A vast golden pillar of light, like the birth of the universe itself...
Twin radiant golden eyes, burning with an eternal flame...
An ancient divine voice, echoing directly within the soul...
All of this proclaimed one undeniable truth: The Sun God Ra had truly been resurrected.
And yet... The words that followed instantly pulled Ian out of his shock and plunged him into an even deeper confusion, one that threatened to overturn his entire understanding of reality.
"Descendant of the Prince family, your arrival was no coincidence."
The majestic and solemn voice of Ra had clearly spoken that surname: Prince.
Once again.
'Who could have possibly expected this?'
"?"
Ian's thoughts froze.
He stood rooted to the spot, his mind nearly ceasing to function. The name 'Prince' had been mentioned again, this time by the Sun God himself.
The implications were impossible to ignore:
Prince. Prince.
The name struck like lightning, tearing through the fog of his memory.
During the storm of divine conflict, when Osiris revealed the secret of the 'Primordial Vault' to him through soul-whisper, hadn't he also mentioned Ian's house after referring to him as a 'traveler hidden in the shadows'? At the time, the roar of the War of the Gods and the wailing of space itself had shaken Ian so deeply that he had no time to ask any more questions.
And now...
First Osiris, and now Ra.
These ancient Egyptian deities seemed to know the Prince family all too well.
"What is going on?" Ian asked, his voice trembling slightly with shock. "How could my family possibly be connected to the ancient Egyptian gods?"
Despite being a wizard from thousands of years in the future who was educated at Hogwarts, Ian knew very little about his own family history.
The Prince family had long since declined in his era.
All that remained was a vague reputation as a 'potions family,' alongside a few incomplete family notes. He had never imagined that this British wizarding lineage could be so closely tied to the ancient Egyptian pantheon.
And yet...
Others could recognize his lineage at a glance:
Ian Prince, the last of a once-renowned potions family, had been raised among dusty tomes in the Hogwarts library and bubbling cauldrons and had never imagined that his nearly forgotten surname would be spoken twice by ancient Egyptian gods.
In connection with beings like Ra and an evil god capable of destroying the world.
The Prince family and ancient Egypt...
There must be a hidden past.
However, the idea sounded as absurd as discovering a pyramid buried beneath Hogwarts itself.
Ian's legendary intellect surged into overdrive as he tried to piece together this impossible connection.
The Prince family... a lineage of potion makers... each generation extraordinarily gifted...
Could it be...?
A vague, almost impossible thought began to form.
But before he could pursue it further, Ra spoke again.
Within his golden eyes flowed wisdom spanning millennia.
"Bloodlines do not lie, Ian Prince. Your ancestors once forged a sacred contract with me. This covenant transcends time itself and still flows within your blood."
As Ra's words fell, a sensation far stronger and more primal than confusion seized Ian.
His bloodline was boiling.
Not metaphorically.
But truly.
It was a deep resonance from the very core of his being.
Ian felt something dormant within him awaken. His blood seemed infused with molten gold, surging through ancient pathways and roaring like a living force. He could clearly hear the beat of his heart resonating with Ra's vast, slow, divine 'heartbeat.'
Beneath his skin, faint golden runes flickered and burned, marks he had never sensed before.
Ancient imprints belonging to the Prince bloodline. They had now been forcibly awakened by the resurrected Sun God before him.
A power unlike anything he had ever experienced filled his entire body, feeling both foreign and familiar as if it had always been part of him, merely dormant until now.
"This is…!?"
Ian stared at his hands in shock as he felt the newly awakened strength surging through his veins.
"A bloodline contract?" His voice trembled under the violent resonance within him. Suppressing the storm raging inside him, he lifted his head to meet Ra's golden eyes.
Ra's golden eyes, like two miniature stars, looked down upon him calmly.
His will descended once more, bearing the weight of ancient dust and eternal vows.
"An oath of antiquity… Your ancestor of the Prince line swore a blood pact before the Temple of the Sun. With eternal loyalty, they vowed to guard the purity and undying flame of Ra. In return, I granted them the extraordinary ability to temper all things in the true fire of the sun."
