A/N: And completed again! Once again, I thank all my reviewers for motivating me to write!
The Last Will
It was done the moment it began. Tersan studied the speck between his fingers, the most perfect masterpiece he had ever created. But it would also be his last.
"Eirikr," Tersan called abruptly as he released his hand. The miniscule speck of light exploded beautifully into showers of lights as the super compacted matter expanded outwards. "My work is complete."
"This is what you wish?" Eirikr asked, watching as the explosion of matter cooled, forming countless numbers of galaxies. "To live here for the rest of eternity?"
"I'm afraid that I do not have much of a choice," Tersan replied. His voice sounded resigned.
"Tersan?" Eirikr looked at Tersan's eyes intently. "What do you imply by that?"
Tersan laughed softly, leaning backwards in the empty space as the universe completed its expansion. "I'm saying that I gave all my powers to the creation of this world," he replied. As Eirikr's eyes widened in understanding, Tersan smiled. "My power is broken."
"But your power is limitless!" Eirikr protested as he sensed Tersan's power dropping at an alarming rate.
"My power is limited," Tersan admitted. "I may have had the greatest power of all us Eternal beings, but I am not natural."
"What does that have to do with your power?" Eirikr demanded. Personally, Eirikr was considered to be a rather weak Supremacy capable entity, but ever since Tersan came to power, his own had grown to match some of the greatest Eternals. "You can do anything!"
Tersan sighed, turning to his friend sadly. "I can do anything as long as I have the power Eirikr. Since I drew my powers from my avatars, I have now used them up. I have only enough to start civilizations on every planet in this dimension, then I will live peacefully on one of them."
Eirikr reached out to grasp Tersan's shoulder, but the entity dropped out of his reach, closing his eyes as he fell through the starry space. Immediately, the six wings on Tersan's back shattered into countless strands of light, each individual thread heading for a single planet.
"Goodbye friend," Tersan whispered as he grasped the final strand before it could fly away. "I thank you for everything you have done for me." The thread flared brightly and wound itself around Tersan's wrist, pulling him away toward a distant world.
Eirikr looked on in shock as he was suddenly ejected from the dimension, his powerful being tumbling through the emptiness of space before rebounding off of the existing multiverse. Tersan's dimension hung by itself away from the rest of the multiverse, surrounded in a protective cocoon of crackling blue lightning.
"Tersan, what have you done?" Eirikr whispered, clenching his fist tightly as grief suddenly flooded him. "You can't isolate yourself from the rest of the multiverse!" he screamed.
Reaching out with his hand, Eirikr called on his power and tried to take hold of Tersan's universe, but the power around it violently repelled his actions. Eirikr hissed in pain, clutching his hand.
"TERSAN!" Eirikr screamed. "You can't just separate yourself like that! A lone universe does not survive for long if you don't join the rest of the multiverse!"
The dimension continued to drift away from him.
"Don't you understand?" Eirikr threw all of his willpower into his final statement.
"You're going to die!"
( 0 0 0 )
The howling shriek tore apart Voldemort's hold on Alexander, dropping him to the floor. But Alexander did not move to stand. He couldn't move even if he wanted to. The absolute terror from the cry had locked his limbs and mind, petrifying him to the spot.
Voldemort was visibly shaking, his breath coming in absurdly short gasps of high pitched squeaks as he was also frozen in place.
Out of the corner of his eyes, Alexander saw a cloud of fluidic darkness slowly flowing down the corridor, and to his utter horror, he understood what it was.
"C-Colin!" Alexander cried weakly. "S-stop!"
But the young Gryffindor was no longer human. It could not comprehend the words of Alexander Evans. The wraith walked along the ceiling of the corridor, watching the frozen crowd of humans with unreadable emotion from beneath its ambient dark powers.
"W-what is this?" Voldemort demanded, his voice nearly a whisper. "What power…?" An inhuman hand closed on his shoulder. "NO! Get away!" His protests continued in vain as the wraith engulfed the Dark Lord in its darkness, and suddenly vanished with him.
"Alexander!" Harry shouted, running down the hall. "Are you alright?"
Shuddering in relief as the wraith's power subsided, Alexander moaned weakly and laid flat onto the cold stone floor. "I'll be fine," he groaned. "But what about Colin and Voldemort?"
