I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 465 The Underlying Nature of Consciousness

Stewart Island, New Zealand.

In a town called Rakiyura Pure Wizard Town.

The two wizards sailed out to sea in a sailboat.

Their destination was Tasmania, an island in Australia.

Early August is the most famous fishing season in the Tasman Sea, and of course, the wizards' fishing boats are not catching ordinary creatures.

It was the legendary sea monster, Leviathan.

A malevolent sea monster, usually resembling a whale.

This marine mammal is only active during the Southern Hemisphere winter, and August is the last fishing season.

Of course, the two wizards' goal was not the magical creature Leviathan; their goal was to find a ship lost by the United Wizarding Association in the Tasman Sea, which is 1,500 kilometers away between Australia and New Zealand.

Camelot.

The ship beneath the wizard's feet sailed from Tasi, a town on the island of Tasmania in Australia, a town known for its pure wizarding tradition.

We are now returning to Australia from Stewart Island, New Zealand.

"Leviathan"

"Is this creature difficult to catch?"

On the ship, everyone from the captain to the crew wore satisfied smiles.

Over the past few days, they have reaped considerable rewards.

The cheers gradually subsided as the ships sailed out to sea.

Irving appeared on the deck.

He leaned against the mast, gazing at the distant seascape.

Beside me was an elderly wizard, whose angular face bore the marks of storms and trials, and whose sharp mind had not yet been ruined by rum.

The old man had a smile on his face, enjoying the sea breeze, and he felt incredibly comfortable.

"If you ask me, in our line of work, it's really all about luck."

A cunning glint flashed in the old wizard's eyes.

"You might not encounter a Leviathan for years. Don't you see how many fishing boats sail on this sea? There can be thousands in a summer. They're all idiots dreaming of getting rich overnight."

"I've been in this business for forty years, and I've only seen seven Leviathans, and I've only successfully caught them three times."

"Uh—" Owen rubbed his chin. "So, if we do it this way—even if a Leviathan can sell for 10,000 Galleons, it would only earn 30,000 Galleons in forty years, uh—that's a huge loss!"

"Why don't you use this time to do something else?"

"Right! You think so too, don't you?" The old man smiled. "But every year, quite a few fools still insist on getting involved."

Irving shook his head noncommittally.

This old man, though full of disdain, never stopped smiling. There must be some unspeakable benefit he's not talking about behind his back, otherwise who would be foolish enough to fish for forty years just to earn that little bit of money?

However, the fishing season seems to be only a few months during the Southern Hemisphere winter, and they certainly have other work to do, so they can't spend the whole year on the boat.

"By the way, you've been at sea all this time. Have you encountered any storms or anything strange?"

"storm?"

The old man shook his head.

"The weather has been calm for the past few weeks, but the change will happen in mid-August."

"Really?" Owen frowned slightly. If nothing unexpected happened, where could such a large ship as the Camelot go?

Even if it was stolen, how would he have taken it away?

A regular infinite stretch spell wouldn't be able to fit such a large ship.

As they were talking, a wizard suddenly exclaimed from the other side of the deck.

"Look, fog is rising over the sea."

"What happened?"

"It was calm just now, how come it suddenly got foggy?"

"No—the color of that fog is wrong; it might be poisonous smoke. Should we turn the boat around?"

"It's too late. The fog has already arrived."

The noisy sounds suddenly stopped.

Then everyone saw a pale purple mist, like a cloud, sweep over them at incredible speed, instantly engulfing them.

"What happened?"

The old wizard beside Owen had no time to talk to him anymore.

He got up and walked to the middle of the deck.

"I don't know," his first mate replied. "It doesn't seem to be poisonous or magical, and it doesn't affect us. It might be—some kind of natural phenomenon?"

The first mate guessed, then looked at the captain.

"Bullshit—I've been at sea for forty years and I've never seen anything like it!"

The old wizard is the captain of the Moon Chaser.

He cursed as he pulled out his wand, frowned, and waved his hand, releasing four or five different detection spells.

Golden light flashed by, like a laser scan, sweeping across the ship and the surrounding sea.

Clearly, such magic cannot detect anything.

Because what's spreading here isn't ordinary magic.

Rather, it is—ancient magic.

In Irving's eyes, the entire sea area shone with a faint light, like a nebula.

There was something shimmering within the light, but I didn't know what it was.

"Such rich ancient magic." The boy was somewhat surprised.

He immediately shook his head and said, "No need to guess, they're definitely coming for me."

He shrugged and went to the bow of the ship.

"The captain hasn't seen anything like this in forty years. The moment we arrived, something unusual happened. Who else could it be targeting but us?"

"Are there wizards with ancient magic on the Camelot?" Grindelwald, standing beside him, frowned slightly as he gazed at the sea, unable to see through the mist.

Just now, he also released many probing spells, but they all went unanswered and had no effect.

"He shouldn't be on the crew list the professor gave us," Irving said. "But he did mention one person in the letter he sent."

Grindelwald shouldn't be here.

