Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

Chapter 448 The Meaning of Travel

Dumbledore tilted his head slightly in Edgar's direction, and Regulus, understanding, followed.

There were two purposes for coming here.

One is to see if Edgar's anchor point has withstood the second full moon. We just confirmed that it has.

However, Edgar's protective will was indeed struggling to hold on, as the power was being consumed by Edgar himself. Since Edgar was not present, Edgar could only rely on the remaining amount of his will to keep going.

In the long run, this structure is flawed, and he has no idea how long it can last.

He knew that Dumbledore had seen the anchor point, the blue and white shell, and the flames inside.

He also knew that Dumbledore had seen a scene of humanity being protected struggling to maintain itself under the onslaught of bestiality, and that he would definitely intervene.

The old man's instinct in this regard is the same as his phoenix guardian spirit; when he sees something he should protect shaking, he will try to stabilize it.

Bring Dumbledore here, let him see his bright side, and at the same time let him see the anchor point, Edgar, and the problems, and then see if we can work together to solve them.

It could be called scheming, but this level of scheming doesn't even qualify as cleverness.

He simply put two things together: a flawed anchor and an old wizard capable of fixing the flaw, and the rest would happen on its own.

Two people walked through a pack of wolves while remaining invisible.

More than sixty werewolves charged and tore at each other in the open space, their gray, brown and black furs tumbling and intertwining in the moonlight.

He bypassed one wolf that was chasing its own tail and had circled around countless times, knocking over two wolves that were still spinning. He stepped over one wolf and lay down on the ground digging a hole that was already half a meter deep and was still digging. He sidestepped two wolves that were biting each other's necks and rolled over from one end of the open space to the other, knocking over three wolves that were fighting over bones along the way, and finally arrived in front of the broken wall where Edgar was squatting.

Edgar, in wolf form, crouched on the muddy ground, his chest heaving, occasionally letting out a low whimper. Compared to his kind who were tearing and howling around him, he was as quiet as an anomaly.

A few wolves ran past him just now, and one of them even stepped on his tail. He just pulled his tail back and moved aside, without baring his teeth or biting back.

Dumbledore stopped a few steps away, his blue eyes landing on Edgar, and then he made his move.

They said they would take action, but they didn't.

Regulus stared at Dumbledore's profile.

The old man's eyes lit up slightly, very faintly. His will itself was taking shape, condensing, and being sent outward, passing through the air, through the moonlight, and touching Edgar's mental barrier.

Regulus watched the process unfold.

It was completely different from how he barged in. He used Mind Control to force his way in, then carefully operated the door after entering.

Dumbledore merged in, following the curve of the pupil, the nerves behind the eyeballs, and the texture of the mental barrier, seeping in little by little, without even touching the door.

The texture around the point of contact automatically dispersed, making way for a passage, and then naturally closed again after the will passed. The door opened by itself in front of him.

The entire process takes less than a breath, and the barrier remains the same, with no structural changes.

The old man's mastery of mental magic was enough for him to ponder for a long time just from seeing this.

It has nothing to do with the level of power, magic, or talent; it's purely a matter of understanding, something that comes from time.

Then that wisp of will touched the protective shell he left behind.

The essence of a shell is protection, defining boundaries, protecting the interior, and rejecting all external intrusions.

It defines what is inside and what is outside, and anything that tries to pass through it should be rejected and blocked.

But Dumbledore's will passed through; it recognized his will as one of its own and did not consider this foreign will a threat, so it let him pass directly.

Regulus's amber vertical pupils contracted slightly.

Unsurprisingly, this is Dumbledore; his mastery of mental magic is too high.

Dumbledore's blue eyes were fixed intently on Edgar, his will having pierced through the protective shell, reached its center, and touched the flame encased within.

He saw it clearly.

The blue and white protective will is bright and beautiful enough; it has will, direction, and something to protect.

After each impact, the shell automatically adjusts its structure, reinforcing the weak points exposed by the previous impact.

It is learning, adapting, doing a lot, and doing it very well.

But there is a problem.

The flame remained peacefully inside, enveloped and protected. It simply existed, without being activated. It passively accepted protection, without standing up on its own.

This protective will is bearing the brunt for this werewolf. Every time the beast charges, it is the protective will that counteracts it, and the outer shell absorbs all the impact for the core.

It can be stabilized, but that's all it is.

Dumbledore saw through what Regulus had done.

Use the will to protect humanity, wrap it up, safeguard it, and nail it to the bottom of the soul.

When the moon transforms into a full moon, this shell protects the people inside, preventing their humanity from being swept away. It's useful, but limited.

After transforming, he was a little more lucid than other werewolves, not much, just that he didn't go crazy with the pack.

But the person inside the shell wasn't fighting against the beast; he was just crouching inside, waiting for the storm to pass, passively being protected, not actively protecting himself.

He also realized what Regulus cared about.

The child didn't care whether the werewolf's humanity could ultimately overcome its bestiality; he only cared whether this path was viable.

