Am I going mad?
Am I trapped in some kind of dream?
Carter stared at Dumbledore's ghostly form, his translucent body emanating a soft white fluorescence. Her expression betrayed her shock and disbelief.
Is he... dead?
"I'm not dead yet!" Dumbledore said faintly, floating in mid-air as he gazed directly into Carter's eyes.
Before Carter could breathe a sigh of relief, he delivered his next words.
"But I am dying."
"What happened?" Carter couldn't hide the urgency in her voice.
It wasn't without reason. The current wizarding world had only one true cornerstone—Dumbledore.
Without his methods, resources, and strategic planning, how could they possibly continue the transformation to the new wizard and magic systems?
Could Kamar-Taj alone carry that burden?
No matter how confident Carter felt, given the current circumstances, it would be impossible without Lockhart's additional support. It would take fifty or even a hundred years of gradual progress!
Yet in just two or three years, the entire wizarding world had accepted the new magic system and welcomed Muggle-born wizards into their ranks.
This rapid acceptance was possible only because of Dumbledore's century-earned prestige and status. Without him, it would take at least a decade.
Carter understood this all too well, which was why she couldn't accept Dumbledore's impending death.
In her opinion, Dumbledore's death might eventually serve some greater purpose—but only if he died heroically after the reformation of the wizarding world was complete.
Not now. Not like this.
"Because I've grown too strong," Dumbledore stated simply, causing Carter to frown.
"How strong?" she asked, unable to understand his meaning.
"Strong enough." Dumbledore raised his hand slightly, pointing his transparent index finger—still glowing with that strange white luminescence—toward Carter's forehead.
Then he waved it gently to the right.
The next moment—
Buzz!
Under Carter's horrified gaze, the surrounding walls began to become transparent. She could clearly see the moving staircases below, the dim classrooms, and even the resting young wizards.
It seemed they were floating inside Hogwarts like ghosts.
But this was not what truly shocked Carter. What terrified her was what happened when Dumbledore made another subtle gesture.
The light and scene changed rapidly. The originally dark staircases suddenly brightened, and the empty classrooms abruptly filled with students.
In corridors that alternated between light and darkness, young wizards appeared and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
All of this, to Carter's eyes, seemed to be moving backward.
Yes—time itself was being reversed.
Within this temporal flux, Carter witnessed familiar scenes: Snape meticulously brewing potions, a young Harry practicing spells.
Pop!
Unable to resist, Carter stretched her hand forward. There was a slight sound, like touching a marshmallow—a soft resistance, followed by ripples that spread outward like waves on water.
Something about her touch seemed to accelerate the process.
The shifts in light and darkness grew more rapid, the scenes more varied.
Carter watched the sleeping basilisk, the young Lily and Snape in their school days, the orphaned child who would become Voldemort, and even Dumbledore in his youth.
Historical figures emerged one after another until—
Gryffindor wielding his legendary sword, Slytherin clutching his locket, Ravenclaw adorned with her diadem, Hufflepuff raising the Holy Grail high...
The founding of Hogwarts itself unfolded before her eyes.
A scene from legend, a moment of history...
Carter couldn't help but feel awe and longing.
But the visions did not stop there—they continued to roll backward through time.
She witnessed wizards casting ancient spells to drive away primordial monsters, goblins guarding their treasures while hunting wizards who trespassed on their domains.
Dragons soared through pristine skies, breathing fire from their massive jaws, while elves commanded enormous wooden golems in ancient conflicts.
Scenes from fairy tales and even unknown chapters of history displayed themselves before Carter's astonished eyes.
History—the entire past of the wizarding world.
Carter understood without Dumbledore needing to explain.
"Carter, the past of the entire wizarding world is clearly visible to me," Dumbledore said softly.
"Including you..."
As his words faded, the visions shifted again.
Carter watched herself walking out of the enchanted suitcase, conversing with Lockhart on a rain-slicked street, the mysterious magic that had altered her identity...
Scene after scene—everything Carter had done since arriving in the wizarding world played out before her eyes.
The display left her increasingly disturbed.
Then, even more alarmingly, the visions continued.
Around them, scenes from World War II materialized: Hydra, Captain America, the Tesseract...
From the Marvel universe, moments connected to Carter appeared one after another.
Even Lockhart appeared, along with Kamar-Taj and the world of all things.
"I'm afraid I won't have the chance to visit the new world Lockhart spoke of," Dumbledore said with regret.
"However, I believe that world must represent the future for wizards. I trust that Lockhart will bring a better future to our kind."
The hopeful tone in Dumbledore's voice reached Carter's ears, though it was tinged with sadness.
"Headmaster Dumbledore, do you intend to take control of the wizarding world? To become... some kind of dimensional god?" Carter couldn't help but ask. The scenes she had just witnessed undeniably suggested that Dumbledore had developed an extraordinary understanding of—or influence over—the wizarding world.
Combined with the ancient texts she had studied at Kamar-Taj, she wondered if Dumbledore was attempting to ascend to godhood.
"No, I don't control the world," Dumbledore replied, his voice low and lonely, filled with resignation. "The world controls me."
Before Carter could ask for clarification, Dumbledore continued: "I told you that I'm dying."
"The manner of my death is this: all of my spiritual and physical magic is being integrated into the entire wizarding world in the most complete way possible."
"Or, to put it another way..."
"The wizarding world is consuming me."
Despite his calm tone, there was an undercurrent of despair.
"Why? Is it because you've grown too powerful?" Carter's voice became complex with emotion.
These revelations were systematically dismantling her understanding of reality.
The world... devouring wizards?
Had such words come from anyone other than Dumbledore—especially a dying Dumbledore—Carter would have dismissed them as madness.
"You could understand it that way," Dumbledore nodded slightly. "Don't waste your energy searching for a solution. This process is irreversible."
"I summoned you here to tell you certain things—to make arrangements for after my passing."
Before Carter could interject, Dumbledore began to speak with urgency.
"First, the world has noticed the threat that Lockhart represents. He may not return as soon as we hoped. You must prepare yourself mentally for this possibility."
"Second, the advancement of wizards must be slowed. When a wizard's strength reaches a certain threshold, their end will come."
"The goblins, dragons, and elves of ancient times all perished for this very reason."
"Remember, Carter—the world possesses consciousness, and it will not tolerate beings of such power that they might threaten its existence."
"Third..."
When he reached his third point, Dumbledore's voice grew noticeably weaker.
"Beware of Voldemort. Beware of Tom. It's possible that everything happening now is connected to him..."