The Moon's Judgment ended, and summer arrived.
Kanzaki Mio had already sorted out her feelings before the trial and returned early to Hong Kong. After the judgment concluded, Takeda Akira went home as well, planning to focus on his own training. Rowan Mercer stayed behind in the town, continuing his research with Sakura's Clow Cards while exchanging magic theories almost daily with Amagiri Rōen, the inheritor of Clow Reed's legacy.
The results were immediate. Rowan's overall grasp of magic rose sharply, especially his understanding of time-based spells. He was confident that before long, he would fully master Fairy Sphere, break the seal on Tenrou Island, and free Natsu and the others.
At the same time, something else stirred.
A new incarnation awakened.
"Flamel Academy? Isaac Taber? Victor?" Rowan frowned as unfamiliar memories flooded in. "What is this world supposed to be?"
The appearance of a new incarnation no longer surprised him. He'd been through this enough times to stay calm. What unsettled him was the nature of the memories themselves.
If it were a completely unknown world, that would have been fine. He had already encountered realms inspired by stories, myths, films, and media he barely remembered. After years of adult life, he didn't pretend to recognize everything anymore.
But this world was different.
It felt familiar, yet wrong.
The new body belonged to a seventeen-year-old named Julian Bellamy, living in London with his father. His parents had divorced ten years earlier, not because of betrayal or scandal, but simply because there had never been love to begin with. Their marriage had been a calculated alliance between families, nothing more. Once both sides had secured their own independence and influence, the arrangement lost its purpose.
Julian lived with his father, a wealthy international trader based in London. His older sister, Vivian Bellamy, lived with their mother. Their father valued money and symbolism, and even their names reflected that obsession.
None of this was especially strange.
The real anomaly began when Julian was eleven.
An owl delivered a letter.
An acceptance letter.
From Flamel Academy.
It wasn't an ordinary school. It was a magic academy.
The resemblance was impossible to ignore.
The structure mirrored the world of Rowan's very first incarnation, the Harry Potter universe. The only difference was the name. Hogwarts had become Flamel Academy.
At first glance, Rowan might have assumed this world simply had access to the novels or films and had adopted the idea as a cultural reference.
But that explanation collapsed immediately.
There were no Harry Potter books here. No films. No pop culture equivalent.
And yet magic was cast with wands. Spell theory, casting methods, and practical effects all followed nearly identical rules. Even the headmaster, Isaac Taber, and the strict academy director, Victor, looked uncannily similar to figures Rowan remembered from that other world.
Major historical events lined up as well. Witch hunts. Wizarding wars. Suppression and secrecy. The details differed, but the outline remained unmistakable.
Grindelwald existed here too, under a different name, and his defeat hadn't come from a legendary duel but from modern military technology. Voldemort existed as well, reborn under the name Jerry Mario, with altered associates and a shifted timeline. Even the equivalent of the Triwizard Tournament had taken place in 2015 instead of the mid-1990s.
It was a reflection warped just enough to be unsettling.
"Forget it," Rowan muttered as he sorted through the memories and opened his eyes. "I'll deal with what's in front of me first. I can figure out the rest later."
This incarnation was still young, mostly confined to school life, and ignorant of much beyond it. Whatever secrets this world held would have to wait.
Then another memory surged forward.
A graveyard.
A ruined tomb.
A pale, noseless wizard stood atop scattered bones, smiling as he restrained a young girl with glasses and a lightning-shaped scar on her forehead.
"Hallie," the wizard said coldly. "Standing on my father's remains, I thought I'd introduce you properly. But it seems you're famous now. The Girl Who Lived. A legend built on lies. Let me tell you what really happened thirteen years ago."
Masked dark wizards stood around them, tense and silent.
Julian pushed himself up from the ground, brushing dirt from his clothes.
"Sorry to interrupt," he said evenly. "Quick question. If I said I wanted to leave right now, would anyone try to stop me?"
The speech cut off mid-sentence.
Julian was the champion chosen by the tournament. Flamel Academy's representative. In the original sequence of events, he should have died here the moment he arrived.
Apparently, that fate had failed to stick.
"You're still alive?" Jerry Mario snarled. "Kill him. Now."
The traitorous servant froze, panic flashing across his face. The curse had landed earlier. The boy had fallen. He should have stayed dead.
There was no time to question it.
"Yes, my lord!"
The wand rose again.
"Avada—"