I sighed. The truth was simple: doing it with an Occamy—especially one that seemed to have such soft feathers—was quite a bit better than many other things I had done. At this point, my moral dilemma was almost non-existent. I had already crossed too many lines to feign modesty; one more or ten less made no difference.
The only real problem was Hannah.
I didn't want her to see me like that. Not yet. I didn't want her to know I was even considering going through with it.
But then… something happened outside.
I had left one of my clones guarding the exterior, observing what the Amazons were doing while all this unfolded. And thanks to him, I realized that, indeed, there were those who wanted to prevent this. Or, at least, something related to it.
At the furthest perimeter the Amazons had established around the sanctuary, groups of wizards began to appear. They didn't arrive with stealth or caution: they came with violence, with murderous intent.
During my "Cursed Vaults" campaign, I had trained in Legilimency and received several useful rewards related to it, so I had learned to handle these kinds of situations with relative ease. So, I observed. And when I saw how they attacked the Amazons without the slightest hesitation, I decided I had no reason to be polite.
I ripped the information straight from their minds.
That was how I found out: it was a combined attack by two different forces. One of them… was all too familiar.
The same group I had crossed paths with while working with Tonks, the ones who tried to kidnap the German diplomat. They were also the ones who wanted to seize the Jaráchas wands. The ones responsible for the attack during the field trip. Traffickers of magical creatures.
And they were here for the most valuable creature of all, a treasure for any poacher: the pink Occamy.
It wasn't a minor incursion: we weren't talking about dozens of wizards, but hundreds. Nearly their entire organization had mobilized for this.
On the other hand, the second force was a sort of evil cult or something similar, which had colluded with the traffickers.
I had to capture one of those cultists to get more information, but I didn't get much clarity either, since the true high-ranking members weren't in the first wave of attacks; apparently, they were holding back for the end, and what I had captured was mere cannon fodder.
In short, what I discovered was that it was a very ancient but hidden religion. They were Dark Wizards, which meant they couldn't be visible to the public. They also wanted the Occamy, but their primary desire was for it to die. They wanted to prevent the prophecy the Amazons were trying to fulfill or something of the sort, acting as the complete opposite side in this conflict.
I would have liked to laugh at the situation, thinking it was a perfect excuse to stretch my legs and get some exercise… but something inside me was tense. Far too tense.
It was Elise's divine power reacting.
My instinct screamed at me that there was something dangerous behind all this. Not just evil, but power. A power that felt eerily similar to hers.
Using a few spells and abilities, I localized the source: a group of elders at the back of the enemy deployment.
The cult leaders possessed divine power.
I didn't know if they served a real god or if they were like Merlin or Morgana, using remnants—fragments of fallen divinities. But whatever the answer was, I didn't like it.
This could get complicated, not to the point of making me think I'd lose… but enough to make me want to leave Hannah out of it.
If there was one thing I had learned, it was that divine power was absurdly versatile and dangerously unpredictable. I didn't feel a direct threat toward myself, but what if they launched a long-distance curse? What if they targeted Hannah before I could react?
I looked at the elders once more, and they felt me. So, I dispelled the clone immediately.
My instinct screamed a warning. Expert curse-breakers, divine power involved… I had already met Morgana to know that the best strategy was not to give them a single second of advantage.
I was ready to send Hannah away and start helping the Amazons, facing the powerful individuals who had appeared. In a way, the idea excited me.
Since the business with Morgana and Merlin, the level of "mortal" wizards had ceased to be a real problem for me. I guess I had gotten used to "Hard Mode." Fighting things that could actually give me a challenge.
But just as I was about to act, something appeared in front of me.
A message.
It wasn't a common notification. It wasn't like when I leveled up or unlocked a new skill. This was different.
A notification box floated before my eyes.
[Interaction detected with events of "Main Campaign: Dragon's Legacy" — currently an active secondary campaign due to playing the campaign: "Harry Potter"]
[New DLC available: "Myths of America"]
Three campaigns unfolded before me, each with its own description.
Dragon's Legacy: You are a student at Castelobruxo who has become lost in the jungle. There, you find a strange egg, initiating a chain of events that will gain you new allies and enemies as you discover the secrets surrounding it.
Salem Witches: You are an Ilvermorny student involved in ancient grudges. Muggles? Wizards? Hidden forces attempt to destroy the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy and end the wizarding world as it is known. Old ghosts rise to execute a macabre plan.
The Shaman's Path: You belong to a lineage of Andean sorcerers, once powerful and now in decline. You inherit your family's duty: travel through America resolving ancient conflicts, prevent the release of a sealed evil, and find the seven temples, learning their arts as a solitary dweller.
A new DLC. That, in itself, was a surprise.
I could review it calmly later, but the important thing was another message blinking at the edge of the interface:
[Quick Campaign available]
However, it required purchasing the DLC.
I had the money. And considering this appeared right now, in the middle of all this chaos, it was clear it was no coincidence. So, I didn't hesitate.
I bought the DLC.
The message changed immediately.
[Sub-campaign enabled — Quick Campaign: "The Cursed Temple"]
Several of my skills had recently leveled up, including [Campaigns]. Added to that were the fief's upgrades, such as the [Mission Board]. All of that, combined, had unlocked a new type of content:
Quick Campaigns.
