In Winterfell
Asmodeus appeared in the center of the town square.
What he saw was a bustling city. People moved like ants, hauling logs towards the city walls to reinforce the defenses. Ignoring the workers, Asmodeus surveyed the square. He noticed a couple dozen people being led towards the main castle. Most of them wore the black robes of the Night's Watch; it seemed these were the ones rescued by Dumbledore and Grindelwald.
'By the way, where are Dumbledore and Grindelwald?' Asmodeus thought to himself. He focused, trying to detect the magical vibrations of the two. After a brief search, he felt a wave of mana characteristic of Grindelwald. Determining the coordinates, Asmodeus apparated.
Speaking of Apparition, although he once had strong prejudices against this magic—considering it could be used for torture—he eventually realized its immense advantages in combat and short-distance travel. Unlike the portals from the magic of Kamar-Taj, Apparition's activation speed and lower mana consumption made it superior.
Interestingly, Apparition consumes significantly less mana than a portal. This realization came during his research with Rowena, where they identified the fundamental differences in the spatial coordinates used by these two types of magic.
A portal opens a passage by using tiny spatial fractures present everywhere in the world. These insignificant cracks regularly open and close, and the magic of Kamar-Taj magnifies these fractures at both ends of the passage—the origin and the destination. Apparition, on the other hand, directly tears through space, transporting the user to their desired location.
In their studies, they also discovered why Apparition could be blocked by an anti-Apparition barrier, while portals could not. Portals rely on the natural environment, whereas Apparition forcibly breaks through it. An anti-Apparition spell strengthens the space within the barrier. However, it is impossible to strengthen the space so much that these micro-fractures disappear, making it merely a matter of insufficient magical power for a wizard to tear through the space.
This also explains why a phoenix can apparate within a barrier while wizards cannot. 99.9% of wizards don't possess even half the mana reserves of a phoenix. Moreover, a phoenix is a child of nature, a being born to live forever and die only by its own will. Besides its enormous mana reserves, a phoenix is favored by mana itself, rendering any space-blocking spell ineffective against it.
"Boom"
Asmodeus appeared at the location where he had sensed the mana vibrations. Opening his eyes, he found himself on the outskirts of the city, near the northern gate.
Grindelwald was sitting at a long table, stirring a spoon in his cup of tea with a mere flick of his finger. Next to him, Dumbledore was stirring his sugar manually, a stark contrast that highlighted their differing approaches to magic.
Seeing Asmodeus appear, both Grindelwald and Dumbledore turned their heads and beckoned him over.
"Sit down, would you like some tea? Don't worry, I made it. Dumbledore didn't have a chance to ruin it with his sugar," Grindelwald said, gesturing to a chair. As he spoke, the teapot and a cup on the table seemed to come to life.
Nodding, Asmodeus sat down just as the teapot finished pouring and the cup landed before him. Taking a sip of the lemon tea, Asmodeus asked Grindelwald, "How many people did you save?"
"Not many... around fifty?" Grindelwald replied, looking to Dumbledore for confirmation.
"Fifty-seven, actually."
"So, fifty-seven," Grindelwald corrected.
"What about the others? Did you not get there in time?"
"No, they all froze to death."
"..."
Asmodeus remained silent, noting Dumbledore's downcast expression. It was clear they had encountered many corpses while rescuing the fifty-seven survivors.
"Alright, let's not dwell on that. What do you think about this ice giant? Am I the only one who thinks he's not very smart?" Asmodeus asked.
"I got the impression that this so-called god is brainless. In my opinion, he's even dumber than the giants in our world, at least the ones who haven't had systematic education and literacy," Grindelwald responded.
"But this creature is quite powerful; one-on-one, we don't stand a chance against it...."
"Well, the three of us could kill it, but it would take a lot of time...."
Indeed, after a brief confrontation with the ice god, the trio felt that the creature was undeniably stronger than any of them individually. However, they were still confident in their combined strength.
"What do you think, has this creature broken through the level of an archmage?"
"..."
"No, I don't think so. I don't have the feeling that I could never defeat it alone under any circumstances. That sense of fatal inevitability shouldn't come from a creature that has surpassed the level of an archmage.... It's more likely at the demigod level that Primis mentioned."
"A false god?"
"If this is a god, it's a pathetic one. Who, then, is Odin?"
"Well, Primis mentioned that becoming a god through the power of faith is not the true path. The Asgardians never sought faith; they are simply very strong.... But I have doubts."
"What kind of doubts?"
"Primis told us about a demigod in this world, but now, understanding the strength of this creature... doesn't it seem too weak to deserve such attention?"
"...."
"Are you saying this ice god isn't the one Primis was talking about?"
"I don't know...."
"Why not just ask her? She communicates only with you! Call her or whatever. How do you contact her? Or do you have to shout into a tree hollow or a volcano to reach her?"
"...."
"First of all, do you think it's easy to talk to the consciousness of a world? Secondly, what phone? And what does a tree hollow or volcano have to do with it?!"
"Then how do you contact her?"
"I don't contact her! She contacts me. It's not like a long-distance call. She kind of pulls my soul out of my body and drags me into a special space where she exists..."
"So, you really don't have any way to reach her?"
"No. I don't. Besides, she's busy right now..."
Asmodeus was telling the truth. Primis had used the system several times to pull him into her realm for a chat, but it always happened on her initiative. Asmodeus had tried to contact Primis through the system before, but it was like an add-on module she could disable whenever she wanted. The system worked independently, but Primis could do whatever she pleased in the meantime.
Moreover, quite a bit of time had passed since their last conversation. She had mentioned being busy with the second lost part of the world. As she had explained to Asmodeus, that part was in a dire state, full of spatial rifts, wormholes, and the like. Primis had described it as, "It's not a world, it's a thoroughfare!"
'By the way, I'm curious how she's going to fix the spatial rifts in the new world?' Asmodeus thought. Primis had told him she had two reasons for not absorbing the second part of the world yet. First, Asmodeus was still processing the current part, and he wouldn't have the strength to stabilize two territories simultaneously. Second, there were the spatial rifts. Primis had said she wanted to find a solution to seal them. She didn't want her world to be constantly invaded by who knows what. Since she hadn't contacted him yet, it seemed she hadn't found a suitable solution.
His thoughts were interrupted by Grindelwald's voice. "Guys, we should call the other free council members. My third eye tells me the battle here in the north won't be simple..."
"Did you see something?"
"No... it's more like a stronger form of premonition. I didn't see any visions of the future, but I know something needs to change..."
"Alright, if you say so, we should reinforce our defenses. By the way, how are they holding up?"
"All the members of the Order of the Flame are already stationed to defend the city, all 10,000 of them, along with the dragons. There are also a few dozen thousand muggles, but seeing the army of the dead, I don't think they can be considered a fighting force in this war..."
"Yes, we should place as few muggles as possible on the front line. They will be useless."
"Then who will replace them? We can't move all our forces here..."
"Why not? Do you think anyone would dare cause trouble? Albus, although we don't attack unaligned lands, they still fear us, because all the known archmages in the world are council members. If they dare to misbehave... not only they but all their relatives will perish within hours." Grindelwald understood Albus's concerns but saw no real danger.
At the same time, Asmodeus said, "Alright, transfer all combat wizards here. Non-combat Aurors can stay in their positions. Helga can stay in Adastra from the council."
"Agreed..."
"I think this can be considered a compromise."