Whoosh—
The moment the stone door swung fully open, the sudden rush of blessedly cool air flowing from inside made Bryan exhale in profound relief. He didn't immediately rush forward to enter the vault to eagerly examine its contents. Instead, he turned his head to gaze back at the churning lava lake behind him.
Its terrible heat was now completely blocked by the emerald magical barrier the serpents' eyes maintained, unable to penetrate even a single trace of warmth past that shield. A comfortable, satisfied smile spread slowly across Bryan's lips as he appreciated the elegant magic.
The golden lava rippled slowly like ocean waves in an alien sea, each ripple carrying within it the destructive power to utterly annihilate all things.
No wonder that goblin Bogrod had given him that incredulous "you're completely insane" look when he'd first heard Bryan's intention to personally venture beneath the lava's surface.
Even now, standing safely behind the barrier, as Bryan looked back at the thick lake of molten rock that had surrounded him moments ago, his heart still trembled slightly with residual adrenaline and the recognition of how close to death he'd truly been.
But he had conquered it nonetheless.
Fourteen years ago, that young body harboring a mature soul from another world—the nervous young wizard who had first walked into the Hogwarts Great Hall with such uncertainty and trepidation, not knowing what his future might hold had gradually gained, through his own talent and relentless effort, through trials and dangers, the kind of legendary power that was spoken of in the ancient myths people passed down respectfully through generations.
He'd come so far from that frightened boy.
"Hah—"
Bryan exhaled slowly once more, calming his racing emotions and steadying his breathing, before finally turning his full attention back toward the vault's interior—a darkness so absolute that even the lava's glow couldn't penetrate it even slightly.
It was like staring into a void.
Salazar Slytherin had clearly placed powerful preservation and protection magic within his vault as well, enchantments ensuring the interior environment remained suitable for storing delicate items over vast spans of time.
The moment Bryan stepped across the threshold, crossing from magma- stone into that preserved darkness, the previously silent vault suddenly erupted with a series of distinct thump, thump sounds echoing through the space.
Under Bryan's vigilant gaze, the vault that had been steeped in impenetrable darkness for a thousand years elegantly lifted its black veil like a woman revealing her face, finally revealing its true appearance to living eyes!
"Tsk, tsk—"
Looking at the copper torches arranged at regular intervals every few feet along the rock walls, Bryan clicked his tongue in genuine admiration.
"Gubraithian fire, the same eternal flames as in the Chamber of Secrets... What an extravagant fellow—"
The pale golden, bright firelight that never wavered or flickered lit the vault, driving away every shadow. As Bryan stepped forward deeper into the vault, the concentrated magical energy naturally radiated by the eternal flames surged toward him like an incoming tide. It was as tangible as physical substance, washing over Bryan's face like a warm sea breeze.
After withdrawing his fascinated gaze from the priceless torches, Bryan finally examined the vault's interior more seriously and comprehensively.
The gently undulating sound of wind moving through the space sang wordlessly of history's vicissitudes and accumulated weight, like an old man whispering directly in Bryan's ear.
The air seemed to be telling him what that distant era a thousand years ago had been like—when the afterglow of ancient magical civilization had not yet completely faded from the world—just how magnificent and turbulent those times had been.
An age of wonders.
This was a cave-like vault, clearly carved from natural stone rather than constructed.
The roughly circular cave's interior was not what Bryan had initially expected based on Slytherin's reputation—not the ostentatiously luxurious arrangement of wealth that a proud pure-blood noble might have favored, no piles of gold or extravagant displays. Of course, it wasn't austere or ascetic either, not bare stone.
On each massive, intact rock wall were embedded dozens of rather fine specimens of emeralds with remarkably pure coloration, each gem seemed cut and polished to perfection.
Each of these emeralds was approximately the same size as the gem set in Slytherin's locket that Bryan possessed, and they were scattered randomly throughout the entire cave's surface with no immediately discernible pattern, glittering faintly like stars under the light of the Gubraithian fire.
Without any doubt, this random scattering of precious gems alone represented very considerable wealth!
A fortune that would make most wizards gasp.
Yet upon seeing these numerous emeralds, Bryan not only failed to show any delight or satisfaction, but actually revealed faint disappointment clouding his expression.
Admittedly, these gems were quite valuable, worth thousands of Galleons certainly. But in truth, they were worth even less than the Gubraithian fire burning throughout the cave—those eternal flames that could never be extinguished were priceless, literally irreplaceable.
You simply couldn't buy them.
"So then—"
Bryan withdrew his listless gaze from the emeralds embedded in the rock walls, and turned instead toward the only thing in the entire vault that could properly be called a 'physical object'.
"This is what you've left for me?"
In the precise center of the circular cave stood a stone platform that appeared to be carved from the same rock as the floor, connected seamlessly to the ground. On its basin-sized flat surface, situated exactly in the middle, rested a simple black wooden box that had been sealed and waiting in darkness for a full millennium.
Tap, tap, tap—
Bryan's leisurely, unhurried footsteps echoed through the empty stone cave.
Walking slowly to the very edge of the platform, Bryan's intense gaze fell down, fixing intently on the mysterious black wooden box before him.
His keen vision tried to penetrate the box's physical barrier and magically explore what might be hidden within its interior, but the container was clearly not as simple as its plain appearance showed—it perfectly blocked Bryan's magical sight, yielding nothing to his probing.
