From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 558 Right...right?
Before entering the Toril Wasteland through the interdimensional gate, Ivy truly hadn't anticipated running into the Githyanki army, nor did he expect Vyrakis to once again display his power. This was mainly because he had been on guard against another deity, the Dark Lady Shar, who ruled over the infinite dark void.

Although the Toril Wasteland System is still technically part of the Toril World, it is indeed a boundary within a boundary. Therefore, even if the true forms of the gods were to descend upon the land, the supreme god Aion would turn a blind eye, as long as they didn't destroy the Toril planet below, they could do whatever they wanted.

The curse mark Shar left on Shadowheart's hand still exists, making it highly likely that she will come looking for him through this connection. Even in a region like Forgotten Realms, a place closely watched by the supreme god Aio, this vengeful woman is a troublemaker.

If she were to arrive in the lawless wilderness, wouldn't she turn the world upside down?

Besides, Ivy hadn't forgotten what she'd done to Shar. Those things were naturally blissful experiences for Shadowheart, but for the primordial deity who ruled over pain and darkness, things were quite different.

For Shar, the image of an old oyster containing a pearl and a withered tree blossoming again might not necessarily be a good thing.

Therefore, to prevent Shar's retaliation, Ivy deliberately opened the exit of the interdimensional gate at the door of another parent in Shadowheart.

As a celestial body that hangs perpetually in the night sky above Faerûn, the moon, trailing a long string of asteroid tails, known as the Tear of Serene, is undoubtedly one of Serene's most striking symbols. Ivy believed that as long as he stayed near the Tear of Serene, even if Shar came knocking, Serene would have to lend a hand out of both goodwill and badwill; otherwise, how could he possibly repay the suffering that poor Shadowheart had endured?
Ivy's guess was correct; Serene did indeed manifest herself in Shadowheart, but her old nemesis Shar didn't come. Instead, the Lich Queen of the Githyanki, the blustering but cowardly Vyrakis, did.

Because there is no time in the astral plane, newborn Gisyanki must stay in a desolate place or inside a planet—a place where time can be affected—in order to grow.

Within the vast asteroid belt of the Tears of Serenne lies the Gisyanki Nursery in Star Bay. It is not only the birthplace of the pure and innocent Lyezel, but also one of the Vyrakis's garrison sites after the discovery of the lost Astral Prism.

Therefore, when Ivy and her crew, along with the witches, were swept out of the portal by the water, they naturally ran into a Githyanki pirate patrol.

The patrol was wiped out, and the reinforcements lost three groups of Red Dragon Knights. Vellakis decided to make some tough statements to see if it was possible to achieve his demands through diplomatic channels.

However, the Giuseppes, as a renowned pirate race, employed diplomacy in a manner that can be summarized in two words: threats. Before a battle, they would issue harsh words; during the battle, they would use harsh words as their battle cry; and even if the battle was going poorly, they would still utter harsh words before retreating.

So what Verakis called a threat, and indeed it was, was actually diplomatic rhetoric from the Gisyanki.

However, Vellakis never expected that by merely posing a threat, he would bring out the three most powerful beings in the world of Toril.

The image of Serene, dressed in flowing white robes, standing in the boundless wilderness, resonating with the enormous moon, is indeed enough to leave an indelible impression on the hearts of any living being.

That was a perfect manifestation of divinity, far surpassing the half-baked Lich Queen by more than one level.

Faced with Serene's denial, even someone like Verakis, who always portrayed himself as an iron-blooded empress, was temporarily speechless.

After a moment, Vellakis reorganized his words and questioned Serene, who was ten times his size: "The Astral Prism is a Githyanki artifact, and it concerns the lives of all Githyanki! Even you cannot take it from me!"

“The Astral Prism is indeed of great importance.” Serene’s voice was both hazy and sorrowful like a young girl’s, and rich, benevolent, and all-encompassing like a mother goddess’s. “The Supreme God’s threat is not only to Baldur’s Gate, but to the entire multiverse. Compared to that, your rule over the Githyanki is insignificant. I will not pursue your act of establishing a military base on my tears, but that does not mean I will stand by and watch you destroy the hope of the multiverse.”

