The sea below Salt Shore roared against the cliffs as if the ocean itself had grown restless.
High above the crashing waves, Thaddues hovered in the air with his robes thrashing violently beneath the coastal winds. Broken stone surrounded him from every direction. Massive chunks of shattered cliff, ruined marble, and countless fragments of debris spiraled around his body in a monstrous cyclone that stretched across the sky.
Dust darkened the air.
The sound alone was enough to make men tremble.
Within a mile, the hired sellswords and the guards of House Gargalen stood frozen in place. Some instinctively stepped backward while others simply stared upward with pale faces.
Even Esteban found himself unable to speak. He was ready to rescue his lordship from the devasting explosion, but to see him floating in the sky, unharmed. His expression is beyond relief.
The very landscape was being bent by human will. Debris still spiraled violently through the air as the shockwave winds howled around him.
Stone crashed against stone as enormous slabs rotated through the air like drifting ships in a storm. Yet, despite the chaos, not a single fragment touched Thaddues, shielded by a protection charm. Everything moved around him with unnerving precision.
Then he raised his right hand.
Instantly, the world fell still. Every piece of debris froze midair. The shockwave ceased.
Thousands upon thousands of stones hung suspended above the cliffs in absolute silence.
Thaddues slowly moved his fingers. The floating debris shifted at his command. Jagged rocks folded inward like softened clay, while broken marble smoothed into pristine white stone. Cracked fragments twisted into pillars, arches, and massive foundations as perfect geometric forms emerged from the chaos.
The first stones fell from the sky.
The moment they struck the cliffside, the land itself shifted beneath them. Uneven rock flattened under invisible force while enormous foundations emerged from the earth.
More debris descended from the sky as towering walls rose upward. Massive stairways formed along the cliffs overlooking the sea, while balconies extended outward from the stone itself. Elegant pillars climbed toward the heavens as entire corridors shaped themselves within moments, as though invisible craftsmen labored at impossible speed.
The castle was building itself—not slowly, not through years of labor, but in mere moments beneath the open sky.
Gasps echoed from below as nearby towns finally noticed the disturbance. Fishermen abandoned their nets along the shore, while merchants stepped out of their shops, all turning their gaze toward the cliffs in stunned silence.
People flooded the streets in confusion and awe. Some believed the Seven had descended, while others feared the end of days.
Near the docks, a child tugged desperately at his mother's sleeve. "Mama… am I dreaming?"
His mother could only stare at the distant palace forming above the cliffs.
"Seven save us…" an old man whispered nearby. "What is happening?"
The structure continued to grow, white stone walls rising higher as vast windows caught and reflected the afternoon light. Towering gates emerged directly from the cliffside, linked by elevated bridges and wide terraces that overlooked the sea below.
Yet even that was not enough. Far above the castle, Thaddues extended his left hand toward the ocean.
The sea answered him as water erupted from the cliffs in a deafening roar.
A massive torrent spiraled into the sky like a living serpent, twisting around the forming castle. The water did not collapse. It moved unnaturally, guided completely by magic.
The torrent wrapped around sections of the castle before hardening together with the transfigured stone. Smooth waterways formed throughout the structure while elegant fountains and flowing channels appeared across the terraces.
It looked less like construction and more like creation itself.
Thaddues clenched his hand.
The ocean beneath the cliffs erupted as a colossal torrent burst upward, hurtling toward the expanded edge beside the castle grounds. It twisted violently as it rose, compressing tighter and tighter until it resembled a massive spear aimed at the heavens.
At the final moment, the water solidified. Stone spread through it in an instant.
A tower emerged.
It rose so quickly that several people below cried out in shock as the structure climbed higher and higher, soon overshadowing nearly everything around it. Higher than Salt Castle itself, its shadow stretched across the cliffs and out over the sea.
When the final stone settled into place, silence fell across Salt Shore.
A castle now stood where only bare rock had existed moments before. White stone gleamed in the fading sunlight, and towers overlooked the sea. At its highest point, the crest of House Peverell appeared—an ancient sigil etched into stone—before it slowly shifted and softened into fabric that rippled in the coastal wind.
The structure seemed ancient, as though it had stood for centuries—yet all who saw it had witnessed its creation.
Thaddues slowly descended from the sky.
The moment his boots touched the grass near the castle entrance, exhaustion struck him like a hammer. His vision blurred as the strain of large-scale Transfiguration, advanced Charms, and layered protective enchantments finally caught up with him.
Even for him, it had been too much.
His breathing deepened as he reached beneath his robes and drew a small crystal vial of shimmering blue liquid. He uncorked it and drank without hesitation.
Warmth spread through his body at once—enough to steady him, though not enough to fully restore his strength. Still, it was sufficient to keep him standing.
"It's done," he said calmly.
His voice carried across the cliff despite the winds. It reached Esteban. "Come, Esteban."
Esteban, who heard it, mounted a horse and immediately set off to the castle.
