Chapter 26 - 26 Darkest Temptations

*Ping*

[Darkhold has established a connection to the Nether Plane.

Spirit Body has been forced into the $%#&% %# $% Nether Plane.]

Harry woke in the semi-ethereal form which he often took while using battle meditation or exploring the astral plane. He clearly remembered his last sense which was the feeling of a book entering his inventory. He could now tell that the book itself was made of a special material reminiscent of Quirrel's turban that blocked his energy sense which is why he didn't feel the content hidden within the hollowed out book until it was too late. And now the Darkhold had trojan horsed itself into his inventory and it didn't want to leave.

The Darkhold was said to be written by the Elder Demon God of Chaos, Chthon, as a means to interact with a world he promised his sister, Gaea, he would not return to. The Darkhold was a loophole to this promise and contained all the knowledge the Elder God. Chthon could even make specific sections stand out to draw in the attention of the reader to learn what he wanted them to and act in a manner he wanted them to act.

Harry had long since determined that his inventory was basically where his mind and soul was located. Even if Harry died in a sealed room, his magic obscurus particles would be taken into his inventory and removed from his inventory at his last respawn point so without knowing where his save point was, he couldn't be killed in the physical world without great difficulty. That meant that to truly kill or harm Harry, he had to be attacked through his inventory, which now had a connection to an Evil Elder Demon God of Chaos.

Harry got up and tried to end his Battle Meditation but it didn't work, his astral body seemed to be locked in this plane and he wasn't getting out the easy way.

While in the Astral Plane, Harry couldn't pause, use his inventory, or even use his new Load Save feature as they all could only be done from his body. One reason Harry had yet to put any serious effort into creating powerful equipment for himself was because most of the Energy he obtained for Level ups came from Battle Meditation and he couldn't even use any item he created here. Sure, he could conjured a weapon using magic but he couldn't take from or place items into his inventory unless he was in his own body.

Through his inventory Harry felt the Darkhold's contents entice him to memorize it even as the specific contents that seemed to stand out shifted to become more and more alluring. He was doing his best to ignore it but it was like having someone whisper in your ear without being able to tell if it was your own thoughts or someone else's words. Unlike other books that were easy to ignore, the Darkhold was interactive and wasn't affected by the time stop of his Inventory. Eventually it would imprint itself completely on Harry and Harry Potter himself would be all but dead. What would take his place would be a servant of Chthon, or worst, a Vessel.

Harry himself was both emotion and logic driven but emotions can be manipulated and the logic of an Elder God born before life existed on earth could easily direct Harry to think that serving as Chthon's vessel would be a logical choice. He wouldn't even have to do it directly, he could just whisper into his subconscious until his conscious couldn't think of any reason not to do so and would even be willing to do it with glee.

That would be bad.

Harry wasn't sure how someone arranged this as it required knowledge of Harry's ability to become one with books with only the Ancient One and Snape having learned that, and the latter had erased the knowledge from his mind.

According to the messed up little pop ups, he was now in the Nether Plane, which just so happened to be the Plane of existence Chthon lived in and ruled. Chthon's power was chaos and knowledge. But that actually worked against Harry as it basically meant that the stronger you knew Chthon to be, the stronger he actually was. And since the Darkhold was telling him exactly how powerful Chthon was, it wasn't looking very good for Harry at the moment.

Harry decided to try walking around. Sitting down wasn't helping him distract his thoughts away from the promises of infinite power the book on his mind continued to whisper to him and he figured a good distraction would help prolong the inevitable or maybe buy time for a miracle. He couldn't even go through the other books in his inventory since the Darkhold was like a shining light and would draw his attention to it if he even thought in the general direction of the books in his inventory. He could already feel parts of his mind trying to break his mental discipline and go through every word of the Darkhold. He was pretty sure the part of his mind saying 'a single peak wouldn't hurt' wasn't a part of his mind at all.

There was one thing which gave Harry hope. Chthon may be able to access his soul through his inventory, but he could not take it unless Harry gave it to him. Harry hadn't memorized the Ancient One's private Library for nothing. Even in a situation like this, he still knew what could and could not be done. He simply had to figure out how to not be tricked or enticed into doing just that and hope Chthon would eventually grow bored of him.