"Leave, Velakis. You cannot win today." The divine projection of Serene that filled the universe changed. When she first appeared, she was a girl who looked about the same age as Yingxin, but now she had transformed into a majestic and voluptuous mature woman. The crown on her head, woven from moonlight, was shining brightly, and even her snow-white hair had turned as black as the night sky.

Ivy felt a sense of unease. The changes in Serene's appearance corresponded to the phases of the moon. At this moment, the image of the majestic and plump lady corresponded to the image of the perfect full moon.

Serene blinked simply, and a tangible moonlight welled up in her large, luminous eyes, like a flowing mass of mercury, constantly flowing and spreading outwards.

A cold, silvery halo swept across the fully armed Githyanki warships and the glaring astral projection of Velakis, causing both to vanish as quietly as dew on flower petals.

Vairakis's orange-yellow astral projection struggled for a moment in Serene's divine moonlight before reappearing from another shadow. This time, however, Vairakis's projection was less than one percent the size of Serene. She asked in shock and anger, "What have you done, Serene!"

“I didn’t hurt them, I just sent them home.” Serene’s glowing eyes no longer focused on the Lich Queen, who was like an ant, but instead gazed intently at the distant, shadowy void. “Leave. The battle that follows is not for you to participate in.”

Before Verakis could react, the moonlight condensed in Serene's hands into a silent and invisible magical longsword. The flowing moonlight shimmered on the blade, making it impossible to discern the exact size of this moon blade.

Serene brandished the Moon Blade, capable of cleaving the Milky Way, leaving a silvery-white trail in the desolate sky before striking heavily at the darkest point where the celestial body cast its shadow.

Two short swords with gold trim suddenly appeared in the space that should have been empty, and they clashed with Serene's Moonlight Greatsword.

Unlike ordinary iron, the weapons of the gods did not spark when they collided, but instead produced intense flashes of light and shadow, with golden flames surging.

The astral projection of Vairakis was like a tiny ant in a downpour, instantly blown away by the clash of opposing divine forces to some unknown desolate corner of the universe.

The three weapons from the two gods were locked in a stalemate. The dark goddess, holding a short sword, also appeared from the void and rapidly expanded, soon dividing the entire desolate universe in equal measure with Serene's divine projection.

As shadow and light locked in a stalemate, they gradually dissipated, and some nearby asteroids vanished without a trace, leaving not even dust behind.

"Who gave you the courage to face me, Serene?" Shar's tone was calm yet slightly sarcastic. In her endless battles with Serene, Shar had never shown mercy. Her dark nature was not only directed at her enemies but also at her believers and followers. Therefore, to those who did not understand Shar, the Dark Lady seemed to be the more insane one. But when facing her sister, Shar always managed to maintain her composure, manipulating Serene's emotions to gain the upper hand in the battle. Whether it was during the turbulent year when the gods were banished to the mortal realm by the supreme god Eo, or in the many battles, large and small, that followed, Shar was always the goddess who prevailed.

"Take your malice and leave my domain, Shar." Serene's moonsword shone brightly, attempting to overwhelm the sisters' shadows with its radiance.

The short sword that Shar crossed above her head smoothly avoided Serene's powerful attack, and dodged the surging moonlight that stretched like the Milky Way. The moonlight, extending into the boundless void, turned some unfortunate celestial bodies into silver stardust, adding more stars to the dark void.

“What a pity.” Shar didn’t seem to have any intention of retaliating. “I didn’t come here to see you today.”

The Dark Lady's half-mask turned towards the onlookers, whose pirate ship wreckage seemed like a sesame seed in a sea of ​​stars before the two true gods.

Ivy, who felt the gaze of the god, did not panic. Instead, she took two steps forward and stood in front of Shadowheart, whose body was constantly burning with silvery-white holy flames.