As Harry helped Alexander to his unsteady feet, he glanced at the spot where Voldemort was. "I don't know, but I'm sure that Voldemort wouldn't be able to overcome the wraith."
"You mean Colin?" Alexander asked, glancing at Harry. "I mean, it's just temporary right?"
Harry didn't reply.
"Potter! Look out!" Moody's voice roared down the hall. The warning was unnecessary.
The curse vanished into nothingness as Harry finally called upon the power of Hogwarts itself to contain the intruders. The Death Eaters suddenly found themselves unable to move at all, not even their eyes, though they could still breath.
"That's enough," Harry said softly. "I will permit no more harm to come to Hogwarts or its inhabitants."
"Harry?" Dumbledore had cleared himself of Voldemort's curse, but he was still slightly disoriented from the spell. "Is everyone alright?"
"Professor," Harry said, helping the elderly wizard to stand steady. "Voldemort was taken away by a wraith."
Dumbledore sucked in a sharp intake of breath. "You mean, Colin Creevey?"
Harry nodded solemnly. "I do not know where Colin has taken Voldemort, but all I know is that Voldemort is not having fun at all."
The headmaster chortled. "Perhaps now Tom can truly understand what Dark means."
Alexander scoffed. "I think Voldemort will be too scared to even know why he is scared."
"Perhaps," Dumbledore said. Turning his attention to the Death Eaters, he asked, "Now what are we going to do with all of these?"
Harry thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up in inspiration. "We have dungeons right?"
Dumbledore stared at Harry in astonishment, but burst out in laughter. "Excellent suggestion Harry." He motioned toward several Aurors. "Take them to the dungeons!"
The Aurors obeyed the command and tried to summon the Death Eater.
Nothing happened.
"Oops," Harry said sheepishly, chuckling to hide his embarrassment. "I forgot to release them."
The Death Eaters collapsed to the floor the moment they were released from the wards. In their condition, it was easy for the Aurors to bind the Death Eaters and levitate them away.
"Fascinating powers you have Potter," Moody growled as he walked by. "Don't ease up or ever let your guard down. Constant vigilance!"
"I will Professor," Harry replied. The wall behind him opened up to another portion of the castle. "Now that the Death Eaters inside the castle have been taken care of, there are just the ones outside to worry about now." He stepped through.
Dumbledore watched the wall as it closed again, cutting Harry off from view.
( 0 0 0 )
The cool night air felt refreshing to Harry's face and body, relieving him of the stress he had felt while battling the Death Eaters. He could feel the power flowing through the castle, and hear the song of the wards as they hummed with their majestic power.
But all this was being interfered by the presence of those who seek to harm the castle and its inhabitants, causing an unpleasant feeling in Harry's stomach.
Harry groaned in discomfort, irritated at his newfound powers.
"Sometimes, new powers are just more annoying than they are useful," Harry complained, willing the sensation to leave. As the feeling subsided, Harry opened a nearby door and exited onto a balcony overlooking the front grassy grounds where most of the battle was taking place between the Aurors and Death Eaters. Half tempted to test out the castle's capabilities, Harry stilled his itching urge to do something dramatic. There were more important things at hand.
Pulsating unseen within the walls of the castle were powerful dormant defenses the founders had built into the school to repel those who would harm its students. Harry felt the semi-conscious essence of Hogwarts suggest to him what to do, and he followed.
With a deep reverberating rumble, Harry brought to life the ancient defenses of the castle. All combat on the field stopped as the wizards paused to gaze at the marvel unfolding before them.
Hogwarts began to change. The tallest of the towers moved gracefully from the outer edge to the inner areas as it deconstructed into individual bricks, then reassembled back into a tower at its destination. A circular ring of stone ripped out of the ground and encompassed Hogwarts within its boundaries, forming a defensible fortress and barrier around the castle.
The windows of the Great Hall vanished behind great slabs of dark stone that slid into place like covers from hidden places in the walls. The front gate warped and twisted, changing from its elegant design into a fortified, strong magical metal gate in the fortress ring.
