From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 460 The Moon and the Tides

As a weapon bestowed upon it by Shar, the Night Spear appears rather unremarkable.

The spearhead, made of dark metal, gleamed with a cold light, complementing the gilded patterns that adorned it. Apart from that, the only memorable feature of the Night Spear was the star-shaped iron ornament connecting the wooden shaft and the spearhead. In the center of the ornament was a polished obsidian stone that could almost be used as a mirror, just like the mirrors that could be found everywhere in the Iron Hand Temple's living quarters.

Having collected all the Shadow Orbs and obtained the Night Spear from the Night Judge's library, the adventurers' journey within the Iron Hand Temple is down to its final destination—the bottom of the temple to find the Night Song located in the Fallen Shadow Realm.

The teleportation disc supported by the giant Shar statue couldn't accommodate all the adventurers, and the teleportation beast Nisha was appeased by Halsin and asked to stay outside.

Ivy's [Elemental Summoning] today is against the opposing elements of air and earth. It not only grants immunity to four types of elemental damage: acid, poison, lightning, and thunder, but also allows her to unleash a chain lightning attack without consuming any resources, or, after preparation, cast Stoneforming, Fossil to Mud, and Mud to Stone.

However, what Ivy values ​​most is the travel effect brought by Air Elemental Summoning and Earth Elemental Summoning.

His earth elemental ability allows him to dig a 30-foot-long tunnel underground every six seconds, while his air elemental ability enables him to carry his entire squad into the air. These two abilities will undoubtedly be of great convenience when exploring dilapidated temples.

However, to enter the place where Shar imprisons the Night Song, one must use the Shadow Orb to open a specific passage to the Fallen Shadow Realm; otherwise, Ivy would have already taken everyone directly to the destination.

“Your magic has once again surprised me, Ivy.” Gale, who was floating in the air with Ivy, stretched his limbs, sensing the magic that had made him levitate. “This doesn’t seem like a flight spell… I didn’t hear you chant any incantations or use any magic scrolls… What’s going on?”

The power granted by [Elemental Summoning] does not consume spell slots, so in Gale's view, it is similar to the spell-like abilities used by magical creatures and is not an ability that can be acquired through learning.

“It’s the power of the elements,” Ivy said, her gaze sweeping over the passage hidden at the bottom of the Iron Hand Temple, where the Shar statues looked perfectly preserved and undamaged. “Besides being a mage, I’m also a sorcerer who has mastered the power of the elements. It’s the power of the air element that helped you break free from the constraints of gravity.”

“A warlock?” Gale said unsurprised. “Even if you told me now that you were a chosen one of Io, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

"Really?" Ivy turned around and smiled.

Gail was a little confused about Ivy's meaning: "Uh... are you?"

"Maybe, who knows?" The end of the passage had been reached, so Ivy left only an answer that left much to the imagination.

It was a pool of water shimmering with a deep blue light. Purple floor tiles formed steps in front of the pool, leading to another door that also emitted light.

Shar's statue stands opposite the pool, gazing at the mortals who come to visit.

The magic from the Shadow Demon Network was almost clearly visible. If Ivy didn't shut down his arcane vision, the entire space would glow in his eyes, and this glow would change constantly with the ripples in the pool.

Ivy blinked, temporarily suppressing the magic that was fixed in her eyes, and then glanced at her teammates.

We are about to enter Shar's territory. No one can remain calm under such circumstances, not even Shadowheart, a believer.

She knelt silently before the pool, closed her eyes, and bowed her head in prayer.

Ivy reached out and touched his cheek. The shadow magic in the air became even stronger, as if responding to Shadowheart's prayer. Ivy even felt like he was being touched by static electricity. He should have been immune to lightning damage at this moment, so he shouldn't have had this kind of illusion.

Yingxin didn't keep everyone waiting too long.

She stood up after only a moment. When she met Ivy's gaze, she smiled slightly: "This is the last step. I was just expressing my respect. This is Ms. Shar's territory, and the last thing we should do is anger her."

"So..." Xie Nian asked hesitantly, her intuition equally sharp and her own unease evident, "we can see the Song of Darkness as soon as we enter the pool?"

“I’ll lead the way.” Yingxin nodded, stepping first onto the water-soaked steps with her iron boots. The biting cold made her gasp, “Hiss—”

This is a teleportation spell, Ivy is absolutely certain of it.

