The roar of magic spread throughout the valley like thunder.
The nearby mountains vibrated with each crash, and the air burned with the clash of the two forces. Archmage Anayan and Herpo the Foul faced each other in the middle of the necropolis.
The sky, stained a hellish red, was torn apart by golden and green lightning bolts. The monoliths of San Agustín glowed faintly, channeling what little magical energy remained in that place.
Herpo moved with inhuman speed, his body seemed to float, and his voice was a multiple echo.
"You cannot stop me, Archmage! I am inevitable."
Anayan swung his staff, raising a golden barrier that stopped his barrage of curses. The impact was so violent that it dragged him several meters backward.
"That doesn't justify anything," he replied in a firm voice. "The darkness you have created does not deserve to continue to exist."
Catalina Rojas and Tupaq Illari took advantage of an opening to cast a combined spell, hoping to damage Herpo in some way. A torrent of fire and molten rock engulfed Herpo, who dispersed the magic with a simple gesture.
A laugh escaped from his mouth that made the skin of everyone present crawl.
"Modern magicians? Little imitators who know nothing of true power."
A wave of dark energy emerged from his body, throwing Yara, Santiago, and Alejandro into the air.
Anayan stepped forward, extending his staff toward the sky. A solar emblem formed on his chest, and a golden aura surrounded him, expanding with each breath.
"Everything that is born must die! The earth that holds memory! May the light restore balance!"
A column of light fell from the sky, striking Herpo directly.
The ground exploded and the roar that emerged was so loud that it split the trees in the valley in two.
For a moment, everything was silent.
But when the smoke cleared... Herpo was still standing. His body, you could see his bones and organs slowly regenerating.
"You have strength, Archmage. But you lack the most important thing to eliminate your enemy."
"And what would that be?" asked Anayan, breathing heavily.
"Cruelty... anger and, above all, HATRED."
In a swift movement, Herpo struck the ground with the palm of his hand.
The ritual circle reactivated and human-shaped shadows began to emerge from it, screaming in agony. They were the sacrificed mages who had been corrupted by Herpo.
Catalina screamed when she saw the faces of her former companions.
"No...! Let them go!"
Herpo just laughed.
"They chose that fate. I'm just giving them... a new use."
The sky darkened completely.
Herpo raised both hands and the spirits began to merge with his body, feeding his magic. The power he now emanated was devastating.
Anayan gripped his staff and shouted.
"Everyone with me!"
The six magicians joined together in a circle with their wands pointing toward the center. Lines of different colors emerged from them, intertwining. Gold, blue, green, violet, red, and white.
The air began to vibrate and an ancient symbol appeared under their feet, an enchantment that concentrated the collective energy of the council members.
Herpo raised an eyebrow, amused.
"Interesting. Let's see if the children of the new world can challenge me."
The ground exploded when the two forces collided. The necropolis shook as if a volcano were being born beneath it.
For a few seconds, the entire continent felt the shockwave. From Machu Picchu to Manaus, from the Andes to the Amazon, the magicians sensed all that energy concentrated in one place.
In the midst of the chaos, Herpo and Anayan continued to fight, both already at their limits, consumed by a power that threatened to destroy them.
Herpo the Foul laughed.
Every blow, every spell cast against him was devoured by the darkness that flowed throughout his body. The ancient wizard fed on pain, fear, and the energy stored up over all those centuries.
"You don't understand!" he shouted. "I am the root of everything! Nothing can destroy what cannot die!"
The Council of the Sun was barely holding out.
Catalina Rojas and Tupaq Illari protected themselves with whatever they could, their robes singed and their skin marked by each impact. Yara dos Santos maintained a green energy shield that trembled like glass about to break, while Santiago Ferraro held the magical flow of the symbol with both bloody hands.
Anayan himself was breathing heavily, taking most of the damage caused by Herpo.
In the middle of them, Alejandro Cruz watched Herpo with determination. His dark eyes shone with a strange calm.
"Anayan," he said firmly, "the seal won't hold much longer... we won't be able to contain it much longer... when that happens, the damage will be irreversible for the entire continent."
Anayan looked at him without responding.
He knew what the boy was thinking.
Alejandro smiled as he looked up at the sky.
"My grandmother used to tell me... that I was destined to do something important. Well, I think today is my time."
"Alejandro, no!" Catalina shouted, realizing what he wanted to do.
The Mexican stepped forward, separating himself from the circle. His wand lit up with a white light.
"Herpo..." he said, raising his voice above the barrier, "Your actions will only condemn us all... you don't deserve to be remembered by anyone."
