“Raaaaaaawr!” A thunderous roar echoed throughout the Origin-of-magic. Flying through the boundless gold, a behemoth creature rivaling the size of a city stared down in disdain at Lord Trenaver. Its entire body crafted from gold and what should've been eyes, replaced by endless golden fire that raged its eye-sockets. The Elder calmly gazed at Lord Trenaver. Who in returned summoned his wand as it glowed with unfathomable brightness and luster. Its brilliance continued to heighten. Soon a spherical orb of white light stood dominantly within the air. Possessing a diameter so unfathomably large it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to be classified as a satellite. Lifting his hand into the air, The Elder clenched his hand. Acknowledging the signal, the behemoth creature roared, unfurling its draconic wings as it unleashed golden-fire potent enough to eradicate cities.

Inside the cathedral, or what once was. As the ceiling continued collapsed throughout intervals and the once beautiful golden walls now charred. Two figures continued to fight desperately against a lone individual. The summonings of shadows continued to wreak havoc. Unable to counter nor endure the offense, Niel and Alicia appeared bloody and fatigued. Placing his hand onto his stomach, Niel winced in pain. Casting healing spells onto himself, he realized his fate was sealed. Unable to circumvent the gaping wound that eroded, he lamented that he was unable to become the powerful wizard he should’ve been. Casting away distracting thoughts, he nodded towards Alicia. Her joyful and up-beat behavior was cast away as she contained a single expression after Pipsqueak’s death; resolution. Slamming her hands into the ground, the earth rattled and rumbled. The tremors quickly escalated into a small-scale earthquake, causing the floor to rift and default. Disappearing once again, The Ghost appeared a few feet away from Alicia.

Earthen tentacles rose from the ground attempting to stall his offense. Steadily approaching Alicia as he nimbly dodged tentacles. A sudden gust of flames distorted his vision, forcing him to disappear to avoid the impact. Re-emerging from the shadows, he witnessed a hail-storm of fire descended onto him. Casing himself into orb of shadow, the fire-storm slammed against the orb. As flames descended upon the shadowic orb. Alicia gritted her teeth, as blood escaped her lips. Using this rare opportunity, her wand danced with green lights.

“Golem Mundi!”. Summoning the giant minotaur of earth, which now contained traces of charred gold. Alicia stood upon the head as she silently nodded to the four figures that saved them from certain death. As the fire-storms continued its destruction upon the orb. Alicia’s face twisted into a sinister smile, as rage and grief bolstered her killing intent.

“Die, bastard!” Alicia screamed as the minotaur raised its enormous legs before crushing the orb with phenomenal force. The impact of the stomp formed a crater several hundred feet deep and many more times wide. Inside the crater lay a wounded individual, with beautiful ruby hair that translated towards its eyes. Cheek-bones that could incite jealousy from models and a bodily figure only seen in magazines. Alicia stared dumbfoundedly at the figure. Blasted from the epicenter, the group of four stared in amazement. Slowly standing up, the bewitching woman of ruby calmly analyzed her situation. A golem rivaling the height of sky-scraper looked on with the passion to kill. Further away was a group of four donned in black robes with the insignia of a phoenix. Ignoring the boy who laid unconscious under a rubble of debris, she dusted off her cloak. Revealing her wand crafted entirely of sapphire and emerald, finished with a crown as the head. Her eyes glowed with potency as a phantom that resemble the Grim Reaper appeared behind her. Growing in size, it nearly rivaled the golem in height. A calm smile etched across her face before she spoke.

“The Order of the Phoenix. The Queen of Earth. I only fear one and neither of you qualify to grant me death.”

---

Several miles beyond the final stand between the Order of the Phoenix and The Ghost. Was a figure donned in blue robes, now red, from severe blood loss. But the brightest smile could be seen on his face even as he understood death was certain. Further away was a dead corpse composed of blood, even further was the head of said corpse. Adamlock remained down in the sand as his beautiful smile contradict his eyes of tears.

“Little Meguri. It seems I can’t be a brother for you anymore...” Adamlock muttered to himself as his eye-lids slowly hugged each other.

---

“Nihil.”

The Origin-of-magic, once a place of boundless vibrancy and gold became an entire void. Lord Trenaver panicked briefly before regaining his demeanor. Unable to understand the circumstances due to losing all abilities of sense. He replayed memories in his mind to steady his concentration and sanity. Soon what felt like a few seconds became a passing of hours and eventually days. Aware of being trapped in an illusion, he continued to remain calm and collected. Until the voices of ancient entities continued to whisper.

“A man whose rose to power by killing their father.”

“You know the truth.”

“Your ideology of justice is twisted.”

“A boy who desired his own mother and sister.”

“No!” Lord Trenaver bellowed as his eyes snapped opened. Beads of sweat and haggard breathing best described his current appearance. Mentally exhausted as the torture of ancient voices toyed with his sanity and emotional stability. He felt a strong passion to commit suicide, but his sanity was telling him otherwise. The calming of light began to soothe his aching mind, as the satellite of light remained in the sky.

