For the first time after refusing to become the Indigo Seat, Albus realized why the Order had refused to help him years ago.
Understanding their decision didn't mean he agreed with them.
However, he was old enough to imagine himself in their shoes, and then barely get an idea of their thought processes and intentions.
As the Headmaster of Hogwarts, he also tried his best to oversee the development of all students, while being as impartial as he could be.
Yet, there were indeed circumstances where he had found himself favoring one event over another, resulting in unintended feelings of guilt and regret.
He had often questioned whether his decisions, influenced by his own biases and values, truly served the greater good.
Now, as he stood on the precipice of a new conflict, Albus couldn't help but feel the weight of all those choices, the unseen forces that had shaped his path, and the many lives intertwined with his own.
Perhaps, in refusing to become the Indigo Seat, he had inadvertently spared himself the burden of their knowledge—knowledge so profound that it could twist even the most noble heart.
Yet, deep within, he knew that the time for avoidance was over.
"I have three questions," Albus Dumbledore asked, smothering the child within. Now he was again the Supreme Mugwump, the Headmaster, the Wizard on whom countless were counting, for whom he had come here to get answers.
King Solomon's last words were shocking, to say the least.
But the rest knew he had been humoring the wild guess of a junior. Nothing more.
There were impossibilities in the world. Then there were improbabilities in the world.
An Outer One roaming freely within a Timeline could be considered nothing short of an Impossible Improbability, they knew.
The Green Seat nodded. "Ask."
"First," Dumbledore began, taking a deep breath, "if the number of timelines in a Bubble, as you speak of it, is definite, then why them being infinite is the most known concept?"
This time, Circe spared him with an, almost inaudible, snigger.
"Let me take care of this," Hermes said. "Albus. Take a step back."
Dumbledore didn't know his legs had regained some strength until he followed the Orange Seat's command.
Suddenly, the Caduceus let out an orange burst of light.
In the next moment, two giant mirrors appeared on Dumbledore's left and right.
The shine on the mirrors was so pure and clear that as he stood between them, he couldn't even tell them apart from the real world.
If that was it, then it wouldn't have mattered much.
But as he brought his gaze from the mirrors to his reflections, Albus' eyes suddenly shook.
The two giant mirrors were placed on his left and right in such a way that they reflected Albus between them with no perceivable end.
On and on his images kept going, until they blurred in his vision.
He couldn't see them, but Albus knew there were reflections beyond reflection, and just whenever one thought they ended, there were reflections beyond that, too.
Something struck the Supreme Mugwump's mind, then.
Albus Dumbledore looked down at himself. Then he looked at the two mirrors themselves. At last, he looked at his reflections.
"Seven Pillars…" the old wizard mumbled, his mind going numb. "Seven Mirrors… Seven Keys… Infinity is a Percep…"
Tink-CRACK!
The mirrors shattered, along with the infinite Albus Dumbledores.
"Don't think about it," Hermes warned. "Keep it in the back of your mind. Like the taste of chocolate."
Circe looked to her right. "Seriously?"
"What?" Hermes shrugged. "I like them."
"Yeah?" The Red Seat leaned over the table. "Wanna have some more tastes to keep in the back of your mind…"
Hermes gulped.
…
Albus shook away the blurriness from his eyes.
Even though he had not been himself when Hermes had said those words, the warning itself played in his mind, preventing him from thinking about the answer he had received.
The Imperishable Artifacts were looking at him now, he could tell.
It was the time to ask his second question.
"What is the Order of Immortal Lotus?" Albus asked. He had asked it before to Merlin. Never had he gotten a straight, or a twisted, answer. Now that he was sure to get an answer, he didn't feel a bit happy about it.
The members of the Order looked at the Green Seat from whom it had all originated.
The Witch of Endor sighed as she looked at Dumbledore.
"Before you know the truth of Order, you must know the truth of us," she said. "You already know we aren't exactly alive. Nor are we dead. Our essence now lies in these Imperishable Artifacts.
"However, what you don't know is that the magical ritual that allows us to act as Immortals also exacts an unimaginable price.
"Unlike you, there is no more Witch of Endor, Merlin, Circe, Hermes, King Solomon, and Abdul Alhazred in our Bubble. And that's exactly why we can't meddle with the timelines, among other reasons. We don't belong to them anymore.
"We are not those who don't belong to this era.
"We are those who don't belong to any era."
Albus visibly shook.
Things hadn't ended here, though. He had yet to receive his answer.
"The thing is," the Imperishable Artifact continued, glowing green, "we all paid the price willingly, for it was necessary. In my times, I had come to know of various organizations of different Random Worlds, which actively oversee the developments in timelines, while countering the mighty, singular authority of Bubble Entities.
"One of such organizations I had come into contact with was the Time Variance Authority.
"In our Random World, though, there was no such organization. So, I took matters into my own hands.
"As per the magical ritual bestowed upon me, once the 7th seat is fulfilled, and with our combined powers, we can become a force on par with Death.
"Not only we can stabilize the entire Bubble, then, but we can also monitor the timelines more actively, bringing down the probability of an Outer One's appearance to zero."
…
As he heard those words, Albus just stood there for a moment.
What the Witch of Endor had told him was a matter of great significance.
To actively let a magical ritual end all their selves from the different timelines of a Random World was nothing short of the most noble goal.
In fact, it was so noble… that Albus now doubted it from the bottom of his heart.
There was something here, the shrew old wizard within him knew. The Witch of Endor hadn't lied to him, yes. But she hadn't told him the entire truth, either.
Sigh! Let it be… Albus had no choice but to put the matter away for some other time.
"Third question," he asked, looking at all of them, "what must I do now? With The Yellow Warlock, Voldemort, and Ekrizdis declaring war upon the entire world, how to save it on my own?"
"You will not be alone," King Solomon promised. "We can't meddle, true enough. But we have people within the timelines just for a scenario like this. For now, you must take care of the Supreme Character and the Prime Character.
"Keep an eye on Darcie. We will let Madam Villanelle teach her how to control herself from becoming an Obscurus. The Yellow Warlock is taking advantage of her being an Obscurial.
"Also, don't let Harry Potter's destiny fall from being a Prime Character. Now more than ever you need to watch over him, bringing out his true potential.
"As much as I don't like to say it, the nature of your timeline has changed because of Outer One's influence. Dark clouds are coming, Albus.
"And if you don't have a roof overhead by the time they begin pouring, then you are doomed."
You are doomed…
The words repeated themselves in Albus' mind gloomily.
Albus Dumbledore had never thought he would find himself facing two paths.
One path led to things proceeding as usual. The wizards would argue among themselves, reaching nowhere. Even if he were to tell them these things he had learned, who would believe him?
On the other hand, the second path led him to be called a dictator.
Until the very end, he would be at the receiving end of all hate, scorn, and blame.
The wizards would curse him. The world would call him a maniac. He himself would question his sanity, he knew.
You are doomed…
Albus Dumbledore took out his Elder Wand and tightened his old fingers around it. It was time…
It was time to take matters into his own hands.
**************
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