They were a mix between an advanced mission from the board and a secondary campaign.
The memories generated during these campaigns were sealed, but in a much lighter way. Only the irrelevant bits were removed—just enough to avoid "mental aging." What was learned remained.
They could affect the real world. The difficulty could be adjusted during the adventure. But there was no great final reward beyond retaining the knowledge, experience, and skills obtained.
The big difference was the duration.
Every campaign I had played so far—choosing not to start them from birth—had lasted at least ten years as a minimum. And that was the lowest floor.
Quick campaigns, on the other hand… could be much shorter.
I looked at the notice more closely, though it didn't offer much information. It only indicated that it was related to the Dragon's Legacy and that it had arisen due to direct contact with the events I was currently going through.
In essence, it was an invitation. An opportunity to intervene in something that happened in the past and, in doing so, alter the present.
That was, more or less, the true purpose of quick campaigns: to give you access to forgotten fragments of history to understand the origin of certain events… and, if possible, to "complete the story."
The data indicated that the timeline of this campaign was quite old, predating even the discovery of America. Its estimated duration ranged from 6 months to 4 years.
But what truly caught my attention was the difficulty.
Classification: Very Hard.
And I wasn't referring to the difficulty I could manually adjust. That was something else.
In quick campaigns, I could modify the challenge level, yes, but the primary enemy or objective didn't change. At most, it would weaken or become more complex in its behavior.
What that meant was simple: the base enemy of this campaign was already, by default, extremely powerful.
To put it in perspective… "Hard" would be someone like Voldemort. "Very Hard," on the other hand, was the level of Merlin or Morgana.
Knowing that, in the present, there were wizards with power nearing the divine moving in the shadows, my assumption didn't seem exaggerated.
Still, it didn't seem like a bad idea to try it. If nothing else, it would serve to better understand what I was up against. And, with luck, perhaps I could help resolve certain things...
My self in the fief sprang into motion, finding the potential companions for the campaign. Among them was an immobile Elise in her divine cocoon, floating in the void, and a Tonks reuniting with old friends, alternating between pride and shame for carrying my child in her womb.
Meanwhile, I continued configuring the campaign.
Then I looked back.
Hannah was observing the pink Occamy, fascinated, with an undecided expression, as if debating with herself whether to try and reach out to pet it.
"Hannah?" I called out.
"Huh? Yes?" she replied with a start, hiding her hands behind her back as if I had caught her about to do something wrong.
Before I could say anything else, a series of explosions thundered through the cave. The echo of the fight outside became evident: Amazons, traffickers, and cultists clashing with increasing violence.
War had arrived here.
"What was that!?" she asked nervously.
"Remember how the Amazons were protecting this place?" I said calmly. "Well… it's under attack."
"What!? Who would attack a place like this?" she asked fearfully, just as the cave vibrated and dust fell from the ceiling—a sign of a nearby impact. The Occamy shrank even further into its nest, coiling up in fear. Unlike others of its species, it seemed to lack choranaptyxic abilities.
"Old enemies," I replied, looking toward the entrance. "And some I'm planning to meet." Then I turned my attention back to her. "And that's what I wanted to talk to you about. I'm about to go on an adventure."
"You're leaving?" she said, alarmed, as if I were about to abandon her.
"Yes… and no," I replied. "It's complicated. For you, it will be as if I disappeared for a second and reappeared the next. Literally."
"Then why do you sound so serious…?"
"Because it won't be a second for me," I clarified. "I'll be traveling to the past. I want to see the origin of all this: the Amazons, the attackers… the conflict itself."
My auras expanded almost unconsciously, calming her.
"That's why I'm asking you," I continued. "Would you like to come with me?"
"Come with you… where?" she asked, confused but intrigued.
"I don't know exactly, but it'll be a couple of years, maybe. Though if all goes well, we could be done in a few months."
"Years? But you said it would be a second!" she exclaimed, her hand flying to her mouth. She knew I did impossible things, but time travel was still hard to process.
"It'll be a second here," I repeated. "Not there. But we'll come back to this exact moment. And if anything happens, I can leave you in a completely safe place with every comfort imaginable." I was referring to the fiefdom. "It's not mandatory," I added. "I just thought that after everything we've lived through here, maybe you'd want to venture a bit further. Maybe learn about the past of Castelobruxo."
The truth was, it was a whim. I had grown fond of this jungle adventure, and of Hannah, and the idea of sharing something more was appealing to me. But I wasn't going to force her. I could finish this mini-campaign alone if I chose.
I saw her hesitate. I think the idea of being left alone, even for a second, while the outside world seemed to be falling apart, finally made up her mind.
"You don't have to be afraid," I told her. "Nothing will happen to you, not here and not there. I'll be there to protect you."
Finally, she spoke:
"Alright… I want to go. I'm curious." She paused briefly and then added, with a twinkle in her eye, "Are we going to save the Occamy?"
She had assumed our trip to the past was related to that. A way to avoid me having to… fulfill the ritual. In her mind, she was helping me "preserve my purity."
I took her hand.
I configured the companions who would join us and gave the final touch.
The world around us dissolved.
A loading screen appeared before me, showing the image of an ancient temple lost in the middle of the jungle.
And so, the Quick Campaign began: The Cursed Temple.
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✨🎄✨ Merry Christmas to all my readers! ✨🎄✨