From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 579 Paradox
Since selecting Legendary Spellcasting in her feats, Ivy has become a mage capable of researching legendary spells on her own.

In fact, Ivy's ability to research spells beyond the norm was not obtained through the Grimoire of Destruction.

Even back when the Grimoire of Destruction was still the "Wizards' Handbook" created by the Hogwarts professors, Ivy already possessed the ability to use dark magic far beyond that of ordinary people.

By using curses to create markings on targets, and then letting the Killing Curse jump between different targets along the curse markings, the goal of area-of-effect damage can be achieved.

Although the steps were somewhat cumbersome and the effects weren't particularly powerful, the casting logic relied on a level of understanding of dark magic far beyond that of ordinary people. It was only when Ivy simplified the casting steps of "Chain Gnawing" in the world of Alda, turning it into a spell with the effects of instant death and soul stealing on multiple targets, that Ivy's research talent finally blossomed.

He called that spell "Doom's Death Grip," and its effects far exceeded those of a ninth-ring spell in the D&D universe, falling outside the realm of conventional standards.

After selecting the Legendary feat of Legendary Spellcasting, Ivy quickly figured out how to transform her original spells into Legendary spells.

For Ivy, conducting magical research or creating spells was incredibly addictive. Freely wielding magic or meticulously studying spellbooks borrowed from the library were his favorite ways to pass the time.

After completing the legendary version of Doom's Death Grip, Ivy was not satisfied and began researching another legendary spell.

The inspiration for this spell came from the headmaster of Strelhaven... or rather, his spokesperson?
In short, the Holy Decree of Stryhaven is considered to be among the most intelligent and talented people in the world of Akavievo, and they were entrusted by the five founding dragons with the responsibility of ensuring that magic is used for good.

This responsibility is inextricably linked to the magic university of Striaton and the Striaton Vortex that hovers beneath the Moden Pavilion.

And the Stryhaven Vortex is the most powerful and core source of magic in the mixed spacetime of Akavievo.

Therefore, once the sacred edict and Stryhaven are linked, they themselves become inseparable from this strange space-time.

After Ivy officially received Stryhaven's letter of appointment, he had a very brief conversation with Stryhaven's current oracle, Jacques.

It mentions the extremely unique spacetime structure of Akavievo. As beings deeply connected to this world, the souls of the Holy Edicts return to the distant past after their death, to the very beginning of time in the world of Akavievo, when immense magical power first erupted in the void. And when the world of Akavievo is fully born, the Holy Edict's own soul and memories are reborn in the form of an Ancient Traveler.

Although the Ancient Traveler's birth occurred after the death of the Holy Edict himself, during the Holy Edict's own life, he and the Ancient Traveler, created by his own soul, lived under the same sky.

The appearance of two "I"s at a single point in time may seem like a time paradox, but both the Holy Decree and the Ancient Traveler have clever ways to avoid the real paradox from occurring.

The seemingly contradictory spacetime structure still operates smoothly, just like a magical vortex with opposite properties yet perfectly integrated, which is as fascinating as that.

One bug is a bug, but a bunch of bugs can cause problems.

Despite being filled with opposition and contradictions, Akavivo did not collapse; instead, it developed into an extremely prosperous magical civilization.

The reason why the Holy Edict Jaqi told Ivy the secrets concerning the stability of spacetime in Akevivo was not because he wanted Ivy to take over the position of Holy Edict, but because Ivy possessed magic that could stop the operation of time within a certain range.

When Ivy used time stop to pull out a large number of explosives and bombard the Titan of No Foot, the Holy Edict Jaqi had already noticed him.

The conversation with Ivy was precisely to warn him to use less of spells that could potentially cause the collapse of the spacetime structure of Akevivo.

The contradictory spacetime of Akavievo has been operating for countless years. Although the possibility of Ivy abusing time stop and causing it to collapse is very low, the duty of the Holy Decree is to minimize this risk, which is why Ivy was given the opportunity to understand the characteristics of the Akavievo spacetime.

It was because of this conversation that Ivy conceived an extremely audacious legendary spell.

He called it a paradox.

The theory of the spell is very simple and easy to understand: by recreating the unique spacetime structure of Akavivo within oneself, one can banish the "present" to the distant "future".

In Ivy's vision, this legendary spell would be equivalent to a permanent status refresh effect, taking effect when the caster suffers an irreversible fatal injury or completely loses the ability to cast spells, achieving the effect of refreshing the status by swapping the order of the present and the future.

In short, if we compare Ivy's life to a movie composed of countless segments, then this spell, which is still in the theoretical verification stage, is like the editor's hand. It will pick out the segments where Ivy is injured and disabled, throw them after the credits have finished rolling, and then replace them with brand new segments where Ivy is in full condition.

