Hogwarts Raven

Chapter 453, Section 452: Echoes of the Past 3
Because the caster's emotions fluctuated too drastically.

The illusion began to fluctuate violently, the silver light flickering erratically, revealing the turmoil within the memory's owner. Inside the cell, the blind wizard's body trembled violently.

It was as if I were reliving the terrifying and painful memories of that moment.

The man in black robes waited quietly, without urging him. He could sense the wound in his teacher's heart that had remained unhealed for a thousand years, so he didn't ask any questions, knowing it would be pointless.

We are all smart people.

They all knew that what was about to happen was something that would cause a person to regret for a lifetime. After a long time, the illusion finally stabilized.

As the spellcaster's magic continues to take effect.

The magic of memory naturally reappeared clearly.

Lina's heart-wrenching scream echoed through the endless corridor.

It felt as if it were tearing the soul apart.

"What's going on! Lina! Lina! What happened!" Saruman and Kag shuddered at the same time, almost instinctively rushing to their kneeling companion.

"Lina! Are you alright?"

Saruman knelt on one knee, urgently supporting her trembling shoulders. Kag, meanwhile, warily surveyed his surroundings, his battle axe held horizontally across his chest, ready to face any potential threat.

They didn't know why Lina screamed, but they could only guess that Lina might have encountered some kind of attack from the shadows, so they were very vigilant about their surroundings.

Tell me! What attacked you?

Saruman crouched down, trying to help Lina up, and kept asking her questions. However, Lina didn't answer; she just covered her face tightly with her hands, an unsettling dark liquid seeping from between her fingers. Her body trembled violently, and strange gurgling sounds came from her throat.

It was as if they were enduring unspeakable pain.

"Lina? Look at me!" Saruman tried to pry her hands off, but found her strength to be astonishing. "What did you see? Tell us!"

Kag crouched down, his rugged face filled with worry: "Are those damn hallucinations happening again? Hang in there, we'll get you out of here right away!"

"Is it due to influences from within?"

Young Saruman held the unconscious Lina, his face grave as he stared at the stone door. Kag stood beside him, his battle axe held across his chest, vigilantly surveying their surroundings.

“We must get out of here,” Kag said in a deep voice. “Lina’s prophecies have never been wrong. If what’s behind that door really is what it seems, it’s definitely not worth it!”

Saruman's face showed a struggle: "But the truth is right in front of us. We've gone through so much to get here, we're already outside the truth."

He felt that even if Lina had been attacked, she would have had enough medical supplies to treat her, and injuries were not uncommon in the past, so it would be a pity to give up on her.

Kag had a different opinion.

He clearly realized that this adventure was completely different from his previous ones.

"No matter how important the truth is, it's not worth trading the fate of the entire world for! And look, open your eyes and take a good look at Lina!" Kag raised his voice at Saruman, unusually. "Look at Lina! Look at what we've been through! This isn't a treasure, it's a curse!"

Saruman looked down at his companion who was groaning in pain, then glanced at the perilous, endless corridor behind him, his mind in turmoil.

His thirst for knowledge and sense of responsibility were locked in a fierce battle.

Finally, he sighed, "You're right. Let's go back. But before that, we need to heal Lina first; I don't even know what kind of attack she suffered."

“She probably just saw that damn hallucination again, right, Lina?” Kag speculated. However, no matter how much the two asked or comforted her, Lina remained unresponsive. She simply covered her face tightly, her body trembling more and more violently, and the strange noises coming from her throat gradually turned into something chilling.

It was a low, rumbling sound, as if it came from the deep sea.

Inside the cell, the man in black robes froze upon witnessing this scene. He turned to the blind wizard, his voice filled with disbelief and his pupils trembling.

"Teacher, is it because of the prophet's power that Ms. Lina's consciousness touched upon something she shouldn't have?" The man in black knew the severity of that contamination.

His shock stemmed primarily from his upbringing, which made it impossible for him to accept that a wizard would be so bold as to use his will to touch the source of pollution that was feared by all.