"Our wager hasn't produced a winner yet, are you already tired of it, Shar?" Ivy asked, raising her voice. The clash between two true gods was enough to silence the bravest man in the world, but for Ivy, who had witnessed the true form of the One God Ilúvatar, this scene was not enough to put her mind at a standstill. "I thought that you, who could endure endless loneliness, would not be defeated by this little bit of noise from mortals."

"No matter how much mortals speculate, they cannot see my true self." Faced with Ivy's provocation, Shar neither got angry nor took the bait, but continued to answer in a calm tone, "You have come to the void where I was born, a place that has been tainted by the radiance ignited by my sisters, but I can still decide whether you, a mortal, stay or go."

“They are protected by my radiance, and even you cannot openly disobey Aio’s instructions and go back on your word in a bet with a mortal.” Serene’s appearance changed again, and she had now become a frail old woman, her thick black hair turned into striped gray. She stood in front of Ivy and Shadowheart, blocking Shar’s prying eyes.

"I never agreed to this bet—"

Before Shar could finish her self-justification, an angry soprano voice rang out again in the desolate space where light and darkness were clearly distinguished.

The water, which should not exist in such a large quantity in the desolate universe, suddenly surged and churned, forming a blue-green female body. She wore a top made of seashells and a purple cloak woven from jellyfish. Her fingertips had sharp claws, her elbows had fins, her eyes shone with a pearly white luster, and her hair was made of living seaweed.

"You stole my faith, corrupted my divine power, and harmed my priests, and you still think I know nothing? Is that so, you despicable hag?" Ambori's large hand, made of waves, held a monster shadow struggling incessantly in the water prison. It was none other than the great hag Black Mawen, who had been swept into some unknown corner earlier.

After the demigod Velakis, the Silver Mother Serene, and the Dark Lady Shar, a fourth being with divine power has appeared.

The sudden change attracted the attention of the two great gods. Realizing something was wrong, Ambori turned around and saw that the sisters who divided the universe into light and darkness were staring intently at her.

Ambori's divine power comes from the ocean of the world of Toril. Within the framework of Aion's rules, using priests and followers as pawns, he could still fight against the two ancient goddesses. But in the desolate space where there are almost no constraints, putting them against each other is like an old man eating poison—he's tired of living.

Ambori, who had intended to use his divine power to win over adventurers, stopped wasting words and quickly crushed the legendary creature, the Great Witch, in his hand, disappearing with a splash.

"What a downer," Shar muttered, interrupted by Ambori, no longer intending to escalate the conflict with her sisters.

They are both the oldest deities in the world of Toril, and their primordial war has continued since the beginning of the world. If they were to truly clash, it is very possible that they could alter the positions of various celestial bodies in the Toril universe.

Destroying a few asteroids that can't be observed from the ground might be of little concern to God Io, but if he recklessly shatters the Tears of Serenne into pieces, or creates a few more suns, then God Io's righteous iron fist will surely strike him on the head.

Ultimately, the entire kingdom and the heavens are under his jurisdiction. It's just that the influence on mortals in the Wilderness System is relatively small, so he doesn't bother to manage it, but that doesn't mean he really doesn't care.

It's one thing to crush a few ant-like mortals, but to actually fight Serene's true form would definitely attract Aio's attention.

Knowing full well that Selenne was determined to protect these mortals, Shar decided not to pursue the matter any further.

The shadows that shrouded the desolate sky receded rapidly, about to disappear in the blink of an eye.

A point of silver light transformed into a spear, piercing deeply into the curse mark left by Shar on the back of Shadowheart's hand.

This time, it was Selenne who was relentless.

“You have been doing as you please for far too long, Shar.” Serene’s voice was righteous and awe-inspiring, like that of a saint with a heart for the world. “I will never allow you to poison my child!”

Ivy nodded to herself; it seemed Shadowheart would no longer be troubled by Shar's curse. Although having that kind of romantic relationship with a goddess sounded impressive, Ivy always felt a chill run down her spine when it came to actually doing it.

"I will be with this loving couple and personally oversee the revenge against you until their lives end and they ascend into my divine kingdom!"

Wait a minute? This isn't right, is it?

(End of this chapter)