Who let this Dementor into Hogwarts!

Chapter 241 The Bottle of Hermes
“Sometimes I do feel that way,” Cohen nodded. “But I think this might be the time when I'm going through a phase of my teenage angst…”

To be honest, Cohen felt like he was still in his chuunibyou phase before he died in his previous life, otherwise he wouldn't have run across the road like a Naruto—of course, the responsibility definitely lies with that bus driver, because Cohen was crossing the green light at the zebra crossing.

"'Fourteen sick'?" Nico asked, somewhat confused. He had never heard of such a term before.

“'Adolescent Delusions,'” ​​Cohen explained using a different term. “People are always arrogant and like to fantasize that they are the center of the world when they are teenagers, and I am no exception.”

“Oh, okay.” Nicole nodded understandingly. “So how do you view your current situation, Cohen? I respect your choice—after all, I’m just a memory, a ‘tool’ to help you, and the final decision is up to you… Do you think the current situation is nothing to worry about, or do you need the ‘attempt to preserve humanity’ solution I’m offering?”

"Want to hear the proposal?" Cohen asked uncertainly.

“In alchemy, humanity is not only an abstract moral concept, but also a spiritual substance that can be deconstructed, transformed, and refined,” Nicole said. “It can be stripped away from the human body.”

"So, while I still have the energy to continuously generate humanity, I should extract my humanity and keep it for future use?" Cohen asked. "But this shouldn't be a long-term solution... It's like saving money. If you stop earning money at a certain point, your savings will eventually run out—and I feel like my timeframe will be a bit... long."

“Cohen, do you know the difference between lead and gold?” Nicole said. “They are both pure elements, but they have completely different properties. In alchemy, lead often refers to inferior purity, while gold is the sublimated perfection—which is why alchemists have been pursuing how to turn metals into gold for thousands of years.”

“We want more than just gold.” Nico’s voice remained calm as always. “We want to become ‘gold’ ourselves—there are two objects that clearly represent ‘gold’ and ‘lead’ that can help you understand all of this more deeply.”

“An object?” Cohen thought of the Philosopher’s Stone. “Gold refers to the Philosopher’s Stone, and lead refers to what?”

"It can't be me, can it?" Cohen then added uncertainly, "That would be a bit hurtful—"

“Inferior,” the count said, smacking his lips. “I feel that word is more offensive than ‘bastard.’ Next time I’ll use this to insult someone—inferior bastard.”

"You really know how to pick out the dregs." Cohen now understood why the Earl was so good at cursing.

This bird is truly good at learning but not bad; it picks up one bad example and can apply it to other situations.

“An evil creation,” Nico explained to Cohen. “I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of it—a Horcrux.”

"Oh—" Cohen certainly knew about Horcruxes, and had even eaten a few.

“The essence of Horcruxes is reverse alchemy. It reduces the soul from a state of ‘sublimation toward gold’ to pure ‘lead.’ It forces people to use murder to remove what makes them impure…those emotions that dark wizards call ‘useless,’” Nico said. “The final product can only be a parasite of the dregs of humanity—yet some will still try to do it…”

“For immortality,” Cohen said somberly.

For example, Voldemort.

“The purification of the Philosopher’s Stone is not much different from this,” Nico said. “Purity is always poison to humans—Perenaar and I extended our lives for a long time thanks to the Philosopher’s Stone, but our souls never completed the step into ‘gold.’” “Eternal things are always pure, and the Philosopher’s Stone is no exception. The Philosopher’s Stone I made is not perfect because I added some impurities.” Nico sighed. “I added our ‘humanity’ to it, so it was able to allow us to live for more than six hundred years while retaining our humanity—in those six hundred years, Perenaar and I never lost our way in the illusion of immortality because our humanity remained.”

“No wonder you never use the Philosopher’s Stone on anyone else.” Cohen raised his eyebrows.

“Many people have come looking for it over the years,” Nico said. “For greed, for fame and fortune, for love, for family and friends… there are many touching and tragic reasons among them. I will try my best to help those in need, but I cannot use the Philosopher's Stone to heal the pain of the suffering. That would turn them into gold—the perfection of humanity lies in accepting wounds, not in absolute purity.”

“And what about me?” Cohen said. “The Philosopher’s Stone has merged into my body… but shouldn’t it… turn me into gold too?”

“That impurity was released when you absorbed the Philosopher’s Stone,” Nico said. “Cohen, you are pure gold, while Perenaar and I are not.”

"At that time, Perena and I also realized that our journey was coming to an end—I could certainly create another Philosopher's Stone, but that Philosopher's Stone would no longer be impure, because Perena and I no longer had the means to produce 'humanity'..."

"Well... I'm sorry..."

Cohen scratching his head.jpg
That makes it seem like if he had come to Nicole earlier to ask for a Philosopher's Stone, nothing would have happened—he and Perena wouldn't have had to suddenly decide to die...

“No need to apologize, it’s fate,” Nico said nonchalantly. “There’s not much humanity left in that Philosopher’s Stone anyway. To be able to pass away peacefully while humanity still remains is already a perfect ending.”

"We spend our entire lives turning metals into gold, but we forget that the human heart is the most perfect philosopher's stone in the universe."

(Philosopher's Stone)

"Understood."

Cohen said,
“If I want to retain my humanity for a long time, I can’t be so pure, right?” Cohen said. “I need some ‘impurities’ to allow myself to degenerate a little.”

“I’m worried you’ll give up because of this.” Nico’s pale face was full of worry.

"Why give up? I don't see anything good about being a pure and ruthless 'gold'... at least not now."

Cohen said,
"My parents are still alive and waiting for me to have lunch—how exactly do I do that?"
-
After a lengthy philosophical discussion with Nicolas Flamel, Flamel finally felt at ease handing Cohen the document that would help him retain his humanity.

The "Hermes Bottle" is a palm-sized, golden, double-necked glass bottle filled with white smoke.

Cohen felt the container looked familiar, until Nicole pointed out that it was identical to the one used to create Cohen, differing only in size...

(End of this chapter)