The old wizard turned to him, frowning with a twisted smile.
"You know nothing," he replied, shouting. "You're just useless. Not even the archmage achieved anything... that you can do."
Alejandro stuck his wand into the ground.
The seal beneath his feet reconfigured itself, the lines of energy spinning in the opposite direction. Power began to concentrate in his body.
A stream of white fire rose from the ground until it completely enveloped him. His companions noticed the change in his aura.
Anayan, his voice grave, bowed his head.
"May the sun god Inti welcome you, son."
Alejandro smiled at them one last time before focusing all his attention on his enemy.
Herpo launched a burst of dark energy to stop him, but Alejandro blocked it with a single hand. His body began to disintegrate from all the energy it contained; he didn't have much time left.
Alejandro threw himself at Herpo with everything he had, causing an explosion that engulfed them completely.
When the glow dissipated, Herpo was on his knees. His body was burning, cracked by white energy caused by Alejandro. A dark fragment fell from his chest, a carved stone that cracked with each passing second, screaming as if it were alive.
It was his Horcrux. The only thing that prevented him from disappearing completely.
The stone shattered into a thousand pieces and from it emerged a scream of agony that froze everyone's blood. A scream so deep that it made the magic that still remained in the necropolis vibrate.
Herpo raised his head, incredulous.
"What... what... have you done?"
Before he could say anything else, his body crumbled to dust. The wind carried it away, and with it disappeared the darkness and the vivid red color that had stained the sky.
Silence fell over San Agustín.
All that could be heard was the crackling of the dissipating energy and the broken sighs of the Council.
Catalina fell to her knees, tears streaming from her eyes. Yara put her hand to her heart. Tupaq closed his eyes, bowing his head in respect. Santiago looked at the sky with a sad smile, and Anayan... Anayan looked at the horizon where dawn was breaking.
"Your fire will shine forever, Alejandro," she whispered. "Your sacrifice will always be remembered... we will never forget you, great Friend."
The sun finally rose over the valley, bathing the necropolis in golden light and bringing the battle to an end.
Thousands of miles away from San Agustín, the midday sun filtered through the tall windows of the Great Hall at Hogwarts. The students chatted animatedly, glasses clinked, and the smell of food wafted through the air amid the laughter and conversation of everyone there.
At the Slytherin table, Aurelian Gaunt calmly enjoyed his lunch, leafing through a notebook where he scribbled some magic formulas and drew things that only he would understand. Next to him, Hestia and Flora laughed as they argued about who had defeated their opponent the fastest in the last practice duel. To his right, Cedric watched them from the Hufflepuff table, raising his glass with an amused smile.
Everything was normal, just another lunch at Hogwarts... until suddenly, everything changed.
An almost imperceptible vibration ran through the floor. The floating candles flickered. The enchanted ceiling darkened for an instant, and a dense, cold sensation swept through the hall, as if an unknown force had passed through the world.
Aurelian looked up.
His eyes narrowed as he analyzed the energy he had just felt. It wasn't a common disturbance... it was something more... vast, a magic so powerful that even his Infinity barrier reacted reflexively.
"Did you feel that?" asked Flora, looking in all directions.
Aurelian nodded slowly, his fingers drumming on the table.
"Yes... It was far away. Very far from here."
At the teachers' table, Dumbledore had stopped talking to Flitwick and McGonagall. His gaze was fixed on the air, as if he were hearing something the others could not hear. A current of energy ran through his wand without him touching it.
Before anyone could react, the headmaster stood up abruptly. His chair slid backward and fell with a thud.
The murmuring in the dining hall stopped. All eyes were on him.
"Headmaster... is something wrong?" asked McGonagall, noticing the tension on his face.
Dumbledore did not answer.
He simply turned toward the exit, his blue cloak billowing behind him. He strode out of the Great Hall with long strides and a determined look on his face.
The silence that followed was absolute.
The students began to whisper among themselves.
"What happened?"
"Why did he leave like that?"
"Was there an attack?"
Aurelian kept staring at the door through which Dumbledore had disappeared. In his mind, the magical sensation he had felt continued to vibrate like a distant echo. It was possibly caused by some Archmage. If he had felt that magnitude from Scotland, it meant that something in the world had just changed.
Hestia looked at him with concern.
"Aurelian... do you know what that was?"
He shook his head slowly, with a tense smile.
"Not yet. But whatever it is... I'll find out."
The sky above the dining room cleared again, as if nothing had happened.
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