DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Harry Potter is the property of J.K. Rowling.
Italics text = character thinking to themselves.
Underline+Italics = character communicating with telepathy
Bold text = shouting
Bold+Italcs = Casting Spell/Ability
Chapter Twenty-Seven
At the Summit of Apocrypha & Sovngarde
Harry was in a distinctly foul mood. Then again, considering the circumstances and his current location, it could be expected.
It had been well over a year since he had gone looking for a Moth Priest with Serana, and things had been most eventful since. As he had expected, finding the old man had been relatively easy given his prior knowledge. Getting the brainwashed Moth Priest to read Serana's Elder Scroll was even easier, even if it came at the cost of the man being rendered blind.
The following hunt for another Elder Scroll, however, was neither fun nor easy. The fact that Harry knew almost step by step how to obtain it meant little in the face of the knowledge that we would come face-to-face with an avatar of Hermaeus Mora, the Daedric Prince of knowledge and memory. Sure, it came with a reward in the form of the Daedric Artifact Oghma Infinium, a book containing great power and knowledge written by Xarxes, the wizard sage and scribe also known as 'The Ageless One', as well as the offer to become Hermaeus Mora's champion which Harry not so respectfully declined, but merely being in the presence of something as sickening as even just that avatar almost made him and Serana throw up.
He then went and pulled a fast one on the Daedric Prince by summoning back the Oghma Infinium, which Hermaeus Mora had retrieved upon Harry reading some of it and absorbing some of its power, using the summoning seal he had first inscribed onto to cover.
Needless to say, Serana was less then pleased to discover that their troubles were rather pointless due to the Elder Scroll they retrieved from the Tower of Mzark in the ancient Dwarven mine of Blackreach NOT holding the information they needed regarding the vampire prophecy. She was even less enthused by the realization that the Elder Scroll they needed was in the hands of her still missing mother, Valerica.
Harry had to admit to being more than a little amused by the fact that Valerica had essentially spent over six and half centuries right under Harkon's nose given that the portal she had created to the Soul Cairn was in her lab within Volkihar Castle. For all Harkon whine and raged, it had been his own incompetence that prevented him from recovering the Elder Scroll… well, that and the fact that to open the portal either Serana or Valerica's own blood was necessary.
The trip through the Soul Cairn was creepy, but otherwise uneventful. With Harry's control over souls via the Stone of Resurrection, what would have otherwise been not dissimilar to a foray to Azkaban became little more than a stroll with occasional breaks so that he may either Soul Trap some of the souls around for later use or to mine for Soul Gems that were more than abundant there.
Overall, for all its creepiness, the trip to the Soul Cairn was most rewarding. Not only did they get the Elder Scroll they needed, but Harry also gained two more Shouts, one to summon the undead dragon Durnehviir while the other to summon a trio of undead minions, summon a Boneman, Mistman and Wrathman from the Soul Cairn. Harry also managed to learn the spell to summon the skeletal horse Arvak by finding its skull in the Soul Cairn, giving him a mount he could summon at all times, be it in the Soul Cairn or Nirn.
The following trip to the Ancestor Glade where they could safely – as long as they followed the Moth Priest's instructions to the letter – read the Elder Scrolls was remarkably easy by comparison.
The next trip, that to find Auriel's Bow, compensated for that prior ease by getting on their nerves with all the waypoints the snow elves had. Finding out that the whole prophecy was essentially a fake perpetuated by a vampire snow elf did not make things better, either, though killing Arch-Curate Vyrthur alleviated some of their irritation as did gaining Auriel's Bow.
If Serana and Knight-Paladin Gelebor were surprised or upset that Harry put them to work on making Bloodcursed Elven Arrows and Sunhallowed Elven Arrows, respectively, they did not complain… much… for the first week. Nevertheless, despite their irritation, Harry had been stocking on Elven Arrows in preparation for this for a while now and wanted to get it done and over with. In the end, after a full month of the vampire and last remaining snow elf spending most of their time on the arrows, Harry had just over a hundred thousand each.
The following confrontation with Harkon had been, quite frankly, disappointing. Even the fact that Harry and Serana fought him head on rather than resort to stealth like a good ninja did not alter the result any. After blasting the man and his Gargoyle summons and pinning him to a wall with his gravity manipulation and a Sticking Charm, he had simple handed Auriel's Bow and some Sunhallowed Elven Arrows to Serana and let her vent her frustration on her sperm donor for all the suffering and betrayal she had gone through because of him and his obsession.
Harry was less then surprised when after looting Harkon's corpse and taking his sword for himself, Serana had point-blank asked him to help her get rid of her vampirism, something he had done post-haste along with curing himself of it. He did, however, keep several samples of infected blood from each of them, for later study if nothing else.
Following that, they had returned to Castle Volkihar to find Valerica there… and proceeded to lay down the law on how they would be allowed to feed from there on as well as the rules they would have to abide by when it came to turning others into vampires. And if they had to massacre a good two third of the vampires in the castle, then that was what they did.
