Chapter Summaries

Sean and his friends escaped the Inferi at Voldemort’s lake hideout, then followed a magical chain from Glastonbury to the skybound Glass Island. After the boat’s capacity forced the girls into Sean’s ring, he crossed into Avalon and found himself over a swamp as something enormous rose beneath him.

• Sean revealed that he was Sean Wallop, claimed he had killed Voldemort, and commanded the Inferi to retreat before recognizing Regulus Black from their earlier meeting.
• Daisy gave Regulus a Two-Way Mirror, and the group left him behind to search for Avalon near Glastonbury.
• Sean realized Avalon was reflected in the clouds and used the little boat’s glowing chain to reach Glass Island in the sky.
• When the boat began to sink under the group’s combined weight, Sean sent Hermione, Daisy, and Stephanie into his ring before setting off alone.
• Sean crossed an invisible boundary and arrived above a dark-green swamp, where a huge shadow appeared beneath his boat as the water boiled.

Sean crossed the poisonous swamp toward Avalon, discovering that its enormous guardians attacked whenever they sensed active magic. As a mysterious woman sang and transformed a rotten whale with a drop of clear water, Sean was left overwhelmed by the whale’s song and the loneliness it stirred in him.

• Sean suppressed his magic and let Voldemort’s boat carry him through the swamp while he collected samples of its toxic purple mist.
• Sean discovered that the swamp’s massive guardians reacted to active magic, so he stayed still as the boat carried him past them.
• As the poison worsened, Sean spotted a vast forest ahead and saw the swamp’s creatures gather around the boat.
• Sean plugged his ears against a beautiful song but saw that it came from a woman with a rotten face, who held a Two-Handled Pot.
• Sean recalled Andros’s instructions about Avalon’s water and the guardian’s blood as the woman flicked a clear drop toward a leaping rotten whale.
• The whale caught the drop and transformed into a beautiful one-horned blue whale, whose joyful song filled Sean with loneliness.

Sean crossed the swamp into a forest he learned was Elysium Wonderland, where he and his companions found that the clear stream could not be collected. A talking squirrel called itself the forest’s guardian and told them they had to go deeper to find the lake water.

• Sean watched a woman resurrect a rotting narwhal with clear water before he crossed the swamp’s boundary and saw her transform into a beautiful woman who told him, "I'll wait for you."
• Sean reached the forest shore, cured his poisoning, and let Hermione, Stephanie, and Daisy out of his ring; they could not see the swamp or the woman he described.
• Sean and the three girls followed the glowing chain into the forest but could not remove water from a clear stream, no matter how they tried.
• A gray-blue Little Squirrel revealed that it could speak, named itself the guardian of Elysium Wonderland, and said the group needed to go deeper to find the lake water.

Sean and his companions learned from the Little Squirrel that Avalon’s Lake of Life lay beyond further trials, and that Sean faced a particularly perilous path. The Little Squirrel agreed to guide him alone, saying its instincts told it to help Sean despite their having never become friends.

• Sean learned that the branch stream was reserved for Avalon’s inhabitants and that its water could not be taken away.
• The Little Squirrel recalled seeing Sean with a hostile group during an earlier visit, leading Sean to suspect that another version of himself had come to Avalon in a different Timeline.
• The Little Squirrel identified itself as the guardian of Elysium Wonderland and said a guard at the Swamp of Degradation had taught Sean his animal-attracting ability.
• The Little Squirrel explained that the Lake of Life could be taken only after visitors passed the trials, including the Peak of Soul’s Return, where Sean’s many choices could lead him into danger.
• Stephanie persuaded the Little Squirrel to help them, but it said it could only assist Sean and joined him on his shoulder.

Sean and the three girls reached the boundary of the Peak of Soul's Return, where each entered alone after exchanging heartfelt confessions with Sean. Sean then crossed the boundary and found himself in the body of his seven-year-old self, preparing to attend a banquet with his father, Allen Wallop.

• The Little Squirrel warned Sean that the Peak of Soul's Return was dangerous and explained that people near it could only speak what was truly in their hearts.
• Hermione, Daisy, and Stephanie each received private instructions from the Little Squirrel before entering the Peak alone, and Sean confessed that he liked each of them.
• Several mysterious women carrying antique kettles discussed Sean's return, their repeated failures, and whether they should help him again.
• Sean crossed the boundary and appeared as a young child in a formal suit, while the Little Squirrel's guidance instructed him to follow his heart and promised help at critical choices.
• Allen Wallop arrived and took Sean to a banquet with the mayor's family, leaving Sean puzzled because he did not remember attending such an event as a child.

