For the next few days, Edward didn't return to the villa in the Empress Borough. Instead, he switched hotels in different areas daily, and Megose didn't come knocking again.
In the meantime, he paid Audrey a visit and briefly told her about the situation with Megose. Audrey was utterly stunned—so the blasphemer who had thrown Backlund into chaos was actually you?
And you did all that…just to report an evil god?
She imagined herself in the same scenario. If one day, Mr. Fool had his own church and someone came in the middle of the night to smash its windows, she would definitely see it as an act of desecration.
But why was the image in her head specifically Edward smashing the windows?
Edward had no idea that Audrey's thoughts had slipped onto a banana peel and were sliding further away. He carried all the necessary materials to an abandoned warehouse in the East Borough, preparing to summon his own messenger.
After arranging the herbs and essential oils, he lit the candle symbolizing himself. The surrounding air instantly became hazy with a mystical aura.
"What requirements should my messenger meet?"
"Hmm, first and foremost, speed is crucial. A messenger must be efficient. Then, it needs to be capable of communication. Otherwise, if it doesn't understand me and I don't understand it, that would be a complete joke. Lastly, it should have a certain level of self-defence—sometimes, it might need to deliver valuable items. If it attracts the attention of other spirit world entities, it should at least have the ability to resist."
With his thoughts settled, Edward took a step back and chanted in Ancient Hermes:
"I!
I summon in my name:
A spirit wandering the illusory realms, a friendly creature that can be commanded, a powerful speedster adept at communication."
A sharp, whistling wind arose. A layer of silver-white spread over the candle, and an eerie chill rapidly radiated outward from the flame. Then, the air before him shimmered, forming a faint membrane. A small, otter-like silver creature emerged from it.
It's here!
Edward was just about to speak when a shadow of indiscernible form appeared behind the "otter." It immediately reacted as if it had seen a ghost—its body blurred abruptly, and it vanished in an instant.
Everything returned to normal.
"What just happened? Did it get scared away? What was that shadow?"
He waited in place for several minutes, but the 'otter' never returned. With no other choice, he dismissed the summoning.
"The ritual itself should be fine…but something seems off with the summoning process. Let's try again."
Edward adjusted his incantation, simplifying his requirements:
"I!
I summon in my name:
A spirit wandering the illusory realms, a friendly creature that can be commanded, an adept speedster capable of communication."
A low hum echoed as the candle flame flared dramatically, radiating a surge of warmth. Suddenly, a tiny black claw appeared out of thin air—
But then, the shadow returned. The unknown spirit-world creature, which had just revealed its claw, instantly retracted it with a whoosh and vanished.
"Oh, come on! What is happening?"
Edward's wand, hidden in his sleeve, slid into his palm. He pointed it at the shadow and said, "Esteemed friend of the spirit world, I merely wish to summon a messenger. Please, be merciful."
The retreating shadow grew more distinct, and soon, the air shimmered as the thin membrane was torn apart. A bird, black as a raven, emerged, trailing long, ethereal afterimages as it circled Edward before landing on a nearby shelf.
"Eh?"
Edward suddenly noticed that the bird was holding something very familiar in its beak—
Wait, no! That was his wand!
When did it take that?!
The blackbird tilted its head back and tossed the wand into the air. Then, it opened its beak and swallowed the wand whole.
"Whoa, wait—!"
Crunch, crunch. That was the sound of it chewing.
Burp. That was the sound of it belching.
Snap. That was the sound of Edward's heartbreaking.
The wand that had accompanied Edward for over three years was gone—devoured, just like that.
Though he had never fully believed Ollivander's grand claims about wands, over time, this wand had become second nature to him. Its weight, balance, and the way it fit in his hand were all deeply ingrained in his muscle memory.
No wonder people said a wizard's wand was like their lover…or their wife.
For a moment, Edward wanted to cry but had no tears. Yet, he didn't dare to get angry at the mysterious bird. After all, he had technically summoned a "friendly creature." But if it was able to scare off the previous two messengers…it didn't seem all that friendly.
And without his wand, his combat ability was basically reduced to that of a goose.
After hesitating for a while, he asked cautiously, "So…are you here to apply for the position of my messenger?"
The blackbird nodded and chirped excitedly. Then, a genderless voice echoed directly in Edward's mind:
"Yes."
Edward pondered for a moment. "Hmm, your speed is definitely impressive…Communication isn't an issue…Self-defence seems decent too…"
Looking at it objectively, this black bird seemed like a perfect choice.
But could he really trust something that showed up so…proactively?
Edward cleared his throat. "Ahem…If I were to summon another messenger, would you just scare it away again?"
Without hesitation, the bird nodded.
Alright! You're honest!
You win!
Edward sighed. "Fine. Would you be willing to sign a contract to officially become my messenger?"
"Yes. But every time you summon me, you must offer me a stick like the one before."
"Huh?"
At first, Edward had thought it ate his wand in retaliation for being pointed at. But now, it seemed like…it just wanted to eat wands?
He recalled the painful moment of watching his wand disappear down the bird's throat. His heart ached.
But what's so delicious about a wand?!
And at the rate of one wand per summon, even Reinette, an angel, would be a cheaper messenger! Plus, he couldn't even make the recipient pay for it—because no one else had wands!
Edward shook his head. "Sorry, but I don't have that many wands. So I can't—"
Before he could finish, the blackbird interjected:
"Every two summons…one wand."
…Wait, it can negotiate?
Edward immediately threw out his counteroffer: "Twenty summons, one wand."
The bird flared its wings, puffing up in a show of intimidation, and shrieked, "No!"
"Fifteen?"
