We are in the final stretch of the fanfic, it ends in chapter 320.
[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]
Third Person POV
Great Britain.
...
...
The golden light continued to strike against the ground in front of that destroyed place, while Severus stared with narrowed eyes. When the golden beam finally began to dissipate little by little, a man started to be revealed in the middle of it.
He was a man in a suit that Severus knew very well, the same one he had already recognized by the previous voice.
"Steve Vujin… or should I say, Ruler?" Severus said, sounding indifferent, but the memories of Moro in his former life left him visibly frustrated, despite not showing it on his face.
Knowing that there was a ruler in this world.
Even his shadows began to stir beneath him. They knew the king was irritated.
Steve stood there, staring at him with shining golden eyes.
Upon being called a ruler, Steve could not help but form a small smile. He remained silent for a few seconds, staring at Severus. They were at least twenty meters apart, until Steve began to take a few steps forward.
"Yes, you are right. I am a ruler," he announced with a friendly smile and an amiable tone.
Severus narrowed his eyes even more.
'Does that mean that, after all this time, one of them or more were alive?' The very question deeply irritated him. It meant that while everyone believed the rulers were dead or sealed somewhere in the universe, they were out there, living among the worlds, while the Order tried to maintain balance and protect a power that the Judges were supposed to destroy.
"I understand your anger, Severus. Truly, I understand it very well..." Steve continued walking as he noticed the glow in Severus's eyes. "...But we had reasons for that. That is why we created the Order, so that a group of people would continue to keep the worlds at peace, a place where there would be no greed or desire for power, only relentless work and the fight for what is right," he said.
"For what? So that you can keep playing around in other worlds?" Severus growled, to the point of almost releasing his shadows. He was furious. Furious because, in his past life, he firmly believed in the rulers, just celestial entities who always sought to protect the worlds. But now, thousands of years later, what he found was a man pretending to be a reporter, a magical investigator in this world, while watching his own world be invaded by monarchs.
"I know that look. You must be judging me," he continued, as if he did not seem shaken, still maintaining the same friendly tone. "We had to make a choice, and that is why we disappeared. Because, in the end, we would not be able to destroy the power of the monarchs while we were alive. The power of the rings would never be safe. But let me explain one thing: there is something above even our own will."
He made a brief pause.
"..." Severus said nothing. He only watched in silence.
"The universe always seeks its own balance, and our power was far too great after we created the rings to seal the monarchs... We were the guardians of the world, but at a certain point, we became a threat. Sealing the monarchs was not the end, because as long as we were still active with our full powers, the universe would feel the urgency to balance things out. This is above even the Supreme Being, something not even he could control, these laws. Perhaps that is why he created us."
He seemed thoughtful in his final words. He was not necessarily explaining things to Severus, but answering his own questions.
Severus was still trying to understand. He knew nothing about this so-called Supreme Being mentioned by the ruler.
"You have to understand that while we were at the peak of our power, the Monarchs would return, or worse things would begin to happen in the universe so that balance could be restored. That is why we sealed our power as well," he revealed.
"You sealed your powers?" Severus asked.
"We had to do that so that things in the future would happen as I foresaw."
"The Ice Monarch was clearly wary of you, even before meeting me. Are you saying your powers were sealed? And what do you mean by the future?"
"In truth, I was only a shell. My powers have just returned. I was coming from space, and now I have returned to my peak. If I had fought before, I might have been able to hold out for a while, but soon my shell would have been broken and I would have fallen on the battlefield. That is why I could not fight," he paused briefly.
"About what I said regarding the future... it is because I foresaw everything that is happening. My ruler powers are related to time and magic. That is why we all followed this plan."
"You are saying that you already knew all of this thousands of years ago..." It was not a question. "You are saying that you knew I would appear in this world. You are not the one who brought me here, are you? Was it not you who fused the soul of Moro Kaind, a guardian who died with the power of the Shadow Monarch, with Severus Snape, a wizard considered an outcast in this world, who also died?"
"Yes. I was the one who brought you." The revelation no longer seemed surprising. Severus remembered very well that entity who called itself the architect. According to his words, there was someone else behind it, and it was clearly Steve.
The system must also have been created by him. Moreover, when Severus saw the system blocked, he knew it had been his doing. It was strange, because the level of authority Severus possessed within the system was immense. That should not have happened, yet it was still blocked.