The inky black void around him changed into a serene landscape with a beautiful night sky that surpassed the majesty of the sky he missed during his tutorial in the land of the dead. A few feet from him was a quaint table and sitting there was a beautiful woman who looked about twenty or so with silky black hair framing an enchantingly flawless face. She had pearl smooth skin that glowed under the dim moon light of the sky above and a black velvet dress that hugged her form leaving little to the imagination while still looking tasteful. Her eyes had a fascinating color close to violet but far more otherworldly. She wasn't looking directly at him however but was reading a book at the table.

Harry thought it was one hell of a low blow. He had been able to avoid most of the effects of puberty since the only woman he interacted with these days was the bald Ancient One and she was an aunt figure to him so he never thought of her that way. Now, his fourteen year old hormones which shouldn't even affect him in the astral plane, but somehow were doing exactly that, were being used against him as he faced what was basically the sėxiest being he'd even encountered.

Still, no point in being rude. He said, "Hello, my name is Harry, nice to meet you," before taking a seat.

The 'woman' closed her book and elegantly set it to the side before turning to him with an irresistible smile. She spoke with a silky British accent that made him dizzy, "Hello Harry. It's nice to meet you as well. I'm sure you've already guessed it, but I'm the Lord of this Dimension, Chthon."

Harry did his best not to tremble as the negative emotion suppression he usually relied on seemed gone at the moment and after a breath to steady himself he said, "So what can I do for you today? I'm sure you didn't invite me here for my wonderful company."

Her beauty seemed magnified through her smile and she said, "No, I cannot say I did, wonderful as your company is sure to be. You're already doing far better than most. The innate mental protections granted to you are stopping my direct attempts to control you, but it is your own will that strengthens them. I'm very impressed."

Harry's fear of the woman was ebbing away which he knew to be a bad thing as his fear would keep his hormones from making him do anything stupid. Damn she was good.

She smiled as if his thoughts were clearly on display and said, "I'll make this simple Harry Potter. I want you. Not as a vessel, I already have another in mind for that. Not as an avatar either as once I have a vessel I won't need one."

Harry understood that she wasn't even bothering to hide the fact that his thoughts since entering this realm had been an open book to her. Harry asked, "If not as a vessel or an avatar, what use could you have for me? For that matter, how did you get the Darkhold to me? I didn't think you could just deliver it by mail. How did you even find out I could absorb it?"

She gave a smile that was as seductive as it was predatory and said, "How clever. You're correct of course. The Sorceress Le Fay discovered your identity and sought a means to strike back at you from her own time. However because she could not find you in the future, she was forced to use the Darkhold. That was where I learned of you and through Le Fay I took some steps. The Room of Requirements of your school was actually created from a spell of mine within the Darkhold. I too could not find you but since I knew you to be a wizard from Le Fay, I made sure you would enter that room as soon as possible. Although I cannot affect the room, I can see everything that goes on within so I simply had to wait for you to arrive. That is how I learned of and witnessed your gifts. As for getting the Darkhold to you, it wasn't difficult to manipulate Le Fay into doing so for me. After finishing my preparations I simply gave her a spell that she thought would send an attack into the future at you, but once the spell was cast it drew the Darkhold itself into the spell and directly into the future. By the time the Darkhold had reached the present, I had enough information on you to manipulate a few things to get it to you. And as for what I want from you? As I said before that's quite simple. I want everything. You're not aware of even a fraction of the gifts you have been given and through my power you can rise higher than any on the mortal plane."

Harry tried to remain oblivious to her attempt at seduction and pretend he wasn't blushing. He then tried to nonchalantly shrug, "Why would I want that? I mean it might be nice for a little while but wouldn't that get boring rather quickly?"

Chthon laughed with the clarity of a silver bell and said, "Indeed. Power is hard for others to obtain but you can acquire it as you please given enough time, thus it does not hold the same value to you."

Harry nodded and said, "Even if I became the strongest person ever, I would likely find ways to limit myself to keep things interesting. So a quick means to become powerful would just make it more inconvenient later when I need to limit myself."

Chthon leaned over the table giving a godly view of her cleavage and Harry had to use every fraction of willpower he had to stop himself from looking through the Darkhold for sėx spells.

She stared into Harry's soul and could easily see he was not lying to her. Harry had gained a love of video games in the afterlife and enjoyed the feeling of doing one's best to grow stronger. A game where one was given the power to defeat everything right away without effort wouldn't be worth playing and since he considered himself a video game character, he took this as an outlook on life. Harry also lacked the connection to many others at the moment. It was something of a coincidence at this point in his life and would likely change soon, but there was no one he wanted the power to protect and no one he would give up his soul for right now. This meant Chthon's usual offers held little value to Harry. That being said, she was a flexible Elder Demon God of Chaos so she had other things to offer. There may not be any specific person on earth Harry would sacrifice himself to protect, but what about the earth itself?