Narrow, tall slots appeared in the walls of the towers, spaced evenly around the circumference of the towers. The thick wall around Hogwarts also developed the defensive slots near the top, but what amazed everyone was the appearance of ballistic weaponry on the roof of the fortress wall and massive cannons that sprouted from openings that suddenly appeared around the fortress.
"What the bloody hell is that?" a Death Eater whispered, backing up away from the massive wall.
Kingsley Shacklebolt stood up next to the Dark wizard and also looked up. "I have absolutely no idea."
Without taking his eyes off of the cannons that started to take aim at him, the Death Eaters asked, "Is it too late for me to surrender now?"
Kingsley stared at the cannons. "I think so." He ran.
The Death Eater was left pondering his life, wondering why he would reach the end of his life so simply when the cannons opened fire. Kingsley never looked back, but instead headed for where Hogwarts gates were supposed to be, searching for a way in.
Around the castle fortress, spells flew out of the slots rapidly like arrows while the ballistae on the fortress wall launched explosively enchanted wooden shafts at the crowds of Death Eaters below. It was amazing how many wizards there were.
The cannons fired devastating blasts of destructive power with pinpoint accuracy at the airborne Dementors, blowing apart their vile bodies out the air.
Lightning suddenly crackled from spires that extended from the towers, striking nearly everything standing. Against the overwhelming force of a thousand thunderbolts, the remaining Death Eaters were forced to abandon their attack.
Harry watched everything from the single lone tower he stood upon, wondering what other marvels the founders had hidden into the castle. Faintly, he began to hear cheering from far below him. Looking down, he saw that students had ran out of the castle and rushed to embrace the Aurors defending their school. Apparently some of the Aurors were relatives or friends of the students, Harry thought. He smiled inwardly.
It would be better that they didn't know that he was the one that repelled Voldemort's forces. He had enough of publicity for one day and more.
"BASTARD!"
Harry whirled around in alarm, but he was completely caught off guard by the blindingly fast blow that slammed into the side of his head.
"You caused him to end like this!" the voice snarled again. Harry knew he heard that voice before, but he couldn't quite place it.
"Who are you?" Harry demanded weakly, trying to shake the dizziness off. "What are you…?"
"SILENCE!" the voice roared. Harry felt himself being picked up. "You and your damn human race!"
Harry blinked his eyes for the last time and caught sight of his attacker. His blood ran cold the moment he met eyes with the person. He was looking at himself.
But the eyes of his attacker were silver.
"Tersan?" Harry breathed. His doppelganger's face contorted with rage as a low growl came from his throat.
"Ignorant fool," his attacker hissed at him, grasping Harry around the neck. "You have caused Tersan to give up his immortality just to experience mortality!"
Harry fought for breath, using all his strength to pry the fingers from his throat. "I never said anything to him like that!" Harry gasped. "Even if he's mortal, he can still live normally."
The doppelganger raised Harry high into the air, causing him to choke in agony as the hand around his neck constricted.
"Tersan is going to die because he wants to live in complete isolation," his doppelganger whispered. "It's all because of you!" He threw him off the tower.
Before Harry could even take a breath to scream, he suddenly found his attacker in the air with him.
"If he will die," his attacker said. "Then so will you." He drew his fist back and slammed it with incredible force into Harry's chest.
Several ribs shattered under the impact, causing Harry excruciating pain as he was pushed down even faster down toward the ground.
"NO!"
Harry was suddenly caught in the air by an unseen force mere inches from the ground. He tried to breathe, and agonizing pain tore through him.
"I will not allow this!" Kyp Eslagard Anthrias warp strode toward them. His image blurred and refocused rapidly as he repeatedly warped toward them in short distances, each step a warp stride. "What do you think you are doing?"
"This does not concern you!" Harry's doppelganger snapped, raising a hand warningly. "Stay out of this mortal!"
"A Supreme being," Kyp said in discontent. "Your kind normally do not interfere in our affairs, but when you do, your people flaunt your powers carelessly without regard to those weaker than you!"
Harry's doppelganger paused, eyeing Kyp curiously. "Who are you?" he asked. "How do you know of our kind?"
"My name is Kyp," Kyp said formally, conjuring a vast cloak around himself. "First Officer Anthrias."
"Impossible," Harry's doppelganger whispered. "I…am deeply regretful." He looked at Kyp intently.