"This… is the truth behind the origin of potions."
"Your bloodline is the continuation of that oath."
"Your talent is the echo of that contract."
His voice revealed a history long buried by time.
"Guard the flame of the Sun... in exchange for the talent to forge potions within that flame..."
Ian murmured the words, each one striking his mind like thunder.
Stripped of Ra's archaic phrasing, the meaning was clear: an ancient contract was being fulfilled. The Prince family had once sworn to protect the Sun's flame, and in return, they were granted the extraordinary ability to craft potions within divine fire.
"So that's it!"
The realization unlocked years of doubt within Ian.
He finally understood why every generation of the Prince family produced potion-making geniuses, why they possessed an innate mastery over fire, and why even the most complex potions seemed effortless in their hands.
The origin of potions.
The Prince family's talent had always defied logic; at the most critical moment, when the flame was under absolute control, their brews would work miracles.
That was the truth.
This wasn't mere skill.
It was a gift from an ancient god.
A 'talent' embedded in their bloodline and resonating with the power of the Sun God Ra.
It was the very ability that Ian, and even his uncle, Severus Snape, had always taken pride in.
Its true origin lay here.
At that moment, Ian felt as if he had uncovered the ultimate secret, buried beneath thousands of years, concerning his family and the very nature of potions.
But another thought crept in:
The fall of the Prince family...
Could it also be connected to this?
Had they failed in their duty?
Or betrayal?
Or perhaps, after the twilight of the gods, there was no divine protection left?
"So our talent in potions..." Ian muttered, seeking confirmation from the Sun God before him. "Was our talent in potions gained in exchange for protecting you?"
Ra gave a slight nod.
"In every generation of the Prince family, one Sun God Witch is born, tasked with guarding the flame of the Sun in times of darkness. You, Ian Prince, are the one I have chosen in this era."
Although Ra pronounced Ian's name correctly, he probably did not realize that Ian did not belong to this era. Ever since leaving Ancient Greece, Ian had mastered the art of concealing his temporal nature. Because of this, Ra had probably chosen him solely based on sensing his bloodline.
He had no idea that Ian came from the future.
"But..."
Ian was about to ask more when suddenly, a deafening roar erupted from outside.
"DAMN IT!!!"
A howl filled with rage and greed exploded from all directions, like the wailing of countless souls merged into one.
That was the evil god.
It sensed the change deep within its heart.
It had sensed the revival of the 'Flame of Ra', which should have belonged to it.
It had sensed that a power capable of burning it from within was growing within the 'child', its supposed perfect vessel.
"Thief! Traitor! You long-dead remnant, how dare you awaken within my body?!"
The will of Set-Apep burned with furious blasphemy.
"I am you! I am all that you are! The Eye of Ra is my eye already! Your power is already my flesh! I will devour you both completely and turn you into the foundation of my 'perfection'!"
Set-Apep had clearly realized what was happening.
And now... He was twisting the narrative and ignoring the truth entirely.
With that roar, the entire Vault, the evil god's heart, let out a dying wail, like a colossal beast on the brink of collapse. The pulsation became chaotic and erratic, as if the heart itself were about to explode. The thick flesh walls convulsed violently, swelling and twisting, while massive blood vessels writhed like spasming serpents.
A terrifying energy surged inward from all directions, with a force of devouring and assimilation, like a tidal wave, all aimed at the golden pillar at the center... and Ian within it.
Clearly, the evil god had gone berserk.
It was unleashing its final power, determined to crush and assimilate both Ra and Ian before the Sun God could fully awaken.
Through the trembling flesh walls, Ian could sense Osiris and Isis's desperate struggle.
Osiris's power of death was weakening.
Isis's life force flickered unsteadily.
There was no helping it.
Even the Underworld god was beginning to falter against an evil god capable of endless evolution, who was already approaching the level of a Main God. It was a perfect example of how even gods could not overcome something so absurdly overpowered.
At this critical moment... Ra's blazing golden eyes turned towards Ian, his will descending like a final command: urgent and absolute.
