[Chapter Size: 1900 Words.]
Third Person POV
Ministry of Magic.
...
...
'I am not your enemy.'
'This world was chosen as a battlefield for higher beings, and only I can deal with them.'
His words seemed to echo in the minds of everyone who heard him. The place fell silent for a few seconds.
"Is he serious?"
"Do you believe him?"
"Should we trust such a dark being?"
The conversations began among those present, as they murmured Severus's name, pondering his words and whether he truly spoke the truth. Vicência observed the place, trying to maintain order.
The voices quieted down, but the gazes were still fixed on Severus, full of thoughts. The same could be said for Vicência herself, who watched him with a certain caution.
"What do you think about this?" she asked, turning to the veil watchers who had been behind her the whole time.
"It's hard to say, but he certainly doesn't seem like someone who wants to cause harm. His last victims were Death Eaters. He could have killed us, as we had already discussed… in fact, he could have destroyed the wizarding world if he can truly summon as many shadows as he claims," said a gnome in a serious tone.
"He spoke of paintings… isn't that what's happening in that place…?" murmured Vicência, with an uncertain glimmer of horror in her eyes as she connected the dots discussed even before this hearing.
"I don't know, Lady Santos, but if something like that is happening there in her realm, if there are creatures like we saw in those images, there will be many casualties… and only he can deal with them and know how to stop them."
"The princess mentioned that the monsters came from a specific room in the castle… there are no paintings there!" said the elven girl, alarmed, as all eyes turned in horror to Severus, still at the defendant's stand.
He stared back at them calmly, as if he could easily hear all the whispered conversation above, raising an eyebrow toward the group.
"You're telling me a painting broke, is that it?" Severus suddenly asked, while most didn't understand what he meant by that, since they hadn't heard the conversation between the Supreme Chief and her team.
Even Dumbledore, beside her, seemed surprised and intrigued.
"It seems an incident occurred in another corner of the world," Vicência replied to Severus. "Apparently a painting broke, and if what we believe happened truly did, monsters came out of it and are devastating everything in their path. There are already many casualties, and part of my team is there…" she said, as people looked on in astonishment.
"Are you saying those monsters came out of the paintings!?" someone shouted.
The problem was no longer Severus Snape breaking into houses to enter their paintings, but rather paintings releasing monsters into the world.
"This brings us to the question: what is happening? Why has the world suddenly turned upside down? And you, Lord Prince, are at the center of it all..." Vicência asked, as every gaze turned once more toward the wizard, staring at him as though he were the cause of the chaos—now more a Lord of Shadows than merely the man who had slain another Dark Lord. Even the shadow of Voldemort, still lingering there, was forgotten in the face of this new problem.
"It wasn't I who created these portals, only... they began to appear. I entered, but I never feared they could break and spew out their creatures," Severus said, pondering the idea. If there were other paintings he had not yet seen, people all around the world could be in grave danger.
"It can't be!"
"My paintings, I'm throwing them all away!"
At that moment, the entire courtroom turned to chaos.
"Order!" exclaimed Vicência, ignoring the pale, horrified looks spreading through the room. "We need answers, Lord Prince! We came here to judge you, but it seems there are far more alarming things happening. Can you at least explain what is going on with our world? After all, as I said, you are the center of it all."
Severus stared at everyone for a moment and sighed.
"If you want the truth... well, then I'll tell you a very old story. A story about a war thousands of years old between demons and angels—far older than this world could ever imagine. A battle that devastated hundreds of different worlds across the universe."
He began to speak, and everyone held their breath, trying to comprehend his words.
His gaze fell upon Vujin for a moment; he himself had once spoken of this story. Ironically, the man gave Severus a faint smile.
A long, long time ago, there were two sides: the side of light, known as 'The Rulers,' and the side of darkness, called 'The Monarchs.' They waged battles from world to world, choosing entire civilizations to be destroyed. The Monarchs transformed the beings who lived in those worlds into creatures aligned with the essence of their monarchies, while the Rulers tried to stop them and preserve the lives of the poor worlds. Unfortunately, entire civilizations were wiped out...
But in the end, the Rulers emerged victorious from these conflicts.
The power of the Monarchs could not be destroyed and was sealed into rings, each containing a fragment of their strength. When they won the war, the Rulers created an order to protect these rings and maintain balance between the worlds. But, over time, the Rulers vanished without a trace. No one knew what had happened; all that remained was the mission to guard the rings and prevent the Monarchs from awakening again.
Severus told the first part of the story with the place utterly silent, but it was far from over.
Thousands of years passed, and then a young man was born in a world ravaged by war. The Order sought the one with the greatest bond to one of the rings—someone capable of keeping the Monarch's power under control without allowing their evil force to escape. This particular young man was chosen and marked as the Heir of Shadows, the heir of the Monarch of Shadows. His name was Morou Kaind.