Because the Holy Decree Jaci believed that Akevivo's spacetime structure might not be able to withstand the test, Ivy never had the opportunity to verify her ideas.

In Toril, a place teeming with gods and Buddhas, and where world-destroying events occur every now and then, Ivy believed that experimenting with magic shouldn't be considered a heinous crime.

Therefore, he harbored the idea of ​​completing the "paradox".

However, this idea changed after he obtained the Almanac of Calthus and fully analyzed the Divine Ascension.

He was no longer content with completing the "paradox," but ambitiously proposed another possible spell.

As a soul from the 21st century, Ivy knows that spacetime is likely not continuous and smooth. Based on this quantum mechanical conjecture, which is very versatile in the field of artistic creation, a concept called "parallel universe" has become popular all over the world.

Thanks to his knowledge of magic in this world, Ivy knows that "parallel universes" may not just be a concept or hypothesis, but a very likely objective reality.

Now, Ivy is preparing to use her knowledge of spacetime magic, the Netheril arcane left behind by Karthus, her understanding of the deconstruction of the Faerûn gods' power, and the Supreme God shaped by the conspiracy of the Three Death Gods, to conduct a great magical experiment that is unprecedented and will never be repeated.

He wants to use the power of the supreme god to explore other possibilities for himself in parallel universes, and gather them all into himself to become the only existence in the multiverse.

In fact, Ivy wasn't sure if this "multi-dimensional uniqueness" level truly existed, nor could he imagine what such a level of existence should look like.

But isn't magic all about exploring the unknown?

The Destruction Orb hidden deep within Gale's body released a greedy light, completely illuminating this genius mage from Waterdeep.

Pure arcane light burst forth from Gale's face, and his body quickly disintegrated into pieces and vanished without a trace due to the greedy fragments of the magical net.

As the embodiment of the magic network of the world of Toril, the goddess of magic, Mystra, would never allow the creation of a loser to threaten the entire magic network. Therefore, the destiny she wrote for Gale was to sacrifice herself to destroy the Netherbrain and, at the same time, completely destroy all the creations left behind when Karthus ascended to godhood. However, Ivy would not allow such a waste to happen before his eyes. As someone who was very familiar with the entire process of Karthus' ascension to godhood, he not only used the Netherstone in his hand to control the Netherbrain wearing the crown of Karthus, but also used the supreme divine power possessed by the Netherbrain to prevent the explosion of the Destruction Orb.

For Ivy, the undeified god Netherbrain was a very useful energy amplifier.

Its highly developed brain tissue can quickly comprehend the magical knowledge transmitted by Ivy, and its superior intelligence completely compensates for the information loss that occurs during the transmission of this knowledge. Furthermore, as the egg of a god with countless fanatical followers, the divine power possessed by the Nether brain can perfectly replace the consumption required for any type of spell.

When the light of the Destruction Orb became a second sun in the sky, spreading the brilliance of arcane magic across the world, Ivy's exploration of parallel universes and her own countless possibilities officially began.

Countless choices and branches unfolded before him. If he hadn't used his Nether brain to understand everything, Ivy might have been overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information the moment he completed the spell, just like Karthus.

Even when using the vast and boundless divine power of the Supreme God to explore the multiverse, Ivy quickly began to feel that he could not continue, but it was absolutely impossible for him to stop the process.

This is a process even more addictive than casting magic; for Ivy, countless possibilities are right before her eyes, even within reach.

What he gave up was merely the fruit of the conspiracy of the three gods of death, but what he gained was knowledge far beyond the comprehension of ordinary gods.

To prevent this process from stopping easily, he threw out Baal's divine power crystal, the shield that sealed the Ten Lords of Hell, the followers of the Supreme God, the Mind Flayers that hovered around Netherbrain, and even Netherbrain itself...

When everything that could provide divine power was exhausted, Ivy finally awoke from the infinite possibilities of parallel universes.

He looked up and saw that this was no longer the continent of Faerûn, and the Baldur's Gate beneath his feet was no longer engulfed in flames.

This is a space surrounded by countless stars, with dust as thin as a dream wandering in the sea of ​​stars, and ever-changing auroras shuttling through every corner—this is not the desolate expanse of Toril, but the outer astral plane.

However, Ivy did not see any celestial bodies in this astral space where she could stand.

He raised his arm and was astonished to find that every inch of his skin was shimmering with the pure radiance of arcane magic, just like the light that burst forth when the Orb of Destruction devoured the fragments of the magic net.