Following that mess, the two of them had headed to the College of Winterhold to meet up with Tamaria and Miosotis Soul-Tamer who had been there for quite a while. They were expecting to find them causing a bit of a mess, knowing Tamaria's personality, but getting drawn into the unfolding clusterfuck that was the excavation of Saarthal and the ensuring mess was not what the two now former vampires were hoping for.
Nevertheless, four months after their arrival at the College Harry found himself the proud possessor of one Staff of Magnus, one Eye of Magnus, the collective memories of the four members of the Psijic Order that had arrived to retrieve the two artifacts, and in the position of Archmage which was rather nonchalantly handed over to him by Tolfdir who had started the whole mess by excavating Saarthal!
After that, the four had decided that they should make tracks for a while and avoid affiliation to any organization, merely focus on adventuring a bit. Sure, Harry sent a Kage Bunshin over to the College daily to not only keep an eye on things but also increase his knowledge in the fields of magic of Skyrim, but overall, he kept his distance.
Their goal upon leaving the College was to do some tomb raiding to both clean up some of the Draugr, fill their pockets with some ancient treasures and allow Harry to learn a few more Words of Power. Soon enough, however, their goal was diverted to the search for the mythical Aetherium Forge and some piece of Aetherium to make it work.
To do this, they had ventured to the Dwemer ruin of Arkngthamz, located deep within the Jerall Mountains; the ancient Dwemer bridge Deep Folk Crossing, located north of Markarth; and to the ancient Dwemer ruin of Raldbthar, located just east of Irkngthand. They would have had to go to Mzulft as well, but Harry had picked up the Aetherium shard there when he had retrieved the Staff of Magnus months prior.
After that, they had been able to venture beneath the Ruins of Bthalft to find the Aetherium Forge deep in the heart of the volcano it had been built in. Knowing that there would be no other samples of Aetherium to be found, at least not easily, Harry has used the alchemy to store away a blueprint of the Aetherium Crest in a Blueprint Orb so that he could make as many Aetherium Crest's as needed at a later time out of Philosopher Stones. Hours later, after creating a few Aetherium Crests and out of them Aetherial Crowns, Shields and Staves, Harry proceeded to make a Blueprint Orb of the while Aetherium Forge itself since, while rather limited at the moment in what designs it could produce, it had incredible potential that he was unwilling to let rust – or more likely melt given that it was in a volcano – under Skyrim.
It was less than a week after that when Harry discovered he was uncomfortably famous in Skyrim via a request from someone who identified himself as The Ebony Warrior for a fight to the death because apparently the new Dragonborn was the worthiest opponents the experienced Redguard warrior could find that was capable of sending him to Sovngarde.
Given that losing would mean his own death, Harry had hesitated little in granting the man the death he so desired, and netting himself what was without a doubt the best armor he had yet to run across, all Ebony of the highest quality, enchanted to boot.
After that, they spent a good while doing something universally recognized as both crazy and worthwhile simultaneously: performing tasks for Daedric Princes.
At the top of the list was Azura who had been waiting for quite a while for Harry to recover and cleanse her artifact, Azura's Star which he did at the best of his abilities – after creating a Blueprint Orb of its tainted state as the Black Star, of course, and then did the same with its cleansed form.
The next Daedric Prince they dealt with was Mehrunes Dagon which consisted of recovering the shards of Mehrunes' Razor and making it whole again… and killing the homicidal worshiper of said Daedric Prince. Still, given that the dagger was enchanted to potentially kill instantly, it was not a weapon Harry was willing to leave to chance.
Mephala was next, and it's the task was rather simple in the form of recovering its Ebony Blade from Dragonsreach in Whiterun Hold. While Mephala had advised him that to increase the blade's power he needed to sacrifice some people that trust him by killing them with the black katana, Harry was quick to discover that he could just as easily increase the blade's power by feeding it his chakra… though the urge to use it on Lydia spiked every time he saw the annoying woman.
Their free travels through Skyrim came to an abrupt end when dragons began seeking them out and with them were Cultists which Harry was quick to recognize as followers of Miraak, the first Dragonborn, prompting them to venture to Solstheim.
Upon the island of Solstheim, Harry had three goals. The first, of course, was settling things with Miraak. The second was to acquire all seven Black Books and ensure they would remain in his possession just as he had done with the Oghma Infinium, regardless of how much it would piss off Hermaeus Mora. And the third was to acquire Stalhrim as well as the proper knowledge of how to forge weapons and armor out of the enchanted ice-like stone.
The later objective was easy to do, he merely needed to speak with a few people, do a few favors, layer a few compulsions to loosen a few tongues and voila, he received first-hand training in making Stalhrim Weapons and Armor.
Acquiring the Black Books, on the other hand, was much more time consuming and unpleasant as it meant encounters with Hermaeus Mora and even trips to his Oblivion Plane of Apocrypha which were all-around disgusting as were all encounters with the Daedric Prince's underlings.