Inside Peak of Soul's Return, Sean experienced an illusion in which he was an eight-year-old attending a banquet with his family and encountered a black-haired Stephanie. After Lust tried to contact a presence within Sean, Grindelwald appeared with killing intent, leaving Sean facing an abrupt and dangerous turn in the trial.

• Sean discovered that his Ancient Runes Talent had risen to 10+4+5 in the illusion and found runic magic suddenly easy to understand.
• Sean met the mayor's daughter, a black-haired Stephanie whom he recognized as a memory fragment rather than the Stephanie who had entered the illusion.
• Stephanie sensed Sean's magic, took his hand, and let Lust speak to him through her.
• Lust tried to summon her awakened big brother, but Sean showed no response, and a powerful wave of magic interrupted them.
• Grindelwald emerged from the sitting room, and Sean recognized the old man as his teacher's counterpart, whose eyes held killing intent.

Sean relived a Timeline in which he had bonded with Pride as a young child, and Grindelwald came to kill him and Stephanie. Sean fought Grindelwald with powerful magic and prepared a combination of spells as the battle escalated.

• Grindelwald revealed that he had taken over Hogwarts and intended to eliminate the dangers posed by Stephanie’s Lust and Sean’s Pride.
• Grindelwald identified Sean as Sean Wallop and described the extraordinary magical feats he had accomplished as a very young child.
• Sean realized that Pride had been with him since early childhood and that the Timeline showed him relying on Pride like a pocket grandpa.
• Grindelwald attacked with the Elder Wand, but Sean answered with magic that did not come from Sin and countered Grindelwald’s spell with a powerful Killing Curse.
• Sean repeatedly fired Killing Curses at Grindelwald, then cast Protego Diabolica followed by Partis Temporus.

Sean pushed himself to the brink fighting Grindelwald in an illusion, then awakened a deeper understanding of Ancient Magic during a Starry Sky Journey. He escaped with Stephanie to an unfamiliar mountain forest, badly injured but having gained insight into the gap between himself and the greatest wizards.

• Sean challenged Grindelwald with Partis Temporus, but Grindelwald’s Divine Fire Charm overwhelmed him and demanded to know where he had learned the spell.
• Sean used Winter is Here and unleashed Ancient Magic through his Runes Talent, entering a starry vision where ancient voices barred him from going farther.
• Sean returned from the vision, depleted most of his magic, and taunted Grindelwald before escaping with Stephanie despite Grindelwald’s Anti-Apparition Charm.
• Grindelwald suspected Sean was not Sean Wallop and summoned the All Saints after they vanished.
• Sean collapsed in a mountain forest, healed himself, and reflected on the combat lessons and deeper understanding of magic he had gained.

After recovering from Grindelwald’s attack, Sean realized his Magic Affinity was breaking through its limits and confronted Lust through Stephanie. He revealed that Lust and Stephanie were part of an illusion, claimed Love God was beginning to awaken in the real world, and left Lust shaken by his knowledge and threats.

• Sean sensed that his magic had become freer and realized he was breaking through the natural limit of his Magic Affinity.
• Lust warned Stephanie that Sean’s power was transforming and agreed to contact him rather than follow their original plan to devour its brother.
• Sean spoke with Stephanie, confirmed her surname was Ollivander, and asked Lust to come out and talk.
• Sean told Lust that it was an illusory soul and explained that he had not brought Pride’s magic into the illusion.
• Sean revealed that Love God was awakening in the real world and listed ways he could help revive her, including Robin’s feather, the Divine Realm, the ritual of Achieving Godhood again, and the Golden Cup.
• Sean said that every Sin except Pride would have to serve him after Love God’s revival and warned Lust that it had already been placed on his dinner plate.

Sean pressured Lust into revealing the history and purpose of the Sins, learning they guarded the balance between the world’s light and dark sides. Lust explained how Herpo learned of the Realm of Illusion through the Death God, but had not yet revealed the full truth behind the godslaying.

