HPxLOTM: A Wizard's Path to Divinity

With that thought, Edward quickly took out the Beyonder characteristic of the Secrets Sorcerer.

"I pray that the Goddess will help me shatter this characteristic."

Almost the very next second, the crystalline Beyonder characteristic let out a crisp snap, disintegrating into countless motes of light before swiftly reassembling into six new characteristics—each one different in colour and shape. They corresponded precisely to Sequence 9 through Sequence 4 of the Apprentice Pathway.

"Praise the Goddess."

Edward drew the symbol of the Evernight's holy radiance over his chest, then hesitated for a moment before speaking again:

"Your Grace....the upcoming advancement ritual I'll be performing requires four special coordinates to be set in four different locations.

"And as it currently stands…one of those locations appears to be the Astral Realm. I wonder if "You" might…"

He stared anxiously at the flickering candle flame, leaving the rest of his sentence unspoken.

After what felt like an eternity, the flames suddenly flared, and a piece of parchment fluttered down from above. Edward hurried to catch it. The dust on the ground reformed into new words:

"Pray to me."

Edward quickly looked at the parchment, then bowed his head, clasped his hands, and began his prayer:

"The Evernight Goddess stands higher than the cosmos

and more eternal than eternity.

The Lady of Crimson,

The Mother of Concealment,

The Empress of Misfortune and Horror,

Mistress of Repose and Silence,

I pray that "You" may grant me the opportunity to enter the Astral Realm."

As he prayed, Edward's mind and body gradually settled into stillness and calm. His awareness slipped into a half-dream, half-awake state. He felt his body grow lighter and lighter, as though he were drifting through time and space, until he arrived in a vast, mysterious domain—

Surrounded by endless darkness.

At his feet grew patches of night vanilla and moon flowers.

The place was so still that even breathing felt like it might disturb the countless souls sleeping in the shadows.

Edward instinctively began to observe this miraculous realm. From the depths of the darkness, a figure descended. Even though there was no distinction between sky and ground in this place, the figure seemed to descend from the high heavens of a red moon or the distant stars.

She wore a layered yet elegantly simple gown of deep black, speckled with countless dazzling points of light—like the starry sky draped across her form. Her face remained veiled in obscurity, visible only enough to discern that she was female.

She was the Evernight Goddess, the deepest schemer of the Lord of the Mysteries' world. Her presence, gently rippling in the dark, felt oddly unreal.

"We finally meet."

Her voice was like a lullaby of the night.

The Goddess reached out a hand.

"Would you like me to give you a tour?"

"Uh—no, no, that won't be necessary."

Edward quickly steadied his mind and began to set the coordinates.

The special coordinates for a Traveler or Wandering Mentor weren't physical locations but spiritual imprints—markers etched with spirituality that could always be sensed, no matter where one was.

Travelers set these coordinates because after consuming their potion, they would uncontrollably begin roaming the Spirit World. Once they gained some mastery over their powers, they would often find themselves lost. At that point, these four special coordinates would allow them to return to the real world and help preserve their sense of self.

The Wandering Mentor, however, was different. Every wanderer needed some place to rest—whether to heal the body or shelter the soul. The goal of wandering was, in truth, to one day stop wandering. Thus, setting these four coordinates was to ensure that whenever exhaustion struck, they would always have a safe place to land.

Of course, this was only the known description of these special coordinates. Their true function might only become clear at the moment of advancement.

A few minutes later, Edward finished establishing what he considered the hardest of the four locations. He pressed his right hand to his chest and gave the Goddess a slight bow.

"Your Grace, the coordinate has been set."

She gave a faint nod. Then, a parchment notebook appeared in "Her" hand—it was the magical learning guide Edward had rushed to finish over the past few days.

"I cannot learn this."

Edward blinked in surprise. "Why?"

"I have no magic power."

"But Au—"

"Her body underwent a certain change."

Edward scratched his head. "So…"You" mean, "You'd" have to come back with me in order to learn magic?"

"Yes."

"Even as a god, "You" still can't?"

The Goddess's voice remained gentle.

"I cannot—unless…I become a Pillar."

Edward's heart trembled.

He had long suspected one thing: why, ever since the Goddess had discovered he could travel between two worlds, "She" had never tried to go to the Harry Potter world with him.

Could it be that "She" had no interest in the other world?

That was clearly impossible.

Then, perhaps "Her" answer just now indirectly confirmed it:

That unless one became a Pillar, even a god could not learn magic—or perhaps even travel—between worlds?

Could it be concluded that without reaching at least the Pillar level, "She" didn't dare set foot in the Harry Potter world?

But…wasn't that world just a mid-tier magical realm? How could it possibly be tied to the concept of the Pillar?

He couldn't help but ask, "Can "You"…tell me why?"

"Just think of it this way—every world has its own rules. Not even gods can defy those rules…unless "They" are more powerful than the entities who made them."

"I…think I understand."

"Now, it's time for you to return. Staying here too long isn't good for your soul."