The efforts to stop Miraak, however, were the most time-consuming and urgent, however, given that the first Dragonborn had enslaved a good portion of the population. Sure, learning the Bend Will, Dragon Aspect and Devour Soul Dragon Shouts, the later by copying it when Miraak used it in front of him, was beyond useful, but essentially sacrificing Storn Crag-Strider, the Elder shaman of the Skaal Village to learn the final Word of Power of the Bend Will Shout was more than a little distasteful, enough that as soon as Hermaeus Mora had made himself scarce Harry had summoned the man's soul back, temporarily bound it to his corpse and used the Reanimation Shout to bring him back to life. He man had been rather frightened and some of his sanity had been eroded, but he would live and recover somewhat over time.
Which led to the present when Harry, upon firmly vetoing Serana's desire to accompany him by arguing this was a matter of Dragonborn pride, had ventured into Apocrypha for hopefully the final time.
Hence why he was currently facing a pissed off dragon he dimly remembered was called Sahrotar or something similar after just learning the last Word of Power of the Dragon Aspect Shout. Given the things he had faced since arriving in Skyrim, it should not be surprising that Harry found himself rather unimpressed by the overgrown iguana's roars and promptly hit it with a Bend Will shout.
"Gol – Hah – Dov!" Harry Shouted and within moments of being hit by the blast of brainwashing energy, the dragon became still and servile.
"Hail, thuri. Your thu'um has the mastery. Climb aboard and I will carry you to Miraak." the dragon uttered.
"Good, and fly swiftly. I want to get out of this Divine-forsaken place as soon as possible." Harry grunted as he jumped onto the dragon's back as he had seen Miraak do and held on for dear life, using some chakra to stick to the dragon even if it was mostly useless due to its scales' resistance to external energies.
The flight to the tower-like structure within Apocrypha was not long, though Harry had to enslave a couple more dragons to his will as they tried to breathe fire and frost upon him and his mount. Landing, his eyes did not move away from Miraak who was waiting by the small pool of corrupted water that was a common sight in this realm. Dismounting, he warily approached the ancient Dragonborn. Before he could speak, however, Miraak took the initiative.
"The time for talking is long past." He uttered before shouting "Kruziikrel! Relonkiv! Vulyolwunduniik! Now!" he then shot a blast of lightning at Harry who blocked it with a magic shield.
Unfortunately, the lightning kept coming and while strong his shield was not meant to last too long. So, he had to disrupt the other Dragonborn's spellcasting, choosing a Shinra Tensei to do so as it also continued blocking the lighting attack until it has blasted Miraak away.
"Mul – Qah – Diiv!" Miraak Shouted and was shrouded in an ethereal armor that signified the use of the Dragon Aspect.
"Mul – Qah – Diiv!" Harry Shouted in response followed by a blast of fire that Miraak endured before engaging Harry in a swordfight.
"Hermaeus Mora is laughing at us, you know." Miraak remarked conversationally.
"Of course, he is." Harry shot back before pushing Miraak away. "You were not only stupid enough to sell your soul to him, you are now stupid enough to believe you can get away with it."
"I already have!" Miraak exclaimed "Fus – Ro – Dah!" he Shouted at Harry who jumped over the blast of force.
"Bombarda!" Harry snapped out a blasting curse that while missing Miraak, it hit the ground close enough to him that the shrapnel resulting from the explosion still damaged the ancient Dragonborn. "If you truly believe that, you are a fool." Harry spat. "Look around you, idiot! This is Apocrypha! His realm! Do you truly believe you can do as you please here because you've outsmarted him or something? Don't answer that, you've embarrassed yourself enough!" Harry cut him off when he opened his mouth.
"Then, of wise one, why else can I act with impunity here?" Miraak mocked.
"Because Hermaeus Mora has been allowing you to do so, of course." Harry scoffed, blocking a blast of frost from a dragon who tried to blindside him and then sending as dagger into its brain via its eye. "Zii – Los – Dii – Du!" he Shouted and swiftly absorbed the dragon's soul before Miraak could do so himself.
"What?! How?" Miraak demanded angrily.
"I can do anything you can do. Only better." Harry taunted. "As for why Mora is letting you act out, it's because he's trying to get me to replace you in his service. Which, I can tell you Mora since I know you're listening in, will not happen."
"IntEResTIng cLAim, DrAGOnbOrn." Hermaeus Mora's distorted voice was heard from all around them.
"I am, however, willing to trade knowledge with you." Harry shot back. "Knowledge you would never be able to gain access to otherwise."
"Mora, you…!" Miraak began angrily. "Relonkiiv! Zii – Los – Dii – Du!" he Shouted and devoured his dragon underling's soul to strengthen himself. "Vulyolwunduniik! Zii – Los – Dii – Du!" he continued as harvested the soul of his remaining ally, the three dragons Harry had arrived with taking flight to get out of his range. "Wuld!" he added to dodge the enormous lighting blast Harry sent his way.
"hAh! Did yoU THinK tO escaPE ME, MirAAk? YoU cAn HIde nothing FroM ME HeRe!" Hermaeus Mora mocked.
