After stepping through the collapsed gate and walking into the darkness inside the pyramid, Scott took out the magic lamp again.
He tapped the lamp wall with his fingers, making the light emitted by the magic lamp become brighter.
The soft light, which is not dazzling, illuminates the indoor scene, but also casts huge shadows on the walls.
Scott walked to the wall and carefully observed the ancient writings left on the wall.
“This is what I left behind before I died.”
Mr. Jeffrey floated to his side silently.
“I’m worried that even if I become a ghost, I won’t be able to survive until the day when those who come after me appear.”
Scott said nothing.
The text on the wall was indeed consistent with the story Mr. Jeffrey had just told him.
“Fortunately, I finally waited for you, so these messages are meaningless.”
Mr. Jeffrey smiled happily, turned around and floated towards an upward staircase.
“Come on, I can’t wait to give it all to you!”
“good.”
Scott responded and followed him up the steep stairs.
“That’s great.”
Helena said happily to Scott.
“There are no troublesome and dangerous tests this time. With Mr. Jeffrey here, you can successfully inherit that knowledge!”
“Yeah.” Scott looked convinced, “I’m really lucky.”
Rimbaud stopped quietly on Scott’s left shoulder and made no sound.
The [Magic Mirror] floated above his head, still recording everything that happened in front of him.
The small picture frame floated to his right, and the Ravenclaw in the picture curled his lips.
Under the leadership of Mr. Jeffrey, they walked on the steps without guardrails and turned one corner after another.
As they continued upward, the quadrangle formed by the steps became smaller and smaller.
Finally, they stopped in front of an undecorated stone door.
“Go ahead.”
Mr. Jeffrey turned to Scott.
“Use magic power to write all the initial runes of ‘Yuktrassil’ on the door, and the door will open automatically.”
“I see.”
Scott stepped forward, stretched out his fingers, and wrote complex runes one after another on the smooth stone door.
When he put down the last stroke, he heard a “click” sound.
Then, Shimen began to move to the right and slowly retracted into the wall.
Inside the door seems to be an ancient study room.
On the iron racks on the surrounding walls, several torches burned quietly.
“That’s the ancient immortal fire.” Helena whispered.
Scott nodded and continued to observe the furnishings in the room.
On several rows of stone shelves, stacks of rolled animal skins were neatly placed.
There are five huge stone tables placed in the rest of the place.
Various utensils were displayed on those tables, many of them in decay.
Although there are many things, the indoor space is not crowded, but very spacious.
Especially in the center, a large open space is reserved.
There are also some complicated patterns carved on the floor.
“Welcome to our studio.”
Mr. Jeffrey floated into the room, stopped in front of the shelf with animal skin rolls, and turned to look at Scott standing at the door.
“Come in, I’ll be happy to teach you the valuable knowledge we left behind!”
“Excuse me.”
Scott smiled, placed the magic lamp in his hand on the ground at the door, and then stepped forward.
He walked slowly but quickly arrived in front of the patterned open space.
“Come here, Scott.”
Mr. Jeffrey waved to him.
Scott raised one foot again, but never put it down.
“What’s wrong?” Mr. Jeffrey asked doubtfully.
“Ah, I won’t go there.”
Scott withdrew his foot.
Mr. Jeffrey asked with concern, “Are you feeling uncomfortable?”
Scott shook his head, “That’s not true. It should be said that if I take two more steps forward, I will become uncomfortable.”
“how come?”
Mr. Jeffrey smiled gently.
“It’s okay, it’s safe here. Unlike the Ice Palace in Niflheim, we have not set up any mechanisms here.”
But Scott always stood in place, as if his feet were rooted.
At this time, Helena also noticed something was wrong.
“What’s going on?” she asked Scott softly.
Scott smiled, “Then I have to ask Mr. Jeffrey.”
After hearing what he said, the smile on Mr. Jeffrey’s face immediately disappeared.
“Did you notice?”
Although Mr. Jeffrey’s expression turned cold, his voice remained gentle.
“How did you find out?”
“You told a wonderful story, Mr. Jeffrey,” Scott said. “Unfortunately, I didn’t believe it.”
Mr. Jeffrey looked at him and sighed, “Can you tell me the reason? I have been thinking about those words for more than a thousand years.”
“Maybe it’s because you’re not good at lying.”
Scott laughed.
