Hogwarts Raven

Chapter 387, Section 386: The Mysterious Little Boy
Thump. Thump. Thump.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

It seemed to come from all directions, yet also from the depths of the earth. Like the beating of an enormous heart. The entire cellar seemed to tremble slightly with this rhythm. Yes, the sound made the entire space tremble slightly; Ian could feel the "ground" beneath his feet undulating and pulsating with this rhythm.

The sound didn't come from a single direction; it permeated the entire space, as if he were inside the cavity of a gigantic living being. A bizarre and terrifying thought exploded in Ian's mind: Could this be the heart of the evil god? Had the entire cellar already been assimilated by it, becoming its pulsating organ?
He attempted to utilize the legendary wizard's vision—an extraordinary ability to pierce through fog and see hundreds of paces into the night. However, the darkness here seemed tangible, a pure, polluted "nothingness," and his vision was like a searchlight plunged into the deep sea, its beam instantly swallowed up, leaving him unable to see even a meter ahead clearly.

This darkness itself is part of the power of the evil god.

"Damn..."

Ian cursed under his breath, enduring the excruciating pain and dizziness in his body, and struggled to get up from the ground.

"The buffer spell didn't completely fail after all," Ian muttered to himself, checking himself for injuries. Apart from a few scrapes and bruises, he seemed to be alright.

The darkness here is unusual.

Even his extraordinary vision as a legendary wizard could not penetrate this thick darkness.

The air was filled with a sweet, organic scent, like a mixture of blood and musk.

"I must see it."

Ian pondered for a moment.

"Fluorescence."

Ian raised his wand and cast the most basic Illumination Charm at Hogwarts. A soft, steady white light burst forth from the tip of the wand, finally dispelling the surrounding darkness.

This light, like a candle flame thrown into an inkwell, stubbornly dispelled a small patch of darkness around me. It must be said, the light from the heart does indeed possess a certain idealistic and irrational quality.

As his vision gradually cleared, Ian couldn't help but gasp. Just as he had suspected, he was no longer in the original cellar.

It is a gigantic heart ventricle!
The surrounding walls were completely covered by thick muscle tissue, which rhythmically contracted and relaxed like living organisms. Large blood vessels meandered along the walls, transporting a dark red liquid. The floor was covered with a smooth, pericardial-like tissue that was both soft and elastic to the touch.

He was still uncomfortably warm. Yes, he wasn't standing on stone, but on a pulsating, dark red, fleshy platform covered with large blood vessels and tendons! This platform contracted and expanded rhythmically like a living thing, each pulsation accompanied by a deep heartbeat.

Looking up, the dome was a writhing, slimy flesh wall with countless thick, root-like purple blood vessels deeply embedded within it, like pipes transporting nutrients.

The "walls" of the ceiling have long since disappeared.

Instead, there are layers upon layers of flesh and blood tissue that writhe and pulsate like giant myocardial fibers, contracting and expanding with the heartbeat, emitting a nauseating "gurgling" sound.

“Merlin’s beard,” Ian murmured, “Am I directly inside the body of an evil god?”

“No wonder those ghost brides and the true form of the evil god were so wary…” Ian muttered to himself, his voice sounding particularly small in the empty and pulsating space of flesh and blood. “This place is not only a sealed place, but also one of the core nodes of its power! Any intrusion of external forces is like stabbing directly into its heart, no wonder the resistance is so great.”

Such speculation is obviously only one of the reasons, not the whole reason. Ian still believes that in addition to the fact that this place, which was originally the incubation site of the evil god's embryo, has become the heart of the evil god, there are other secrets hidden in the place where the evil god was born. Otherwise, those ghost brides would not have shown panicked expressions.

after all.

If it were merely the heart, it could only be considered the evil god's weak point. Given the evil god's immortality and adaptability, even a weak point would not be enough to kill it.

Hades must have known this too, so he sent Ian to this cellar not just to have Ian launch a sneak attack. The legendary wizard was still no match for the power of the evil god.

“There are other suspicious points as well.”

What Ian wants to find is the secret hidden here.

but.

Because the original cellar has now been assimilated by the evil god, the surrounding space is much larger than when Ian first came here, before the evil god's embryo had hatched.