Lying on the ground in pain, Harry didn't notice the silent exchange of information between his clone's mind and Kyp's. "Kyp," Harry whispered.
"Sorry!" Kyp apologized quickly. Flicking his wand out from within his sleeve, he muttered a spell under his breath.
Harry sighed in relief as he could finally breathe easily. He sat up as Kyp lowered him from the levitation charm and regarded his doppelganger warily, who was averting his eyes.
"Hey," Harry called. His doppelganger looked at him. "What's your name?"
His doppelganger didn't reply.
"His name is Eirikr," Kyp replied for him. "He is the Supreme being that made Tersan what he is."
"Made Tersan what he is?" Harry echoed in amazement, standing up. "Eirikr, can I call you that?"
Eirikr nodded. "My most sincere apologies Harry Potter."
"How did you do it?" Harry asked Eirikr.
"His avatars," Eirikr replied. "Tersan's power came from his avatars." He sighed deeply and turned to look at the sky. "I am Eirikr, Supreme being of avatars. I gave Tersan the ability to create avatars in ways no one else had ever done."
Harry frowned. "But how did he become so powerful?"
"Primaries," Eirikr replied, scoffing at himself.
"Primaries?" Harry echoed, confused.
"Harry, if you could have ultimate power in anything, what would you ask for?" Eirikr suddenly asked.
Harry froze, abruptly overwhelmed at the magnitude of the question. "I…I don't know!"
"Tersan knew," Eirikr said. "He wanted everything. Tersan was capable of looking past reality long before he achieved Supremacy thanks to the powers he received from the governors of Atlantis."
Eirikr abruptly changed form into Tersan's appearance. "So he found the fundamental forces of everything: Light, Dark, Life, and Death. These avatars granted him powers no one has ever attained, even for other Supreme beings."
"But what about Creation and Destruction?" Harry asked.
"Ah, those," Eirikr said, smiling broadly. "Those he created when he reached Supremacy. Those two avatars are the reason how Tersan became the greatest of us Supreme Beings."
"There are things even we Supreme beings do not tamper with, such as order and chaos," Eirikr continued. "For our kind, such interactions are very powerful and can even destabilize the entire structure of a multiverse. Somehow, Tersan was able to master the essences and even capture them into avatars under his control."
"What did he do with all that power?" Harry asked.
Eirikr turned to look at Harry in the eyes. "He did nothing." Eirikr's gaze turned soft. "Tersan was only a child when he became the Weapon of Atlantis. There wasn't much of anything he wanted, and never did for a very long time." He studied the defenses Harry had released. "Tersan never actually used the full extent of his powers when he became a Supreme being. Even then, when he did use his powers, it was exerted very sparingly. I didn't know why, but now I understand."
"Eirikr," Harry said. "Why did you say that Tersan was going to die?"
"Because his power was limited!" Eirikr replied, his voice nearly a shout. "Of everything Tersan was capable of, he was unable to expand his powers. Attaining the greatest status of the most powerful Supreme being through the use of avatars came at a price. Power that was great no matter how much or little you had left, but once you use up what you have, that's it. I didn't know about it until it was too late. Tersan drew his powers from his avatars to do anything, and his powers were vast."
"Tersan created a universe for himself to live in," Eirikr said. "Even for a Supreme being, such a task is incredibly draining. For Tersan, it was fatal."
Harry suddenly rushed forward and grasped Eirikr's shoulders. "What are you talking about?" he demanded.
Eirikr was unfazed. "Tersan was inspired by your lifestyle to try it out for himself in a place of his own, to rediscover what he missed," he answered. "He hasn't had a proper life in over seven hundred thousand years Harry. You know, you should be grateful that he's finally found some peace."
Harry's grip on Eirikr slipped as his body weakened. Dropping to his knees, he whispered, "This is all my fault! I caused everyone to get hurt around me, and now even Tersan is near the end of his life!"
"You can't blame yourself Harry," Eirikr said sternly. "Regardless of what you did, Tersan would have eventually ended up like this sooner or later."
"And how would you know that?" Harry shouted, his voice breaking.
