Thunder cracked over Diagon Alley, but Aarav wasn't looking at the sky.
He was staring at the hidden door beneath Gringotts.
It was carved into a dead-end wall in Knockturn Alley, visible only with his newly acquired Memory Lock vision.
The stone shimmered with a musical sigil:
"Only those who've heard the dying song of a bloodless oath may pass."
From his Time Shard trial, Aarav had heard Lily Potter's final moments—her dying song, a melody of sacrifice echoed in the weave of time.
He focused, whispered it, and let magic ride on the words:
"Love is no shield, but I give it still."
The stone door dissolved.
He stepped into the darkness beneath Gringotts, into the Chamber of Stone and Song.
The chamber wasn't goblin-built.
This was older.
Dwarven, from before the goblin wars. Thick pillars etched with runes of iron and harmony held up the vault. Echoes of long-dead songs vibrated in the stone.
And then…
Clink.
Steel on rock.
A figure emerged from the shadows, his armor scorched, his right tusk missing.
"You're not one of the Bank's Bloodbinders," the goblin growled.
Aarav lowered his hood.
"Name's Aarav. I'm looking for a Time Shard."
The goblin stepped closer, slinging a heavy warhammer over one shoulder.
"I am Goldfang, last Warden of this ruin. If you're after the Shard, you'll help me first."
Aarav hesitated. "Help with what?"
Goldfang pointed deeper into the vaults.
"Voldemort's magic poisoned the lower runes. Twisted a dwarven song-spirit into a Rift Wraith. It guards the Shard now."
"Cleanse it, or no one leaves."
System Quest: Rift Wraith Purge
Quest Title: Song of Stone, Wail of Time
Objective: Defeat the corrupted Song-Spirit (Rift Wraith)
Optional: Restore Harmony Core of the Vault
Reward: Time Shard 2/5, Rune Smithing Skill, Goblin Favor (Goldfang)
Aarav nodded grimly. "Let's end this."
They descended a spiral of melody-etched steps.
The air grew cold. The walls shimmered with fractured illusions—snapshots of failed futures. Aarav saw one where Hogwarts burned… another where Dumbledore never died… and a third where he himself wore the Dark Mark.
Then came the music.
Low. Twisting.
Like a violin played backward inside a cave.
The Rift Wraith emerged.
A molten shadow, strung together by musical bars of black light. Its face looked almost… human.
Goldfang launched first—slamming a gravity rune.
"Go! I'll hold its shape—break its bond!"
Aarav activated Spellweave Mode.
"Song Severance!" he cast, combining Silent Chorus + Arc Break + Chord Split.
The magic struck the bars holding the Wraith together. Cracks rippled through the wraith's notes.
It screamed—in every voice that had died here.
Aarav unleashed Memory Lock to resist their pull.
"This ends here."
He cast his first Level 3 composite spell:
"Symphonic Banishment!"
A six-note staff of silver fire wrapped around the Wraith, shattering its melody into silence.
When the Wraith faded, a soft tone rang.
Floating above the altar at the vault's heart… was the second Time Shard.
Shaped like a tuning fork, humming with the echo of a mother's lullaby.
Aarav took it.
System Update:
Time Shard 2 of 5 Acquired: The Wailing Echo
Skill Gained: Soundweaving – Manipulate magical sound constructs
Passive Upgrade: Memory Lock II – Immune to song-based illusions
EXP +7500
Next Shard Hint: "Where a mirror sees not reflection, but regret – The Forgotten Hall of Black Manor"
Goldfang limped forward.
"You didn't just survive—you ended it."
He handed Aarav a rune-inscribed token.
"If you ever fight goblin steel in the final war, show them this. I'll make sure at least some blades turn your way."
System Trait Gained: Goblin Favor (Goldfang)
→ Minor influence over underground smiths and rogue factions
Aarav nodded, breathless but ready.
Two shards down.
Three to go.
And time was beginning to bend.