From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 540 The Cursed God
“Your suffering is far from over.” Shar’s voice echoed in the empty darkness, lingering for a long time.

"Even if you raze this monastery to the ground, even if you kill all the ignorant people here, it doesn't matter to me. Those things have never been the source of my power."

Shar's gaze, as calm as still water, shifted from Ivy to the trembling, furious Shadowheart.

The selfish desires of the gods often cause irreparable harm to mankind. Just to disgust Serene, Yingxin and her parents endured decades of torment.

Memories are constantly being erased, and Shar is constantly being tainted with her own colors. Even if she instinctively tries to regain a little of herself, she will be mercilessly crushed again.

Not to mention that Yingxin's parents were involved throughout the process, not as bystanders, but as teaching tools for Shar to teach Yingxin.

“Every time you try to distance yourself from me, every time you try to get closer to Serene, my control over you deepens.” Shar was completely unconcerned about Shadowheart’s fear and rage, and the pain that was about to overflow. She simply calmly stated her philosophy as a true god, “If you learn, if you obey, then the pain will cease to exist. But you are still struggling, and your efforts will only hurt yourself and those who care about you.”

"You're not a goddess! You're just a monster!" Yingxin's anger finally erupted.

“I am neither. I am nothing. I am an empty room. A dreamless slumber. The shadow of shadows.” Shar’s voice remained devoid of emotion. She was not an ordinary being, nor was she as compassionate and merciful as her sister. She had only her own purpose: to plunge the entire world into a dark slumber. “Before my sisters ignited the sun, there was no pain in the world, and the existence of mortals was solely to endure pain until they found their way back to my embrace.”

“I have no intention of hurting you. I just want to offer you guidance and peace.”

"Enough! I'm taking my parents away, I'm taking them away from you!" Yingxin knew what she was facing, but as a powerless human, she couldn't take revenge on Shar.

Without saying a word, Ivy suddenly grabbed Shadowheart's hand and pressed it against the scar on her palm that was constantly emanating shadow power: "Lifting the curse and saving your parents are two things that cannot be done at the same time."

“The power of Shar and their lives are linked at both ends of a chain, and between them, you are bound.” As a master of curses, Ivy has witnessed all kinds of dark magic curses, and he can transmit death, pain, and strife through curses.

Death Grip, or Chain Gnawing, originally relied on black magic curses to be passed back and forth between multiple targets.

When Ivy first saw the cursed scar on Shadowheart's hand, he had already been studying it silently. It wasn't until he met Shadowheart's parents, who were bound to the Dark Realm by Shar, that he understood how the curse took effect.

This is a curse rooted in the bloodline, but it only manifests in Yingxin alone.

This is a dilemma from Shar, a philosophical debate, and a tragedy of mortals. Sacrifice and self-improvement are placed on opposite ends of a scale. Whatever choice Yingxin makes, Shar will be happy to see it happen.

“Sharp, intelligent, and knowledgeable,” Shar spoke again. “If you hadn’t appeared in my territory time and again, I might not have even noticed you. Who is standing before me? How much have you sacrificed to walk on this earth? I don’t care about the answers to these questions, as long as you don’t interfere with my goals. Our paths will never intersect, you are just an observer, but my patience has its limits.”

Shar's words revealed a huge amount of information, and Ivy's mind was instantly filled with a storm of emotions.

Is she treating me like some kind of deity incarnate?

Ivy was certain that Shar had misunderstood something. He had already confronted two of the three Death Trinity, but neither Baal nor Melkor had such a misunderstanding.

If Shar's large, half-covered helmet obstructs her vision, it might indeed interfere with her judgment.

But standing before Ivy was the oldest deity in the world of Toril, who not only created the planet beneath their feet with Serene, but also created the goddess of magic and the magic net in the struggle with Serene.

If Shar really misjudged Ivy's identity, it couldn't possibly be that she was just seeing things for a moment; it must have been due to interference from other deities.

The names of many gods flashed through Ivy's mind.

The world of Toril is generally in a state of balance, with good and evil, order and chaos, light and darkness. It is precisely because of this mutual restraint that even Shar, one of the oldest gods, does not always have a smooth journey.

The Silver Saint Selenne, the goddess of magic Mystra, and the god of dawn Losanda.

Many deities on the side of good are Shar's mortal enemies. If they believe that Shar's victory should not be allowed to happen, or if they have high regard for Ivy's strength and potential, they might indeed lend a helping hand.

It has been almost two months since Ivy arrived in the world of Toril. Ivy has tried her best to hide her strength, but she has still inevitably encountered the countless local gods.

Needless to say, Ivy saw the three Death Gods rise from their coffins in the tomb of the Registrar Jergo on the very first day he arrived in the world of Toril.

Being used by the gods seems to be a common occurrence in Toril. Didn't Ivy use the power of Losanda to bombard the Supreme God before?
Those who kill will always be killed.

Ivy had long been prepared to be used by the gods. He had always thought about improving his strength as soon as possible so that the potential gods would be hesitant to act against him.

But now it seems he was probably already on the list of some deities a long time ago.

Since it can no longer be hidden, it's better to involve a few more deities and let them fight each other.

If something has become too big to hide, the best solution is to let everyone know and drag more people down with it. As long as there are enough deities involved to check and balance each other, it won't be a big deal for Ivy.

As the saying goes, "The more debts you have, the less you worry; the more lice you have, the less they itch." That's the principle.

“You’re right, Ms. Shar. Who I am is not important to you.” Ivy gave a near-perfect smile. “But I’m curious, do you know what it’s like to be a mortal? I’ve heard that many years ago, many of the gods of Toril were banished from the heavens and fell to the mortal realm. Didn’t that mortal life add something new to your eternally peaceful heart?”