Chthon said, "It is true that you hold no interest in what I have offered to others. That doesn't mean I can't give you what you want. Tell me Harry, are you aware of the deepest dėsɨrė of your soul?"

Harry couldn't exactly trust his mind at the moment to give him an honest answer but it would be rude to remain silent so he looked back at his memories. Looking at the sky above him he sighed and said, "I just enjoy helping people." It was his hobby after all.

Chthon smiled and said, "I will take possession of the earth with or without your ȧssistance. As I've said however, I want you. I will take you either now, or through my vessel on the earth, but one way or another you will be mine. Now however, I shall offer a concession. Give yourself to me and in return, I shall not take any action that harms anyone on earth."

Harry raised an eyebrow at the deal and did his best to ignore what she said before that. He answered, "I highly doubt that would be possible."

Chthon said with that silky voice that was still making him dizzy, "You enjoy helping people, but that is not all your heart dėsɨrės. You want to live in a world filled with adventure and wonder. Chaos can be sinister but it can also be subtle. I can see the sky your heart dėsɨrės and I must say, I think it has promise. If you give yourself to me, I won't reshape the world in a single moment, I will do it gradually, over the course of centuries. No one will die due to a sudden surge in chaotic forces. Instead, they will all be given the needed period to safely adjust. Over time, chaos will spread and humans will gain abilities while animals will become stronger, more fierce, and more numerous. Technology will experience several leaps forward due to a few chaotic breakthroughs and the world will advance into something beautiful. Accept my deal, and the world itself will become your game."

Harry shook his head to try and regain his wits and asked, "And how would I even be able to enjoy such a thing if I've given you my soul?"

Her flawless smile and glistening lips drew his attention in what he recognized as a sėxuȧŀ fascination spell. The fact that he recognized it made him realize his mental defenses had given in at some point during the conversation. He recognized the spell because it was in the Darkhold and without his awareness catching on another part of his mind had already started memorizing the Darkhold's contents. He remembered that memorizing the Darkhold was supposed to be a bad thing but for some reason couldn't quite place why it had been bad.

She said, "I never asked for your soul Harry. I asked for you. I want you, the whole you, and everything that comes with it. I won't take your soul from your delicious body, I want it right where it is. I want you to stand at my side in the world I intend to create."

Chthon edged herself further over the table close to Harry and with half closed eyes and a sultry tone, she said, "And I want you in my bed at the side of my future vessel."

Harry felt light and muddled and he couldn't help but be drawn into those fascinating magic filled eyes. However all the mind magic in the world wasn't able to cover up the one thing that was lacking in those perfect violet irises. There was no love.

That realization sparked something in Harry and through the fog of his mind he answered, "No."

Even with the Darkhold whispering in his ear, perfection itself staring him in the eye, his mind ȧssaulted by the strongest and subtlest of magics, and his hormones trying to control his body like a puppet on its strings, he could never give himself to someone who didn't love him. Thanks to his mother and father, even if they were echoes, he knew what love looked like and thanks to his relatives, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, he knew what its absence looked like as well.

The world shattered around him as the illusion broke and he was returned to the inky black lands. Before him stood a massive formless creature seemingly made of ink and shadow with an indecipherable silhouette.

Jagged words erupted from the space itself, "I will have you Harry Potter. One way, or another."

The fear that had faded away returned in full swing and Harry's mind had made a comeback. He concentrated on buŧŧer saturated mashed potatoes while creating his favorite heavy sword. Rather than the standard rust color, this Eldritch Heavy Sword was blood red. He knew there would be consequences for fully merging his Exotic Energy into his Dimensional Energy without an adjustment period but he would be thrilled if he could just survive long enough to face such consequences.

Even though this was Chthon's Realm, the Nether Realm was one of the closest realms to earth and it was only due to the promise Chthon made to Gaea that prevented invasion. This however also meant that it was not isolated meaning he could still draw upon other forms of energy for combat just like during Battle Meditation.

Tentacles of squirming darkness shifted in and out of existence sweeping back and forth over Harry at wind breaking speed. Harry used an image of buŧŧered broccoli to saturate his spirit with Exotic energy infused Strength energy from the Crimson Cosmos. He wanted to overload his spirit with energy and self destruct like he could in the material realm with his flesh, but his spirit had well defined limits and he had never been able to draw in more energy than the limit of his spirit in the astral plane.

