Hogwarts wizards who signed in to Middle-earth.

Chapter 247 Did I travel back in time?

As night falls, the hidden stars of Eyarendil and Kanir rise once more from where the sun sets in the west.

Starlight was projected once more, falling onto the top of the Osank Tower and continuously flowing into the magic circle.

As the sun rises in the morning, the two stars temporarily disappear again, and the magic circle continues to operate on the remaining starlight.

Day after day, the golden liquid inside the furnace gradually turned red, and the red light it emitted grew stronger and stronger.

Bathed in red light, Dui's magical power was increasing rapidly.

His spiritual realm is also constantly improving, and his understanding of various kinds of magic is becoming more and more profound.

But at the same time, the desires deep within are amplified and transformed into increasingly real illusions in the mind.

In the vision, he possessed immense power, becoming invincible. Sauron was utterly crushed in his hands, Morgoth became his defeated foe, the Valar bowed before him, and the entire world was at his mercy...

He progressed from the level of the Maia to the level of the Valar, then surpassed the Valar, and finally reached the level of the creator god Ilúvatar.

Then, breaking through the void, they saw the real magical world, even encountering the Peverell brothers, who transformed into Death and gifted them the Three Deathly Hallows. They also witnessed the scene of the four founders establishing Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...

In the end, he returned to his original homeland and became the only god in that world!

These illusions felt so real that it became increasingly difficult for Dui to distinguish between reality and illusion. He could only desperately hold onto his last shred of reason, guarding them firmly with his mental fortress, not giving desire even the slightest chance to invade and take over.

Gandalf and Elrond stood guard outside the magic circle, continuously channeling the power of the Ring of Air and the Ring of Fire into it.

Alvin also stayed, watching Dui's figure within the magic circle with a worried expression.

This conjunction of Venus and Mars will last much longer than usual.

As the starlight shone through each day, those who had initially observed this strange phenomenon on the Central Continent gradually became accustomed to it.

Two months have passed in the blink of an eye, and it is the seventy-second day of the fourth stage of refining the magic stone.

The golden liquid in the furnace had almost completely turned red, with only a last trace of gold slowly changing color.

At this moment, the red light in the furnace reached its peak.

A dazzling red light burst through the furnace, illuminating the entire top of the Tower of Orsank in a fiery red glow. Even nearby Eisengard was within the range of the red light, as if a red star were embedded in the tower.

Throughout the entirety of Isengard, everything from the hippogriffs in the forests, the three-headed wolf Cerberus in the towers, the griffin Aslan, to Gandalf's mount Swift Shadow, was bathed in red light, all squinting their eyes with expressions of comfort.

As for the amplified desires that accompany the red light, they have little effect on these simple-minded animals.

Gandalf, Elrond, and Arwen, who were closest to the magic circle, also sensed the change.

Elrond and Gandalf, in particular, were already at the pinnacle of power in Middle-earth, but even bathed in the red light, they could still sense their magic power slowly increasing.

This gain surprised them, as their magic hadn't increased so rapidly in a long time.

But at this moment, they couldn't care less about the changes in their bodies. Instead, they all focused their attention on Dui in the magic circle, their faces showing worry.

“Mislandir, we're standing outside the magic circle, bathed in that red light. I feel my desires surging uncontrollably. But Duir is facing the red light directly, so the impact on him is countless times greater than ours. I'm afraid he won't be able to hold on until the end. We need to wake him up in time if necessary, and not let him succumb to desire!”

Gandalf looked at Dui struggling desperately inside the magic circle and nodded in agreement.

"However, the longer he can persevere, the greater his gains will be. I will now use Naya's power to help him, ignite his courage and hope, and alleviate his fatigue, hoping that he can persevere to the end."

As she spoke, she activated the Fire Ring Naya worn on her finger, diverting a portion of its power into Dui's body.

Upon seeing this, Elrond's furrowed brows relaxed slightly, and a smile appeared on his face.

“Duir is quite lucky. Of the three Elven Rings, Lady Galadriel’s ring is protective, while mine is healing. Only your ring, Mislandur, is of the comprehending nature, possessing the power to resist negative emotions. Perhaps it can help this kid get through the test smoothly.”

With the power of the Ring of Fire, Naya, Dui's originally exhausted spirit was refreshed, and his crumbling spiritual castle was made solid again.

The power of the Ring of Fire was filled with light, courage, and hope. Although it could not resist Dui's amplified desires, it strengthened Dui's mind, allowing his remaining shred of reason and consciousness to grow rapidly like a weak flame in the wind finding fuel.

Suddenly, Dui's pressure lessened.

He had been on the verge of falling into illusions and desires, but he pulled himself out of the mire once again.

But this doesn't mean Dui is safe. As more and more of the red liquid inside the furnace transforms, his desires will be amplified infinitely, and even the deepest desires hidden in his heart will be unearthed.

