Time turned back to just over ten minutes ago, inside the Room of Requirement.
Louis was still writhing on the ground, enduring the torment of the power raging within his body.
He was in agony, but he knew it was worth it, so he clenched his teeth and held on.
The Black Qi surged through him like an unstoppable tide, tearing apart his muscles, bones, nerves, and blood vessels—just as he had once used it to remake Garrick Ollivander.
But there was a difference: Ollivander had Louis overseeing the process, so he didn't have to stay conscious through the pain. Louis, however, had to remain awake at every moment, guiding the Black Qi as it reshaped his body, enduring far greater suffering to prevent anything from going wrong.
The vitality of the Rat Talisman,
the strength of the Ox Talisman,
the speed of the Rabbit Talisman,
the explosive magic of the Dragon Talisman,
the invisibility of the Snake Talisman,
the healing of the Horse Talisman,
the soul command of the Sheep Talisman,
the transformations of the Monkey Talisman,
the levitation of the Rooster Talisman,
the immortality of the Dog Talisman,
and the lightning of the Pig Talisman.
All of these magics, under the scourge of the Black Qi, were carved into Louis's body, becoming a part of him. At the very core, binding them all together, was the Tiger Talisman.
Yet the outer righteous shell of the talismans had not been completely destroyed. Through the condensation of the Philosopher's Stone fragments, the balance of yin and yang created a new core—one that inherited the power of all the talisman shells and part of the Tiger Talisman's function.
But this core did not unleash its power immediately; it lay dormant, always in standby.
Until, at a certain moment, when all the forces within Louis reached perfect harmony—then the transformation began.
Suddenly, the sound of bones cracking like beans frying erupted from Louis's body. A flood of scales spread rapidly across his skin.
Louis lifted his head in torment, strange tiger-like markings flashing in his eyes—his left eye black as night, his right eye pure white.
Then, the black tiger-mark in his left eye flared brilliantly, a wave of power enveloping his entire body.
As a faint radiance swept over him, his form began to change drastically. His body lengthened far beyond human proportions, coiling upon itself like a massive serpent.
His limbs stretched to their perfect proportions, covered in scales, ending in razor-sharp talons that glinted coldly.
His face was utterly transformed—his skull elongated into something serpentine, yet also crocodilian. Two long whiskers sprouted from his jaws, floating gracefully like ribbons in the air.
Atop his head, bulges formed and, as the metamorphosis deepened, split open into a pair of antlers like those of a stag.
Louis now stood at the threshold of mystery, his eyes half-lidded, fully immersed in sensing every change happening within his body.
Meanwhile, outside Hogwarts Castle, storm clouds gathered, lightning split the sky, and thunder roared as if the end of the world had come.
Professor McGonagall stood outside the castle, her face clouded with worry as she watched the unnatural weather.
She wanted desperately to rush inside, but her duty was to calm and protect the students.
"Senior students of each House, take a headcount immediately. Everyone else, check the people beside you—make sure no one is missing," Professor McGonagall commanded as Deputy Headmistress, throwing herself into the task.
After hurried roll calls amid the chaos, Percy Weasley, Gryffindor's prefect, ran up nervously.
"Professor McGonagall, our House is missing one—Harry, Harry Potter. Ron and Neville said he was… at that place."
Percy didn't know exactly what "that place" meant, only that Ron and Neville kept insisting the professors knew.
"Harry, is it?" McGonagall said firmly. "I know. Don't worry about him—he's safe right now."
"Ravenclaw, all present."
"Hufflepuff, all present."
The other two House prefects reported in turn.
Professor McGonagall gave a small nod of relief—then suddenly realized Slytherin hadn't reported yet.
"Slytherin? What's Slytherin's situation?" she called out loudly.
"Professor… it seems we're missing someone," Gemma Farley said hesitantly.
"Who?" McGonagall asked tensely.
"Louis Wilson," Gemma answered.
Louis Wilson? Where could he have gone?
Professor McGonagall's face turned pale as she glanced back at the castle. He couldn't possibly still be inside… what was he doing?
"I'm here, Professor."
It was Louis Wilson. He squeezed his way out from the crowd of students.
"Just now it was too crowded—our prefect must not have noticed me." His voice sounded a little strange, but at this moment, no one doubted him.
McGonagall visibly relaxed. "As long as you're all here. Go on, find your friends."
Louis nodded and slipped back into the throng.
All the while, his face twitched unnaturally.
Of course, this wasn't his true body—it was a substitute. While his real body continued struggling for mastery over the Twelve Talismans' power, he had split off a sliver of consciousness to shape this double in his likeness, just to answer roll call and avoid suspicion.
To prevent the substitute from transforming into a little dragon due to the talisman powers, Louis had deliberately left a few flaws in its form…
In short, his alibi within the school was flawless.
Inside the Room of Requirement, at the critical moment of transformation, Louis let out a sigh of relief.
He had only spared a moment to appease the professors. Now that was done, he could throw himself into this fully!
A dazzling bolt of lightning split the sky and struck the roof of the castle. At the same instant, Louis completed the final step of his metamorphosis.
His eyes became vertical golden slits, terrible draconic might reverberating throughout the Room of Requirement.
Thankfully, the room was vast enough to give this newly born dragon at least a little space to move.
For Louis had transformed into a dragon—not a winged lizard like a Western fire-drake, but a true Eastern Divine Dragon!
The real cause of conflict among the Twelve Talismans was the clash between their righteous outer shell and Shendu's primal demonic source. But now Louis had completely mastered this force, becoming the new Shendu…
With one exception: he lacked the Demon Lord's power of Fire.
That power likely belonged to the very origin of that world itself, something pure Shendu's essence could never bring across.
Louis admired his draconic body for a moment. To say he wasn't excited would have been a lie. Becoming a dragon—wasn't this the childhood dream of countless kids?
A streamlined body stretching over ten meters long, a commanding and majestic stance—just thinking of it thrilled him.
Unfortunately, it wasn't a form he could show off openly. He couldn't use it to impress anyone. That was agony in its own way.
Louis sighed, a look of regret flickering across his draconic face.
"Better change back," he rumbled in a voice of regal authority.
In his enormous dragon eyes, the white tiger-mark glowed, reversing the transformation. His massive body shrank and dissolved in radiance until, moments later, Louis's human figure reappeared.
That tiger-mark was the intermediary device Louis had forged from the talisman shells and the Philosopher's Stone fragment. It allowed him to switch seamlessly between dragon and human, wielding Shendu's power with perfect control.
Now, even in human form, he could use the full 100% of the talismans' strength without restriction. In dragon form, he could unleash 1000% of their power.
"This is an epic-level buff," Louis chuckled, glancing down at his shredded clothes and preparing to find something new to wear.
But suddenly, his mind wavered.
An uncontrollable hunger curled itself around his thoughts.
"…Hungry!"
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