the handle and a few inches of a broken blade. There was no sign of the rest.
"This is all that came back," she told him, guessing his next question. "Powerful traces of corruption remained in the sword. It took me centuries and most of my power to purify it completely."
"Corruption…" Harry repeated. He had already heard that before. Even before dying as Merlin, Morgan had tried to warn him that something was happening to King Arthur, that he was a being corrupted.
"That's right. Normally, this sacred sword would have been able to purify any evil sources of power. That was its original purpose, after all. But whatever had taken over King Arthur turned out to be too much for Excalibur, who ended up succumbing under its effects."
"How did I not realize that something like that was happening under my nose?" This was much worse than what he originally thought.
"Here, take it." The Lady of the Lake moved closer and extended the arm carrying the sword.
"You want me to take Excalibur…why?" Harry didn't understand. He was no swordsman. And even if he was, there was little sword left there.
"Excalibur is not yet dead," the Lady explained. "A sliver of its original sacred vitality remains in there. If you can find the remaining parts, it can become whole once again."
"But…" Harry hesitated to take it.
"The sword is yours, Merlin. It has been yours for the past 1500 years. Excalibur has been waiting for you all this time. I merely helped it in its task," the Lady said.
"Waiting for me? What do you mean by that? Please…tell me."
The Lady released the sword, and it floated in the air toward him. "When your body was pierced by the sacred sword and your life was extinguished, your soul should have passed away onto the next realm of existence. Why do you think it remained here?" she asked.
"Are you saying that…" His eyes moved to the floating sword handle before him. "Excalibur did that? Is that the reason for my reincarnation?"
"You were chosen as the new wielder of the sacred sword right before your passing," the Lady said. "This created a magical binding between you and the sword. You may not feel it because of its current state, but it's there. And it was enough to prevent your soul from drifting away."
"A soul binding." He had recently been dragged into a soul contract against his will. But it turns out that wasn't even the first one. This magical sword was the sole reason for him still being here.
"You have an important mission left, Merlin," she said, her voice growing weaker. "Find the remaining pieces and restore the sword. Use it to eliminate the corruption that destroyed Camelot and its King. Only the complete form of Excalibur can accomplish this, and only while it's being wielded by a truly worthy champion."
Harry noticed that her body was starting to dissolve back into the pond. "My Lady? Do you need more energy? I can provide that."
She smiled. "Oh, my sweet Merlin. I thank you for that, but it wouldn't help again. My time has finally come."
"Your time? But you are an ancient dryad. Your species can live for a tremendous amount of t—"
"Indeed. And I have." She interrupted him. Her arms turned into water and merged into the pond. "I have outlived all the other members of my species. In fact, I should have left this world many centuries ago. I only held on for the purpose of giving you the sacred sword. And now I have. It is my time to rest."
"I…I see." Harry didn't like it, but he understood her. There was no telling how many millennia this being had existed for. She must have seen and experienced so much. "I wish we could talk for longer. I have much to ask you."
"You are already the wisest sorcerer in this world, Merlin. If there is something you don't know…I'm sure you will learn it in time."
Harry nodded.
"Goodbye, Merlin." Her body went back to its original form and completely blended into the pond, leaving no traces of her existence behind.
Harry stood solemnly, looking at the waters with the remnants of Excalibur in his hand.
Just when he thought it was all over and the Lady of the Lake was gone for good, he heard her voice again.
"One last gift for you, my champion." Something shot out from the pond. It was a drop of water, but it shone like a beacon.
The drop of liquid floated over the pond and stopped before him.
Harry knew what he had to do. He hurried to conjure a bottle and caught the liquid inside before it could fall on the ground.
He then examined it but couldn't figure out what it was. "I'll have to ask Morgan."
A.N: - Remember to comment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it.
You can support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. You can also find character images to view for free in Collections/Merlin Images
-patreon.com/Kriogenix
For donations and commissions, go to ko-fi.com/kriogenix