I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 467 Merlin, is this what you wanted to tell me?

Sunlight filtered through the sparse clouds, illuminating the golden wheat fields.

Every ear of wheat shimmered with a brilliant light. The distant mountains, swaying in the autumn wind, donned a mottled garment of red, green, and yellow—a tapestry of colors interwoven, resembling a delicate and rich oil painting. Warm and profound.

In the cypress grove, the leaves rustled in the wind, making a captivating "shush" sound.

The leaves danced in the air, tumbling like a group of elegant dancers.

Irving and Zhang Xiaolin sat about ten feet apart on the ridge of the field.

A slightly chilly breeze ruffled their hair, one white and one black, making them stand out conspicuously in this world.

Why would they impersonate other people?

Irving shrugged. "I'm not too sure about that either; I can only guess."

He said, "Perhaps it's because we've all defeated or severely damaged the Supreme Will."

"The desire for life and death is embodied in Ron and Koyatl, the id is embodied in the image of Grindelwald, and the superego is the image of myself."

Perhaps all the deities in the divinely inspired towers share a common consciousness?

If that's the case—those appearances are probably psychological defense mechanisms imagined by Ionia.

It wasn't her subjective creation—after all, neither Ionia nor the goddess Diana exists anymore; all that remains here is your will, which inherits their memories.

All of this happened passively.

The mechanism of self-defense operates unconsciously. It generates the instinct to protect oneself from those who have previously caused resistance. It's like when you were bitten by a dog as a child; you know that kind of creature is terrifying, you're afraid of it, but on the other hand, you also think: "I could keep one to protect myself."

"Is that so?" Zhang Xiaolin was still confused. She couldn't understand the professional terms and nouns, but for some reason, she felt that what the other person said made sense.

But then another question arose in her mind.

"You only peeked into my memories, how could you know so much?"

During his conversation with her, Owen had already begun to erase Miss Zhang's memories of reincarnation over a thousand years. The loss of those memories was silent; she didn't have these memories to begin with, so naturally she wouldn't notice.

So Zhang Xiaolin looked much more relaxed than before, and she didn't even notice that the pain in her head was not as obvious anymore.

Hearing the girl's question, Owen simply smiled and casually said, "Those involved are often confused, while bystanders see things clearly—besides—"

Suddenly a gust of wind blew, and the golden ears of wheat swayed gracefully in the autumn wind, creating golden waves that rolled with the joy of harvest.

A few awns of wheat rose with the wind, brushing against Irving's arm and cheek, and the pain immediately came, like being cut by a knife or pricked by needles, it hurt terribly.

The boy rubbed his skin, which had been pricked by the wheat awns, and his emerald green eyes sparkled with a unique clarity.

It was watery, as if it contained tears or something else.

He silently turned around and glanced at the girl over there.

Zhang Xiaolin's eyebrows twitched, as if struck by something, and a bitter feeling suddenly welled up in her heart.

Bitterness is a feeling shared by people with similar life experiences.

In a daze, she guessed something, and a flash of inspiration appeared in her mind, but when she thought about it carefully, the light was already gone.

"The treacherous Merlin—" the boy opposite him said out of nowhere.

Merlin is known as the most famous great wizard in the magical world, both in the West and the East.

Miss Zhang was aware of this.

The boy suddenly lay down, crossed his legs, casually picked a stalk of wheat from the field, put it in his mouth, chewed on the stalk, and said, "My life used to be very monotonous. Sheep ate grass, and people ate sheep. There would always be sheep eating grass, and there would always be sheep turning into people. Everyone's fate was the same. I was a little tired of it."

When I jumped off that boat to save the girl, besides the impulsive desire to save her, perhaps what I really wanted was to be free.

"Hehe—have you read a book like this?" the boy suddenly said, winking at her. "It's called The Little Prince."

"To me, you are just a child, no different from thousands of other children. To you, I am just a fox, no different from thousands of other foxes. But if you tame me, then we will need each other."

—You tamed me, and my life will be filled with sunshine. I will be able to distinguish a different kind of footstep. Other people's footsteps would send me to hide underground. But your footsteps, like beautiful music, will draw me out of my cave.

And look. Do you see that wheat field? It's useless to me.

But now it has become incredibly beautiful. Because the wheat is golden, the sound of the wind blowing through it reminds me of your golden hair.

Zhang Xiaolin watched Owen shake his head and said in a relaxed yet slightly pitying tone, "Damn Merlin, his scheme has succeeded—completely succeeded. He tamed me, making some people in this world incredibly precious, impossible to part with now."

"You—" Miss Zhang looked at him quietly, her heart filled with a thousand words, but when she tried to speak, only doubt and sigh remained.

"It's alright," Owen murmured. "It's just back to normal. I had nothing to begin with anyway."

"hehe--"

"Well, I'm feeling a little sad. The world is a huge stage, with dramas and tragedies, and even the unchanging drama of life eventually comes to an end."

"Oh—right—I will erase all of those words from your memory."

"Don't leave behind sorrow, my dear. You've already suffered enough."

Irving looked up at the sky.

The sunlight is no longer so dazzling, nor so brilliant.