"Get back here, coward!" Harry spat and with a burst of speed he was upon Miraak once more, landing blow after blow as be stopped holding back, even enhancing his body with his chakra. "Fight me like a man!" he roared as a kick to the chest shattered the ancient Dragonborn's armor and likely a few ribs as well, causing him to fall on his ass.
"This… cannot be!" Miraak gasped. "I… am the master… of my own… fate!" he protested weakly as his Dragon Aspect ran out. "He… will betray you… like he has… betrayed me!" he warned. "If you… join me…!"
He never got to finish, Harry's hand flashing forward as his Rinnegan activated, grabbing Miraak's head and soul and ripped the later from its mortal form and after the stream of memories had settled he released it to be absorbed into him, proving that Dragonborns indeed had the souls of dragons… and with it came hundreds of other dragon souls, that had been devoured by Miraak across his existence .
"WHat wAS THat?!" Mora demanded with both anger and greed.
"I killed him, of course." Harry snorted as he began looting the body, a practice he had long since become familiar with. "Wasn't that what you wanted? Oh, if you're asking about the spell, well, it's one of the things you would never gain knowledge of… unless you agree to trade with me. Knowledge for knowledge."
"Hm… I hAD HopeD to SHOw hIm my DIspleaSUrE MYselF, buT Oh WelL." Mora mused.
"I will never serve you, I have no desire to remain bound to Nirn or Oblivion longer then it takes me to kill Alduin. However, that does not mean we cannot profit from a short-lived business arrangement." Harry reasoned as he got up and stored away Miraak's things.
"InTRiGuiNg… ANd WHaT do YoU WAnT iN ExChaNGe?"
"What do you have on Aetherial and Daedric Magic, to start with?" Harry smirked.
Yes, he would give Hermaeus Mora knowledge he would never obtain otherwise, alright. Memories of thousands upon thousands of basic magic books from his world along with plenty of the fantasy kind from all the souls he had gained the memories of. After all, he was well aware Mora would also be following the word of their agreement, not its spirit.
Timeskip – Sovngarde
Upon jumping into the portal opened via the staff of hopefully the last Dragon Priest on Nirn, Harry found himself a new place, one that made the circle symbolizing the absorbed Stone of Resurrection pulse frantically. That, more than anything, convinced him he had ended up in Sovngarde, the afterlife of Nirn. After all, the scenery most certainly did not seem what one would expect from an afterlife. In fact, it was quite similar to Skyrim.
Making his way down the stairs surrounded by statues of hooded people, he soon reached a wall of fog, one that he could feel leeching at his power and vitality.
"So, this must be Alduin's infamous Soul Fog, which can act as a soul snare." Harry remarked. "Yeah, I'm not touching that. I'm rather attached to my soul. Lok – Vah – Koor!" he Shouted, banishing a couple dozen meters of the fog.,
Knowing that the fog would soon return, he did not bother trying to cover the distance on foot.
"Wuld – Nah – Kest!"
Instead, he used the Whirlwind Sprint Shout to all but teleport close to the end of the cleared area. He could have used a Shunshin, true, but he had noticed that after devouring hundreds upon hundreds of Dragon Souls – which was one of the reasons it had taken him so long to get to finally facing off against Alduin for the final time despite having finished all the 'Quests' from the Skyrim game over a year previous – and likely claiming all but four of them, namely Durnehviir, Odahviing, Paarthurnax and Alduin himself, Shouts barely cost him any energy at all, most of the required power coming from the world around him.
"Lok – Vah – Koor!" he repeated the Clear Skies Shout, banishing more of the Soul Fog. "This is going to take a while." He sighed.
A few more repeats of the two Shouts did not seem to make him much progress, but it did unveil what looked like a Stormcloak soldier collapsed and breathing heavily.
"Hey, you okay?" Harry asked. "Besides the fact that you're dead, that is, of course." He added.
"N-No." the soldier trembled as he pushed himself upright. "Turn back, traveler! Terror awaits in this mist!" he warned.
"He goes by Alduin these days, but it's close enough." Harry snorted.
"Many have braved the shadowed vale but vain is all courage against the peril that guards the way." The soldier told him warily.
"Move! Wuld – Nah – Kest!" Harry Shouted to get out of the way, just in time to avoid Alduin's jaws as he swept down and ate the soldier whole before taking off again within the cover of the Soul Fog. "Fucking mist, it's messing with my senses!" he cursed as he activated his Byakugan and grimaced at how poorly it allowed him to see through the fog. Still, it was enough to tell him vaguely which way the road led, thus in which direction he should clear more of the Soul Fog. "Lok – Vah – Koor! Wuld – Nah – Kest!"
That was how the next few hours were spent, Shouting time and again to clear his path and move, all the while avoiding Alduin who kept trying to eat him. There was little he could do for the dozen or so other souls he ran into who ended up in Alduin's stomach, though, they were simply too slow and Harry could not carry them and keep dodging the World Eater.
Eventually, after ascending a small mountain, he reached a bridge to what must be the Hall of Valor, where the most honored among the souls of the dead reside, only for some guy that clearly could not feel the chill of the surroundings – he was topless, in a place surrounded by snow, for heaven's sake! – to stop him, barring his path.