How incredibly reckless and daring must someone be?

of course.

This situation may have occurred, which also indirectly confirms that in that era a thousand years ago, wizards were indeed completely unaware of the horrors buried in history.

"Ah."

The blind wizard—the aged Saruman—closed his eyes in anguish, tears of regret streaming from his empty sockets.

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out; he could only nod heavily. That silent affirmation was more heartbreaking than any words.

The scenes from my memory continue to unfold.

As young Saruman's anxiety grew with Lina's continued lack of response, he turned to Kag, forcing himself to remain calm: "It could be some kind of mental attack, or... a curse. Hold her down; I need to check on her."

Kag immediately complied, carefully holding Lina's struggling body in place with his strong arms. Saruman took a deep breath, the tip of his wand glowing with diagnostic magic, and began to examine Lina's entire body.

“Vitality signs disordered. Abnormal magic flow. Severe contamination of the mental realm,” Saruman muttered to himself as he examined the area, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper. “This looks like… some kind of powerful transformation curse?”

Kag asked anxiously, "Can it be unblocked?"

“I’ll try.” Saruman began chanting a high-level purification spell, and pure white light enveloped Lina. However, this did not alleviate her pain; instead, it made her struggle even more violently.

"Stop!" Kag hurriedly stopped her. "This seems to be causing her more pain!"

Saruman, unwilling to give up, tried a different treatment, this time a soothing magic specifically targeting mental pollution. Soft blue light seeped into Lina's forehead, but the effect was still minimal.

“That shouldn’t be the case,” young Saruman shook his head in confusion. “These spells should be effective against most curses and mental attacks.”

Just then, Lina's hands suddenly fell limply to her sides, revealing her face that she had been hiding. Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

Lina's once delicate face was now covered with fine, eerily shimmering scales. Her eyes had turned completely black, with no whites or pupils, only a chilling darkness.

The most terrifying thing was her mouth—she wanted to say something, her lips trembled wildly, her expression was twisted to the extreme, filled with extreme fear and pain, but she couldn't utter any human sound, only those chilling gurgling sounds and strange noises like bursting bubbles.

Her vocal cords have undergone irreversible changes.

"Merlin!" Kag gasped, instinctively taking a half-step back. "What...what is this?"

Young Saruman was also stunned, but he forced himself to calm down and analyze: "It looks like a mutation of some kind of reptilian creature. It might be a curse unique to this place, mixed with advanced shapeshifting magic."

He was still trying to explain the phenomenon using known magical theories: "I remember reading in ancient texts that the Sphinx of ancient Egypt was a product of a combination of transformation spells and curses. There might be similar magic here."

In the cell outside of his memories, the aged Saruman, hearing his own ignorant analysis from years ago, covered his face in anguish. The man in black robes silently watched his teacher, feeling the regret that spanned millennia—back then, they had no idea what they were facing, still using their narrow magical understanding to speculate about an existence far beyond comprehension.

"Teacher," the man in black said softly, "this is not your fault. In that era, no one could understand this kind of pollution."

The blind wizard shook his head, his voice hoarse: "Ignorance is no excuse; my arrogance is the original sin."

The scenes in my memory continued, like a cruel trial being conducted.
"We must get her out of here as soon as possible!" Kag recovered from his shock, his tone resolute. "The curse on this place is too evil!"

Young Saruman hesitated: "But moving Lina prematurely might accelerate the mutation process. I need more time to study the characteristics of this curse..."

"What's there to research!" Kag, unusually angry with his best friend, exclaimed, "I already told you, look at Lina! This is something we can't possibly understand! If we stay here, we'll all become like her!"

“No, I don’t want to abandon my teammates and continue my research.” Saruman looked at Lina, who was struggling in pain, and was torn by a fierce internal conflict. On one hand, his scholarly instincts drove him to solve the mystery; on the other hand, his companion’s tragic state made him realize that the danger was far greater than he had imagined.