It groaned and whined, and he pretended to suffer.

Last year—even at the very end.

He never asked Merlin what the method was for training himself and ultimately defeating the Outer God.

He's avoiding the question, as if as long as he doesn't know where the destination is, he'll be on the road forever.

Subconsciously, he was thinking of taking it one step at a time.

But now, having learned all about Ms. Zhang's experiences, Owen finally understands Merlin's entire plan.

"He had anticipated it all along, he had anticipated everything."

Once you embark on this path, you will surely encounter these children of the gods.

Their experiences are more real, more intense, and more unexpected than any words.

Even—those pale purple wisps of smoke.

That groundbreaking and powerful illusion magic.

Everything was already prepared; its mere existence silently tells the story of its journey.

Moreover, he has not remained silent.

So many people walked by just now.

Irving originally thought it was a manifestation of the underlying spirit of Miss Zhang beside him.

Now, in a daze, he could hear those voices again.

The name is not correct—what is a name?

If I am the Outer God, then I am the most correct name.

It's better to forget each other in the vast world than to cling together in hardship.

When one is successful, one should help others; when one is unsuccessful, one should cultivate one's own virtue.

These didn't seem to be the voice of Ms. Zhang's heart, but rather his.

It was another voice in his heart, reminding him where the right path lay.

"Hehe—" Irving laughed out loud.

The taste on the tip of my tongue was somewhat bland.

Several black crows flew out of the wheat field.

The sound of the swaying wheat waves was like someone crying.

Okay—okay.

He thought about it.

Bringing her wandering thoughts back together, she calmly said, "We should go out."

Irving stood up from the edge of the field.

"The integration of personalities takes a very long time. We can't stay here forever."

"Well then—it's time to wake up."

After saying that, he clapped his hands.

The autumn wind was disturbed.

When the wind stops, the world pauses.

Winter is coming.

But outside—summer is just beginning to reach its peak.

Open your eyes again.

The sea remains the same, the sycamore trees remain the same.

The wind still blows.

Grandpa Grindelwald stood beside him, one hand on his head. If Owen's consciousness wavered in any way, the old man would immediately cast a spell to sever the connection between him and the girl.

"How is it?" he asked immediately after seeing Owen open his eyes.

"Hairstyle—" Owen pushed his grandfather's hand away, then smoothed down the stray hairs sticking up on his forehead. "What could be wrong with that?"

I only made a slight move, and that was already the limit for this rank. What demons or monsters could possibly defeat me?

"."

Grindelwald was stunned. After a moment, he shook his head with a hint of helplessness and looked at the girl in the tree hole.

The tree roots on her body were being pulled out rapidly.

Above the tree canopy, the cocoon-like leaf cocoons slowly descended in height before opening.

Owen waved his wand, conjuring a sheet of ice, and placed all the wizards encased in leaf cocoons onto it.

"Being young is great!" the boy said sarcastically. "You get such good sleep."

The dozen or so wizards in front of me were breathing smoothly and enjoying a sleep like babies.

It wasn't until Irving manipulated seawater to wash their heads that they finally came to their senses.

"Hoo—" Sirius struggled first, quickly pulling out his wand and getting up from the ground.

I was stunned.

He stared blankly at his surroundings.

He looked bewildered and hesitated for a few seconds before he came to his senses.

"What's going on? Where am I?"

"Hey, long time no see! Godfather of Dogs."

As the familiar voice rang out, Sirius Black looked up sharply and immediately locked onto Irving.

"Are you even capable, Dog Dad? Why do I see you getting frustrated as soon as I get here?"

"You—me—here—"

"It's over already," Owen said lazily. "It was nothing, not even a fight, and you still managed to get hit—tsk tsk—is that even possible!"

"As expected, this kind of thing shouldn't be done by Gryffindor; Ravenclaw should be the main force of the excavation committee."

Sirius ignored Owen's sarcastic remarks. He looked around and saw that the wizards around him were getting up one by one. No one was injured, but—two people were still unconscious.

He quickly got up and went over, his fingertips brushing against the other person's nose, but he could no longer feel the other person's breath.

"He's probably brain dead," Owen said. "He's in a hallucination thinking he's dead."

"Brain death?" A bitter feeling welled up in Sirius's heart.

He has been working to prevent his teammates from dying.

He's had enough of death.

"Lin—"

Mr. Basil got up from the ground.

He glanced around and then immediately headed toward the tree hole.

The girl in the tree hollow had actually woken up.

However, feeling dizzy, she didn't move and remained in her previous position, trying to recover.

Mr. Basil looked anxious and hurried over. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the black-haired girl smiling at him from the tree hollow, but then an indescribable sadness welled up in his heart.

It might be because they feel wronged.

Or perhaps it's a relief.

It was tears of joy, or tears of unbearable heartache.

Tears streamed down his cheeks, stung his lips, and dripped into the sea, creating ripples.

"Why are you crying?" Zhang Xiaolin said, reaching out to rub his cheek.

"I don't know," the man replied, laughing and crying at the same time. "I just couldn't control myself."

I simply looked through my memories and realized that I had fallen in love with you all over again.