"Halt! What brings you, wayfarer grim, to wander here, in Sovngarde, souls-end, Shor's gift to honored dead?" he demanded.
"At the moment, I want to get inside the building behind you, Hall of Valor or whatever you call it." Harry replied, looking over his shoulder and briefly flashing his Byakugan to check for Alduin.
"No shade are you, as usually here passed, but living, you dare the land of the dead. By what right do you request entry?" the guy, whom Harry dimly remembered to be call Tsun from what he read on the internet, demanded.
"Look, pal." Harry growled. "I've been in Skyrim for almost four years now. Since then, I've become the leader of the College of Winterhold, the Companions of Jarrvaskr, the Dark Brotherhood, the Blades, become the Thane of every Hold, and to top it all I'm the Dragonborn and been hunting down and killing every dragon in all of Skyrim. And now, I'm here for Alduin. You don't get to question my right to entry."
"Living or dead, by decree of Shor, none may pass this perilous bridge 'til I judge them worthy by the warrior's test." Tsun proclaimed as he grasped and raised the axe he held on his back, taking a fighting stance.
A second later, he was screaming in agony from the caved-in chest caused by a Rasengan that had also blasted him into a boulder, embedding him into it.
"I don't have time for ceremony." Harry said in annoyance and began making his way towards the bridge.
"Y-You… fought well." Tsun gasped out, causing Harry to pause and glance back, just remembering the guy was already dead so damaging him further won't have any significant consequences unless he used soul magic. "Long… has it been… since one of the living… has entered… the Hall of Valor." He coughed blood as his chest slowly fixed itself. "May Shor's favor follow you."
"Thanks." Harry muttered sarcastically before hurrying to and across the bridge made of dragon ribs, then up the stairs and into the large building.
"Welcome, Dragonborn! Our door has stood empty since Alduin first set his soul-snare here." a man, who was easily recognized as Ysgramor from the statue Harry had seen not too long ago, greeted. "By Shor's command we sheathed out blades and ventured not the vale's dark mist. But three await your sword to loose their fury upon the perilous foe." He smiled encouragingly "Gormlaith the fearless, glad-hearted in battle; Hakon the valiant, heavy-handed warrior; Felldir the Old, far-seeing and grim."
"Well, at lease there are some people in Sovngarde brave enough to face Alduin." Harry remarked. "I just have to find them now, don't I?" he walked off, activating his Byakugan to find those three whom he already had an idea what they looked like.
It took him all of ten feet to reach them, the three having been actually waiting for him.
"At long last! Alduin's doom is now ours to seal – just speak the word and with high hearts we'll hasten forth to smite the worm wherever he lurks." Gormlaith, the only female among them, an armored blonde woman bearing both sword and shield, with three stipes of warrior paint across her face, uttered excitedly.
"Hold, comrades – let us counsel take before battle is blindly joined. Alduin's mist is more than a snare – its shadowy gloom is his shield and cloak. But with four voices joined, our valor combined, we can blast the mist and bring him to battle." Felildir, the oldest present, clad in grey leather robes, cautioned.
"Felldir speaks wisdom – the World-Eater, coward, fear you, Dragonborn. We must drive away his mist, Shouting together, and then unsheathe our blades in desperate battle with our black-winged foe." The red-haired Hakon, whose right eye was blind, uttered in agreement.
"To battle, my friends! The fields will echo with the clamor of war, our wills undaunted!" Gormlaith exclaimed and all three charged outside, giving Harry no choice but to immediately follow, less he loses the only allies he had in this place.
Down the stairs of the Hall of Valor and across the dragon-bone bridge, they hurried with their weapons drawn, all the way to the edge of the Soul Fog.
"We cannot fight the foe in this mist!" Felldir remarked.
"Clear Skies – combine our Shouts!" Gormlaith suggested.
"Alduin will hide in this lightless mist until we Shout together to shatter his power." Hakon agreed.
"Lok – Vah – Koor!" Harry Shouted followed by the other three, banishing a large portion of the Soul Fog before them.
"Ven – Mul – Riik!" Alduin was heard Shouting from everywhere around them and the Soul Fog reasserted itself.
"Again!" Gormlaith declared.
"We can shatter his power if we Shout together!" Felldir agreed.
"Lok – Vah – Koor!" all four of the Shouted, banishing the Soul Fog again.
"Ven – Mul – Riik!" the Soul Fog returned at Alduin's Shout.
"Does his strength have no end? Is our struggle in vain?" Hakon asked warily.
"Stand fast! His strength is failing! Once more, and his might will be broken!" Gormlaith shot back, confidently.
"She's right. No matter how many mortal souls Alduin may have devoured to raise his strength, it does nothing for the power of his Shouts. Only Dragon Souls do." Harry agreed, Tenseigan and Rinne-Sharingan active and keeping vigilant of where the World Eater may come from.
"His power crumbles - do not pause for breath! And the World Eater must face us!" Felldir urged.
"Lok – Vah – Koor!" all four of the Shouted, banishing the Soul Fog for good this time.
