Night had fallen.
After leaving the Headmaster's office, Audrey brought Lilith, the Evernight Goddess, and Susie back to Slytherin's dormitory to rest. Once they finished washing up, each of them lay down on her own bed. None of them slept, yet none spoke either.
Audrey lay on her bed, her mind in turmoil. The events of the day replayed over and over in her thoughts, tangling her emotions further with every recollection. Whatever faint drowsiness she had originally felt had long since vanished without a trace.
Lilith lay flat on her back, staring blankly at the ceiling. Her gaze was unfocused, as if she were spacing out—yet it also carried a hint of contemplation, as though something weighed on her mind.
Curled up on the small bed she had transfigured out of thin air, Susie kept her eyes wide open in the dark. Her ears twitched occasionally as she warily monitored her surroundings, refusing to miss even the faintest sound.
Only the Evernight Goddess rested with Her eyes closed, Her breathing gradually evening out. As a deity, She frequently slipped into brief periods of slumber, but the sensation of lying beneath a blanket like an ordinary mortal, peacefully drifting to sleep, was something so distant in Her memory that it felt unfamiliar.
This long-lost and foreign experience granted Her an indescribably peculiar feeling.
As for Edward, he had already travelled tens of thousands of miles away from Hogwarts. He stood above the surface of the sea, watching the weather and the waves shift and transform at will according to his thoughts.
All it took was a single impulse of intent for him to "fantasise" something into existence out of nothing. If he wished, he could even pluck the moon from the sky and kick it around like a ball—just as the "Creator" had said, in the world of Harry Potter, he now wielded authority no different from that of a Creator.
But he also keenly perceived that every act of wanton creation left behind a faint crack in this seemingly exquisite, realistic world. Once the cracks accumulated, the entire world would become like fragile glass—so brittle that the slightest mishap could shatter it entirely.
And once that happened, this "real" world would degrade into a false one riddled with holes.
Edward took a single step and appeared atop the surface of the moon. He quietly gazed at the massive blue planet slowly rotating before him.
"What will the ritual for advancing from Sequence 1 to Sequence 0 be?"
Why must I preserve the authenticity of this world?
Of all the things that 'Creator' told me—what was true, and what was false?
After a long while, Edward opened an illusory door once more. Stepping through, he returned to the world of Lord of the Mysteries, arriving on a deserted island scattered across the Berserk Sea.
The moment he left the illusory door, that feeling of omnipotence vanished instantly. Truthfully, he couldn't help but feel a trace of disappointment.
But he adjusted his mindset quickly and took out two Beyonder characteristics, tossing them into the cauldron.
In an instant, the Key of Stars and the Author's characteristics fused together. After bubbling for a moment, the mixture underwent none of the dazzling reactions he had seen in the past; instead, it quietly transformed into a pool of liquid as clear as water.
Edward extended his hand, lifting the liquid from the cauldron into the air. Then he inhaled lightly, swallowing it. It slid down his throat like nonexistent air, fell into his stomach, and swiftly dispersed, rushing into every cell of his body.
In the blink of an eye, Edward lost all perception of himself. He could only watch as his body blurred and dissolved, as though it were about to collapse into abstract, chaotic information.
Yet his consciousness remained perfectly lucid.
He felt himself rising rapidly, floating high above a sky filled with countless silhouettes. Deprived of all sensation of his physical form and Beyonder characteristics, he began to withstand a torrent of thoughts, information, knowledge, symbols, and concepts—
All of them came from every person in the world of Harry Potter!
Every person's life, their memories, their thoughts…
Nearly 5.5 billion streams of information crashed violently into Edward's consciousness like a catastrophic flood. Gradually, his sense of self began to blur.
It was as if he had split into countless individuals, each with their own hobbies, personalities, convictions, and destinies. They gradually transformed from illusions into reality, from puppets bound by another's will into independent beings with minds of their own.
In that haze, he witnessed humanity's journey from the era of slash-and-burn agriculture to the formation of tribes, then alliances, and eventually nations—from slavery to feudalism to modern society, from primitive tools to steam engines, internal combustion engines, and the repeated leaps of technology.
None of these changes could have occurred without the continual bursts of human imagination. And now, all of that imagination poured into Edward.
At that very moment, his nearly fragmented consciousness suddenly regained clarity. Everything he had just witnessed withdrew at high speed, returning into a single book glowing with golden radiance—
Harry Potter.
Suddenly—boom.
The book exploded.
And in that instant, the false world constructed within its pages completely detached itself from the book and became a real world.
It was also at that very moment…
Edward advanced to Sequence 1, becoming a Constructor.
This time, there was no boundless cosmos, no mysterious wooden door, no Mr. Door, and no countless twinkling stars. The instant he advanced, the relevant information simply surfaced directly in his mind:
[Sequence 1: Constructor]
Creator of a world.