"Then cry," the girl said gently. "No one will dare laugh at you."

Mr. Basil forced a smile, reached out his hands, picked up the girl from the tree hollow, and brought her out.

"Hey—haven't we met somewhere before?"

The two's intimate behavior caught Irving's attention.

He looked at the boy.

It looks familiar.

"You are—Owen Rozier?"

Last winter, reports about Irving lasted for months. His name was being called all over Europe, and his picture was in the newspapers.

Even though he looks very different now than he did back then, Mr. Basil still remembers him.

"Sanchez, sir," Irving reminded him.

"Yes, we've met, Mr. Sanchez," Mr. Basil said, gently embracing Miss Zhang. "I've been to Hogwarts and delivered Ms. Rosier's letter to you."

"Oh—I remember now." Owen immediately retrieved the memory from his mind. "Was it the one about the family tree?"

"It really is you—this magical world is so small, I can even run into someone I know here."

“Not small either,” Mr. Basil replied. “After Vice President Swann fell from power, I lost my job, and then this (excavation committee) was hiring, so I joined.”

"After going around in circles?" Irving said.

His gaze then fell on Miss Zhang in the man's arms. "It seems you have a rather close relationship with her!"

Mr. Basil's expression suddenly became tense. He wanted to explain, but before he could speak, Owen interrupted him, "No need to explain. I just looked at her memories. I suggest you confess quickly and don't drag it out any longer."

Irving's languid demeanor exuded ease and nonchalance. "I'm reminding you, although Miss Zhang's personality is unlikely to undergo drastic changes, with so many memories flooding her brain, it's hard to guarantee that her character won't show some shifts, such as changes in her aesthetic sense."

Mr. Basil looked puzzled upon hearing this, completely bewildered as to what Irving was saying.

"Okay—I know you wouldn't understand."

Hmm—you can think of it as Miss Zhang suddenly having some other people's memories in her mind.

This might have some impact on her. I suggest you two get married as soon as possible. As some unknown, greatest white wizard once said: "Love is the greatest power." Spending time together in the future will help her solidify her character and personality. After all, she likes you quite a bit, doesn't she?"

"ha?"

"What are you still 'ha'ing about? I've explained it so clearly, can't you understand? Do you not understand English or something?"

"No—I mean—" Mr. Basil suddenly stammered, "I understand."

He tightened his grip on Ms. Zhang's hand. "I will do my best."

"Well, there's no need to be so nervous." Owen shrugged and walked towards the hollow of the sycamore tree. "We can always break up."

"."

The boy smiled and gently tapped the tree trunk with his wand.

At this moment, the immense ancient magic was permeating the tree before them.

Originally, it was supposed to return to Ms. Zhang's body along with the restoration of her memories.

However, their blood had just been connected.

The ancient magic found a better place to go, so it did not return to Miss Zhang's body.

Perhaps it's the principle of regression.

In short, with Owen, the legitimate heir to ancient magic, here, the surrounding ancient magic will naturally choose him as its first host.

Suddenly, the entire sycamore tree emitted a green glow.

It's as if the afternoon sun is shining on the leaves, making the glossy leaves reflect light.

Then, a cold and aloof woman suddenly appeared.

He's an old acquaintance; his image exudes an unparalleled will.

However, those around them noticed that the appearance of the deity was almost identical to that of the boy.

The image of God gradually overlapped with Owen's, then shrank.

As it gradually dissipated, the sycamore tree itself vanished into light.

"Yeah—one step closer to reincarnation," Owen said lazily.

Then he turned around and looked around.

He noticed that everyone's eyes were on him.

"Don't worry—it's just that thief who stole my account, it's nothing, it's all nothing."

"Irving".

Grindelwald stood on the sea, looking at him with a complicated expression.

Decades ago, he opened the divinely ordained tower in India and defeated the creatures that escaped from it.

However, Owen wasn't around then, so he had no way to collect those ancient magical powers.

Now the magic has attached itself to an unfortunate soul, and the past few weeks have been spent bringing this to an end.

The Divine Tower contains countless treasures.

After he defeated that creature, he briefly encountered a surge of ancient magic, as if as a reward, and then he found himself looking younger.

Its current appearance is derived from what it was back then.

In addition, over the years—from Wenda’s investigations, the Purifiers’ research, and the inscriptions he found in the Divine Tower—he certainly knew some secrets.

In the past, Grindelwald was unable to connect those secrets.

But now—as clever as he and Dumbledore are, they have more or less guessed it.

"No—" the boy waved his hand, "If you don't want to ask, I don't want to answer. Let's just leave it at that."

"."

Grindelwald was taken aback for a moment, then fell into a long silence.

Sirius was busy checking on his crew for injuries.

Mr. Basil was only thinking about leaving this place as soon as possible.

As for Mr. Winston, he was quite surprised that Mr. Grindelwald would appear here, as he should have been far away in Canada according to the original plan.

"I know you're very smart," Grindelwald finally said after a long pause.

"No matter how things turn out in the end, I want to say—" He slowly walked up to Owen.

He ruffled his hair into a mess once again, saying, "I feel lucky and proud to have a grandson like you."

(End of this chapter)