It kept its wings spread and continued its loud protests. "No!"
"Ten?"
"..."
"Five times, five times per wand, or you might as well leave."
The blackbird paced back and forth impatiently, flapping its wings every now and then. Finally, it fixed its black eyes on Edward and glared at him fiercely. "Fine."
Edward took out the contract he had prepared, written in ancient Hermes, and signed his name. Then he handed the pen to the bird. "Uh, can you write?"
The bird hopped forward, pressed its claw onto the signature line, and left behind a bright red footprint. Immediately, eerie green flames ignited, rapidly engulfing the parchment. Within seconds, the contract burned to ashes.
"The next time you summon me, I want my payment in advance."
"But you just ate my wand!"
The blackbird ignored him. Its form blurred instantly and retreated into the candlelight.
Edward let out a long breath. He stared at his empty hands, a sudden bitterness washing over him. Memories of his lost wand surfaced—was this what it felt like to be…widowed?
"Damn it, I just wanted to summon a messenger. How did I end up losing my wand? And there's not even a chance of repairing it."
Wizards in Harry Potter could cast spells without wands or incantations, but even Dumbledore's magic was weaker without a wand. As for Edward, the only spells he could reliably cast wandlessly were Accio and Depulso.
"Ugh, no point dwelling on it. I'll just use one of the wands I confiscated from those Dark wizards."
Edward dismissed the Spiritual Wall and began packing up the remaining ritual materials. Just then—
Creak!
The warehouse door swung open.
A chill ran down his spine. Before performing the ritual, he had cast Repelling Charm on the warehouse. Anyone who could bypass it had to be a Beyonder!
He hurriedly reached into his pouch for a wand, but his body suddenly froze—he couldn't move a single finger.
Footsteps echoed as the intruder stepped into the warehouse. The sunlight behind them stretched their shadow long, creeping toward Edward until it swallowed him whole.
It was…
Megose!
Her again!
But it was daytime now—hadn't she always appeared at night? Wait, why did he even assume she only acted at night?
"Found you."
Megose's stomach had grown even larger. She gently caressed her belly, her face filled with a loving smile as she walked toward him, step by step.
"Why do you keep running from me?"
"Why!!"
Her voice suddenly sharpened. She furiously yanked out a handful of her own hair, her expression twisting into something grotesque.
"I… I don't know."
Edward forced the words out with difficulty. "Don't get the wrong idea. If you have something to say, you can say it now."
Megose paused briefly. "I'm looking for you? I don't know…" She stroked her stomach. "It's the baby that wants to find you."
"The baby…"
As she spoke, a slit appeared across her swollen belly. No blood spilt out. Instead, a thin black arm stretched from the wound, its palm revealing a single, eerie eye.
The True Creator!
Edward's hair stood on end. He bit his tongue hard, breaking the paralysis, and immediately flung a large crate at Megose.
At the same time, he yanked a wand from his pouch and—without hesitation—attempted Apparition.
But it failed.
"I knew Apparition wasn't foolproof!"
Edward quickly cast Protego on himself before unleashing a barrage of spells—Stupefy, Impedimenta, Incendio, Petrificus Totalus—all while dodging past Megose toward the exit.
Megose clearly had no combat experience. At first, she dodged instinctively thanks to the entity inside her, but soon she gave up entirely, charging forward with reckless abandon. One of her arms morphed into a pale bone blade, slashing through Edward's magic as she advanced.
However, she wasn't completely impervious to damage. Wounds continued to open across her body—though they healed just as quickly.
Waaah!
A baby's cry echoed through the air.
Edward felt like he'd been struck over the head. Dizziness, suffocation, nausea—all hit him at once. His legs wobbled, and he nearly collapsed.
"Don't run!!"
Megose shrieked hysterically and leapt toward him, bone blade raised high.
"Sectumsempra!"
Slash!
Pouring nearly all his spirituality into the spell, Edward's Sectumsempra cleaved Megose cleanly in half at the waist. Her two halves fell to the ground.
But she wasn't dead.
From the severed torso, countless wriggling, slimy tendrils sprouted, rapidly pulling the halves back together. The grotesque process was over in mere seconds.
Waaah!
A second wail rang out.
The black infant had crawled further out of Megose's abdomen. Its eerie, single eye stared at Edward.
"Ugh—!"
Edward coughed up a mouthful of blood. His vision blurred with red. His throat felt like it was being squeezed shut—he couldn't breathe. His consciousness was slipping.
"Rennervate!"
He cast a Reviving Charm on himself, barely clinging to wakefulness. Then, using the last dregs of his spirituality, he roared—
"Bombarda Maxima!"
"Fiendfyre!"
"Avada Kedavra!"
BOOM!
As Edward sprinted out of the warehouse, explosions and cursed flames engulfed the entire structure. The docks trembled from the blast.
"Protego!"
With barely a second to spare before the shockwave hit, Edward shielded himself. Even so, the force sent him flying over ten meters into the air.
As he plummeted, his body twisted—
And vanished.
———
[Empress Borough, Edward's Villa]
Thud!
Edward crashed onto the floor, demolishing a table and several chairs in the process.
"Haah…Haah…Haah…!"
He panted heavily. Everything in his vision was doubled, blurry. His lungs and throat burned as if set ablaze from prolonged suffocation.
It took a long while before he regained some clarity. He groped around and found a brass kettle, gulping down the remaining half of its contents.
"So close…just a little more…"
He tossed the kettle aside, intending to rest. But then—
A heavy weight pressed down on both his shoulders.
Like something had latched onto him.
Edward turned his head—
And locked eyes with a black, one-eyed infant.
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.