Abilities:
-[Position]—A core Authority belonging to the Door Pathway. He could locate anyone and travel to any place.
-[Seals]—The power to seal off a designated space, preventing entry or exit.
-[Space Fragmentation]—Can shatter and bend Space and time, forming a miniature black hole capable of immense destruction.
[Construction]—Constructs all things; constructs environments advantageous to oneself. This is the prototype of a Divine Kingdom.
[Dimensional Reduction]—Temporarily lowers the target's dimensional level; both their rank and abilities are weakened simultaneously.
Advancing to Sequence 1 had granted Edward five new abilities.
[Positioning] belonged to part of the authority wielded by Sequence 1 of the Door pathway—allowing him to locate and reach any place and find anyone. Even if the target resided in the Sefirah Castle or within the Chaos Sea—in the raw, fundamental substance of reality—he could simply open a door directly to them. This was a conceptual, fundamental ability.
[Seals] and [Space Fragmentation] were deeper applications of space: one to seal and imprison; the other to annihilate. After reaching Sequence 0, he would be able to pinch black holes into existence effortlessly.
He had already experienced both [Construction] and [Dimensional Reduction]. The former could be considered a strengthened and upgraded version of Fantasy, producing things that were far more real. The latter was potent enough to suppress Adam, even if only briefly—its might was unquestionable.
Naturally, all his other abilities had also been elevated dramatically—an epic-level enhancement that needed no elaboration.
After digesting this information rapidly, Edward could not wait to read what pertained to Sequence 0:
[Sequence 0: Dimension]
Ingredients: The Uniqueness of Dimension + Two additional Sequence 1 Constructor characteristics (aside from one's own)
Advancement Ritual: Cause the constructed real world to complete a dimensional ascension.
The moment he saw the ritual required for Sequence 0, Edward instantly understood what the "Creator" had meant back then. He understood why the authenticity of the Harry Potter world needed to be maintained, what the deity had been implying regarding the dimensional level and rank of that world, and more importantly—he understood the true purpose behind creating the Harry Potter world.
Once the Harry Potter world completed a dimensional ascension and possessed the same rank as the world of the Fool, then the power of "I will" would finally become a true Authority. And since he—Edward—carried the accumulated imagination of countless individuals across thousands of years, he would become nearly omnipotent.
No wonder that being wanted him to "hand-craft" two additional Sequence 1 characteristics. If world ascension succeeded, those difficulties truly would become trivial.
Edward had to admit—he was deeply shocked by that being's plan.
But…how was one supposed to elevate an entire world's dimensional level?
Just as that thought arose, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind, "I imagine that right now you must be wondering how to complete a world's dimensional ascension, so I left this message here to answer that for you."
Edward's expression changed as he opened his mouth to respond—but the voice continued, "Do not try speaking to me. I am merely a pre-recorded message and cannot converse with anyone. As for why—I'll explain shortly."
"First, I'm sure you noticed that the Sequence 1 potion dissolved instantly, didn't you? This is normal. Constructing a world as real as Harry Potter's consumed the equivalent of a hundred Constructor potions long ago."
Edward froze for a moment, then steadied his mind and checked—indeed, the Constructor potion had been completely digested.
"Next, what you must deal with are the requirements for Sequence 0: the Uniqueness of Dimension and two additional Sequence 1 characteristics. I've already told you all about those, so your one remaining problem is simply this—how to complete a world's dimensional ascension."
"I devised two possibilities. The first is to have a large portion of the Harry Potter world ingest potions and become Beyonders. Once enough became extraordinary, the world would gradually be influenced and altered—similar to a global resurgence of spirituality."
"But this method has many flaws. First, it takes far too long. Second, there are too many variables that cannot be controlled. Third…I cannot guarantee that doing so wouldn't hinder my fight against the Original Creator. After all, all traits originate from the Oldest One; theoretically, it could awaken within any Beyonder's body. That makes this method far too risky."
"And so—I devised a second plan."
"If a passage were opened between the two worlds—a door—allowing them to connect and gradually merge, that too would constitute a form of dimensional ascension. Think of it like two soap bubbles, one large and one small. When they touch, they slowly merge into a single, larger bubble."
"That's right. I'm sure you've realised it. What you need in order to connect two worlds is precisely the Uniqueness of the Door. Pathway"
"So what you must do next is this: remove the Door's Uniqueness from your body, 'install' it at the junction between the two worlds, and then construct it into a bridge or passage that links them. Continue until the two worlds fully merge and ascend."
"It sounds simple, doesn't it? And in truth, it really isn't difficult."
"The real problem is whether someone will try to stop you—and how you will complete the ascension despite their interference."
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.