Edward hurriedly asked, "Your Grace, not long ago I asked Adam about joining the Twilight Hermit Order. But "His" response was that I must first rescue Mr. Door. What do "You" think about that?"

"I don't know."

"Uh…"

"I am not omniscient or omnipotent. You'll have to find the answers yourself."

"Alright…I understand."

He hesitated for a few seconds, then asked,

"There's a saying I've always remembered—'All the gifts of fate have long been secretly priced.' May I ask what "You" intend to gain from me in return?"

"You'll know in time."

The next second, the figure before Edward blurred rapidly. The Night Vanillas and Moon Flowers beneath his feet took to the air one after another, scattering into the surrounding darkness and transforming into countless dazzling stars.

He opened his eyes and saw the dim candlelight and the shadowy room—he was back in the church's library.

"Shit, there was still something I forgot to ask."

Edward immediately spoke up, "Your Grace, may I ask whether I'm carrying some form of high-level contamination?"

Unfortunately, this time, the Goddess did not respond.

"Well, fair enough. She took me to the Astral Realm and chatted with me for so long—that's already more than generous."

He tapped four times clockwise across his chest once again. "Praise the Goddess."

Exiting the library, Edward nodded politely toward Bishop Electra, who was smiling at him.

He thought for a moment and stepped forward. "Bishop Electra, the Saint has been away for quite some time now. Did he say when he might return?"

It wasn't that he had urgent business with Saint Anthony. It was just that, according to Bernadette's earlier prophecy, a disaster potentially resembling the Great Smog might be approaching soon. Without a Saint to oversee Backlund, who knew what kind of chaos might unfold?

Bishop Electra shook her head. "Before leaving, the Saint only said he was going to preach in the surrounding areas of Backlund. He didn't mention a return date. In fact, even the Cathedral of Serenity has sent people looking for him."

The Cathedral of Serenity—headquarters of the Church of the Evernight Goddess—was looking for him too?

Could this mean the Goddess had personally assigned him a secret mission?

At this stage, the core objective of the Goddess should be to find and accommodate the Death Pathway's uniqueness. What role could Anthony possibly play in that?

Just then, Bishop Electra looked toward the entrance and said,

"Oh, Lord Cesimir has arrived."

Edward turned his head. The young senior deacon looked just as he had during their last meeting: black trench coat over a white shirt, collar turned high to hide his jaw in shadow. Only this time, a red glove adorned his left hand.

"Yo~ we meet again!"

Edward doffed his silk top hat in greeting. "Greetings, Lord Cesimir."

Crestet Cesimir lazily waved a hand, his face still wearing a faint smile. "Lately, I've been hearing your name quite a lot—from a certain new member of the Red Gloves."

"Traitor, murderer, schemer, bastard, animal...hmm, and a few other dirtier ones I can't really repeat here…"

He counted off on his fingers as he spoke, "Most of the descriptions were along those lines."

…Uh, Leonard really hates me that much? Old man Pallez still hasn't told him the truth?

"Lord Cesimir, surely you know I didn't betray the Church."

He glanced at Edward's neck. "Hmm, if I hadn't just heard that this morning, I'd probably have used the Goddess's Sword to lop off your head by now."

"…Thanks for the honesty, I guess."

"But aside from knowing you're not a traitor, I know nothing else," Cecima stepped closer, adopting a gossipy tone, "So what's the real story? Come on, tell me."

Edward immediately entered monk mode: see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.

"That's classified."

"Tch."

Cesimir didn't seem surprised. He pulled out a pocket watch for a quick glance. "Alright then, if there's nothing else, you better be off. Soest's squad is arriving soon. Oh, the guy who cursed you out with every foul word under the sun? He's in that team."

Hmm, I could actually clear things up with Leonard.

The reason he hadn't told Leonard earlier was because of the time-turner issue. Edward had also told Pallez to wait a bit before telling him the truth. But what was the old man thinking, still keeping it a secret even now?

"I understand. Farewell, Lord Cesimir."

Putting on his silk top hat, Edward quickly left the church. However, just as he turned a corner, he spotted a Red Glove squad approaching from afar.

Without hesitation, he turned and walked away. Once out of their line of sight, he Disapparated.

"Hmm?"

Just as Leonard stepped into the church, the ancient entity residing in his body, Pallez, let out a surprised hum.

"What is it, old man?"

"Hmm, nothing. Must've been seeing things."

"You? A dignified angel getting eye floaters?"

Pallez sighed faintly. "Have you ever seen such a miserable angel as me?"

"…Fair point."

Of course, Pallez hadn't seen things. He was quite sure the monocled figure who once frightened him had just passed by—Edward.

After the Tingen incident, Leonard had joined the Red Gloves full of hatred, and Pallez had honoured his "agreement" with Edward by withholding the truth for the time being.

But later, he discovered something unexpected: with that hatred in his heart, Leonard had shed his former laziness and arrogance. He'd become diligent, focused, and grounded.

In that case…let Klein and Dunn remain dead for a while longer.

What mattered most was his own protégé's strength.

———

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