If the shell can hold up, the road will be open. Whether the people inside the shell can stand up on their own is not within his consideration.

Regulus set a parameter: whether the anchor point could persist under the impact of bestiality, and then verified it. He didn't pay much attention to the rest.

But Dumbledore cared.

His will pierced through the shell, touched the flame inside, and then ignited it.

The operation originates from the soul level, activating the potential of the flame itself.

It was born to shine, but it had been suppressed by fear and despair for too long, and forgot that it could also burn.

He just reminded it.

Regulus stood nearby, taking in the entire process.

He saw how Dumbledore's will merged into it, and he saw the will touch the flame, and something inside was awakened.

He saw the flame begin to glow, gradually brightening from a nearly extinguished dark red to orange, then to gold, and finally settling into a warm yellowish-gold color.

The shell is still the same shell, the structure hasn't changed, the protective will remains, and the blue and white light is still there.

But then the flames inside lit up, and golden light shone through, overlapping with the blue and white shell.

The whole process was very quiet. The things inside were no longer dark; they transformed from protected objects into a core that could emit its own light.

The effect is almost instantaneous.

Edgar shuddered, scratched the muddy ground with his two front paws, and dug several shallow trenches into the mud with his claws.

Then it loosened up, the body recovered from the stiffness, the spine relaxed inch by inch, the shoulder blades stopped shrugging up, and the hind legs slowly stretched out from the curled-up position.

The tail hanging at the base of the broken wall swayed gently, its previous unconscious twitching replaced by a rhythmic, slow swing.

He raised his head, his wolf-shaped head slowly turning as he scanned the surrounding pack of ferocious wolves.

The turbidity and bestiality are still there, and the remnants of bloodlust still surge in the depths of the eyes, but beneath them there is more discernment and thought, and a clarity that has just emerged from the chaos.

He looked down at his forepaws pressed against the muddy ground. They were furry, with thick, long knuckles and grayish-yellow nails. He recognized them as his own paws.

Then it shrank into the corner, away from a gray wolf that was running towards them.

He made a choice after seeing the threat, and even if it was just a very small decision, it was still driven by his own subjective will.

Wild werewolves don't have this, nor do domesticated werewolves, but he has it now.

Staying away from threats and chaos, and avoiding pointless fighting, the level of rationality retained has significantly improved. It's not much, but it's a qualitative difference compared to before.

Previously, he simply stayed put and did not participate. Now, he has taken the initiative to choose not to participate, turning passivity into initiative. This step is more important than anything else.

Dumbledore withdrew his will, his blue eyes regained their usual gentleness, and he slightly curved his lips as he glanced at Regulus with approval in his eyes.

Regulus saw it and raised his chin slightly in response.

He didn't ask any questions.

Dumbledore did something he couldn't do for the time being; his Guardian Will could protect, but not ignite.

How they did it is not entirely clear.

Fine-tuning at the level of will, understanding of mental structure, and techniques for letting the flame ignite on its own—all these require the accumulation of time.

But he doesn't need an answer right now.

Store this scene in your mind and carry it with you as you move forward. When you encounter something in the future that suddenly connects with the scene you saw tonight, that will be the scene that truly belongs to you.

The meaning of travel lies here: not asking questions directly, not seeking advice directly, but following Dumbledore, watching him do things, and seeing the blue eyes that curved after he illuminated Edgar's humanity.

Regulus raised his hand and stroked his chin.

What he did was protect, to wrap up humanity, to hold it back, to let it withstand the storm of bestiality. He did what he could to protect.

Protection is certainly good and necessary, but protection itself has its limits.

When you shoulder burdens for others, the strength to carry them comes from outside. If the source is cut off or the strength diminishes, the protection weakens.

Dumbledore showed him the next step.

The protected thing can also emit light and participate in resistance.

Protection provides an environment, a safe space, and humanity finally has the stamina to do something, transforming from a passive existence into an active act of passion.

What Dumbledore did changed this structure; after the flame lit up, an additional energy source appeared inside the shell.

The will to protect is carried from the outside, while humanity burns from the inside. With both internal and external forces working together, the structure is much more stable than what he originally built.

He had always understood protection as a shield, a wall, but now he sees it might be more than that.

Perhaps protection can be soil, or light?

From when I started carrying it, to when I helped you carry it until you could carry it yourself?

I don't know if the old man deliberately let him see these things, or if he just did what he felt he should do.

In Dumbledore's style, deliberate and spontaneous are probably the same thing.

I'm too lazy to guess what happened. Whether it was intentional or accidental, I saw it, so I saw it.

However, he only understood half of Dumbledore's actions; he didn't understand the other half.

What exactly did that wisp of will do the moment it touched the flame?

He saw the result, he saw the flame grow brighter from darkness, but he still didn't understand how to make a passive human nature ignite on its own in the middle step.

With a clear and defined direction, human nature itself can be illuminated.

His thoughts took a turn.