He was recruited as an orphan, having little choice, and followed the Order for decades. He became powerful and fought against beings like Voldemort across many worlds—beings who sought to dominate worlds, whether through internal civil wars or invasions from other realms.
However, betrayal came from within the Order itself. All the heirs, except for the heir of the Monarch of Shadows, turned against it, seeking the power of the rings for themselves and allying with ancient enemies.
Morou fought against them and never gave in to temptation, even when offered unlimited power. He paid for it with his life. He was the only one who remained faithful to the principles of the Order and died believing he was doing what was right.
However, something in his death awakened a hidden power. Both he and the ring vanished from the Order's base. His soul was guided to a place far away in the universe—to a primitive world, though still possessing magic... a world very young compared to many others scattered across the galaxies.
Morou's soul, now carrying the power of the Monarch of Shadows' ring, entered directly into the soul of a young man who had just committed suicide. Their souls merged at that moment, and both Morou and the young Severus Snape became one. The death of the body was undone, and the young man began to breathe again—not as a mere Hogwarts Slytherin student, not as a guardian who had followed the Order all his life. He became something new, a new life, now strengthened by the dark power of the ring that had merged within him. The ring itself was undone, but its power remained in the new young man.
Severus told his story before them all. From the moment he spoke of the heir of the Monarch of Shadows, everyone began to associate everything with him. It didn't take long for people to start whispering, but Severus was not finished. He had already named himself when he said he had entered the body of a young man, making everyone stare at him in astonishment—he no longer seemed like an ordinary person.
And he truly wasn't. He was both the angry, dark young man and the warrior who had fought his entire life to protect the universe. More than that, he was now the Monarch of Shadows himself. Just as all the other heirs had unleashed the powers of their monarchs, Severus Prince was one of them too.
Severus did not care to hear or see the horrified and suspicious looks cast upon him; his voice soon broke through all the conversations around him.
"I don't know what's happening to this world, but I know I came here. I also know that this world was chosen as a battlefield. I don't have all the answers for what's going on, but I intend to fight for this world. My war is against the other monarchs. If this world has become their target, then I will fight head-on—whether you see me as a monster or not. Either way, I am the Monarch of Shadows. And my goal is to destroy the Monarch of Destruction, the Monarch of Plagues, the Monarch of Demons, the Monarch of Beginnings, the Monarch of Secrets, the Monarch of Beasts, the Monarch of Wild Beasts, and the Monarch of Puppets."
He made everything quite clear. Everyone listened to him in silence. Even those who knew him stared, swallowing hard. Rosária and Bellatrix watched him in astonishment, though there was a gleam in their eyes and a foolish smile on their lips.
The three professors present also looked at him, unsure of what to say. McGonagall seemed horrified; Professor Slughorn looked torn; and Professor Longbottom exchanged uneasy glances with her husband.
"Well... I don't know what to say after hearing all of this," began Vicência, her voice silencing all murmurs and whispers in the hall. Everyone waited to see what she would say about such a revelation.
The existence of other worlds, of creatures and monsters, of beings beyond life on this planet—it all seemed utterly surreal.
"I believe him."
Dumbledore's voice rang firm, cutting through the silence of the courtroom.
"I believe his words. The universe has always been a mystery—perhaps because we focus so much on magic that we never raise our eyes to the sky. The existence of other worlds has always been discussed, but it was never concluded that only this one world exists in all the vastness of the universe... And I see no reason why they could not exist. Though it is a terrifying story, perhaps we should listen to young Severus Prince. Whatever he has become, he does not seem to be an enemy. And if what he says is true... if our world is the target of such creatures, we must place our faith in his warning. We must prepare for what is to come."
Dumbledore's words surprised many present, provoking murmurs and exchanged glances.
"I also believe in Severus Prince," said Steve Vujin, his voice echoing easily through the chamber.
Severus did not fail to give him a sharp look. That man certainly had always known about the existence of the Monarchs and the Rulers. Whenever Severus questioned him about who he really was, the detective merely evaded the question, as if he had been playing all along.
Vicência Santos exchanged a few glances with her team at that moment, as if asking for their opinion, but they all seemed lost. She sighed and looked around the entire hall, which was still filled with a tense silence.
No one seemed willing to offend or contradict Severus anymore. What everyone wanted now were answers—they wanted to know whether it was truth or madness. Some looked at him with skepticism; others, as if all of this were the result of some insanity from that man. But no one had the courage to say aloud what they were thinking.
Vicência sighed again and struck the gavel.
"We'll adjourn the session. This court needs time to digest what we've heard. We will resume in the afternoon," she announced.
Several hours had already passed since the beginning of the trial, and all they had managed to gain by that point was more mystery. No conclusions—only fragments, traces, and stories that sounded absurd and yet seemed dangerously real.
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