As if summoned by their Shout, Alduin flew in and breathed fire over them.
"Shinra Tensei!" Harry shot back, blasting the flames away and smacking the dragon's snout as well, earning an enraged roar. "Yeah, yeah, roar right back at you, buddy." He muttered. "Mul – Qah – Diiv!" he used the Dragon Aspect Shout to increase the power of his Shouts and then "Joor – Zah – Frul!" he hit Alduin with a Dragonrend right in the face, dropping him from the sky in panic just as he had begun raining down meteors on them with his Meteor Storm Shout.
"Now! While he is weakened!" Felldir exclaimed, causing the tree ancient warriors to dash at the dragon… and begin attacking it with their weapons.
"…I'm surrounded by idiots." Harry sighed before returning his full focus to the battle since these idiots could clearly not fight properly, muscle-brains the lot of them. "Mid – Vur – Shaan!" he began with the Battle Fury Shout, enchanting the weapons of those three so they would be of some use. "Krii – Lun – Aus!" the Marked for Death Shout followed, weakedning Alduin's armor and lifeforce. "Rii – Vaz – Zol!" he hit the dragon with a massively overpowered Soul Tear, and while it was unlikely to turn the World Eater into a Zombie upon its demise, Harry felt the link form with the special Soul Gem he had prepared and grinned ferally.
Ever since defeating Miraak around two years prior, perhaps more even, and claiming his memories for himself, Harry had been toying with the idea of not just stealing away the souls of dragons without going through the trouble of first killing them, but to store them away in Soul Gems like he did with mortal souls.
Obviously, ordinary means were not enough, as one would expect, otherwise there would be no need for a Dragonborn if any mage could imprison the souls of dragons. He did discover, however, that the Soul Tear Shout was capable of working better then the regular Soul Trap spells, but unfortunately the Soul Gems were not up to the task of imprisoning the soul of a dragon, not ever Azura's Star proving capable of it. Not due to it being too weak, however, but rather for lack of compatibility.
So, with that in mind, Harry transmuted another Azura's Star out of a chunk of Philosopher Stone and began experimenting with it, alchemically altering it via infusion of dragon bones to increase its compatibility to dragons. After all, when dragons were killed conventionally – i.e. without a Dragonborn – their souls were bound to their bones, until Alduin came around and began reviving them of course.
It took a while for him to have any success, and even longer to determine just the right formula, but in the end, he learnt how to alter Grand Soul Gems enough that they could safely hold within themselves the soul of dragons. The 100+ such filled Dragon Soul Gems he had stored away were proof of this.
For Alduin, though, something bigger was required. So he ended up fusing together one Azura's Star and it's tainted version, the Black Star, with the skeletons of seven purple-black colored Legendary Dragons, the most powerful breed in Skyrim, to create what Harry called the Dragon Star, which now, while maintaining the same shape as Azura's artifact, had both green and purple gems on it and was three time as big, the previous grey of the majority of its structure being replaced by bone white.
Harry was well aware how the Skyrim game ended, with Alduin's soul escaping from the Dragonborn, supposedly to show up again at the end of time to destroy Nirn. It was not a conclusion he liked, being cheated of the one dragon soul he had been hunting from the very beginning. So, he found an alternative.
To be able to implement it, though, he needed more time.
"Tiid – Klo – Ul!" Harry Shouted and the world around him slowed to a crawl.
Then, without hesitation, he began raining down offensive Shouts upon Alduin with the occasional jutsu and spell here and there, hitting him with a Dragonrend every once in a while, to keep him grounded and renewing the Slow Time to maintain the advantage, as well as the Soul Tear in preparation for the finishing strike.
He even used Alduin's own Meteor Storm Shout against him, though summoning fewer but larger meteors given that the World Eater was all but pinned down.
Eventually, though, the fight drew to a close as Alduin was visibly weakening, so Harry made his move.
"Wuld – Nah – Kest!" the Last Dragonborn Shouted and all but teleported right in front of the black dragon, physically taking the last couple of steps and slamming his palms onto its scaled hide. "Rikudo: Chibaku Tensei!" Harry roared, the Yang White Sun and Yin Black Moon seals on the palms of his hands pulsing with power as they were imprinted upon a new victim after hundreds of millennia.
It had taken Harry months upon months of meditation in his Six Paths Sage Mode to charge up the seal had had gained from Hagoromo Otsutsuki via forcefully absorbing the chakra shades within himself, but he had managed it.
Pulling his hands away, Harry could already feel the pull from the gravity core Alduin's body was becoming, even as it screamed in agony as its power was ripped from him. But Harry did not want just its power, so her reached out before the approaching stones from the ground could cover the dragon's form and used the Human Path of the Rinnegan to rip out its soul as well, ending the resistance to the power extraction and forcing both the dragon soul and the power that belonged to it to be stored into the Dragon Star by the previously Shouted Soul Tear.
Then, as extra insurance in case the now black-gemmed Dragon Star with a burning crimson draconic slit in the center proved to not be enough to hold Alduin on its own, he slammed bother hands onto it and imposed another seal upon the World Eater.
