"Again."
The word wasn't a request. It was a physical weight, dropping like an anvil onto the fragile peace of the valley.
"Wait, Rowena—bloody hell!" Thaddues gasped, stumbling backward as his knees threatened to buckle.
The moment his boots struck the earth, the sheer, absolute sovereignty of Rowena's domain overrode the damage to his form. There was no flash of a healing charm, no familiar incantation of Episkey or Vulnera Sanentur. Instead, the reality of the mind-space simply dictated that he was whole again. The agonizing, grinding ache of his shattered ribs vanished in a breath, the fractures re-knitting as if time itself had been rolled back. The hot copper tang of blood pooling in his throat dissolved into thin air, leaving his airway clear and cool.
Around him, the fractured, scorched wasteland that had been their battlefield only moments ago began to reknit itself with terrifying, silent fluidity. Shattered, calcified stone flew backward through the air, assembling into pristine, towering arches. The blackened, dead earth rolled over like a waking beast, transforming into a vibrant carpet of untouched grass.
Rowena's domain repaired its own destruction as effortlessly as a mortal drawing breath.
Behind her, the very fabric of the air warped and rippled like oil upon water. Four transfigured, robed wizards materialized from the distortion, standing shoulder to shoulder like silent, faceless sentinels, their hoods casting deep shadows where features should have been.
Rowena tilted her head, her sharp eyes locking onto his as a cold, mocking smile touched her lips.
"Where is that brave young man who nearly killed himself performing a single ritual? Vanished so soon into tears and excuses?"
"Oh, please. Not this again," Thaddues muttered, tightening his grip on his wand as sweat made the polished wood feel dangerously slick in his grasp.
"Disrespect," Rowena noted softly.
She didn't telegraph her movement. There was no sweeping gesture, no shouted incantation—only the slightest twitch of her wrist.
A repelling charm erupted from the tip of her ancient wand, striking with the force of a battering ram.
Thaddues' instincts—honed to a razor's edge through nights of relentless repetition—screamed a warning. He felt the suffocating spike of killing intent before the spell had fully manifested.
Crack.
He apparated instantly, vanishing a fraction of a heartbeat before the enhanced Depulso pulverized the space he'd occupied, carving a deep, swirling crater into the valley floor.
He reappeared fifty yards away atop a rocky ridge, chest heaving as his lungs fought for air.
"You are a crazy old hag!"
Rowena's answer came as four simultaneous cracks of thunder.
The transfigured wizards raised their wands in perfect unison. A barrage of intersecting blasting curses streaked across the sky like crimson meteors.
Thaddues didn't even consider erecting a shield. Against this level of ancient magical output, an ordinary Protego would shatter like glass.
He twisted violently on his heel.
Crack.
Crack.
Crack.
He apparated again, then again, and again, each jump carrying him farther across the valley as curses obliterated everything left behind. His senses narrowed to a single instinct: keep moving.
Another crack split the air as he reappeared atop a jagged outcrop, looking down at Rowena.
"Why can't you just teach me soul arts?! Isn't that the entire reason I'm here?!"
Rowena laughed. The sound was sharp, melodic, and utterly devoid of warmth, seeming to rise from every corner of the Domain at once.
"Rule number one, boy," she called, her voice carrying as though she stood beside him. "Soul arts cannot be wielded within a wizard's domain. Your magic must dominate the space."
She smiled, her eyes gleaming with amusement.
"You have to break the domain first. And yes... I am teaching you. You're simply too slow to realize it."
She lazily swept her wand.
The ground beneath Thaddues groaned as massive thorn-covered vines erupted from solid stone, snapping upward like starving serpents.
Gritting his teeth, Thaddues refused to retreat. He swung his wand toward the deep-blue lake bordering the western edge of the valley.
A roaring torrent erupted skyward. The massive column of water crashed into the ascending vines with crushing hydraulic force, pinning them beneath its weight.
The instant every vine was drenched—the torrent crystallized. A blinding blue flash rippled through the water, transforming it into enormous jagged pillars of ice. The sudden weight proved too much, and the frozen vines shattered apart with a metallic crack. Thousands of glittering shards rained harmlessly across the valley floor.
But no satisfaction came. Thaddues knew his limits. Against one of the founder of Hogwarts—a witch who had survived an era of untamed, bloody magic—he was fighting a losing battle.
Worse, he was alone.
The silence in his mind was absolute. The System remained completely blocked by Rowena's overwhelming Domain.
No status. No analysis skill. No sign in rewards he can use.
Just a wizard with a wand and his own mind.
"Show me everything you have," Rowena commanded.
Thaddues swallowed.
Retreat wasn't an option. Defending indefinitely meant only another painful reset.
He bit down until he tasted blood. The panic receded, leaving behind a cold, steady clarity.
He couldn't overpower her, so he'd have to overwhelm her.
He apparated into the sky, hovering between earth and clouds as he raised his wand like a conductor beginning a violent symphony.
He cast a spell and the valley convulsed as millions of stones tore free from the earth, rocketing upward in a reverse meteor shower.