"Even more outrageous than the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts! Finding something here is like looking for a needle in a haystack!" Ian couldn't help but complain as he looked around the unimaginably vast space. Of course, complaining aside, the mission couldn't be delayed. Ian raised his wand, letting its faint light become his only guide.

The young wizard began his arduous journey through this pulsating labyrinth of flesh and blood. He carefully avoided the overly thick, throbbing veins, his steps uneven as he trudged through the slippery, wet surface. Just then, the entire ventricle of his heart trembled violently, and some viscous liquid dripped from its ceiling.

"They were hitting pretty hard."

Ian could clearly sense the battle fluctuations outside—the death power of Osiris, the god of the underworld, was as icy as a torrent, while Isis's life energy was as warm as a spring breeze, and the chaotic energy of the evil god was like thunder in a storm. These three forces were clashing fiercely, and even through the barrier of flesh and blood, one could feel their world-destroying power.

"We have to hurry up."

Ian took a deep breath and began to explore the eerie space. The heart chamber was larger than he had imagined, and Ian's illumination spell could only light up a small area around it.

During his exploration, Ian discovered something surprising—soon, light illuminated scattered items in the corner, forgotten traces of the past.

In a corner, he found a set of gold alchemy equipment, including a crucible, a distillation apparatus, and various vessels. But they were now covered by a biofilm, with a network of tiny blood vessels visible on their surfaces. When Ian tried to touch it, the crucible contracted slightly, resisting his touch as if it were a living thing.

This is a collection of activated, twisted alchemical implements.

The copper distillation flask was crushed and deformed, its body covered with bizarre fleshy growths.

The inner walls of the silver crucible were covered with black, mold-like crystals; on the precise balance scale, the weights and beams had long since melted and fused with the flesh below, forming a grotesque sculpture. These tools, once used in the pursuit of knowledge and transformation, were now utterly defiled, becoming appendages of the evil god's flesh.

There were quite a few alchemical tools and magical items scattered around. These were clearly once treasures of the Temple of the Sun, but now they were things that would be corrupted and eroded after use.

"Pity."

Ian shook his head regretfully. "This set of equipment is at least a masterpiece, something that would make my good Uncle Snape jealous of me, but now it's turned into this."

Ian looked at the desecrated relics, a wave of sorrow and anger washing over him. But he did not give up. As a legendary wizard, repairing corrupted magical artifacts was one of his specialties.

“Perhaps…” he muttered to himself, a professional glint in his eyes, “When I get back, I can use the ‘Stardust Purification Array’ in conjunction with the ‘Ancient Egyptian Purification Spell’ and try ‘Reverse Alchemy’ again… Although the hope is slim, it’s better than complete destruction, and I can also use this to improve my alchemy level.”

Just do it.

Ian is a glutton. He can't resist seeing treasures in front of him, even if they are damaged.

He suppressed his nausea and carefully used his wand to collect the relatively intact artifacts and remnants of treasures one by one into a specially made magic bag engraved with isolation runes.

"Take it all in, make use of it, maybe one of the fragments will be the key."

Ian thought to himself with a smug smile, which reminded him of his bad habit at Hogwarts of always picking up other people's discarded "junk" for research. Who could say that wasn't one of his weaknesses?

In addition to these complete sets of equipment.

Ian also found some other things.

A scarab amulet inlaid with lapis lazuli and carnelian, its gems long since lost their luster, its surface covered with a layer of slippery slime. The scarab's form is twisted by the erosion of fleshy buds, as if it might burst from its shell at any moment. The remains of a scepter, its golden shaft broken, the Eye of Horus at the top replaced by a bloodshot eyeball that keeps opening and closing.

There was also a golden cup filled with holy water, its body concave, its contents no longer clear water, but a slowly flowing, dimly glowing dark purple pus. The sacred aura that once belonged to the sun god Ra or the ancient Egyptian gods on these items had long been completely covered and distorted by the chaotic and devouring power of the evil god, turning them into symbols of evil.

Their power not only cannot be used, but may even become a source of pollution.

“These things are contaminated, but the basic materials and craftsmanship are still very precious,” Ian thought, as if his professional instincts were kicking in. Continuing on, he discovered a priest's scepter inlaid with gems. The scepter, which should have radiated a sun-like light, was now entangled in black veins, and the gem at its tip had turned a murky blood red, twitching occasionally.