• Sean convinced Lust that he was an illusion and threatened to devour him unless he shared what he knew.
• Lust agreed to talk after Sean promised to separate his True Self consciousness from his power and let him choose a new life.
• Lust revealed that the Sins were created from negative emotions and guarded the balance between the world’s dark and light sides.
• Lust said the Sins except Pride had begun visiting the outside world, where they encountered Herpo and left behind bloodlines.
• Lust explained that Envy’s friendship with the Death God led the Sins toward the outside world, and that the Death God’s interest in Herpo’s soul magic likely exposed the Realm of Illusion to him.

Sean questioned Lust about the fall of Death God and Mother, learning how the Sins became bound to Pride and allied with Herpo. Lust revealed that the authority of time belonged to a god, leaving Sean with a new contradiction about Herpo’s ability to perceive disturbances in time.

• Lust explained that Death God guided Herpo into the Realm of Illusion, where Herpo killed him using the authority Death God had given him.
• Lust said Death God’s fall drove the gods present to crave divine flesh, and the Sins’ consumption of Mother’s body ended her chance of revival.
• Lust described how Pride’s awakening could force the world’s destruction and said Herpo had promised the Sins freedom from Pride’s control.
• Lust told Sean that Herpo had no known personal weaknesses, and Sean promised to give her a gift after returning to the mortal world.
• Sean asked whether Mother held authority over time, and Lust said time’s authority was controlled by a god.

Sean learned that the mysterious God of Time might be connected to Avalon and suspected the soul trial illusion was manipulating memories through time. After searching for Avalon’s boat in a cave, he discovered a Soul Fragment of the present-world Voldemort inside the illusion.

• Lust told Sean that God of Time was an elusive being who could perceive and explore the river of time and often appeared in Avalon.
• Sean theorized that the soul trial illusion was a trick of time and decided to search for the boat to Avalon.
• Sean and Stephanie traveled to Glastonbury, but the boat Lust had left there was missing, so Sean set off to investigate Voldemort.
• Sean found an open entrance to a cave and discovered the boat beside an underground lake, but Voldemort was nowhere in sight.
• Sean sensed familiar magic and saw a noseless Voldemort in a Residual Soul state, recognizing him as a Soul Fragment from the present world.

Sean encountered Voldemort’s weakened Residual Soul in the underground cavern at Peak of Soul's Return and confronted him while investigating how he had arrived there. Voldemort refused to explain, and Sean remained intent on getting answers before leaving.

• Sean spotted Voldemort making tea and reading by the underground lake, then realized the Residual Soul was too weak to detect him from afar.
• Sean revealed himself, and Voldemort recognized him as Sean Wallerup but held back from attacking because he knew he was outmatched.
• Voldemort recalled that he had killed this world's Tom Riddle, learned Grindelwald ruled the wizarding world, and planned to regain his strength and return to his own world.
• Sean sat in Voldemort’s chair, teased him as “Uncle Riddle,” and asked how he had come to the cavern and what he was doing there.
• Voldemort suggested Sean was trapped in the same world and argued that fighting there served no purpose, while Sean mocked him and repeated his questions.

Sean confronted Voldemort in an illusory world and forced him to reveal what he had learned from wielding Death God authority. Voldemort said Death God was still alive and that he had gained one chance to enter the underworld and repair his shattered soul.

• Sean questioned Voldemort while testing how his Residual Soul interacted with physical objects.
• Sean deduced that Voldemort wanted to escape because Death God authority might let him evade capture, then pressured him to disclose what he had learned.
• Sean and Voldemort made an Unbreakable Vow: Voldemort would tell the truth, while Sean would protect him during their escape and give him half a minute of freedom afterward.
• Voldemort revealed that Death God authority had begun transforming him toward godhood and that Death God remained alive, slumbering until the authority returned to him.
• Voldemort told Sean that he had gained one chance to enter the underworld and repair his shattered soul.

Sean learned that Voldemort had gained the Death God's authority and hoped to recover his soul fragments in the Underworld, then resolved not to let him escape. As they prepared to leave the illusory world, Sean discovered that Herpo had ordered Peter Pettigrew to plant the Blood Curse in Daisy.

• Voldemort explained that the Death God's authority let him travel safely through the Underworld and search for his dead soul fragments, though he did not know whether he could find them.
• Sean decided Voldemort was too dangerous to release, then learned that breaking the illusory world's shifting core during its nine-day magical fluctuation could let them escape.
• Sean summoned the Death Eaters with the Dark Mark and wagered with Voldemort about who would arrive first; Peter Pettigrew appeared, and Voldemort won the bet.
• Sean asked whether Voldemort had ordered Peter to plant Daisy's Blood Curse, but Peter confessed that an unnamed great being had compelled him.
• Sean guessed that Herpo had ordered the curse, and Peter's reaction confirmed it; Sean offered to help Voldemort deal with the traitor.