"Supreme beings know each other very well," Eirikr said, looking down at Harry as he changed into an ancient, powerful looking mage. "I myself have been here far longer than Tersan ever has. To most of us, he has barely moved into embryonic stages, and for him to die so early…"
"I'm sorry," Harry whispered.
Eirikr sighed. "Once again, do not lay yourself at fault. This result was inevitable." He turned. "Kyp."
"Yes?"
"Take Harry back into the castle," Eirikr requested. "Watch over him and protect him from anyone or anything that wishes to harm him. I will be back soon."
Kyp nodded as Eirikr flew upwards and vanished into the sky.
"I, didn't mean for this to happen," Harry tried to explain.
"Do not blame yourself," Kyp said calmly, continuing to look upwards toward the sky. "What matters now is our search for Tersan's world, and if we can convince him to return to power."
Harry stared at Kyp in astonishment. "How can you be so calm about this?"
"I'm not," Kyp replied, finally looking at Harry. "It's just that I see the world differently than you." He tilted his head slightly. "Literally."
Harry stepped back slightly, watching Kyp's penetrating eyes cautiously.
"Don't worry," Kyp said, abruptly laughing. "Even if I can see through solid objects, I respect privacy."
"Can you?" Harry asked slowly.
"Yes," Kyp replied simply, and strode back up toward the castle.
( 0 0 0 )
"What do you mean you won't help?" Eirikr demanded, pushing through the storm of buffeting forces.
The Eternal One's formless body turned away from him, directing the flow of power to another direction. "His path is his own."
"Paths?" Eirikr repeated, stepping in front of the Eternal One, only to be assaulted by his power again. "We're Supreme beings! Paths no longer matter to us!"
The Eternal One placed a hand on Eirikr's shoulder, and the force abated. "You are still young Eirikr, despite what you are. When you match my age and ability, you will understand why."
Eirikr threw aside the Eternal One's hand. "Do not say that," Eirikr said threateningly. "I became a Supreme because my father said that. Now he lives on my former home wishing he had never said that, for because of him, I ascended to Supremacy."
"An honorable path you took," the Eternal One commented. "Did you ascend through the help of others or your own?"
"My own strength!" Eirikr said proudly. Quickly, his excitement faded. "And forever it remains," he added softly, turning his eyes downward.
The Eternal One gazed down at Eirikr's shorter stature sympathetically. "I understand."
Eirikr looked up hopefully. "You're going to help?"
To Eirikr's dismay, the Eternal One shook his head. "Tersan knew the price of using his power to its fullest extent," he said. "Even for me, creating a world was a difficult enough task, let alone a universe filled with life."
"But why?" Eirikr shouted, clutching the immaterial substance of the Eternal One's body. "Why would you just let him die?"
"That is his wish," the Eternal One explained. "I would not like it if Tersan decided to interfere in my affairs!"
Realizing that the conversation was over, Eirikr left. There would be no one else willing to help, for Tersan's reputation among their kind deterred others from crossing his path.
Eirikr would simply have to wait until Tersan's power fails, allowing him to speak with him, but also to witness his death.
"Tersan!" Eirikr cried out, unconsciously recalling all his memories of him. While there was no relationship between the two aside from mutual friendship, the sheer amount of magical interactions between the entities have nearly entwined them together.
"You called?"
Eirikr whirled around in shock. "Tersan!"
The formerly most powerful Supreme being smiled softly, causing his body to suddenly flicker. "I'm only here in image," said Tersan. "There is something you must do for me."
A scroll of paper appeared in Eirikr's hand.
"What is this?" Eirikr asked breathlessly, turning the scroll over.
"That is my last will," Tersan said, his smile disappearing. "Give it to Harry."
Eirikr nodded feverishly. "I will."
"Good," Tersan said approvingly. "Then all is done." His image started to fade.
"If I may ask," Eirikr said quickly. Tersan's image returned. "What are you giving to Harry?"
Tersan looked at Eirikr. "If I could, I would have left it to you," he said softly. "Unfortunately, you are incompatible."
As Eirikr stared at Tersan in confusion, Tersan became solid for a few seconds as he patted Eirikr reassuringly on his shoulder.
"Make sure Harry receives it," Tersan said, becoming immaterial again. "You should understand now."
Eirikr shook slightly, clutching the scroll tighter.
"I am giving Harry all of my power."