Most chilling of all was a set of sacrificial daggers. These daggers, originally used in sacred ceremonies, had now become like bone, with tiny teeth growing from their blades, opening and closing with a "click" sound.

"They're all mine, all mine. I found some unwanted stuff." Ian specially created a spatial device on the spot to prevent his original collection from being contaminated.

In the crypt of the Sun God's temple, or rather, in its treasure vault, there were quite a few remaining contaminated treasures. Ian took them all. One priest's robe hanging on the wall suddenly began to writhe; the once magnificent gold embroidery transformed into writhing parasites, and the gemstone decorations turned into blinking eyes.

They quickly looted almost everything.

A whole bunch of defiled sacred objects.

Ian Prince struggled through the cellar as the battle outside intensified, making the entire space sway like a small boat in a storm.

The walls of flesh and blood contracted and expanded violently, and the massive blood vessels burst intermittently due to energy overload, splashing out scalding dark red liquid. The combined offensive of Hades and Isis had clearly put immense pressure on the evil god; even within the deepest chambers of the heart, the earth-shattering energy collisions could be felt.

of course.

Ian could also sense that as the battle continued, the evil god was constantly evolving, and it was hard to say when Hades and his wife would be unable to suppress the evil god, which was constantly improving itself.

Infinite adaptation and evolution.

An extremely exaggerated form of divine authority.

"We must find that key as soon as possible," Ian muttered to himself. The light from his wand flickered in the violently shaking environment, and his suppressed and inactive magic was almost gone.

Just as Ian was about to give up hope and wonder if he had misjudged Hades's intentions, his gaze was suddenly drawn to a figure in the deepest part of the room—in that darkest corner, a small, thin figure was huddled up, seemingly out of place in the terrifying environment around him.

It was a boy of about seven or eight years old, dressed in a simple white linen robe, sitting on the ground with his hands wrapped around his knees. His hair was a rare pale gold, and his skin was so pale it was almost translucent.

What is most striking are his eyes—large and clear, yet empty and lifeless, like a soulless doll.

"Another trick by an evil god?" Ian gripped his wand warily and slowly approached. When he was about ten steps away from the boy, he stopped and carefully examined the unexpected presence.

The boy seemed unresponsive to Ian's arrival, simply remaining curled up, staring blankly ahead. His chest rose and fell slightly with the beating of his heart, but otherwise remained almost entirely still.

"Hello?"

Ian asked tentatively, his wand poised to fire a spell. The boy slowly raised his head, his overly clear eyes looking at Ian, but unfocused.

"who are you?"

His voice was so soft it was almost inaudible, with a childlike gentle tone, but without any emotional fluctuation.

“My name is Harry Potter. And yours?” Ian replied cautiously, carefully observing the boy’s every subtle reaction. He knew all too well that it was best to use a classmate’s name when out in public, just in case.

A world of magic.

No one can say for sure what a real name represents. Especially in this ancient and eerie place, although the evil god already knows Ian's name, no one can say for sure if this is some kind of seduction. Saying he's Harry Potter is perfectly fine; after all, the current Harry Potter hasn't even been born yet.

Even if some curse appears that forces one to admit who they are.

It won't even last for thousands of years.

"My name?"

The boy tilted his head, seemingly deep in thought.

"I don't know," he finally said softly, his eyes still vacant. "I don't remember."

Ian frowned. This could be another trick by the evil god, using a seemingly harmless appearance to lower his guard. But his intuition told him that things weren't so simple.

"How will you be here?"

Ian pressed on, while secretly casting several detection spells. Surprisingly, all the magical feedback indicated that the boy before him was a real, existing being.

Rather than an illusion or a clone.

The boy shook his head blankly: "I've been here all along. Waiting. But I don't know what I'm waiting for."

Just then, the entire ventricle began to shake violently, and the blood vessels at the top suddenly burst, raining down a large amount of viscous liquid. Ian hurriedly cast a protective spell, only to find that there seemed to be an invisible barrier around the boy, and the foul liquid evaporated and disappeared just inches away from him.

"interesting."

Ian narrowed his eyes. This self-protective mechanism was not something an ordinary child possessed. He cautiously took a few steps closer and noticed a faint mark on the boy's chest, shaped like a rising sun, emitting a weak glow. This mark felt strangely familiar to Ian.

It's as if I've seen it in some ancient book.

(End of this chapter)