Sean killed Wormtail and turned Voldemort’s weakened Residual Soul into a Horcrux teacup without breaking the Unbreakable Vow. After sealing the teacup as Foolish Immortal, he returned to Stephanie, who seemed to recognize him as they waited for Avalon to appear at sunrise.

• Sean killed Wormtail with an upgraded Killing Curse, fulfilling the spell’s prerequisite for making a Horcrux.
• Sean used a system-produced teacup as a vessel and drew Voldemort’s Residual Soul into it, arguing that the act did not violate the Unbreakable Vow.
• Sean discovered that Foolish Immortal could block a Killing Curse once after its tea granted a false second life, though drinking it rapidly eroded sanity.
• Sean sealed Foolish Immortal in a protected wooden box and planned to explore Avalon before allowing Voldemort a minute of freedom.
• Stephanie wondered why Sean Wallerup seemed familiar as he returned carrying a small boat and said they had to wait until sunrise to see Avalon.

Sean and Stephanie crossed the poisonous swamp toward Avalon using robes powered by the swamp’s magic. There, the woman with the Two-Handled Pot appeared, transformed into a beautiful girl, and accused Sean of hiding Stephanie from her after he changed back into his real-world self.

• Sean realized that Stephanie felt a growing familiarity with him, and they discussed her fear of settling for mediocrity.
• Sean made two Ancient Runes robes that could operate without drawing on their magic, then took Stephanie by boat into the swamp.
• Sean guided Stephanie past the Corrupted Whales and the woman who used a drop of clear water to transform one into a Unicorn Whale.
• The woman noticed Sean and Stephanie, restored her own body with a drop from the Two-Handled Pot, and flew over to confront them.
• Sean changed back into his real-world self, and the woman accused him of hiding another woman from her.

Sean encountered Avalon’s guardian Fairy in the illusion, where she accused him of forgetting their past relationship. After learning she could not speak about their shared history because of the World Rules, Sean asked her to show him where he had lived, and she agreed.

• The Fairy confronted Sean about Stephanie and accused him of having forgotten their relationship, while Sean insisted he did not know her.
• The Fairy revealed that she was Avalon’s guardian, knew the trial was an illusion, and was not bound by time, though she could not cross to the shore.
• Sean persuaded the Fairy that he genuinely had no memory of her, and she broke down crying over being forgotten.
• The Fairy tried to explain their past but found that the World Rules prevented her from speaking about it.
• Sean suggested he might have left himself a clue that bypassed the World Rules, and the Fairy offered to take him to his former home.

Sean explored Avalon with Dorniya, who showed him the residence he had shared with her in an Annihilated Timeline. He learned that he had stayed in Avalon for several decades while appearing much as he did now, leaving him to question how that timeline fit with the world’s growing instability.

• Sean flew with Dorniya toward the Unicorn Whale’s heavenly path, and she explained that Avalon’s rules placed her at the boundary between life and death.
• Dorniya led Sean to her palace and a nearby fairyland cottage, recalling how he had decorated the places by tricking Beibei and other guardians into giving him things.
• Sean saw that the cottage’s enormous interior followed the layout of the Wallop family villa, and Dorniya said he had brought some items himself.
• Sean asked how long he had lived in Avalon, and Dorniya estimated several decades, though he had looked about as he did now when he arrived.
• Sean wondered how that extended timeline could relate to his current age and the dangers posed by Pride, Herpo, and the increasingly unstable world.

Sean discovered that another version of himself had lived in Avalon decades into the future and left a god-level ward on his bedroom, which Sean bypassed with his Animagus form. Inside, he found a diary revealing that this Sean had become the God of Time and resented the role.

• Sean learned from Dorniya that Avalon was both an illusion and a real place, and that his other self had left behind a house there.
• Sean recognized that the villa's furnishings showed that his other self had left the real world around the time of his fight with Herpo, possibly after becoming a god.
• Sean found a god-level spell on his bedroom doorknob that drained his vitality and realized his Animagus form could bypass it.
• Sean entered the bedroom and found a black diary on the desk.
• Sean read the diary's first page, where his other self complained about being forced to serve as the God of Time.