The box wasn't sealed with any complex or powerful magic that he could detect, no wards or dangerous curses. It was simply closed, held shut by an ordinary latch. One needed only to lift the lid with one's hands to obtain whatever lay hidden inside.
"This doesn't seem like your style at all, Professor Slytherin," Bryan said lightly. "I rather thought there would be some high-difficulty test of worth, some challenge to prove the opener deserving—"
Bryan's tone was casual, but the crease of concern between his brows hadn't smoothed out at all. Nor did he rush to immediately open the box despite his words.
What exactly would Salazar Slytherin have left for him?
Thinking carefully through the possibilities, analyzing what he knew, there were indeed some specific things he wanted to obtain.
Most specifically, there was what he had witnessed in the preserved memories of both Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw—that strange, stone door they had retrieved together from deep beneath Azkaban Island, from Herpo the Foul's hidden lair!
According to what he had seen in Helga Hufflepuff's memory, that mysterious stone door was described as a gateway to the stars. And the stars...
"In the stars lies your way home": this phrase had been engraved in Bryan's mind all along, never once forgotten since he'd first heard it.
To this day, after years of investigation and self-analysis, Bryan had long since concluded with near certainty that his memory had been tampered with by someone or something. Some crucial memories had been sealed away, locked behind barriers in his own mind.
This powerful seal was something even the present-day Bryan, with all his accumulated power and knowledge, could not shake or break through. He had tried.
He had a strong intuitive feeling, that perhaps only by somehow reaching the stars could he finally break the seal imprisoning his memories.
And to achieve this crucial goal, besides obtaining that strange stone door itself, he also needed to gather the coordinates for the journey—that is, the three legendary Deathly Hallows that Beedle the Bard had written about.
The Elder Wand, should currently be in Dumbledore's possession, if Bryan's reasoning was correct. Though this was merely logical speculation based on circumstantial evidence, Bryan felt fairly confident it was probably accurate.
The Resurrection Stone—if not for Dumbledore clearly telling him that this item had fallen into Voldemort's hands, Bryan would have immediately assumed that what Slytherin had left in this wooden box was precisely this stone. After all, it made sense.
After all, the four Founders should logically have known he would need it for his journey, and a thousand years ago, according to the historical records he'd found, this stone had ultimately been with Slytherin's.
The Invisibility Cloak—currently whereabouts were unknown, its location was a mystery.
So then, could what was concealed in this box possibly be the Invisibility Cloak, one of the three legendary Hallows that Slytherin had found for him across the centuries?
Bryan narrowed his eyes in thought, then almost immediately rejected that speculation with a shake of his head.
The popular story of the Three Hallows, the tale everyone knew, had become widespread in the wizarding world beginning with that famous book of wizard fairy tales left to future generations by Beedle the Bard. And Beedle's era was documented as being far after the time of the Hogwarts Founders, centuries later.
If the Invisibility Cloak had somehow fallen into the Founders' hands a thousand years ago and been deliberately hidden by Slytherin in this sealed vault, isolated from the world, then Beedle would logically have had nothing to do with it afterward. The cloak couldn't be in two places at once.
Rumble—
A low, ominous rumbling sound reached Bryan's ears from behind, startling him abruptly from his deep contemplation and drawing his gaze sharply back toward the green barrier visible at the vault's stone door.
The emerald barrier that had been blocking the lava from entering the vault, holding back that immense pressure, was now trembling slightly under the lava's constant, assault from outside. The barrier that had previously so perfectly isolated all sound was now actually allowing the lava's threatening roar to penetrate into the vault's interior.
Watching the gradually weakening magical barrier, Bryan narrowed his eyes and focused his magical senses. He noticed that the magic flowing through the invisible network of magical runes carved into the stone door had become sluggish.
This shouldn't be happening.
The powerful magic Salazar Slytherin had left behind had successfully protected his vault perfectly well for a full thousand years through geological disturbances; there was absolutely no logical reason for critical problems to suddenly arise just minutes after opening the door for the first time.
Unless...
Vaguely, Bryan seemed to catch the faint scent of some kind of "conspiracy,".
A sudden sense of urgency welled up from the bottom of Bryan's heart, tightening his chest. He delayed no longer.
With a sharp, flick of his wand, the black wooden box before him sprang open, and Salazar Slytherin's bequest finally fell into his eager view.
It was a potion and a stack of parchments!
The wooden box's interior contained a crystal glass bottle, and within that bottle was a potion whose color closely resembled Felix Felicis, though the shade was slightly clearer. Bryan carefully levitated the glass bottle with his wand, making it float slowly before his eyes for detailed examination.
Upon closer inspection, he discovered that floating and swimming within the golden liquid were many transparent, ephemeral-like creatures.
These small things, Bryan was uncertain whether they were truly alive—swam cheerfully through the golden liquid, radiating unusual vitality.
Searching through all his knowledge of potions, Bryan still couldn't definitively determine what exactly this mysterious potion Slytherin had left behind actually was.
Perhaps it was something Slytherin had brewed himself, an original creation. Considering his level of potion-making skill that had far exceeded even the other three Founders, this unique potion must be extremely precious and powerful.
After examining the bottle carefully for a moment, Bryan finally cupped the precious potion in his palm and reached down to carefully pick up the stack of parchment at the bottom of the box.
The instant Bryan deciphered the meaning of the first line of text written in ancient universal runes on the first page, his eyes suddenly widened in shock and his entire body gave a tremor.
"Soul Invigorating Potion?"
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