Harry moved faster than he ever had before and swung his heavy sword through the writhing tentacles striking him from every direction. However there was little else he could do. Chthon was the absolute law of this dimension and although he was weak against Eldritch magic, something his heavy sword counted as, that only meant Harry had some room to struggle rather than immediately get ground to pudding since no other form of magic would work against the being labeled as the first Black Magician.

The space voiced out as appendages coalesced from the inky void into creatures beyond mortal description, "Your use of magic is impressive for a wizard, but who do you think invented it? Let me tell you a little secret. There is no such thing as Exotic Energy. Your kind are the descendants of my children, beings capable of molding reality as they saw fit using My Power! What you generate and wield is nothing less than Chaotic Energy itself! Your kind once ruled the world under my power until they turned against me. With a single spell, they wiped my existence from their own memories and the memories of all others. They convinced themselves their magic had nothing to do with me, nothing to do with Chaos, and without the knowledge of my existence as an anchor I lost my throne in your world."

Harry knew what Chthon was doing. The Demon God was pressing Harry into a corner by informing him his own magic could never defeat Chthon. Harry's frantic mind had practically gone against his will and already started combing over the Darkhold in an attempt to find some means to escape or get out of this situation. But since Chthon controlled what parts of the Darkhold would draw in Harry's attention, it was only showing him means of getting stronger which would corrupt him, not a means to escape. Eventually Harry would reach a limit and be forced to use those means and with that there would be no turning back.

Of course Chthon wasn't trying to kill him, just pressure him. Harry could stop swinging his massive sword at the endless hordes of creatures now surrounding him while the space itself struck at him again and again just bȧrėly slow enough for him to dodge. If he stopped, Chthon would too since he had no intention of allowed Harry to die. But if he stopped fighting, Chthon would simply use other means to pressure him. Means like torture, or worse, more seduction. Harry knew that Elder Gods didn't really have a gender but Gaea was considered female and Chthon was considered male and the fact that 'he' just tried and damn near succeeded at seducing Harry would give him nightmares for a long time if he survived this with his sanity intact.

Even though it was only his spirit, he would tire eventually. And it seemed although Harry was technically destroying creatures made of pure energy, he wasn't absorbing them for experience likely due to Chthon's power. He wasn't given any path that would allow him to win besides the one Chthon chose for him. He was also pretty sure even if he knew of such a path, Chthon was probably using mind magic to prevent him from thinking of it. That meant he could never make a successful plan.

Harry was getting frustrated and even angry, something he hadn't felt in a long time due to the negative emotion suppressing effects of his power. However once he realized this, it did in fact give him an idea.

Harry concentrated on his anger and let it fill him. Just like hormones, anger can make people do stupid things. He never allowed himself to get angry at his aunt and uncle's because they would punish him for anything stupid he did while angry. Because of that, he had no idea what he would do while angry. And that was a better alternative than making a plan Chthon allowed him to make.

Harry shouted and rushed into the array of creatures and slashed with all his strength at anything that caught his attention. He no longer concerned himself with conserving energy, just dealing as much destruction and damage as he could. He dived deep into his memories of his childhood with his relatives and every unjust action they ever took against him. He thought about the so-called Wizarding World that sent him to that hell and forgot about him until he exploded! Harry gave completely into his rage with all his heart and soul!

A barrier within his mind snapped and golden streams of energy burst from Harry's spirit form like raging flames. Now he remembered. He'd recently acquired Immortal Dragon Chi and he had read from the Grand Grimoire. He could try Block Transfer Computations and turn into his Animagus form if absolutely necessary like his Godfather had in Azkaban.

Harry realized that before he awoke in this plane, some of his knowledge must have been sealed though thankfully it was the same seal rather than multiple seals. He didn't remember he had Immortal Dragon Chi until now but his pure rage was enough to awaken its power without consciously being aware of it which broke the seal.

Chthon didn't seem to mind and said, "You interest me more and more with every moment. Let me show you the power of True Chaos Magic!"

Exotic energy, or as Chthon stated it actually was, Chaos energy, was filling the space and conjuration and transfiguration and charms and hexes all seemed to occur through the space at the same time. At first Harry thought it was different but now with it raging through the space in various concentrations, Harry saw the similarities between the energy he could generate and Chaos Energy from this plane. Other forms of energy were always uniform. Unless tainted, the Dimensional Energy in one Sorcerer had the same feel as another. This is because it comes from the same source as long as they were in the same dimension. The Exotic Energy in Wizards however were each unique to them because they generated it. And this Chaos Energy may have felt different from his own Exotic Energy, but now that he knew where to look, it was simply the difference between one wizard's magic and another's, though far denser and less uniform overall.