"Hakke Fuin!" he roared, grinning widely as whatever presence Alduin could manifest in the outer world was snuffed out, the Seal Key imprinting itself on his right arm before fading from view. A moment later, he used Kamui to send the Dragon Star away to his Dimension 0 where Serana also waited since he had left Whiterun on Odahviing's back, before turning his attention to the forming Moon even as he mentally pushed it away less it suck him in as well.
Thankfully, though, it did not grow to the size of a full Moon like Harry had expected but only about the size of Hogwarts castle before it stopped growing and remained in the air above Sovngarde, about a hundred meters above the Hall of Valor, upon which the Yang White Sun and Yin Black Moon seals returned to Harry's hands, empty but ready to be used again in the future once their toll was paid.
"Now, for the last touch." Harry thought as he created a Kage Bunshin behind the view of the Third Eye Charm that had been active since he had arrived at the Hall of Valor. It then dispelled, transmitting its memories to the clone he had left with Serana in his Dimension 0, allowing for time to continue flowing there even if he was not personally there. Under the view of his active Tenseigan, the mummified corpse of Alduin was summoned away boy his clone to the Dimension 0 and seconds later he got the memories of what said clone had been doing since its creation as it dispelled to notify him of its success.
"This was a mighty deed!" Tsun called out as he approached the group. "The doom of Alduin encompassed at last, and cleansed is Sovngarde of his evil snare. They will sing of this battle in Shor's hall forever. But your fate lies elsewhere." He remarked. "When you have completed you count of days, I may welcome you again, with glad friendship, and bid you join the blessed feasting. When you are ready to rejoin the living, just bid me so, and I will send you back." He declared.
"That eager to get rid of me, are you?" Harry snorted, deciding that he would make sure to stay alive for a few centuries if not millennia, if only to not see this useless dead guy too soon – seriously, while he and the other three were busting their asses to kill Alduin, he was simply watching and doing nothing. Shaking his head, he approached the three ancient warriors that had assisted him.
"All hail the Dragonborn! Hail him with great praise!" Felldir, Gormlaith and Hakon cheered.
"I couldn't have done it without you." Harry said honestly before adding internally "If you had not distracted Alduin, I might have had to use a few disguised Kage Bunshin to draw his attention from myself."
"It has been an honor to fight at your side, Dragonborn." Felldir uttered. "May your legend grow to match that of Talos!"
"Thank you." Harry gave them a small bow, basically putting on a show given that he was currently being watched. With that, he turned back to Tsun. "I'm ready to leave."
"Return now to Nirn, with this rich boon from Shor, my lord: a Shout to bring a hero from Sovngarde in your hour of need." Tsun uttered and Harry felt the new Shout manifest within his soul. Before he could focus on it, however, Tsun Shouted at him "Nahl – Daal – Vus!" and once the blast of energy hit, he knew only darkness for a few moments.
Appearing within a snowstorm, Harry took a moment to perused the new Call of Valor Shout he had received as well as the Return to Nirn Shout he had copied, before deciding that he was in no mood to be snowed on.
"Lok – Vah – Koor!" he Shouted at full power, banishing the snowstorm from the entire region to reveal the clear sky of the dusk… as well a Paarthurnax, making Harry realized he was at the Throat of the World once more, the dragon resting on the Word Wall.
"So, it is done. Alduin dilon. The Eldest is no more, he who came before all others, and has always been." Paarthurnax uttered with a tone of finality.
"You don't sound happy about it." Harry pointed out.
"Happy? No, I am not happy. Zeymahi lost ont du'ol Barmahu. Alduin was once the crown of our father Akatosh's creation. You did what was necessary. Alduin had flown far from the path of right action in his pahlok- the arrogance of his power. But I cannot celebrate his fall. Zu'u tiiraaz ahst ok mah. He was my brother once. This world will never be the same." Paarthurnax seemed to sigh.
"I guess I see where you're coming from." Harry shrugged. "It's rather rare for one to celebrate the death of one's family. I kind of wish a certain group of assholes did not drag me to a celebration on the anniversary of my parents' deaths every bloody year." He grumbled, but loud enough for the Third Eye Charm to catch. "Still, I have no regrets. Alduin had to die."
"Of course. Alduin nahlaan daanii. I would have not helped you if I thought otherwise." Paarthurnax agreed.
"Well, with this done, my Dragonborn destiny is over and done with." Harry shrugged. "Another prophecy down."
"Indeed, you saw more clearly than I - certainly more clearly than Alduin." Paarthurnax commented.
"Well, he brought it on himself." Harry pointed out. "He was the firstborn of Akatosh, the favored child. He had everything he could possibly want… and the spoiled brat ruined it all for himself."