Avira held Shadowheart's hand in front of her eyes, the wounds still blooming with painful flowers, constantly flashing with the power of deep shadows.

“I won’t lift your curse, or rather, I don’t have the ability to lift it,” Ivy continued. “But don’t you think it’s too boring if only Shadowheart is playing this game?” “You want her to kill her own parents, to plant your teachings—loss and regret—in the roots of her future life. If she makes even the slightest mistake, Shadowheart will return to your embrace.” Ivy delved into the goal Shar wanted to achieve through the curse. “Even if Shadowheart chooses a different path, the pain from you will accompany her throughout her life.”

"Neither mental torment nor spiritual suffering is an easy enemy to face. I think, why not transform it into a tangible object?"

Shadowheart's parents, bound to the Mirror of Darkness, and Shadowheart herself, standing before Shar, were all confused about what Ivy was trying to do.

But Ivy was certain that Shar understood.

"Why should I abandon my completed work and play this game with you?" Shar's voice remained calm, no different from the unchanging dark void.

"Perhaps it's because if you can achieve final victory, I can do you a favor." Ivy cautiously made the promise. Since Shar already misunderstood that he was not an ordinary person, let's make that misunderstanding even bigger.

Promises made lightly are often questioned, while those made after a period of negotiation and bargaining offer a sense of security. This is the variable brought about by a sense of participation.

“I don’t need help, nor do I need allies. Your offer holds no appeal for me.” Shar raised an arm that gleamed with the luster of obsidian, seemingly ready to throw these ungrateful fools out of her domain.

"What about Serene?" Ivy quickly stepped on a landmine, preventing the conversation from continuing.

“I don’t need any help from anyone or any god. My poor sister will one day understand that only the original darkness is the final destination of everything.” Shar is still quite talkative when Serene is mentioned.

“Of course, I understand.” Ivy nodded understandingly. “But here, you can’t fully face your sister. She has many allies, and this isn’t the first time you’ve failed. Perhaps I can give you two sisters some space to deal with your family matters.”

Ivy certainly couldn't do that now. As one of the most prominent evil deities in the world of Toril, Shar has a large number of powerful and formidable enemies among the benevolent gods; any one of them could easily crush Ivy into a pulp.

Not to mention that the Silver Saint Mother Serene does indeed have some saintly qualities, and there are far more people willing to help her than to help Shar.

The other three mortals present were at a loss for words when they heard Ivy say this; it was the first time they had ever heard of someone bargaining with Shar.

"What are you going to do?" To everyone's astonishment, Shar actually agreed.

"It's a marathon between gods and humans. Let's see if humans will succumb to the gods' torment first, or if the gods will succumb to the trivialities of mortals first." Ivy smiled, took Yingxin's hand, and looked at the confusion in her emerald eyes. "Are you willing to believe me?"

“Of course…” Yingxin’s lips moved slightly, “but I still don’t know… ah—”

The moment Shadowheart gave an affirmative answer, Ivy recklessly activated her magic, the spell she had been studying for a long time.

"You intend to exert your power in my domain?" Shar remained indifferent, observing from the sidelines.

Golden light emanated from the cursed scar on the back of Shadowheart's hand. Ivy struggled to maintain her magic while also dealing with the goddess's curiosity: "Rather than that, I can only do it here..."

The golden light rapidly changed colors: fiery red, calm blue, lively green, cheerful orange, mysterious purple—the seven-colored light seemed to transform into a fountain on Yingxin's hand, continuously spraying the light of mortal life into the boundless darkness of Shar.

"I feel lightheaded..." Shadowheart's feet had left the disc in Shar's hands, floating in a rainbow of light. "What are all these?"

“Your emotions!” Ivy answered loudly.

Emotional magic has always been a part of Ivy's life. Ever since he traveled to Hogwarts in 1890, he has been constantly dealing with this type of magic. There's an ancient magical vault that seals away emotional magic, and also the love of a great mother for her son.

Ivy's initial goal was simply to connect people's emotions. The Empathy Spell, the name he gave it, was intended to understand how love, and other emotions, appear to different people.

However, he was unable to find a suitable target to cast the spell even after completing it.

Who would have thought that he would use this research result, which had been dormant for some time, to turn mortal emotions into curses and send them back to the gods?
Even if magic is based on the power of imagination and the mind, it is extremely difficult to make it work on a god, especially one that represents primordial darkness.

Even within Shar's domain, even in the place closest to Shar's essence, Ivy had almost no way of capturing an entity that could serve as a vessel for the curse.

"I pray that my empathy spell will work on Shar!"

As a fundamental and powerful form of magic capable of altering the real world, the Prayer spell could naturally be used to enhance Ivy's spellcasting abilities, especially since he chanted it five times in a row.

After Ivy's voice completely disappeared into the darkness of Shar, Shadowheart unleashed a burst of multicolored rainbow light from the back of her hand, far exceeding its previous intensity, which even illuminated the darkness of Shar for a moment.

"The universe has only one end, which is to fall into the darkness and silence in my embrace." After Shar's emotionless voice, the rainbow light that illuminated the entire darkness disappeared.

Shadowheart landed back on the ground. She blankly raised the back of her hand, looking at the ring of shimmering rainbow light around the cursed scar, and asked, "...Did it work?"

"The scene was amazing, but I felt nothing. The trivialities of mortals are meaningless to an empty room," Shar said.

"If we don't try, who can be sure?" Ivy let out a long breath, grabbed Yingxin's arm and quickly closed the distance between them. Meeting her clear, doe-like, innocent gaze, he kissed her lips fiercely.

“!” Shar raised her arm, and the darkness expanded rapidly, swallowing up all the mortals in front of her in the blink of an eye.

(End of this chapter)