It was as if a demon resided within his body, growing stronger and stronger, constantly attempting to breach his mental defenses, devouring the last vestiges of consciousness and reason, and ultimately seizing control of his body.

Dui simply tried to enter a deep meditation, using a state of no-thought to combat the endless desires surging from the bottom of his heart.

As time passed, each day felt like an eternity. The last trace of gold in the furnace was swallowed by the red, and the red, glass-like liquid burst forth with an incomparably dazzling red light, as if it were radiating its final brilliance.

At that moment, the red light engulfed Dui, amplifying the desires in his heart to the extreme, transforming them into a torrent that surged into Dui's mind, overwhelming his mental defenses and directly drowning his consciousness. "Not good! Quickly awaken Dui!" Elrond, caught off guard by this sudden turn of events, paled drastically, activating the power of the Ring of Energy to flood Dui's body and continuously awakening him with the power of his mind.

"Duir, wake up!" Elrond's voice boomed, echoing in Duir's mind.

Gandalf also activated the Ring of Fire with all his might, using his hopeful and courageous power to try to awaken Dui's consciousness.

But no matter what the two did, Dui did not react at all, his consciousness sinking into the deepest level of illusion.

Seeing this, Alvin's face was full of worry and her eyes were filled with unease.

Seeing that neither her father nor Gandalf could awaken Duir, she noticed the Twilight Star necklace she had given him hanging around his neck, and her expression immediately became resolute, as if she had made some kind of decision...

------

Dui woke up from bed with a dazed look on his face as his phone alarm rang.

He looked around at his surroundings, feeling a sense of familiarity mixed with strangeness.

Is this the rented apartment he lives in? But it looks like he hasn't lived there in a long time.
"I think I had a dream?" Dui murmured to himself, his eyes full of doubt.

Then he tried to recall the events of his dream, but it felt like there was a veil between them; they were very blurry and fragmented.

"I think I traveled to another place in my dream? And experienced so many things?" Du Yi looked surprised, but then shook his head with amusement. "What a bizarre dream! Have I been reading too many time-travel novels lately?"

He immediately put the dream out of his mind, got up quickly to brush his teeth, dressed neatly, went out, had a simple breakfast downstairs, and then followed the crowd onto the subway to begin another day of his corporate life.

Day after day, Dui had long since become accustomed to this way of life.

But after a busy day, when he lies exhausted back in bed and doesn't want to do anything, he always has the thought that this isn't the life he should be living.

This idea came out of nowhere, but it kept flashing through his mind.

Moreover, in his sleep, he vaguely seemed to hear a voice calling to him.

Dui wondered if he was working himself to the bone, but he didn't dare see a psychiatrist, fearing he might be diagnosed with a mental illness and lose his job.

With no other options, he had to find ways to relieve stress, such as going hiking, visiting amusement parks, or watching movies alone on weekends.

That day, he went to the cinema to watch a movie, originally intending to choose a newly released film, but he unexpectedly caught sight of a poster.

"The Lord of the Rings trilogy to be re-released in 3D/IMAX 3D?"

Dui looked surprised; he had seen the movie before and still had a vague memory of the plot.

After looking at a bunch of movie posters, he found none of the new movies appealing, so he simply chose to watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy back-to-back, intending to rewatch the films.

As the movie plot unfolded, Dui watched with great interest, but gradually a strange feeling arose in him. Looking at Gandalf, Elrond, and others on the screen, he felt that they were very familiar.

This familiarity isn't about understanding the characters themselves, but rather a sense of familiarity that comes from living together for a long time, like that of family.

Dui was quite taken aback by this strange sense of familiarity.

When he saw Alvin and Aragorn expressing their love for each other on the screen, and the surrounding audience sighed knowingly, he felt very uncomfortable, and a sour feeling welled up in his heart.

Even though he already knew the plot, he still felt that things shouldn't have turned out this way. Arwen couldn't possibly marry Aragorn; instead, she should marry... him?

Dui's eyes suddenly widened, feeling absurd about his sudden, unexpected idea.

But at that moment, Aragorn suddenly disappeared from the scene, and the actress playing Arwen transformed into an incredibly beautiful elf.

She radiated a holy, soft light, her gentle, starlight-filled eyes looking down at Dui through the screen.

"Duir, wake up! This isn't real. I'm waiting for you to come back!"

Dui's eyes widened as a veil was lifted from his mind, and countless memories rushed to his head.

"Alwen!"

On the movie screen, Alvin smiled brightly. She stepped out of the frame, bent down to kiss him, gently embraced him, and said, "Come back, Duir, we're all waiting for you."

A dazzling light erupted from her, enveloping the two people embracing her.

Everything around was rapidly receding, distorting, and finally turning into nothingness...

Inside the magic circle, Dui reopened her eyes, a lingering sense of confusion in them, looking around as if from another world.

(End of this chapter)