“You still suffer from guilt due to yesteryear’s of ambition. So is it truly admirable to condemned those who study the arts of death?” Maximus Potter spoke as the behemoth dragon floated above him.

“You only attacked my mentality to weaken my prowess. Cowardly.” Lord Trenaver mustered to vocalize.

Maximus frowned as he listened to Trenaver. Barely glancing at the dragon behind him, he once again laid his vision onto Trenaver who was enlarging the magnitude of the sphere of light that floated domineeringly. Slowly shaking his head, Maximus pointed forward. The behemoth dragon roared as it spewed a beacon of fire onto Trenaver. Using the light from the sphere, Trenaver summoned a protective dome. As the fire clashed against the dome, slight cracks appeared around it. Waving his hand in poetic motion, dozens of hands crafted from light rained from the sphere. Rivaling the size of an average home, the multitude of light-hands converged upon the dragon. Wrapping themselves around its legs, wings and nape as they struggled to drag the dragon down from the sky. The orb of light evolved from meteoroid-size into a radius doubling the size of a metropolitan city. Treanver commanded the light as it cast down solar flares upon the dragon. Whiplashing the dragon with tremendous force, waves of heat cascaded around the boundless domain.

A confident smile escaped Lord Trenaver whose facial suddenly stiffened. The dragon remained unharmed as its arrogant gaze locked onto his. Glancing further ahead he noticed a skeletal horse trekking around Maximus, as loud neighs echoed throughout the domain. Blood slowly leaked from Trenaver’s orifices as his skin showed signs of desaturation.

“You were my favored student. Now, you’ve become an annoyance, Oedipus.” Maximus said.

Surrounded by an unfathomable trio. A dragon, a thestral that leaked the airs of royalty and the individual that sovereign them both. A bitter smile etched on Oedipus’s features before a gleam of instinctive survival coated his eyes. The orb of light continued to grow in mass, rivaling the size of an entire state. Soon the size exploded in exponential proportions, equating to the earth’s moon. Bloodshot eyes as tears of blood coated his snow-white robes. Lord Trenaver continued to push his limits as he summoned the power of light as it bedazzled the infinite gold domain. As its light shone a beautiful yet intense splendor, it emitted several powerful flares. Gesturing his wand, hundreds of flares rivaling the size of cities descended upon the trio. The dragon roared as it released flames that countered a majority of flares as its flapping wings created powerful hurricane winds, dispersing the minority. Meanwhile, Maximus gently stroked Ala-equit’s skeletal hide before he spoke to him.

“Did you release those two from the Domain of Souls?”

“Yes, Master. I did not want to truly kill them.” Ala-equit exchanged through telepathy.

“It’s fine. This battle is nothing but a brief skirmish. I only wish to discover how to amplify my powers without use of this world. In comparison to the Deathly Hallows, this world is true godhood.” Maximus communicated.

---

“Why did it release us so suddenly?” Xavier questioned as he observed his surroundings.

“...Because they most likely succeeded in their goal.” Meguri stated in a solemn tone, drawing Xavier’s eyes of curiosity into her.

Instead of speaking she only pointed. As they stood in the vastness of a desert, in the distance they witnessed the appearance of a red sky followed by beautiful yellow light. As the lights reminded her of stars in the night, Meguri’s heart dropped as a terrible premonition dawned.

---

The arduous death-match between the Order and the Ghost which featured the Queen of Earth continued. Madeline and Alicia surrounded the Ghost. As blood dirtied Alicia’s hair and the wounds around nape indicated near-death experiences, she summoned earthen tentacles that reached the length of buildings. Madeline could only feel weight pressing her chest. As she surveyed the battlefield; corpses laid. Since youth, they were the closest friends one could know. The ones accepted and loved by your parents. The ones you would convey and confide in. The ones, no matter the dispute or distance, never seemed to fade. Throughout her lifetime, she would never be able to confide in them. Throughout her lifetime she could only cherish through memories.

Tears welled in her eyes of determination. The haggard individual who stood close to death was only a few feet away. Those ruby-eyes that held intensity and power became fatigued and defensive. Revenge rampant in Madeline’s heart, she summoned emerald rings of fire that danced around her body. As the multiple rings converged into a single halo, Alicia used that opportunity to engage the Ghost. As the earthen tentacles rampaged wantonly as they stalled the Ghost. Alicia planted her right foot with tremendous force, using that momentum to spin backwards as her heels aimed for the diamond jawline of the ruby haired individual. Quickly grabbing onto Alicia’s leg, the Ghost instantly summoned a shadowic dome as the halo of fire descended upon her.