Once your body touches the pool water, there's no turning back.

The chill of the pool water quickly enveloped his torso and limbs, then vanished just as quickly, as if it were all an illusion. What should have been the cold water enveloping his body transformed in an instant into the deathly still air.

Ivy didn't blink during the entire process of entering the pool, and immediately confirmed that the teleportation was complete.

There were no water stains left on her skin or clothes; Shar's teleportation spell was surprisingly considerate.

Compared to all the teleportation spells he had ever experienced, Ivy had to regretfully admit that the wizard's Portkey was still the most unsettling way to travel long distances.

Ivy looked back and saw her companions lying sprawled on the ground, each with a furrowed brow and coughing intermittently.

It's obvious that they haven't experienced enough portals.

The opening of the portal created a vortex, and the adventurers, in their panic, tried to shout, inevitably choking on water. Fortunately, the teleportation process was only a blink of an eye, so Ivy didn't have to worry about any of her companions becoming the unlucky ones to die in the teleportation accident.

Having confirmed his companion's health, Ivy looked up and surveyed Shar's territory.

The Fallen Shadow Realm has no conventional light source, so all that can be seen is an endless darkness. The adventurers' landing place is an island floating in the air, on which stands the ruined Temple of Shar. It's as if some irritable god tore the entire Temple of Shar off the ground, ripped it to shreds, and scattered it into this dark space.

Surrounding the numerous floating islands, besides shadows and darkness, is a massive storm. Below lies the eye of the storm, where the magical aura of necromancy is penetrating the darkness and entering Ivy's eyes.

Several jet-black chains covered in spikes pierced through the darkness and storm, deeply embedding themselves in the core at the bottom. It's easy to imagine that the place where the Song of the Night is imprisoned is the floating island at the bottom.

Shar's power weakens gravity on a series of floating islands, allowing her to traverse distances dozens of times her body length with a single leap. It seems that, apart from jumping back and forth between the islands, non-spellcasters have no other way to get down.

Low gravity environments are not actually that magical in the multiverse; Ivy even knows about a type of gravity called "subjective gravity."

That means adventurers can stand on any flat or non-flat surface they want, creating a gravity environment where vomiting is likely to occur in the event of combat. Aside from native species with subjective gravity or specially trained individuals, few creatures can remain conscious in rapidly shifting gravity.

"The Fallen Shadow Realm..." The adventurers had mostly woken up. Shadowheart gripped the Dark Night Spear tightly, looking at the strange sky and muttering to herself, "Lady Shar is here. I can sense it." Ivy nodded, once again channeling the power of the air element to lift her companions up, traversing the darkness of the Fallen Shadow Realm, and approaching the platform at the bottom that was flashing with necromancy magic.

“Dark Judges!” Karak pointed to the edge of a floating island where several figures dressed in Dark Judge robes and wearing golden masks were standing.

"We've become targets!" Leezel raised his greatsword, bracing for any crossbow bolts that might come flying. "Get down here as quickly as possible, Ivy!"

“Look up at her…” The whisper came from behind the mask of the Dark Judge, and then the shadows of these Shar servants disappeared again, as if they had never existed.

"What..." Leezel, who had little knowledge of magic, looked around in confusion.

“It’s just the echoes of some souls.” Minsara’s brows were furrowed as she examined her past as a priestess and paladin of Rose, wondering if she would suffer the same fate as these judges of the night if she died as a follower of Rose.

The soul of the judge of the night appeared and disappeared, leaving only a mournful whisper in the darkness.

"Listen to what she said..."

"Kill her..."

As the altitude decreased, the view in the eye of the storm became clearer.

Amidst towering boulders, a runic prison shimmering with a deep purple light stands on a circular platform. The runes emit a light that flickers, maintaining a rhythm like the beating of a heart.

Through the light emanating from the runes, the adventurers finally met Asmo, who was imprisoned in the Fallen Shadow Realm.

She was a remarkably robust woman, her muscles angular and defined like a marble sculpture, with pale golden cracks appearing on her skin, as if she were a timeless marble sculpture that had been shattered after a thousand painful ordeals and then reassembled by boundless divine power.

This is a warrior, a celestial being who did not give up the fight even after being imprisoned for a hundred years.

After landing back on the ground, Ivy heard Shadowheart take a deep breath. She gripped the Dark Night Spear tightly, pursed her lips, and stood in front of the Dark Night Song.