"Indeed. Alduin wahlaan daanii. His doom was written when he claimed for himself the lordship that properly belongs to Bormahu – our father Akatosh." Paarthurnax agreed. "Rok funta koraav. Perhaps now you have some insight into the forces that shape the vennesetiid… the currents of Time. But I forget myself. Krosis. So los mid fahdon. Melancholy is an easy trap for a dovah to fall into. You have won a mighty victory. Sahrot krongrah – one that will echo through all the ages of this world for those who have eyes to see. Savor your triumph, Dovahkiin. This is not the last of what you will write upon the currents of Time." He leapt into the air. "Goraan! I feel younger than I have in many an age. Many of the dovah are now scattered across Keizaal. Without Alduin's lordship, they may yet bow to the vahzen… rightness of my Thu'um." He paused and turned to face Harry "But willing or no, they will hear it! Fare thee well, Dovahkiin!" he flapped his wings strongly and turned to leave.
Harry considered hitting him with a Dragonrend and imprisoning his soul as well, if not devouring it on the spot. Paarthurnax had, after all, been Alduin's second in command in ages past. But he decided against it, given that he was being watched by all of Hogwarts right now. He did not normally care how they saw him, but as a coward attacking from behind he did not wish to appear to them. besides, he already had Paarthurnax's memories from using the Human Path of the Rinnegan on him a few weeks prior.
Turning to his left, he watched Odahviing arrive and land before. Inwardly, he withheld a smirk; after all, had he followed the game to the letter, there would be dozens of dragons circling the Throat of the World, not just Paarthurnax and Odahviing being present. Clearly, he had cleaned them up nicely.
"Pruzah wundunne wah Wuth Gein. I wish the Old One luck in his... quest. But I doubt many will wish to exchange Alduin's lordship for the tyranny of Paarthurnax's 'Way of the Voice.' As for myself, you've proven your mastery twice over. Thuri, Dovahkiin. I gladly acknowledge the power of your Thu'um. Zu'u Odahviing. Call me when you have need, and I will come if I can." Odahviing assured him before leaping back into the sky.
"Oh, I know you will." Harry smirked a bit smugly. The chakra conductor created with the Rinnegan that he had implanted into Odahviing's body insured the mighty red dragon would answer his summons, even from worlds across. As would Durnehviir, for that matter.
Harry then looked around expectantly for an entire minute before scowling and looking over his shoulder.
"If I don't see a portal to Earth within the next ten seconds, I will personally rip a hole through reality and come rip you heads off." He uttered darkly, his eyes glowing with power.
Almost immediately, the portal – similar to the one that had brought him to Skyrim – manifested before him.
"Thank you." He said flatly. "Akatosh, I know you can hear me. It's been a blast, but it's time for me to go back to my world. I'm likely to return at some point, though, I have the knowledge of creating a portal to here. Will I be welcome back?"
"Always, my youngest son." Akatosh's voice echoed through his mind. "Till we meet again, Harry Ysmir Peverell."
Nodding in thanks, drew his wand and used a switching charm to replace his armor with his Hogwarts robes which had had a Fitting Charm cast on them so that they my grow to match his own growth. He had, after all, been on Nirn for close to four years now and due to taking the Elixir of Aging coupled with his continuous de-aging to age 13, he looked around 17 now.
Satisfied, he stepped towards the portal had had the image of him flicker a bit so that he may send all his gains from Skyrim to his Dimension 0. No way was he going to allow Dumbledore or the Unspeakables to try to take his stuff away, for his own good of course.
The trip through the portal was similar to the one that brought him to Skyrim, only without a Daedric Prince and a Divine waiting for him on the other side. Instead, he arrived to the sound of applause, in the middle of the stadium, and gave them a wave with a pleased smile before heading towards the judges.
"Congratula…" Dumbledore began.
"Where's Luna? Is she okay?" Harry demanded, cutting the old man off.
"Miss Lovegood is well. She returned several days before you did." The Hogwarts Headmaster assured him with twinkling eyes. "Rest assured, her Task was much safer than yours."
"As were all others, I assume." Harry deadpanned. "I tend to have that kind of luck."
"Too true." Dumbledore chuckled. "And I must say, you are quite fortunate that the speed with which you complete the tasks is not as important as the way you do so. Otherwise, you would have scored last. It is December 24th!"
"You clearly underestimate how little I care for my score." Harry deadpanned.
His mood did not change much when minutes later, the final scores for all four Champions were announced, with him and Viktor Krum tying for first place with 44 points each which Luna and Fleur Delacour tied to second place with 35 points each.
"So, Harry, would you like to be my date for the Yule Ball?" Luna inquired. "Kaguya and Susan already got dates so they would not stand out." She added quietly.
"Sure." Harry grinned. "Now I just need to teleport to Potter Manor and let Serana out." He thought.
A.N.: Yes, as incredible it may seem, I did update this story. Honesty, I originally planted to update on New Years Eve, but life happened it the chapter was delayed a bit.
I know what most will say; 'Where's the rest of Skyrim!?'. And I understand, I really do… I understand why all the stories of Harry Potter ending up in Skyrim as part of the Triwizard Tournament ended up dead, that is. To the other authors out there who attempted it, whom I nagged for more updates, you have my deepest apologies and my sympathies.
That said, given that Serana will now be part of the story, expect occasional flashbacks to events in Skyrim that is skipped on but still happened off-screen. Not too soon, though.