Merlin's penetrating gaze swept across the sealed Forbidden Area one final time before he turned away with visible reluctance, his ethereal robes billowing dramatically.
He vanished completely into the dimensional gloom without further ceremony.
Inside the material world's ancient temple, Erwin sensed the distant disturbance instantly with his enhanced perception.
The previously seamless protective ward—an essentially perfect dome of interwoven energy—suddenly faltered with microscopic instability.
Just for a single heartbeat's duration, the normally flawless flow of sustaining magic hiccuped noticeably.
Erwin absolutely didn't hesitate for even a fraction of a second.
His eyes narrowed with predatory focus, and he lunged forward explosively, driving his wand's tip into the stone floor at the precise calculated point of maximum energy disruption.
The violent impact immediately triggered the ward's automated defensive protocols.
It flared with absolutely blinding brilliance, unleashing a devastating wave of retaliatory force that struck Erwin before he could fully brace his hastily erected defenses.
His quickly conjured Shield Charm shattered like fragile glass under the assault. The massive magical backlash slammed him violently into the far chamber wall, the brutal impact forcefully knocking all the wind from his lungs.
A thin trickle of blood escaped from the corner of his mouth, but Erwin completely ignored the pain and injury. He hit the unforgiving ground hard and immediately executed a desperate combat roll aside.
Whumf!
A concentrated beam of searing blue destructive light scorched the precise spot where he had landed mere moments before, completely vaporizing the ancient flagstones and sending razor-sharp shrapnel flying in all directions.
Erwin didn't waste time or energy looking back at the destruction. He scrambled urgently to his feet and darted toward another corner position with desperate speed.
Another pursuing beam followed his movement relentlessly, hunting him with disturbing accuracy.
Erwin weaved frantically through the chamber's limited architecture, becoming a desperate blur of motion, his analytical mind automatically counting the rhythmic pulses of the sustained magical assault.
One, two, three...
By the time his mental count reached twenty full cycles, the attack's intensity had noticeably and measurably dropped.
The frequency of the destructive beams began slowing perceptibly as available power diminished.
Erwin hadn't simply been dodging randomly and desperately. He had systematically severed the ancient ward's crucial connection to the planetary ley lines feeding it power from beneath the temple structure.
Now, the defensive matrix was burning through its own carefully accumulated limited reserves with every sustained attack.
Without any possibility of external replenishment, the entire system was literally exhausting itself with each aggressive pulse.
He sidestepped two additional increasingly sluggish beams with considerably more ease.
Then, finally—silence.
Erwin cautiously turned to assess the situation. The shimmering blue protective barrier that had been sealing the inner chamber completely was now entirely gone, dissipated from power exhaustion.
He approached the central pedestal with appropriate caution but didn't immediately reach out to snatch the legendary object resting upon it.
Instead, exercising abundant care, he used merely the tip of his wand to gently nudge the ancient blade's ornate hilt as a final test.
Absolutely nothing happened. No hidden curse activation, no violent magical backlash.
A genuine flicker of surprised satisfaction crossed Erwin's features. "The genuine article," he murmured with appreciation.
He had honestly expected to discover an elaborate decoy or false target. The security surrounding this location had been absurdly tight for what should have been an empty pedestal serving as bait.
Yet the relative ease with which he'd navigated the temple's outer defenses had felt distinctly... suspicious and too convenient.
Yet here the authentic artifact rested, apparently unharmed, with its protective enchantment now completely dormant.
A genuine smile of profound satisfaction touched Erwin's lips at the confirmation.
This was the final piece. The Sword resting in his hand meant he could finally, finally fulfill his solemn promise to his beloved Godfather.
Resurrecting Lily Potter.
He had absolutely no intention whatsoever of attempting to strike some pathetic bargain or negotiation with Death itself.
He fully intended to metaphorically twist Death's skeletal arm until the cosmic entity yielded to his superior will and power.
As for whether the legendary Reaper would cooperate willingly with such coercion? That represented a problem to address when it actually arose.
Erwin stepped measuredly closer to the pedestal. He remained appropriately vigilant despite apparent safety, his wand raised defensively.
A casual flick of his wrist sent several small pebbles skittering across the floor toward the blade's base, testing meticulously for any remaining invisible tripwires or concealed pressure plates.
The test stones settled harmlessly around the pedestal without triggering anything.
Completely satisfied with the safety assessment, Erwin finally reached out and grasped the legendary hilt firmly.
He pulled with steady, confident force.
There was no accompanying thunderclap from the heavens, no angelic choir singing triumphantly. The ancient blade slid smoothly free of its stone prison with merely a soft, almost anticlimactic metallic whisper.
It appeared superficially like nothing more remarkable than a beautifully forged piece of exceptional steel craftsmanship.
But to Erwin, who understood its true nature and purpose, it represented everything.
Merlin's ancient magical shortcuts and enhancements were literally encoded within the very metal itself, specifically keyed to activate for the precise bloodline running through Erwin's veins.
Without possessing that specific genetic heritage, the Sword would remain perpetually fused to its stone prison, completely regardless of the wielder's personal worthiness or noble character.
Erwin swung the liberated blade experimentally through the air, testing its balance. He immediately felt the subtle harmonic resonance within his own blood responding—a distinctive vibration that had once created painful internal conflict with his other mixed heritage.
But now, after his various transformations and power integrations, it simply represented another useful tool in his expanding arsenal.
He no longer required the Sword to help stabilize his complicated internal magical nature, but it would still prove remarkably useful for his ultimate purposes.
Erwin settled into a comfortable cross-legged position on the cold stone floor, conjuring a soft cushion of solidified magic to sit upon.
He carefully placed the Sword of Gryffindor directly before his crossed legs and drew his own distinctive wand.
He touched the wand's tip deliberately to the ancient blade's surface.
Instantly, the liquid blue core of his personal wand reacted with violent enthusiasm. The contained energy surged powerfully, racing up the wand's length and flowing directly into the Sword's metal.
A deep, penetrating azure glow immediately bathed the entire temple chamber in otherworldly light.
Miles away, within the ethereal dimensional plane of the Sorting Hat's preserved memory construct, Merlin's eyes snapped wide open with genuine shock.
He stared desperately into the surrounding nothingness, acutely sensing the ancient connection being systematically severed—or more accurately, aggressively claimed by another entity.
"How is this even possible?" Merlin whispered with barely controlled panic, his legendary composure finally cracking under pressure. "He actually succeeded in pulling it free from the stone? That shouldn't be achievable!"
A grim, terrible realization settled heavily over his consciousness like a suffocating blanket.
He had developed a hypothesis—a brilliant but absolutely terrible theory—but he violently shook his head, desperately refusing to believe it could be accurate.
"No," he muttered with fierce denial. "It's fundamentally impossible. He couldn't have known the truth. He shouldn't have been capable of accomplishing this!"