The night was as dark as ink.
Thick clouds obscured the moonlight that would have shone bright and clear.
Only a few sharp stars flickered faintly in the sky.
The castle's towers stood alone in the darkness. The ivy along the stone walls swayed lightly in the night wind, making a faint rustling sound, like something moving just outside.
It was unsettling.
Ian's bedroom was high up in the castle. Young Morgan had arranged the room for him. It was spacious and old-fashioned, with a few ancient oil paintings on the walls depicting elegant landscapes.
Ian had moved the heavy oak desk that should have been in the center of the room aside and replaced it with a mirror taller than he was.
The Mirror of Erised.
The silence in the room was almost suffocating.
Only Ian's soft breathing and the occasional rustle of turning paper broke it.
The mysterious Mirror of Erised stood quietly before him, exuding an indescribable aura of ghostly light. Candles burned faintly in the chandelier above, casting flickering shadows across the room.
Ian hadn't lit any lamps. Instead, he sat cross-legged before the mirror, bathed only in candlelight.
"Tch, what is going on here?"
Ian had already begun consulting his collection of alchemical texts, a sure sign that he'd hit some kind of wall. His brow furrowed as he lifted his gaze now and then to stare intently at the mirror.
Under the influence of Ian's magic, intricate runes surfaced along the mirror's frame. Each stroke seemed to carry mysterious power. The glass was as smooth as still water and reflected Ian's figure, but his reflection appeared hazy, as if shrouded in an invisible mist.
No one else could see what was within. Only Ian knew what appeared before him. That was the nature of the Mirror of Erised: it showed each gazer their heart's deepest desire.
The night had grown late.
Yet, Ian could not sleep.
"I've been studying for hours, and I still don't have a clue..." Ian muttered under his breath. For the first time, he felt truly stymied. His fingers traced lightly over the runes carved into the mirror's frame.
To be fair, his mastery of alchemy was already considered among the finest in the wizarding world.
Of course, he was no Nicolas Flamel, who was at the very pinnacle of the craft but compared to most so-called masters of the art, he was certainly no less skilled. Yet, faced with this mirror, even he was at a loss.
He recalled beating Merlin thoroughly earlier today. At that time, Merlin had mentioned that the mirror concealed a secret. Not just any secret, but one of great significance.
That had undoubtedly sparked Ian's curiosity.
His memory had always been excellent, almost photographic, the kind that could build a memory palace. He still remembered his teacher, Morgan, mentioning similar words several times before.
Especially when he had not yet found the Mirror of Erised and had asked Morgan what was so special about it. She said that the mirror hid a secret that had troubled her for half her life.
Now, with two different legends speaking of it in this way, it was clear that the secret hidden in the Mirror of Erised was no small matter.
Confident in his knowledge of alchemy, Ian thought he could easily unravel the mirror's mysteries. Yet after several hours, he hadn't made any progress, though he could read the runes inscribed upon it.
While those ancient magical scripts were complicated and rare, he could decipher them. The problem was that although he had translated all the runes, he still couldn't find the one pointing to a hidden space.
Had neither Morgan nor Merlin spoken of the mirror's secrets, Ian might have suspected Merlin of tricking him. After all, he could hardly accuse himself of lacking alchemical skill.
"Revelio Secretum!"
Once again, Ian cast the spell he used to study alchemical artifacts and decode hidden enchantments. Yet the Mirror of Erised revealed no concealed runes.
Perhaps his spell level wasn't high enough, just as a weak unlocking charm could never open an advanced lock.
"Training up my spell levels would be far too slow at this point." Ian frowned, feeling a bit troubled. Maybe he shouldn't have turned Merlin down after all. Who could have guessed that the Mirror of Erised would be so strange?
He had originally assumed that, given his knowledge, it would only be a matter of time before he solved its mystery. Now, however, it seemed the mirror was far more enigmatic than he had imagined.
Truthfully, Merlin's alchemy skills were far greater than Ian's.
There was no helping it.
Compared to the legendary wizards of old, this young wizard, a newly risen legend at only twelve years of age, was lacking in accumulated knowledge by a large margin.
"Ugh! I've really made a fool of myself this time!"
Ian sighed, shifting his thoughts for the moment. He reached out and picked up a crystal-clear glass bottle from the table, the sealed vessel he had retrieved from Riddle.
Trapped inside the bottle was a shadow creature, the soul of a great gray wolf.
The wolf was curled at the bottom of the bottle. It looked quiet and even a little tame, more like a husky than a wild beast. When Ian pulled open the stopper, the wolf didn't seize the chance to escape. Instead, it simply raised its head and stared at Ian with round eyes and a lolling tongue, utterly devoid of the feral menace one might expect.
"You've suddenly become quite obedient, haven't you?" Ian chuckled softly at the sight. He gave the bottle a little shake and tapped the glass lightly with his finger.
"Since you're being so cooperative, would you like to keep me company for a chat?"
Ian also wanted to study the wolf and its secrets.
"Of course, of course, no problem at all," The wolf replied, its soul flickering faintly as if nodding. Its voice was low and hoarse with a faintly obsequious and flattering tone.
"What would you like to talk about?"
The great gray wolf even managed to smile across its lupine face.
There was no uncanny valley here; instead, it looked more like a "funfair valley effect." Almost comical.
"Let's talk about the Soul Hall," Ian said, rolling his neck slightly. The wolf's true form was reflected in his eyes, and the shadows surrounding it offered no concealment at all.
"For example, how did you join the Soul Hall?" He deliberately chose a less sensitive topic, starting a casual conversation with the wolf.
"Joining the Soul Hall..."
The wolf fell silent for a moment, lost in memories of its past. Its voice rose slowly, tinged with faint melancholy.
"I had a nemesis. She grew up to be a fine young lady and moved away. I can't say I missed her, but life afterward felt empty. So, from time to time, I'd go out and look for amusement."
"I saw The Tortoise and the Hare, witnessed the rise of the Lion King, scared little foals at the river crossing to tears, and laughed at monkeys trying to fish the moon from the water. That kind of life...you could say it was fulfilling."
"But one day, a fire broke out in the forest. Black flames devoured everything. I died in that fire. Yet my soul never entered the underworld. While I wandered, lost and bewildered, Cinderella appeared. She took me to the Soul Hall and gave me a new chance at life as a wolf."
Of course, there were other magical creatures, too. The wolf's soul flickered faintly within the bottle, clearly stirred by the memory.
"Cinderella?" Ian raised an eyebrow.
"Cinderella?" He asked again, to be sure.
"Yes."
The gray wolf nodded.
"In the Soul Hall, she's the one most involved in everything. We all believe she is the true master of the hall. She told me that we are all characters from stories and that we possess unusual powers because of that."
"I never learned much more than that. This is my first quest. My task is to watch over Morgan because she is one of the Raven's servant-angels."
It had to be said that Ian had caught the wolf so easily. Anyone could tell this creature was no seasoned veteran.
"The Raven's angel…"
Ian repeated the title under his breath. He had heard the word "angel" before. As he thought about it, a faintly complicated expression flickered in his eyes.
(To Be Continued…)
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