"I knew that we could give the universe thousands of years of peace if we sealed our powers, and that is what we did. We went to other worlds and adapted to them, scattered across the entire universe. And before you say that we did nothing, know that we feel deep gratitude for all those who gave their lives. But all of this resulted in thousands of years of peace for the universe… until the return of the Monarchs."
Severus, surprisingly, could even understand. Sacrificing some people for thousands of years of peace seemed like a good investment, but that did not spare his anger.
"And where are you going with all of this, Steve? Now that you have regained your powers?" Severus asked categorically.
"The goal is simple, Severus. I need to do one last thing in this world. After two Monarchs have already been destroyed, the other rulers must also fight the Monarchs from the other world. The war from thousands of years ago has finally restarted," he said.
Suddenly, Severus began to feel his shadows being suppressed. The system started to tremble, and an error message appeared. Severus opened his eyes, surprised. Steve noticed his reaction and formed a smile.
"Did you know that, besides my power to foresee the future, I am also the ruler specialized in magic? No wonder none of your magic worked against me."
'That explained a lot,' Severus thought. Even so, he looked in shock at the system, which was beginning to be blocked. His commands suddenly failed. He no longer had access to them.
"You will not need that either," Steve said categorically and finally stopped.
Severus felt his gaze turn toward the staff and even toward his neck. Steve raised his finger and snapped, with a small click. The objects Severus was carrying began to disappear. The staff returned to Steve's hand, while the orb appeared in his other hand, held with extreme lightness.
Severus lost more than 8 thousand magic points with that single movement.
"You will no longer need this. After all, I doubt this would work against me? I am completely blocking your access to magic," he said, observing the two objects.
"Why do you think I was able to take this so easily?" Steve continued. "Well, let me tell you a little secret. These objects belong to me, Severus. They always have. I asked the Architect to build the Maniac's Castle and create a simulation of the Demon Monarch. I asked him to deliver the orb to some magical creature. I think you found it on the fiftieth floor, if I'm not mistaken."
"..." Severus.
"I doubt the Architect knew what that orb truly was. He begged me: 'give me the staff,' and I did. But I knew he would fail, and that you would end up taking the staff."
"..." Severus.
"I must admit, it is surprising that you managed to reach twelve thousand magic points, to the point of releasing the staff's full power. And, as you can see, it remains just as powerful with me. And you know what that means, don't you?" he asked categorically.
"..." Severus.
It was obvious what it meant. Steve possessed the same amount of magical power as Severus, or perhaps even more.
Severus drew his old wand. He could still access the system, but only partially. Taking a step to the side, he realized that his shadows were completely blocked. He could not access them. The restrictions were even greater than when he had been in that lair, facing the Architect.
"You also won't need magic." With another snap of his fingers, Severus felt all of his magic disappear at once.
"I guess this won't be easy," Steve mocked.
"So you want to kill me? After everything, you brought me here just so I could die in the end?" Severus asked. He felt neither fear nor remorse, only curiosity.
"Yes. I needed you to absorb the power of the ring. I needed someone with compatibility. There was someone in this world, someone so compatible that fate united them. At the moment you died in the Temple of the Order, Severus Snape committed suicide. Both had an affinity with death, and the two souls merged immediately with the help of an old friend. I waited until this day, when you would have already brought down the Monarchs."
"What I find strange is that we are not on the same side?" Severus did not fail to ask.
"We are. But I cannot leave things as they are. This will be your last battle in this world, Severus Prince. I hope you entertain me."
He made a small movement, and the orb and the staff disappeared.
"I will not fight with magic. This will be a fight between the two of us, only with our fists. If you do not defeat me, you will die," he said seriously.
Severus wanted more answers, but he felt that Steve was not lying. It was not just words; it was real.
Steve began to walk again, drawing closer. Severus narrowed his eyes and planted his feet firmly on the ground. There was nothing more to say. If it was a fight to the death that Steve wanted, then he would have it.
Severus did not even see Steve move when, suddenly, he appeared in front of him, clenched his fist, and struck the chest of the Shadow Monarch. Severus was thrown backward, crashing violently into the wall inside the crater on one side, which exploded even more. His body continued to be hurled directly into the buildings he himself had destroyed with his last spell.
"Let's see if you are worthy, Severus Prince." With those words, Steve disappeared, advancing once more toward Severus.
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