After my grandfather and I finished dealing with the divinely ordained tower in India, we parted ways.

He went to North America to explore the next one.

He himself came to Oceania under the instructions of Professor Dumbledore.

"There was a great Ming Dynasty sorcerer named Zhang Xiaolin," Owen said. "She should be the successor of that divinely ordained tower in Australia."

"She disappeared along with the Camelot?"

"Yes—and Sirius and Mr. Winston too," Irving added.

"Grindelwald is looking at the thick, pale purple smoke around him. "The situation is rather complicated, and I don't think an heir is capable of casting smoke magic of this scale."

"It's very complicated. Take Koyatel as an example. Although she only obtained a portion of the ancient magic, at most her spell power, magical strength, and physical attributes are stronger than the average person. At most, she also has magical talent far exceeding that of ordinary people. I looked at the information. That Miss Zhang Xiaolin is nearly twenty-three years old and has been a professor of black magic defense at Chang'an Imperial Academy for less than a year. Before that, she worked for the Federation. She has never shown any particularly strong magical abilities. This smoke could not have been released by her."

"A second heir?" Grindelwald said.

"That's possible—" Owen nodded. Just like the Tower of Gods in Brazil, if Voldemort had successfully seized its magic, he would have become its heir. "It's possible that the other party wants to seize the ancient magic within Miss Zhang, just like this smoke is coming out again to steal my magic."

"That makes sense," Grindelwald agreed.

"However—" Owen added, "There are twelve wizards on the Camelot, plus that Miss Zhang, so the actual number might be even greater, plus the members of the Joint Excavation Committee. With so many people, can that heir defeat them? Even Voldemort couldn't kill so many people instantly; there will always be one or two who escape."

Why haven't we heard anything for weeks?

"A helper? Or a secret organization?"

"That doesn't seem likely. If that heir was willing to use such powerful magic to steal the magic of others, why would he be willing to share his magic with others?"

"I think—maybe we're overcomplicating things," Irving said.

Then he slowly drew out his Phoenix Wand.

"Call upon God—Protect!"

With the blessing of ancient magic.

A phoenix, as radiant as a raging fire, spreads its wings and soars into the sky.

Blue flames burned fiercely on its body, and the phoenix let out cries, quickly attracting the attention of everyone present.

"What is that?"

"Phoenix?"

"Guardian deity?"

"A phoenix guardian? And with a wingspan of tens of feet? Merlin's beard—there really is such a guardian in this world?"

Everyone looked at Irving in shock.

When they noticed that the boy appeared to be only a teenager, the shock in their eyes turned into horror.

"Merlin—he looks about the same age as my daughter."

"Unbelievable, unbelievable!"

Irving paid no attention to the crowd's exclamations.

His will descended upon the phoenix, which then flew further and further away, plunging into the surrounding pale purple mist.

Immediately afterwards, as if a curtain had been ignited by a spark, the purple smoke burned a hole in it.

Then the guardian fire burned brighter and brighter.

In an instant, the entire smoke burst into flames.

Seeing the raging fire around them, the people on the ship quickly cast spells to defend themselves or found places to hide.

But after a long time, they realized that the flames did not seem to harm them.

The flames looked like a fake projection playing above their heads; they weren't real at all.

"As expected—" Owen's lips curled into a smile. "The Outer Gods' usual methods have been learned by their successors."

"The smoke is an illusion." Grindelwald naturally saw through the truth; he had already seen through it the moment Owen summoned his Patronus.

"A very clever illusion," Owen said. After setting the fire on fire, he was able to see some of the truth by using the principle of regression. "The smoke will create the images that the wizards would believe most, based on their memories. It won't put the false images in front of you all at once, but will slowly build up like building blocks."

First, I'll show you a fish in the ocean, then seaweed, since seaweed is something that naturally exists in the ocean and won't attract the wizard's attention. Next, I'll show you some rocks, and finally a small island.

The illusion gradually lured the wizards into believing that what they were about to see was real. In the end, no matter how absurd the story, people would believe it to be true.

"What exquisite magic!" Owen's face showed a hint of astonishment. "I can't even imagine how long the person who invented this magic must have studied the human mind. This is practically Kotoamatsukami!"

"Kotoamatsukami?"

"Uh—don't worry about the details. Anyway—this magic is actually quite fragile, but as time goes on, it becomes harder for the fooled wizard to break free. You could even create multiple illusionary worlds, make the people inside think they've broken free, and then fool them again. Damn—that's enough to make several Matrix movies."

Irving's eyes gleamed, as if he had discovered a new continent.

Mr. Grindelwald shook his head slightly; he couldn't understand what the boy was saying.

However, after the surrounding illusions were broken...

The view ahead is clear.

"That is?"

From a distance, he and everyone on the ship could see what appeared to be several reefs on the horizon, about a nautical mile away.

On the largest rock, there grows a tree.

Before the captain could react.

Grindelwald then Apparated and disappeared from the bow of the ship.

Then, Irving, having regained his senses, followed.

They reappeared under the big tree.