Lord Gargalen who saw it, gestured to his guards to follow. They slowly begin their approach toward the palace. None of them moved quickly. Many still stared upward at the massive structure with lingering disbelief.
Thaddues while waiting, he walked across the castle grounds alone.
Creation was only the first step. Transfiguration on this scale was never truly permanent unless properly anchored, and without reinforcement, parts of the structure would eventually destabilize. That could not be allowed after the immense amount of magic Thaddues had poured into this place.
As he walked through the halls and courtyards, faint blue light flared beneath his fingertips whenever he touched the walls. Ancient runic patterns spread across the stone before sinking deep into the structure itself.
He layered anchoring charms, stabilizing enchantments, and reinforcement magic throughout the castle, each section demanding precise control and vast amounts of magic.
By the time he reached the western corridor, sweat lined his brow despite the cold sea wind. Still, he pressed on through the silent halls, the only sounds his footsteps and the distant roar of the ocean below.
At the central courtyard, he placed his palm against a pillar and closed his eyes. A network of magical sigils spread through the stone like glowing veins. The structure trembled faintly before settling into stability.
The foundation would hold.
Next came the practical enchantments—water flow, temperature control, protective wards, self-cleansing charms, illumination, and concealment. Each one drained what little remained of his reserves.
By the time he finished the final enchantment in the lower halls, his legs nearly gave out beneath him.
That was when Esteban arrived.
The Steward rode across the palace grounds at full speed before dismounting the moment he spotted Thaddues leaning against a nearby pillar.
"My lord!"
Esteban rushed forward and caught him before he could collapse onto the stone floor.
Up close, Thaddues looked far too pale. The strain of large-scale magic had hollowed his face, and faint traces of exhaustion lingered beneath his eyes. Yet despite it all, he remained calm.
"I'm fine," Thaddues said quietly.
He reached for another potion and drank it without hesitation. Color slowly returned to his face—not fully, but enough.
Esteban looked deeply unsettled.
"My lord… what you did…"
Thaddues ignored the unfinished sentence.
"Where are they?"
"On their way here," Esteban answered immediately. "They should arrive soon."
"Good."
Thaddues straightened himself slowly before walking toward an open section of the castle grounds overlooking the sea.
Esteban followed behind him with visible confusion.
"My lord?"
Thaddues stopped at the center of the open space and looked toward Esteban.
"Once they arrive," he said calmly, "act normally."
Esteban frowned. "My lord, what do you—"
He stopped mid-sentence because Thaddues had already raised his wand toward the sky.
The air changed instantly. Even the winds seemed to weaken as a deep pulse of magic spread outward before gathering at the tip of his wand in a glowing silver light.
Then Thaddues spoke.
"Tempus Oblivionis Magna."
An orb of pale blue light shot into the heavens at impossible speed and struck the clouds above Salt Shore.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the sky darkened.
Clouds twisted unnaturally across the horizon as glowing blue runes spread through the heavens like cracks of lightning. Esteban could only stare upward in silence.
Rain began to fall—soft at first, then steadily heavier.
The enchanted rain spread across the palace grounds and drifted over the cliffs, harbor, and nearby roads, settling over Salt Shore as a sustained magical weather charm rather than a natural storm.
Every person caught beneath the rain paused instinctively. Then came the headaches—sharp and sudden—as Thaddues' layered enchantments took hold.
Fishermen who had witnessed the castle's formation frowned in confusion, while merchants staring toward the cliffs rubbed their temples without understanding why.
"Why are you staring at the castle?" one merchant asked.
"I… guess I was admiring the white walls again," another replied uncertainly, as though it were familiar.
Near the docks, a child blinked repeatedly.
"Mama… what were we doing?"
"I… don't remember. Let's go inside," his mother said, uneasy.
Across Salt Shore, confusion repeated itself again and again, memories slipping into something ordinary and believable, leaving only a vague sense that nothing unusual had happened.
Only four retained the truth: Thaddues, Esteban, Isolde, and little Lily.
As the rain weakened, the enchantment faded.
The glowing runes dissolved from the clouds, and the downpour softened into harmless droplets before stopping entirely. Silence returned to the cliffs.
Thaddues lowered his wand and exhaled at last, a quiet relief settling over him.
It was done.
Everything had gone exactly as planned—perhaps even better.
The castle stood.
The witnesses had forgotten.
And for the first time since arriving in this world, he finally had something that was truly his own.
He walked to the cliff's edge. The sea stretched endlessly before him.
The ocean wind brushed against Thaddues' robes as he stood upon the cliffs of Salt Shore, no longer a guest beneath another lord's roof but the master of something entirely his own.
Yet even in that quiet victory, his thoughts lingered on the delayed system update and the power it still withheld from him.
Without turning, he spoke.
"Receive them at Peverell Hall."
Esteban, hearing the name of the palace, bowed low.
"Yes, my lord."
TBC
Castle Peverell
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