"There is no time," Ra said gravely. "Set-Apep is attempting to devour Osiris and Isis. If he succeeds, all worlds will fall into eternal darkness."
Ian tightened his grip on his wand.
"What should we do?"
A trace of helplessness flickered in Ra's golden eyes.
"My power is still largely stolen by Set-Apep. Through the Eye of Ra, he has usurped my authority; that is the core source of the Sun God's power."
The will of the Sun God paused. His burning golden gaze seemed to pierce through layers of flesh, locking onto the medium through which his power had been stolen.
"So that's why he always wears the Eye of Ra around his neck!" Ian instantly understood. That massive eye, wrapped in pus and glowing with a purple-red light, was the key to everything.
"It's exactly as you think." Ra nodded.
"You must destroy the Eye of Ra and sever his connection to my power. Only then can I reclaim my full strength and end this disaster completely."
He was asking Ian for help.
"No problem."
Ian intended to be the hero here. He looked straight at Ra, his eyes filled with determination.
Ra gave no verbal reply. Instead, he focused his blazing golden gaze on Ian one final time. Then... The vast, golden divine power that had been restrained until now erupted like a collapsing galaxy!
This radiance was different, sharper and more destructive. But this time, it did not surge outward. Instead, it exploded in all directions, like the sharpest divine blade, carrying the ruthless intent to tear open its confines and slash violently into the very core of the evil god's flesh that encased him.
"BOOM...!!!"
An indescribable roar erupted... not from outside, but from within the Vault itself. The flesh platform beneath Ian's feet was torn apart as if by an invisible hand.
A massive, jagged spatial rift, its edges burning with golden divine flames and oozing purple-red ichor, was forcibly ripped open in the flesh wall before Ra.
Beyond the rift... There was no longer anything related to flesh... but the blurred, distorted light and thunder of the battlefield outside.
An exit had been created.
A furious, pained roar from Set-Apep echoed from beyond; the strike from within had clearly wounded him severely.
"Go through here. It will save time." Ra pointed at the opening, which was already beginning to close.
"I'll keep it open for as long as I can, but not for long."
At the same time, the evil god's rage reached its peak.
Countless faces of Ghost Brides emerged from the torn flesh walls, writhing and screaming in the putrid blood. They were extensions of the evil god's power, manifestations of its agony. Their pale arms stretched into claws as they surged towards the rift like a tidal wave... towards Ian.
"He noticed! But I wasn't even the one who attacked; this revenge is completely unreasonable!" Ian exclaimed as dozens of Ghost Brides rushed towards him at an unnatural speed.
At that critical moment, the awakened power within his bloodline surged violently.
Ra's voice echoed in his mind:
"Use the power of the contract... my strength will be with you!"
A flash of insight struck Ian.
His wand traced complex patterns through the air. He was no longer reliant on conventional magic; instead, he drew upon the ancient power that had been awakened within him, born of the primordial contract.
His suppressed, sealed, dormant Legendary Magic surged back to life.
With his bloodline activated and with the aid of Ra, Ian invoked the power of Paradox itself, redefining the existence of the Ghost Brides.
"I define your existence as Paradox: both alive and dead; both present and gone. Under this definition, you will be lost forever, unable to find your way back!"
This was not an attack.
It was a definition.
Not destruction… But reconstruction.
The Ghost Brides froze in mid-air. Their forms turned translucent, as though they were existing across multiple timelines, or perhaps none at all. Confusion spread across their faces as they seemed to forget the meaning of their existence.
They began to wander aimlessly.
Seeing Ian wield the power of Paradox, Ra glanced at him in surprise, a flicker of disbelief crossing his golden eyes.
But he asked nothing.
Instead, he urged urgently:
"Hurry! The passage is closing!"
Ian wasted no time. His body swiftly transformed into that of a raven.
Just before flying into the rift, he looked back.
Ra's figure had grown faint and translucent. Clearly, the effort of wounding the evil god from within and maintaining the passage had consumed a vast amount of his power.
Yet those golden eyes remained unwavering.
Ra gave a slight nod.
"I'm counting on you."
(End of Chapter)
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