Before us stood a sycamore tree that would require two adults to encircle. These large trees were common in the Forbidden Forest, where they were found everywhere.

It's just that this sycamore tree in front of me is different from those in the forbidden forest.

At the base of the tree, there is a hole in the tree, and inside lies a person.

Owen wanted to go over and check immediately, but was stopped by his grandfather, Grindelwald.

He pointed to the girl inside the tree hollow.

Owen looked and saw that many tiny roots were growing out of the tree hole from somewhere, and these roots were embedded in the girl's skin.

He could even see something wriggling on the girl's cheeks, indicating that these roots had penetrated very deeply.

If I were to rashly drag the girl out, the consequences would likely be like pulling a dagger out of her heart—the girl would die instantly.

"Look at these."

The surrounding reefs are only the size of a fist above the water.

Irving and Grindelwald both walked on the water.

Beyond the tall tree in front of me, a lone boat floats peacefully on the sea behind me.

That was the Federation's Camelot.

Following his grandfather's directions, Owen looked at the tree trunk and saw many cocoon-like packages hanging from the huge canopy.

They vary in size, and from the outside, they appear to be people inside.

"What's going on?" Irving rubbed his head. "Did the tree eat someone?"

"And—this scene feels strangely familiar."

"You've seen him before?" Grindelwald asked.

"No—I was just venting." Owen smiled, then looked back at the woman in the tree hollow.

"Perhaps Legilimency would be a good choice, at least we could know what her consciousness is going through."

"but--"

Owen slowly crouched down, his Phoenix Wand pointing its tip at his left palm. With a fierce slash, a wound appeared instantly.

Using the same method, he cut open the girl's right palm.

Then, they clasped hands tightly.

"This place is imbued with ancient magic; it cannot be ruled out that she was bewitched by an outer god."

As their blood mingled, the two ancient magical powers resonated instantly. "Then don't blink, let me see your heart."

With that, he pointed his wand at the girl's brow and chanted the spell, "Levitate."

An invisible magic transformed into some kind of thread, connecting his consciousness with the girl's.

In an instant, he was overwhelmed by a flood of memories, causing his brain to shut down.

After a while, the ancient magical principle of reversion began to work. All memories and magic returned to calm and peace as if flowing into the sea. Those memories hadn't disappeared, but had been stored by Owen on the bookshelves of his memory palace. He had experience in this area; when he received the inheritance from Dean Bridged, his head almost exploded. Later, Owen underwent training, somewhat similar to Occlumency, which involved not recalling those memories and keeping his mind blank. Over time, his mind would become accustomed to those unfamiliar memories, and only when he searched for relevant knowledge would those memories resurface.

The human brain is actually quite powerful; it's just that when it's crammed with too much "learning material" for a while, it needs time to adapt. What you need to do is empty your mind, don't think about anything, and don't look at anything. After that period, the memory will settle down.

Of course—Owen wasn't sure if this method was universally applicable, or perhaps it was because he possessed ancient magic and the principle of reversion was too strong, which was why those memories were so obedient.

In short, after Irving's computer crashed and restarted, the scene in front of him changed.

He found himself seemingly trapped in a blank world.

The surroundings were shrouded in an impenetrable mist.

Irving was slightly confused, but just as this thought arose, other colors vaguely emerged from the fog.

First, a glimmer of light.

As he drew closer.

The light grew brighter and brighter.

Irving approached step by step, and then he saw a golden light, and a giant standing tall, his feet planted on the ground.

It is the existence of Geng Gu – "Pangu".

"Hmm?" the boy asked in a short, puzzled voice.

He then discovered that there were two more giants at the feet of Pangu.

A man holding a longbow.

A person is half-squatting and embracing something.

The three gods noticed him and all looked at him.

"Click—"

A crisp sound, like porcelain shattering, echoed from the blank world.

Irving looked up abruptly and saw that the towering giant had suddenly developed many wounds.

He is like a sculpture, a piece of porcelain, a painting, or a pine tree.

The mottled cracks spread at an extremely rapid pace.

His body turned into rubble and fell from the sky.

The other two great gods, the one holding the longbow, slowly floated up.

He defied the gravity imposed upon him by nature, as if he were about to fly to the ninth heaven and become an immortal.

The one who was half-squatting was engulfed in flames.

The figure moved swiftly in the firelight and quickly disappeared from sight.

No—it didn't disappear.

With their departure, this empty world suddenly became much more complete.

A bouquet of flowers sprouted from the ground.

Next came the wheat fields, and the endless expanse of wheat instantly filled his eyes.

To the left, a cypress forest emerged, and to the right, an endless expanse of field ridges stretched out, the soil covered with golden jujubes.

The wind blew, making a rustling sound.

The sky—like a sapphire, bathed in the golden light of the sun.

Everything was so vibrant and full of life.

Suddenly, Irving noticed a large group of people emerging from the cypress grove to his left. They were traveling with difficulty, but each of them had a smile on their face.

They supported each other and discussed matters aloud.

(End of this chapter)