Hogwarts: What are the four great masters doing?

"of course."

Ryan nodded in understanding.

Of course he understood—obscurity was the product of tragedy.

Every Obscurus that appears represents a young wizard who died tragically because his magic got out of control.

It was a heavy and ominous creature.

But Ryan has to ask it because...

"It's a special kind of non-being—like a Dementor, isn't it?"

He asked this key question.

"Oh yes."

Newt nodded decisively: "Non-existence... I once thought they were a special kind of magical creature, but later facts proved that they were not."

he said softly.

"I've also been to Azkaban to observe the Dementors, but..."

"I think their essence is closer to something else, like a soul, rather than a living thing."

When these words came out, Ryan's eyes lit up.

There is no doubt that Newt's words are enough to prove that he does have a considerable understanding of Dementors and Obscurus!

so...

"What I want to ask is—about the origin of the Obscurus and their nature... I'm sure you have some knowledge of this?"

"...indeed."

And Newt apparently rarely encountered anyone asking about the Obscurus.

So at this moment, he pondered for a long time before speaking in conclusion.

"The Obscurus is born from young wizards—when they are stimulated by something and forced to suppress their magic, the Obscurus may appear in their bodies, and they become 'Obscuriated'."

"The power of the Obscurus gradually kills its host—a process that is irreversible."

"It is dangerous, powerful, uncontrollable, and even malicious... That's why most wizards classify the Obscurus as a kind of 'dark magic'."

he said softly.

This is the view of most wizards.

"But...I don't think that's the case."

And obviously.

Newt Scamander was never part of the 'majority'.

"I met an Obscurial in Sudan. She was a ten-year-old girl... Her parents had died in an accident, and she was being bullied because of it."

He shook his head and sighed, "I couldn't save her life, but I successfully separated the first Obscurus from her body. This confirmed to me that the relationship between the Obscurus and its host isn't symbiotic, but something more complex."

Newt looked at Ryan and said softly.

"I think their real relationship is 'erosion'."

"erosion?"

And Ryan repeated the word.

"Yes—I believe the Obscurus is born from the wizard's soul... or rather, it is part of the wizard's soul."

Newt said so.

"It exists because of some special changes that have occurred in the wizard's soul."

"This change will continue to spread within the wizard's soul until, in the end, the wizard's soul will be completely eroded by the Obscurus..."

"The wizard's soul undergoes some kind of transformation, and his body dies—the Obscurus dies too, of course, but this isn't because of 'symbiosis', but because they are 'the same being'."

His logic is simple.

The Obscurus and the Wizard are one and the same.

The Obscurus is a part of the wizard's soul, but it is like a tumor that constantly erodes and spreads, and will eventually corrode and corrupt the entire wizard's soul.

The "co-extinction" of the Obscurus and the Wizard is not actually "symbiosis" in essence - the Obscurus and the Wizard are essentially the same existence.

Ryan was well aware that this idea was contrary to the perception of most people in the magical world.

In today's magical world, almost everyone believes that the Obscurus is some kind of special black magic or curse... and the Obscurials are poor wizards who activated this black magic by coincidence.

but...

At this moment, Ryan fully agreed with Newt's idea.

Because this is almost exactly the same as his and Snape's guess about Dementors.

He and Snape also believed that the existence of Dementors might be due to something special happening in the human soul - it caused a qualitative change in the human soul, thus giving rise to the 'non-existence' of Dementors.

"What do you think triggers this change in the wizard's soul?"

So Ryan asked the most crucial question.

And then, Newt gave the answer as expected.

"mood."

Hearing this word, Ryan also showed an expression of "as expected".

When young wizards suffer and are forced to suppress their magic, Obscurus are born.

So same with Dementors.

Their birth is related to emotions.

But here’s the thing…

"What kind of emotions? Pain? Sadness? Despair?"

Ryan continued to ask.

"Both—but I don't think that's the point."

And Newt said softly.

He recalled the Obscurials he had met.

Maybe it was because of changes in life, or maybe it was because of the torture of the adoptive mother.

They all exist in the world, but they are all the same...

"numbness."

Newt uttered the word.

"They see no hope, Ryan."

"Children's emotions fluctuate greatly. Often, even a tiny bit of hope can make their happiness and sadness very intense."

"And the same thing goes for despair and pain... When they realize there's no hope in life, that they're a freak, they start to become numb to life - I think that's beyond despair."

The word he said made Ryan stunned for a moment.

He and Snape had discussed it many times, but the word had never come up.

But now he felt... very appropriate.

Numbness—that is a concept beyond despair.

That means a person's soul has lost all perception and cognitive abilities.

There is no longer any desire for life, and no longer any fear of death.

Pain, despair, sadness, unwillingness...all negative emotions will eventually turn into numbness.

And when a soul begins to become 'numb' to all emotions.

It has obviously lost its function as a "soul", and its essence has become something similar to a soul but not a soul.

"Exactly... Yes, that's what it should be!"

As a result, Ryan gradually gained a deeper understanding of non-existences such as Dementors and Obscurus.

"It's not just despair—it's definitely negative emotion."

"When enough negative emotions accumulate, the human soul becomes numb and loses its essence as a soul. Perhaps from this point on, their soul begins to become 'contaminated'."

"They will begin to transform into 'non-existence'."

"Muggle souls transform into Dementors, while wizard souls transform into Obscurus?"

He thought about it, but in the end he felt as if something was wrong.

"But what about the Longbottoms? Their souls simply shattered... They didn't experience the 'numbness' aspect, nor did they transform into Dementors—was it because the negative emotions they felt were too intense?"

Ryan frowned.

He realized that he was still missing some key information, as if he had missed something.

But it was at this moment.

Newt continued talking.

"Besides that, I think powerful enough magic or strong enough willpower might be able to slow down the erosion of the Obscurus—of course, this is a change in the soul, so I'm just guessing."

Hearing this, Ryan frowned and looked at Newt.

"Powerful enough magic? Or strong enough willpower?"

He repeated Newt's words.

"Do you have any relevant evidence? Or any relevant research records?"

He asked this, but his words were firm.

By now, he knew Newt well enough—the old wizard would never make a random guess without evidence.

"Uh..."

But after hearing this, Newt became a little conflicted.