Meanwhile, Erwin returned directly to Slytherin's dungeons beneath Hogwarts. He descended systematically to the deepest chamber—the very room where he had first received the profound legacy of Salazar Slytherin.
Erwin pushed open the heavy iron door with deliberate force and gently touched his brow. The physical manifestation of the Ravenclaw Diadem faded from visibility as he summoned forth the Founder's preserved spirit.
"Come out, Lady Ravenclaw," Erwin commanded with quiet authority.
Moments later, the distinctive spectral form of Rowena Ravenclaw materialized gracefully. She drifted in contemplative silence, her penetrating gaze sweeping across the shadowed gloom before finally settling on the imposing stone statue of Slytherin.
"Is there something specific you wish to discuss with me?" she asked with characteristic directness.
Erwin smiled knowingly. "You are remarkably clever, Lady Ravenclaw. You must have deduced much already through observation and logic. As for the remaining gaps in your knowledge... well, you will not hear those details from me directly. I merely wished to introduce you to an old acquaintance. You have sought him out repeatedly, have you not? But he consistently refused to answer your calls."
Ravenclaw offered no verbal reply to the observation.
Unfazed by her silence, Erwin extended his hand with focused intent, channeling the distinctive Power of Death. Violent magical force ripped a spectral form directly from the ancient statue, forcefully dragging it into present manifestation.
It was Salazar Slytherin. The Founder's ghost glared at Erwin with obvious displeasure, his expression grimly hostile.
"The Power of Death," Slytherin muttered with grudging recognition, his voice carrying a raspy quality. "You genuinely wield the power of a god now."
The Four Founders had possessed extensive knowledge of magic's fundamental nature, but they had never achieved the capability to wield true divine authority themselves.
Ravenclaw turned sharply to Erwin, her tone carrying obvious caution. "I previously assumed such power remained beyond human control entirely."
"Gods were once human," Erwin countered smoothly with philosophical calm. "They were merely born earlier, in a specific era when this world desperately required a wielder of that particular power. That unique timing and necessity is what elevated them to godhood."
"Are all gods fundamentally the same in nature?" Ravenclaw pressed, her intellectual curiosity thoroughly piqued.
Erwin shook his head decisively. "No. The gods of the West and those of the East differ fundamentally in both nature and function. Western gods serve as executors of cosmic order; Eastern deities operate as administrators of destiny itself."
Slytherin shifted uncomfortably in his spectral form, his legendary patience wearing dangerously thin.
"Enough philosophical discussion," the Slytherin founder snapped with characteristic abrasiveness. "You summoned me specifically to boast about your achievements? Fine. You have thoroughly proven your exceptional strength."
"Always so unnecessarily abrasive," Erwin mused, his faint smile gradually fading. "That particular character flaw is precisely why you remain so poorly regarded by history. I brought you here for one specific reason: Merlin is dead. I killed him personally."
The announcement struck like metaphorical thunder. Both Ravenclaw and Slytherin froze in absolute shocked stillness.
"Impossible," Slytherin gasped with genuine disbelief. "He held true divine authority—the mantle of the greatest wizard! How could you possibly slay him?"
In direct response, Erwin simply stood motionless. Behind his still form, a magnificent golden scepter slowly materialized from ethereal nothingness. It radiated supreme, coercing magical pressure that filled the entire chamber.
Slytherin's eyes widened dramatically to the size of saucers. "The wand... You truly killed him and claimed his authority."
"I never lie about matters of consequence," Erwin stated with flat certainty.
Slytherin's spectral form flared with obvious agitation, his voice rising to an anguished roar. "Fool! Do you realize what you have done? You will destroy the world! You have shattered the Great Plan! How could you be so catastrophically reckless!"
Ravenclaw remained thoughtfully silent, simply watching. She sensed the complete truth was about to be laid bare.
Erwin released a dry, utterly humorless laugh. "The Great Plan? Destroy the world? You have absolutely no idea what this world truly is. You think the entity Merlin suppressed for centuries actually intends to destroy this realm?"
Slytherin hesitated with obvious confusion. "You... you know of his existence? Then why deliberately interfere with our carefully constructed safeguards?"
"I am correcting a fundamental mistake," Erwin said, his voice dropping to chilling coldness. "Your plan was genuinely comprehensive, I freely admit. You discovered a being actively hunting gods, one who sought bloody reckoning for ancient crimes. You automatically assumed he represented the villain, the destroyer of worlds destined to bring apocalypse."
"You know of this threat?" Slytherin asked, utterly bewildered by the revelation.
"I know everything," Erwin confirmed with absolute certainty. "I know that Merlin deliberately split his Draconic bloodline into four distinct parts, seeding the legend of the Four Founders. I know he specifically sought a descendant of the Pendragon line—arranging union with my father, resulting in my birth. Your ultimate goal was fusing the bloodlines of Merlin and King Arthur—the two most potent Western magical lineages—into one perfect vessel: me. You desperately hoped I would be the ultimate weapon to stop him."
Slytherin clenched his spectral fists with visible frustration. "If you knew all this from the beginning, why kill Merlin?"
Erwin looked at him with something approaching pity. "I told you already. I am correcting an error. You believe your meticulously crafted scheme—sacrificing yourself, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor—was absolutely flawless. You thought that once I matured sufficiently, I would decisively nip the crisis in the bud."
He took a deliberate step closer, his overwhelming presence filling the chamber.
"But you are laughably ignorant. You know essentially nothing of this world's true nature. You don't understand the enemy you face. You don't even realize that my existence is part of HIS plan. Your scheme was calculated, yes—but not by you."
Slytherin recoiled visibly. "What are you saying?"
Erwin's smile turned razor-sharp with cruel truth. "I was not created to save you. I was created BY him. He could have crushed you all instantly at any point, but he didn't. He deliberately allowed you to execute your plan because he needed you to perfect the vessel. You thought I was your backup plan? No. I am HIS plan."
A cold, terrible dread washed over Slytherin's spectral form. "Impossible. That plan was formulated as a last-minute decision! No one could have foreseen it! Using the West's strongest bloodline to counter the East... it was decided spontaneously!"
"Spontaneous?" Erwin scoffed with obvious contempt. "You speak of Western bloodlines as though they represent supreme power. In the context of the ancient 'Land of the Dragon,' your heritage is utterly insignificant. There is only one true top-tier bloodline in this world—the lineage of the most ancient Eastern god."
He gestured vaguely, as though encompassing all of history itself.
"That god poured his divine blood onto the earth, creating a golden age of magic. Over countless millennia, that blood progressively diluted and drifted westward with the dragon veins. What you prize as 'noble lineage' is merely a fragmented remnant of that ancient deity. And that remnant... flows within my veins."
Slytherin clenched his fists until his spectral knuckles turned pure white. Erwin's explanation was devastatingly, terribly clear.
"But why?" Slytherin whispered, the righteous anger fading into profound confusion. "Why would he do this?"
Erwin turned away, looking contemplatively at the ancient stone walls of the dungeon.
"That," he said softly with finality, "is the question you should have asked centuries ago."