“I have already sensed your arrival. You are the first one in a hundred years.” The clothes on Dark Night Song’s body were almost a tattered mess of loose threads, barely serving to cover her body. She turned around, pointed at Shadow Heart, and seemed to want to take a step further and face Shadow Heart directly.

But the magical arm that emerged from the void stopped Nightsong's actions. Ivy raised an eyebrow. Using the prisoner's own power to restrain her—an interesting idea.

“That’s right.” Shadowheart tried to ease her tension with conversation. “I will plunge the dagger bestowed by the goddess into your heart, sealing your destiny with Katheric!”

Song of the Night laughed, seemingly unconcerned about her predicament, but the golden cracks on her face betrayed her inner unease and rage. "You will only seal your own destiny, little assassin. Becoming the Judge of the Night will only drive you away from all joy and happiness, leaving you with nothing but boundless despair. The freedom that Shar claims is nothing but slavery."

"And this enslavement will never stop. Even if you give your life and soul for her, the eternal torment will continue as a matter of course until your helpless soul is annihilated in eternal solitude." The Song of the Night laughed, the madness on his face gradually subsiding, replaced by pity for Shadowheart.

“You gave your mistress everything, but what did she give you in return?” Nightsong shook her head, her gray hair swaying in the breeze. “Secrets, loss, and darkness. Even now, as you become the judge of the night, this concealment still exists—and even after I die, the truth you desire will not be revealed.”

From Yingxin's various small movements and expressions, Ivy could tell that she was constantly trying to convince herself that the short spear she was holding with one hand was now being gripped tightly with both hands, and the knuckles on her ten fingers were turning white. That was not the posture she was in before launching an attack.

“You don’t know who I am, little assassin,” Nightsong said with absolute certainty, “but I do know you—a child lost in the forest, terrified by the wolves in the darkness.”

"What?" Yingxin asked in astonishment, even glancing in Aiwei's direction. She had never told anyone other than Aiwei about her childhood memories, but she also knew very well that Aiwei would never reveal this to Asmo in front of her.

"You received many promises from Shar, didn't you?" Nightsong countered. "But have you considered how much she took from you in return? How much do you truly understand yourself? Your life and your past? Even—your parents?"

"Even what I see is more than you know."

The unwavering resolve to fight for her beliefs that had once graced Yingxin's face had completely vanished, leaving only bewilderment and shock.

Her gaze lingered in the darkness of Shar, trying to find a foothold, but there was nothing in the darkness to support her.

Ivy pressed down on Yingxin's shoulder from behind.

After a slight tremor and tension, Ivy noticed that Shadowheart's muscles relaxed, and the tip of the Dark Night Spear in his hand lowered to the ground.

Yingxin turned her face to Aiwei, and Aiwei could tell at a glance that it was a face that mixed anticipation and worry.

“I…” Yingxin’s throat bobbed, and she asked hesitantly, “What do you think I should do, Ivy?”

“I’m standing right beside you, Shadowheart.” A smile always soothes emotions, and as Ivy spoke with a smile, Shadowheart’s expression became even calmer. “Who can decide your fate?”

“Song of the Night?” Ivy glanced at Asmo in the runic cage.

"Lady of the Night?" His gaze swept across the darkness behind the floating island.

"The Supreme God?" Ivy reached out and touched Shadowheart's forehead. Beneath the skull and soft tissue of the brain, there was a Mind Flayer tadpole belonging to the Supreme God.

"Or perhaps it's us, their companions?" Yingxin's gaze followed the direction of Ivy's finger, sweeping across the faces of her teammates one by one.

“No, Shadowheart.” Ivy grabbed Shadowheart’s shoulders with both hands, continuing to close the distance between them. “No one but yourself can decide your destiny. It’s time to become your own moon, and let the tides of fate turn with your gravity.”

Shadowheart's warm breath brushed against Ivy's face; the half-elf girl had made up her mind.

She raised her hand, trembling, the eerie purple light emanating from Shar's brand piercing through her scale-armored gloves. With this hand, tormented by Shar, Shadowheart lifted the Night Spear and swung it outwards with unwavering resolve and force.

After several collisions, Shar's artifact fell from the platform and was quickly swallowed by the darkness of the Fallen Shadow Underworld.

(End of this chapter)