With a savage slash of his wand, transfiguration surged through the airborne debris. Stone stretched, texture shifted, and cold steel gleamed.
Millions of iron arrows filled the heavens.
He brought his wand down.
"Oppugno!"
The sky became death.
The arrows screamed downward toward Rowena with such speed they tore the air apart.
She didn't even blink. A lazy flick of her fingers sent golden light rippling around her, and every iron arrow softened. Metal dissolved into countless crimson flower petals that drifted harmlessly through the Domain.
It was his own transfiguration trick, reflected back at him with effortless mastery.
"You are better than this," Rowena said, genuine disappointment creeping into her voice. "Do not offer me parlor tricks."
"I know," Thaddues snarled.
As the petals drifted past him, he seized control. Instead of letting them scatter, he forced his own transfiguration magic into Rowena's spell, wrestling for dominance.
Soft petals hardened instantly, their crimson edges sharpening into obsidian blades humming with lethal force.
With a violent twist of his wrist, the crimson storm reversed.
"Clever," Rowena murmured, her interest sharpening.
The four robed wizards stepped forward, their wands tracing intricate runes.
"Protego Totalum."
"Fianto Duri."
A massive silver barrier flared into existence. The razor petals crashed against it in a shower of sparks before splitting into two streams that curved around the shield like twin serpents, surging overhead.
One robed wizard stepped forward. Its jaw unhinged with horrifying impossibility as a roaring torrent of cursed fire erupted from its mouth, swallowing the front of the swarm.
"Useless," Thaddues hissed.
Instead of resisting the flames, he seized them. His magic wrested control from the robed wizard, and the inferno rolled across the valley in waves of gold and violet fire.
"Never underestimate your opponent," Rowena's voice echoed through the blaze.
Two robed wizards drove their wands into the earth below.
A wave of absolute cold burst outward from the point of impact. Frost raced across the valley in every direction, sealing the grass beneath thick ice as the lake froze solid in an instant. The advancing chill climbed into the inferno itself, smothering the flames beneath an ever-expanding shell of ice.
Rowena and the remaining two wizards raised their wands as one, pouring even more freezing magic into the blaze. The frozen inferno hardened into a massive sculpture of ice before splintering apart, collapsing into a glittering storm of crystalline dust.
"You should heed your own words," Thaddues muttered.
He didn't wait.
He understood now. Every spell he cast was met with the perfect answer. Fire gave way to ice. Steel became flowers. Nothing he threw at her lasted more than a heartbeat.
If he wanted to break Rowena's Domain, finesse was no longer enough.
He needed overwhelming destruction.
Reaching deep into the very core of his magic, Thaddues unleashed the spell he had learned from the System.
"Confringo Maxima Octa!"
Eight compressed spheres of pitch-black light appeared around him. The magical pressure alone warped reality. Hairline fractures spread across the sky like cracks in glass as darkness leaked through them.
The killing intent rolling from Thaddues was enough to suffocate lesser wizards.
Rowena felt it. For the first time, her eyes widened before a genuine smile tugged at her lips. At last, he had given her something worthy of anticipation.
She raised her wand, and behind her the four robed wizards mirrored the motion. There was no blinding display, no elaborate flourish. Their magic gathered in silence as an immense shield shimmered into existence before them.
Then she lowered her wand.
The excitement vanished from her face, replaced by cold vigilance. She wasn't looking at Thaddues anymore.
She was looking beyond him.
Beyond the walls of her own Domain.
"Go back to reality."
Her voice rang with unquestionable authority.
"What—?"
The question died unfinished. Before Thaddues could release the spell, the entire Domain shattered.
The sky, the valley, the frozen battlefield, the robed wizards, and even Rowena herself dissolved into a swirling void of absolute nothingness.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
Gasp.
Thaddues' eyes flew open, his vision swimming as he lurched forward and gripped the gold-trimmed velvet cushions of the carriage seat. His heart hammered against his ribs, and cold sweat clung to his brow.
The black spheres were gone. So too was the fractured sky. In their place came the familiar rumble of wooden wheels over rain-slick cobblestones and the gentle sway of the carriage.
He was back in his body.
Back in the waking world.
For several long moments, he could do nothing but sit in silence, his racing heart slowly yielding to the familiar rhythm of the carriage beneath him.
Frustration flickered within him. He had been so close—so close to discovering whether that spell could truly breach Rowena's defense.
Then the feeling vanished, snuffed out like a candle plunged into icy water.
An oppressive chill settled over him. It wasn't the lingering strain of Rowena's training.
It was something else.
Something far worse.
It was the instinct that told him danger was close.
Then he heard the system speak.
---
"System functions restored. Highly dangerous, unknown magical source detected in close proximity. Host is strongly advised to exercise extreme caution."
---
Thaddues' blood ran cold. The System's sudden return after the absolute silence of Rowena's Domain sent his thoughts reeling.
His grip tightened around his wand until his knuckles whitened as he looked through the carriage window.
The road had vanished.
Only the unnatural fog remained.
TBC.
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