"What exactly did you do, mage?" A voluptuous woman with a beautiful face appeared before Ivy. She was dressed in a magnificent silk robe, the silver threads of which shimmered with an even deeper arcane light.

Ivy saw divinity in her, and magical power far exceeding that of Karthus's broken magic net creation. He was certain that the woman before him was Mystra, the third generation of the goddess of magic in Toril.

"You are the goddess of magic, and I'm still waiting for your answer!" Ivy looked expectantly at the goddess who represented Toril's magic itself. "Was my spell successful?"

Mystra pursed her lips, and Ivy saw a hint of reluctance on her face: "Your magic didn't use the magic net, so I don't know what kind of magic you cast... If you really did cast a spell—what's the worst that could happen?"

"Uh—" Ivy hadn't really thought about this question. Although he had conducted an unprecedented magical experiment with the mindset of "killing without burying", he really didn't know what consequences this magic would cause.

In short, he merely glanced at a parallel universe through the eyes of the Supreme God and then extrapolated those possibilities to himself. If this magic had truly unfolded as he envisioned in the best-case scenario, he should already be omnipotent by now.

Ivy clenched her fingers. Apart from becoming a little brighter, there seemed to be no other significant changes. The parallel universe information that flashed past her eyes was like a dream, and nothing was left. Even the otherworldly magical knowledge that Ivy craved most was rapidly fading from Ivy's mind.

It seems his magic experiment has failed.

Since we've failed, we should indeed consider the worst-case scenario.

"An imbalance in spacetime structure?" Ivy offered her first hypothesis, since the initial form of this magical experiment originated from the unique spacetime structure of Akavivo.

Mystra's face darkened.

Ivy rubbed her chin and said again, "A large number of alternate dimension counterparts have appeared? My counterpart?"

“I’m asking about the Supreme God, and the creations left behind by Karthus!” Mystra stared intently at Ivy’s face, as if ready to fight at the slightest provocation. “Their power should not be wielded by mortals.”

“Don’t worry.” Ivy waved her hand. “I have no urgent need to become a god. In my magical experiment design, the Supreme God, that is, the Nether Brain, was originally just a consumable. Since you can’t find it, it must have been completely consumed by my magical experiments.”

“You’re too dangerous, mage.” Mystra’s expression softened slightly, but she immediately warned Ivy, “I want you to understand this: the goddess of magic has the ability to sever your connection to the magic network. If your magical experiments harm it, you will incur the wrath of a true god! And He will certainly not betray His name.”

"Relax, Goddess of Magic." Ivy waved his hand dismissively. According to Toril's rules, gods cannot directly interfere with the fate of mortals. As long as Ivy doesn't pose a significant threat to the safety of the Magic Network, the Goddess of Magic won't do anything to him. "Faerun and the Magic Network are both fine, and besides..."

"Moreover, he is the hero who saved Baldur's Gate, and even our entire world!" The figure of another deity emerged from the shimmering golden light. He was a robust young man with unforgettable golden skin and youthful vitality that almost burned the eyes of others.

“Losanda,” the goddess of magic called out the newcomer’s name, “one thing at a time… and besides, we don’t yet know what his motives are. Magic is a very dangerous power, and its unrestrained use will only bring disaster. We must—”

"But he saved Faerûn, that's an undeniable fact!" The tall, golden-skinned deity strode up to Ivy, grabbed his hand, and shook it vigorously. "Look at all the miracles you've performed! You thwarted the plot of the Three Death Gods, defeated Melkor's avatar, turned Baal's son into a mortal, toyed with the Black Tyrant Bane, and even gave up the chance to become the Supreme God—and most importantly, you almost ended the fate of the Mastermind with a single shot!"

"I only did a tiny, insignificant thing," Ivy replied modestly.

“If we rashly destroy the main brain, it will cause mind flayers to spread like a plague from Baldur’s Gate, and he—” The Goddess of Magic was interrupted by the Lord of Dawn once again.

"This hero doesn't need preaching, Mystra! He needs a reward!" the golden-skinned youth declared emphatically. "If we can't reward a hero who saved the world, how can we inspire good people to fight for our world?"

"So much time has passed, and we've finally met." Losanda finally released Ivy's hand, looking at him eagerly. "I haven't yet asked your name, hero. You are—"

name?

Ivy was somewhat flattered; he hadn't expected such a powerful deity as the Lord of Dawn to ask the name of a mortal. After all, the three gods of death all used extremely derogatory terms to refer to him. Even the Goddess of Magic only chose the neutral term "mage" to refer to him.

“Ivy Doom,” Ivy replied calmly.

(End of this chapter)