HPxLOTM: A Wizard's Path to Divinity

That was once the divine kingdom of the Phoenix Ancestor Gregrace, the former God of the Death Pathway. It was said that any living being who entered Calderón would naturally begin to transform into the dead, eventually becoming a spirit of the deceased.

But the last time I was here, I stayed for quite a while and didn't feel a thing...Oh, right—I remember now. I was planning to explore a bit back then, but my spirituality immediately stopped me. Getting too far from the messenger would've been dangerous.

Thinking about it now, this messenger of mine is clearly extraordinary. Could it really be a descendant of Gregrace? Or even...her reincarnation?

While he was still pondering, the messenger bird had already carried him through the outskirts of the city and now hovered above Calderón City. From the darkness below, he spotted what looked like a nearly dried-up river, its desiccated riverbed swarming with countless wandering souls.

On either side of the river, he could vaguely make out enormous pale stone pillars, similar to the ones found inside Calderón—but even more exaggerated in scale.

Edward's expression shifted dramatically. Could that be...a tributary of the River of Eternal Darkness?

But why…why would it be withered?!!

"We're here."

At that moment, Edward's feet landed on solid ground again. They were back at the same crumbling wall they'd visited last time.

He quickly asked, "Do you know about the river running through this city?"

"I do."

"What about its waters? Why has it dried up?"

"I don't know. When I first saw it, it was already like this."

"When was that?"

The messenger bird thought for a moment, then shook its head. "Can't remember."

Damn.

If that really is the River of Eternal Darkness, then this is huge news!

Could it mean that the Evernight Goddess' plan—to accommodate the Death Pathway and kill the God of Combat—has ultimately failed? Without a Sefirot, she would never ascend to the level of the Great Old Ones!

But...does she know about this yet? Should I tell her?

If she finds out that her grand plan of millennia ends like this, she might go insane, right?

No...no, she won't. A schemer like the Goddess wouldn't break down over this. Besides, the river isn't completely dried up yet—there's still something left in it.

"Calm down. Focus. Let me finish what I came here to do first."

—A few minutes later—

The coordinate marking ritual for the Spirit World was complete. The moment it was done, Edward could clearly sense its existence in his mind—just like he could sense the coordinates for the Astral Realm and the Harry Potter world.

But that was all. He could only perceive its existence. Nothing more.

Edward hesitated, then asked, "Can you take me closer to that river?"

"No. That place is too dangerous."

The messenger bird shook its head. "Even for me, it's risky. For you, it'd be far worse."

Makes sense. That's a Sefirot we're talking about.

Didn't Medici end up getting corrupted just from making contact with the City of Calamity? Even the Goddess, who's so desperate for the River of Eternal Darkness, doesn't dare retrieve it in person.

Uh…wait a minute. I'm immune to corruption though.

But just as that thought surfaced, Edward suddenly recalled what his past self had said through the séance: "Beware of contamination."

...Right. Let's not go looking for death.

"All right. Please take me back."

The messenger bird gave him a curious look, eyeing the location he had just marked. After a moment's hesitation, it asked, "What did you just do?"

Edward blinked in surprise. This thing…is actually curious now?

When it was first summoned, the messenger bird showed almost no signs of intelligence, only an instinctual obsession with phoenix feathers. Its behaviour was unpleasant, even obnoxious.

After munching on feathers for a while, it began provoking Lilith, and when it succeeded, it even showed pride.

With time—and more feathers—it learned to curry favour with Edward to earn its next treat.

Then, after consuming a critical mass of feathers and "evolving" once again, its personality underwent a complete transformation. It became calm and obedient. While the resurrection stone likely played a role, it also meant the creature had learned to regulate its emotions.

And now, it was expressing curiosity toward something unrelated to feathers or resurrection stones.

It felt like…it was gradually regaining its humanity.

"What did you just do?" it asked again.

"Oh, just set up a special coordinate here. It's part of a ritual I need for my advancement."

The bird nodded and didn't question further. It flapped its wings, grabbed Edward by the collar, and with a sharp tear through the air, brought them back to Edward's bedroom.

"We're back."

"Thanks."

Edward handed over a few phoenix feathers. "These probably don't do much for you anymore, but…want to snack on them?"

The bird accepted them and swallowed them in one gulp. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, could you ask your headless friend for me? I'd like to know how much gold—or whatever else it might take—to acquire 80 millilitres of Shadowless Demonic Wolf's Blood."

"Okay."

"One more thing…"

Edward looked at the bird and asked, "If you can't remember your original name, how about choosing one? Otherwise, I never know what to call you."

"Name?"

A flicker of emotion passed through the bird's pitch-black eyes. "But I don't know what to call myself."

"Then how about I pick one for you? You can switch back to your real name when you remember it," Edward offered, thoughtfully rubbing his chin. "Hmm…Are you a he or a she?"

"My headless friend said I'm female."

…You needed someone else to tell you that?

Well, to be fair, it was hard to tell the gender of most birds at a glance.

"Then how about…"

A hint of anticipation surfaced in her eyes.

Edward drew out the words dramatically but suddenly flushed in embarrassment. "Ahem…Actually, I'm terrible at naming things. How about I ask someone else later and get back to you?"