Inside the shadowic dome of several feet. Alicia reformed her bodily shield into a sword as she thrust towards the Ghost heart. Nimbly dodging the sudden exchange, the Ghost wielded her own shadowic sword as they engaged in close-quarters combat. As they exchanged blows, slashes appeared in great numbers on both. Alicia held a beaming smile as she watched the sword impale her heart, her eyes slowly closed before her body suddenly paused and slumped onto the Ghost. Undoing the dome, the Ghost calmly looked into the pair of eyes of the lone enemy. Before she could push the corpse off her sword she felt her breathing pause, as beautiful trimmed hands squeezed onto her nape. Instantly earthen tentacles emerged chaining both Alicia and the Ghost, as they slowly tightened and constricted the pair.

“Kill… us…” Alicia weakly stated. Madeline only stared at Alicia’s back as tears threatened to spill. She once again summoned the emerald flames as she unleashed a flurry of destructive might onto the pair. After the succession of bombarding flames laid two figures that struggled in breath. The ruby-eyed individual who calmly gazed into Madeline’s eyes before closing. A few inches laid Alicia Malfroy, who gave Madeline a thumbs up before succumbing to her last breathe. Collapsing onto her knees, Madeline sobbed. Unable to control the loss and pain, she couldn’t do nothing but release her emotions.

“...You did a good job, Maddie.” A haggard figure emerged from the debris, as a grotesque wound covered his abdomen. Struggling, he stammered towards Madeline who quickly appeared by his side. A smile danced upon his face as he wiped the tears from her face. Unable to speak anymore, he struggled to point towards a direction before his body went limp. Glancing in the signaled direction as tears clouded her vision. Hundreds of meters away she noticed a luster of beautiful golden and silver, followed by a prestigious statue that protected a mysterious coffin.

A similar scenario occurred miles away from the cathedral ruin. As her glasses fogged from the abundance of tears, she held a feeble figure into her chest. Xavier who stood further away felt his heart ablaze. As Adamlock felt the droplets, he began to mutter in a low voice.

“G-get. Stone… I wa-want to see…moth...er.” His eyes beaming with radiance and hope.

“What about you?” Meguri replied as her mouth quivered.

Silently staring at each other, Adamlock held a genuine smile with open eyes. As the seconds passed, a thought dawned onto Madeline. Slowly tightening her clutch, she quietly sobbed with vigor. Reddened eyes, Xavier bawled his fist as he wished to vent the pain. In the midst of their sorrow, a golden light encompassed the entirety of the world.

The otherworldly battle between Lord Trenaver and Maximus reached its peak. As light beams equivalent to the size of towns descended in millions, striking the dragon and Ala-equit. Trenaver kept his composure despite his struggle. Encasing himself into a dome of light. He endured the flames that rivaled his now planetary-size orb of light. Black clouds surrounded his vicinity as destructive black lightning slammed into his shield. Waving his wand erratically, solar flares descended upon the mysterious world. Enduring offense after offense, the dragon continued to roar and unleash destructive golden flames. Confusion plagued Trenaver. No matter what occurred, nothing seemed to progress.

“You underestimate this world. It is our world’s origin, it is beyond human logic and comprehension, at least for now.” Maximus spoke as his arms hid behind him.

“What nonsense are you spouting? The origin of our world?” Lord Trenaver retorted as his commanded flares of light that confronted both the dragon and Ala-equit.

“You’ve wondered during this time, but the answer is simple; origin. It explains why you haven’t died nor extinguished your mana, it speaks about why this charade is lasting. I have a hypothesis that’s difficult to fathom. This world is only another and what we believe to be magic is another concept entirely.” Maximus answered Trenaver as he gazed above.

“...That’s bullshit.” Trenaver muttered in disbelief. But inwardly he felt fearful of such truths.

Throughout his lifetime that reached a millennium. The years of researching history, the ones recorded to the public and those of taboo. The wise and the powerful, before death always spoke something of common; what is beyond and the origin of magic. Within his visage, he stood in an infinite domain flooded with golden haze. As he pulsed with omnipotence and immortality, millions of thoughts paraded him.

“The Deathly Hallows. The Timeless Library and this unnamed boundary of origins. No wizard in history contained the knowledge nor power, not even you Maximus.” Oedipus softly proclaimed.

“I’m aware of my deficiencies but there’s something I wish to show you.” Maximus mysteriously spoke as a pendant appeared in his palm.

The entire boundary of gold suddenly stilled. The planetary sphere of light vanished. The behemoth dragon of gold, vanished. Everything, vanished. Only in darkness, Trenaver’s mind slowly crumbled by the second.

“Focus. This mystery will doom you if your heart wavers.”

Within the ancient darkness, the hue of gold re-emerged. Controlled in single point, it expanded into a portal the size of a door. Instantly it expanded beyond, encompassing the entire domain. Unable to understand the phenomenon nor the scenery, Trenaver was breathless. The prestigious drawings nor the images in books compared. Their depictions lacked to the truth.

“The center of the universe...?” Trenaver uttered in amazement before Maximus interrupted.

“No, but something even greater…”

The Bridge Between Worlds.