Chapter 283: The Tool to Save the World

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"Do you have any desire to save the world, Harry Potter?" 

"Save the world? What do you mean?" 

The topic shifted abruptly. Just a second ago, Seti had been talking to Harry about why he had passed the trial. Now, without warning, he had jumped straight to the main subject of the day. 

Harry was caught off guard by the question, momentarily stunned. But before he could process it further, Seti continued. 

"But not in the way you're thinking—not as some hero swooping in to save the world. Personal heroism is absolute garbage. If the fate of the world ever hinges on a single individual wielding brute force, then that world might as well be doomed." 

"To put it more precisely—do you have the mindset of becoming a tool, a weapon, to save the world?" 

Seti gave Harry a deep, piercing look before continuing. "I wonder if you've noticed—the very existence of the Awakened Wizards was because the world needed enforcers, so we were created. In the past, when ordinary spellcasters could barely slow the Abyss's invasion but couldn't stop it completely, it was the tools known as the Awakened who seized the Abyss by the throat. They possessed unmatched power, capable of accomplishing feats beyond imagination. And yet, records of their existence are scarce." 

"I can assure you—this isn't due to some deliberate cover-up. It's because every single Awakened chose to live in the shadows, no matter what they had done." 

Seti tapped his own chest. If the things he had done were ever exposed, then so-called Dark Lords like Voldemort and Grindelwald would look like mere street thugs in comparison. No Dark Wizard in history had ever been as ruthless and decisive in slaughter as he was. The phrase 'wiping out an entire bloodline over a single offense' was not just a saying when it came to him—it was a reality. 

And yet, despite the blood-soaked trail he had left behind, despite being a figure who could be considered the epitome of evil, his name had never spread through Hogwarts. Many wizards had seen the remnants left by the Awakened, but not a single one had ever truly understood what they had done. The Awakened—these ultimate, overpowered "players" of the world—had always remained hidden in the fog, unseen by those within it. 

"The world itself helps conceal them, doesn't it?" Harry murmured, completing the thought Seti had left unsaid. Now, he was starting to understand. 

"That's right. The world covers for us. After all, we are its tools. It's only fair we get some employee benefits," Seti said with a small laugh. "But that's not the point. The real question is—" 

"Do you want to become such a tool?" 

"The disappearance of the Awakened means only one thing—that the Abyssal disturbances that began over a decade ago no longer pose an irreversible threat to this world. Compared to the war against the Abyssal Demon Gods a thousand years ago, the current situation isn't severe enough for the world to nurture new Awakened." 

"Of course, this is just a hypothesis—a guess based on the observations of the Awakened before us. The creation of beings like us is a massive instability for the world, as we share a fragment—however broken and incomplete—of its fundamental power, its very authority." 

"Only in times of absolute necessity are we—the ultimate enforcers—unleashed to fight for this world." 

"But—" 

Seti's tone suddenly shifted. "Just because something doesn't threaten the world doesn't mean it's harmless to us." 

"There's an old saying: 'Heaven and earth are ruthless, treating all things as mere straw dogs.' To the world, as long as its own existence isn't at risk, it doesn't care who or what lives upon it. Whether it's dinosaurs in the past or monkeys jumping around now, it makes no real difference. But for us—that difference is everything." 

"The Abyss's impact on the world may be limited, but our predecessors truly wounded it. The three thousand Awakened—agents of the world's will—wielded the power to bring about true annihilation. Back then, they slaughtered a nascent entity—a seven-fold manifestation of the Abyss's will itself. That was as close to destroying the Abyss as anyone had ever come. And unless such a catastrophic threat appears again—one that endangers the world itself—no matter how apocalyptic a disaster might seem for humanity, no new Awakened will ever be born to turn the tide." 

"But that tool of salvation—the power to save the world—is exactly what we need now." 

"The Abyss isn't the only threat, Harry. There's another world beyond it." 

Seti retrieved an alchemical briefcase. As the mechanical components inside clicked into motion, the highly secured case unlocked. Behind a protective layer of transparent magical crystal lay a carefully preserved fragment of metal. 

"This is a piece we recovered fifteen years ago. It doesn't belong to the Abyss but comes from a world connected to it. Though the fragment doesn't tell us much, we do know one thing for certain—this world has achieved a highly advanced fusion of magic and technology." 

"They've succeeded in integrating reality-warping magic with science—the pursuit of natural laws—seamlessly. The two forces coexist, complementing each other without interference." 