From the Chaos Energy saturating the space came maddening creatures conjured from nothing that had their forms transfigured unexpectedly as they attacked in impossible to predict manners which caused strange effects with every movement. Harry used the strength enhancement and protection from magic of his Immortal Dragon Chi to fight back with his blood red Eldritch Heavy Sword but since Wizard Magic was effective against Dragons it came as no surprise that this Chaos Magic was the same since it apparently was in fact, the same.

Harry tried several different computations using Block Transfer Computation but any effect good or bad it had was garbled up in the torrent of chaotic energies which rendered the math of time and space meaningless and he wasn't being given a chance to setup anything large enough to have a strong effect.

He thought back to the times he remembered the Ancient One telling him where she had to face the Masters of other Dimensions in their own Dimensions but more often than not, that only played out in her favor through trickery, bluffs, or deals with other beings. Not much good at the moment.

There was one thing he remembered which gave him something of a plan. The one who wrote the Grand Grimoire had written a spell to break out of dimensions you are trapped in and although Harry never practiced it, he figured he might be able to use it even in his astral form. However he wasn't being given an opening to use it. Endless legions of creatures were being formed from nothingness and Harry's own wizard magic spells such as Finite Incantatem were not working to dismiss them or easily defeat them.

Space itself seemed to bend a fold and Harry could bȧrėly move a step without finding himself turned upside down or backwards.

Harry figured since Chthon wasn't going to just give him an opening he might as well just put everything he had into one shot since he wasn't exactly getting stronger as time marched on. It wasn't difficult to notice that the creatures that reformed after he slew them were slowly adapting to his attacks meaning any skill he had which could easily slay them wouldn't do so for very long.

Harry focused on the image of buŧŧer saturated pancakes to fully merge his Anti Magic and Exotic Energy and shouted, "Through these words I cast you back, seven rings top to bottom. Bind the magic cast it out, Finite Incantatem!" Seven rings materialized in the void around Harry and within that space the conjured creatures evaporated. This was a spell Harry designed which fused the concept of the Seven Rings of Raggadorr with Finite Incantatem, Anti Magic and Magic Cancellation in one. Since he fully merged the two energies together it was also the only anti magic spell he had and he was lucky he already had an idea on how to use it. Rather than cast on the enemy though, he cast it on himself. In doing so, parts of his mind he didn't know were still blocked off suddenly opened up and Harry regained his sense of self.

Creatures and tentacles that tried to enter the space of the rings evaporated as well so Harry used the chance to pour all his willpower into his soul as he focused his dimensional energy into a single point. Harry shouted "Critical Burst!" and forced the point to expand while contracting to create a critical point mass. Cracks formed around him and shattered his rings but the creatures and horrid masses didn't approach him.

The space itself darkly laughed, "Well then, go on through."

Critical Burst should first crack the space and then shatter it into a hole allowing passage into the space between realms known as the Crossroads. With the amount of energy Harry put into it there should have been an opening large enough for a tank to drive through with room on both sides.

Instead, the opening that formed in the center of the cracked space wasn't large enough for him to squeeze his pinky finger through. Critical Burst used pure Dimensional Energy to work and since his had fully fused with his Exotic Energy, the spell he was gambling everything on ended up a dud.

The darkness bellowed deeply, "Give up Harry Potter. There is no way for you to escape me."

Harry realized that Chthon had probably allowed him to use his plan not only to waste all of Harry's energy, but to give him hope just for a moment before smashing it to pieces.

The creatures around him slowly moved in but before they reached him the darkness cried out, "What?!"

From the tiny crack a flame emerged and lit the darkness like a torch in the night.

"No! He is mine!" rumbled the darkness.

The flames broke through the cracks and entered the Nether space, it burned away the darkness and all the creatures and black magic within. The void itself seemed to shatter and was replaced with a new sun. The flaming sphere didn't burn nor harm Harry who had nearly given up hope. It lengthened and shifted and wings emerged from its sides as it took on a familiar shape. The a woman's voice rang out from the fire bird, "He is not yours, and he will never be yours."

The shape of the flames tightened into what Harry now recognized as a phoenix. Which meant there was only one identity he could ȧssign to this being.. The Phoenix Force.