“Give me a little more time,” he finally relented. “I’ll try one last treatment. If it doesn’t work, we’ll retreat immediately. I just need to figure out how to treat this.”

Kag nodded heavily: "Hurry up."

Saruman took out a bottle of shimmering golden potion from his magic bag—his most prized possession, the legendary "Dawn Holy Water," said to be able to lift most curses in the world. He carefully helped Lina up and tried to feed her the potion.

However, the moment the holy water touched Lina's lips, another unexpected event occurred.

Lena suddenly let out a shrill, inhuman scream, a sound completely unlike anything a human could make. Her body began to convulse violently, scales spread to her neck at a visible speed, her fingers began to grow long and thin, and sharp claws grew from her fingertips.

"Damn it!" Saruman hurriedly retreated, dropping the holy water bottle in his hand. The golden liquid spilled onto the stone ground, making a sizzling, corrosive sound.

Kag immediately raised his battle axe, but faced with his mutating companion, he didn't know what to do: "Saruman! What do we do now?"

Young Saruman turned deathly pale. He finally began to realize that this was not magic or a curse as he understood it. It was something far more primal, far more terrifying.

“We must subdue her,” his voice trembled, “and then leave immediately.”

Just then, Lina suddenly stopped struggling. She slowly stood up, her movements stiff and unnatural, her completely black eyes staring straight at the two of them. Her mouth opened and closed, finally uttering recognizable syllables, but the words sent chills down their spines:

"■God■Awakens.■Chen■Position■Lai■Promoted"

Each word seemed to be uttered with all her might; her voice was distorted and broken, as if echoing from another dimension.

Saruman and Kag exchanged a glance, both seeing the utmost fear in each other's eyes. They finally understood that Lina wasn't rambling—she was relaying a message from some unspeakable being.

“I’m sorry, Lina.” Saruman raised his wand, tears welling in his eyes. “We must get you out of here.”

He cast a powerful stun spell, and the moment the light struck Lina, she let out a final, piercing scream before collapsing to the ground. But disturbingly, even in her unconscious state, the scales on her body continued to slowly spread.

Kag immediately stepped forward and carried Lina on his back: "Let's go! I don't want to stay in this godforsaken place for another second!"

Saruman took one last look at the stone door that emanated an ominous aura, gritted his teeth, and said, "Let's go!"

The two quickly retreated along the route they had come from.

It felt as if countless eyes were watching them from behind.

The infinite corridor seemed even more twisted and bizarre than when they arrived, and the words on the walls writhed more violently, as if mocking their ignorance and insignificance.

along the way.

As an experienced adventurer.

They certainly left behind many marks.

Kag carried the unconscious Lina on his back, with Saruman close behind, as the two retreated rapidly along the path they had come from. Lina's body felt unusually heavy, as if the growing scales had added to her weight. Her breathing became heavy and irregular, occasionally punctuated by unsettling gurgling sounds.

"Faster! Faster!" Kag urged, his warrior instincts making him extremely uneasy. "I have a feeling something is watching us."

As Saruman ran, he kept looking back, his wand glowing with defensive magic: "I can feel it too. This place has come alive."

Sure enough, they hadn't run far when those deformed creatures began to emerge from the passage ahead. But unlike when they came, these creatures' behavior had changed significantly—they no longer attacked indiscriminately, but rather seemed to be systematically blocking their retreat.

"Left!" Saruman shouted, and a Shattering Spell sent a rogue flying from the shadows.

Kag roared and swung his battle axe, cleaving another monster that tried to approach in two: "They seem to be protecting something! They don't want us to leave!"

Even more chillingly, when Saruman examined the creatures closely, he discovered some previously overlooked details—one of the stalkers wore a rusted metal bracelet on its tentacle, with ancient magical runes still faintly visible; another flying creature had fragments of a tattered wizard's robe remaining on its wing.

Such a discovery.

It made both of them feel as if they had fallen into an ice cave.

Because they realized a terrifying truth.

(End of this chapter)