"We have no idea what method they used, but what we do know is that it's something completely beyond our reach. Even now, we are still unable to resolve the immense conflict between magic—an inherently chaotic force that distorts reality—and technology, which depends on the stability of natural laws." 

"The Abyssal upheaval that happened over a decade ago was most likely the result of a 'collision'—a point of contact between the Abyss and that unknown civilization. What we don't know is whether the Abyss invaded that world or if that world launched a counterattack against the Abyss, just as we once did." 

"My guess leans toward the latter. But it's just that—a guess. Regardless of which is true, there's one thing we must grasp in order to face what's coming." 

"And that is the power to decide the battle's outcome. 

"Fortunately, we happen to have such a power—one that can obliterate all obstacles, a force meant for blood-soaked warfare between worlds." 

"The Awakened!" 

The aged Seti spread his withered fingers, and within his palm, his Awakened magic condensed into a black sphere, a miniature cosmos speckled with countless stars. Though his body was frail, one foot already stepping into the grave, his power still surpassed ninety-nine percent of the world's spellcasters. Holding that sphere, it was as if he held the entire world itself. 

"You should know—the power of the Awakened is not inherited through blood. The children of Awakened parents may be talented spellcasters, but they will never inherit even a trace of their parents' Awakened magic." 

Seti was certain that Daenerys would have already told Harry this. That chatty Sun Dragon Queen—he knew her well. She was one of the few natural beings whose power approached that of the Awakened. As an elemental lifeform, she was one of magic's most beloved children, born with an innately high level of authority over power itself—second only to the Awakened of the highest rank. 

"Though this power cannot be passed through blood, that doesn't mean it cannot be passed down at all." 

"To be honest, what your mother did back then..." Seti's gaze locked onto Harry, a deep confusion flickering in his eyes. "We've attempted similar methods before, but without exception, every attempt has led to the same result." 

"The successor's soul is destroyed. The Awakened takes over completely." 

"Possession?" Harry blurted out, his eyes widening. "Wait—this is supposed to be a fantasy world! Why are we suddenly talking about cultivation techniques?" 

"Immortals and demons are two sides of the same coin," Seti said with a shrug, as if the answer was obvious. "But this is still different from true possession." 

"Did you know that the Awakened tend to have short lifespans?" 

At these words, Harry instinctively gave Seti a once-over. 

"I'm an exception," Seti waved a hand dismissively, as if to brush off the thought. "I brought this upon myself. Otherwise, I would have lived a solid two hundred years, no problem." 

"Most Awakened only live about two centuries. Compared to our power, our lifespans are absurdly short. It might sound ridiculous to you, but the reason we don't live long isn't because we aren't strong enough—it's because we're too strong. Once an Awakened 'liberates' themselves and gains clarity of mind, their power begins to grow indefinitely over time. 

"But unlike our ever-expanding power, our bodies have a hard limit—a point beyond which they cannot continue to strengthen." 

"In today's era, the Awakened are fundamentally different from those of a thousand years ago. Our immense power crushes our own bodies. Every Awakened now dies by their own hand." 

"If even our original bodies cannot withstand this power, do you think borrowing someone else's would work any better?" 

Seti extended his hand, pushing the cosmic sphere toward Harry. "Hold this. Don't drop it." 

"Wh—" 

Before Harry could finish his sentence, a powerful force yanked him forward. The sheer weight of the sphere—despite his own considerable strength—nearly slipped from his grasp. It was nothing more than pure, condensed magic with no inherent spell effects, yet its density was staggering. 

"Fifteen tons." Seti took the sphere back from Harry with ease. "This small amount of magic, once solidified, weighs fifteen tons. And this? This is less than one ten-thousandth of my total magic." 

"If power had weight, then my total strength would be around two hundred thousand tons. Tell me, what kind of body in this world could possibly contain such mass without collapsing?" 

"The fact that you're still alive and standing here, Harry, is nothing short of a miracle—an unrepeatable, one-in-a-million miracle. 

"We can only guess that when your mother awakened, she was too weak. That's why, when she transferred her soul into your body to protect you, the power didn't crush your own soul. You survived, but only by sheer, improbable luck." 

"Your case is an anomaly—a miracle that cannot be replicated. But that doesn't mean it's impossible to achieve something similar." 

"I've found a way to transplant a portion of the Awakened's power. And Anan—he is my disciple, the inheritor of the power once wielded by the Sword Immortal, Li Bai." 

"And now—" 

"Harry, are you willing to become the tool that saves this world?" 

Seti gazed at Harry with a calm, unwavering expression, asking the final question that would decide everything. 

(End of Chapter)