Seeing the disappointment on her face, Edward quickly added, "Or…since you love eating phoenix feathers and are probably connected to the Phoenix, why don't we just go with 'Phoenix'—Phoenix as in the English word."

He spoke the name in English—Phoenix—so even if someone overheard it, they wouldn't find it strange…well, except for Klein.

"Phoenix?"

She repeated the name, without showing whether she liked it or not. "That's acceptable."

Edward took out a sheet of paper and passed it to her. "Right. After you've spoken with your headless friend, can you also deliver this letter to Danitz…you know, that blond guy?"

"Sure."

The letter was actually meant for Edwina. On the one hand, it asked for her help in acquiring a few specific materials. On the other, it told her that he'd discovered the secret of Groselle's Travels and asked if she'd be interested in exploring it with him.

Since he would have to go into that world sooner or later—and since Edwina was not only the true owner of the book but also a reader pathway Beyonder driven by curiosity—it only made sense to let her in on it.

The messenger spread her wings and sliced through the air, vanishing into the Spirit World once more.

Edward let out a breath. "Now, there's only one last coordinate left to set."

Honestly, things had gone a lot smoother than expected with these special coordinate setups—especially the Astral Realm one. The Goddess had been surprisingly cooperative.

"This spot should do."

Closing his eyes, Edward began placing a coordinate in the bedroom of his small villa, using a bit of spirituality imbued with his essence to serve as a marker.

Just as he was expecting it to work like the last two, he was suddenly startled by the feedback:

[A coordinate has already been set in this world. Attempting to set another will be ineffective.]

"What the…? When did I set a coordinate in the real world?"

He was baffled. "Wait—don't tell me it considers the Spirit World and the real world to be one and the same?"

Spirit World and reality were technically two different realms, but there was no clear boundary between them. Many Beyonders, upon reaching a certain Sequence, could freely traverse between the two.

Could that be the reason?

"If so…what should the final world be? The Mind World? Or the world inside Groselle's Travels? But those two 'worlds' aren't that distinct from the real one either…"

Edward suddenly found himself at a loss.

After a long pause, he sighed. "Ah, guess I'll just have to test them one by one."

"Let's start by asking Emlyn to help purchase the Trapped Ghost Residue Powder."

Edward tapped himself with his wand, instantly changing into a grey overcoat commonly worn by gentlemen in Loen. He then walked over to the door, picked up the hat from the coat rack, and Apparated into a quiet alley near the Harvest Church.

As soon as he stepped out of the alley, he saw the golden exterior of the Harvest Church gleaming in the distance.

———

[Inside the Harvest Church]

Klein had originally planned to blend in with the worshippers and slip inside for a look, but it turned out that there were so few believers of the Earth Mother in Backlund that he'd been waiting outside for half an hour and had only seen a single priest cleaning at the door—handsome, but alone.

He'd learned a few days ago that there was a commission posted here, and the reward happened to be a potion formula for the Apothecary pathway. For someone like him, having an Apothecary as a subordinate would be extremely useful. He could get injured, fall sick, or run into enemies capable of harming him—having an Apothecary close at hand would be an invaluable asset.

However, since the commission was posted by a Beyonder, walking in too openly felt a bit too risky. After much hesitation, Klein decided to return at night.

Just then, the handsome priest looked his way, leaning lazily on his broom. "Hey, friend. You've been staring from over there for a while. Not planning to come in and take a look?"

Klein stiffened in alarm. What the hell? I was hiding in a blind spot! How'd he spot me?

After a few seconds of hesitation, Klein stepped forward and got straight to the point: "I heard there was a commission posted here."

Emlyn made a small sound of recognition. "The one from Bishop Utravsky?"

"That's right."

"Come in, then."

Emlyn turned and walked back into the church, speaking casually as he did: "You're way too cautious, friend. The Harvest Church may be small, but it's still an orthodox god's church. Unless you're a wanted criminal or something, there's no reason to act so sneaky."

Klein shrugged. "Exactly because it's an orthodox church, one should be extra careful. Official Beyonders aren't exactly friendly to wild ones like me."

"Hm. Fair point."

As they stepped into the church, Emlyn remarked, "But honestly, the Earth Mother's church in Backlund barely counts as an official presence. Otherwise, we wouldn't be stuck with such a shabby little place."

"Father Utravsky, someone's here to see you."

Klein looked over to see a broad-shouldered man in his forties or fifties seated in the front pew. Dressed in a brown clerical robe, the man sat like a mountain—immense and imposing—yet his face radiated warmth and kindness.

"What can I help you with, sir?" he asked gently.

"I heard you posted a commission with a reward being an Apothecary formula."

The priest blinked, then offered an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, sir—that was over a month ago. Someone's already helped me resolve the issue, so the commission is no longer valid." He turned to Emlyn. "Emlyn, would you please cancel that for me later?"

Emlyn fumed internally. Why do you only remember to order me around for this kind of nonsense? Do I look like your errand boy just because I'm a vampire?

He really wanted to snap back and say he had dignity, that he had a temper too—but when the words reached his mouth, they came out meek and obedient:

"Yes, Father."

———

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