“I guess you have always been the kind of wizard who is immersed in research. Apart from your classmates, you haven’t interacted with too many people. Plus, you have been isolated here for so many years…”
At this point, he shrugged.
“When it comes to lying, I’m much better at it than you are.”
Mr. Jeffrey still didn’t understand, “I thought my performance was perfect.”
“Maybe it’s because it’s so perfect and smooth.”
Scott sighed too.
“It’s too deliberate. You should have rehearsed it countless times, so precise that every expression and tone of voice is almost mechanical.”
It’s like an actor who is tired of acting, has no real feelings, and only relies on his skills to act.
This kind of actor may be called good at acting, but he is full of craftsmanship.
Of course, the audience will react to this kind of careless and insincere performance.
Hearing this, Helena was shocked, “Wait, why didn’t I see what you said?”
“Oh, my daughter, I’m not surprised by that.”
The Ravenclaw in the painting said unceremoniously.
“After all, this isn’t the first time you’ve been deceived.”
“Mother……”
Helena was speechless and lowered her head in shame.
“That’s not a reason.”
Mr. Jeffrey still couldn’t accept Scott’s statement.
“I am just a ghost who has been trapped alone for more than a thousand years. It is normal to lose emotions and forget how to communicate with others.”
“You’re right,” Ravenclaw said, “but you were too fluent when you told the story.”
Mr. Jeffrey said: “I am waiting for the heir of ‘Agast’. I want to tell him the past. I want to prevent myself from forgetting, so I have been practicing.”
This time it was Helena’s turn to contradict him.
“Ghosts will never forget things they remembered during their lifetime, especially things related to their own death!”
“You are not a ghost at all, and you don’t know enough about ghosts!”
“Did I make a mistake again?”
Mr. Jeffrey suddenly realized.
“It is true that I have never communicated with ghosts, nor have I studied ghost-related topics.”
Scott said: “Originally I just suspected you, but I wasn’t sure you were really lying until I entered this studio.”
“I didn’t show any flaws.”
Mr. Jeffrey thought for a moment.
“You should be attracted by this valuable knowledge.”
Ravenclaw said: “You are too impatient, but you don’t know that Scott is very sensitive to magic fluctuations. This is his natural talent.”
“I see.”
Mr. Jeffrey looked at the patterns engraved on the stone slabs on the ground.
“It’s true that I was too impatient. I should have waited until you stepped onto the position I prepared for you before initiating the magic ritual.”
Scott guessed, “You probably also want to take over my body and replace my identity.”
“Also?” Mr. Jeffrey looked surprised.
“Well, you’re not the only one who wants to do this,” Scott said.
Voldemort wants to replace Harry and be reborn.
Salazar Slytherin wanted to devour him, the non-existent person, to resist the erosion of fate.
It’s not surprising that there is now another Mr. Jeffrey.
“Forget it.” Mr. Jeffrey shook his head, “I’m not interested in other people’s affairs.”
His figure flickered, becoming more and more transparent until it disappeared.
Then, another Mr. Jeffrey emerged from an animal skin roll on the stone shelf.
Although his body is still translucent, it is no longer the white color unique to ghosts.
Although his body shape and facial features were all blurry, Scott could still tell that he was very old.
It was obvious that Mr. Jeffrey did not die in his youth, but in old age.
“Soul body?” Scott recognized his current state, “You also made a Horcrux?”
Mr. Jeffrey did not deny it, and said in an old and hoarse voice: “Yes, in order to maintain immortality, the only way is Horcrux.”
Scott asked with interest, “So, what was the truth back then?”
“I regret it.”
said Mr. Jeffrey in a sighing voice.
“When I was young, I was willing to die for my ideals because of my passion.”
“But as time passed, I began to be unable to bear the boring and barren life hiding here, and the end of life that can be seen at a glance.”
Helena exclaimed, “It turns out you are the one who wants to leave here!”
“it’s me.”
Mr. Jeffrey admitted generously.
“But my idea was unanimously opposed by my colleagues. I wanted to master all the knowledge of the school, and they were afraid that the Holy See would get all that.”
“Even if I want to give up my ideals and remain anonymous, they don’t dare to take any risks.”
“They will only rigidly follow the orders of the leader of the school and place their hopes on the illusory future.”
“But the future is too far away. Even if there are predictions, there is no way we can wait until the moment the predictions come true.”
Scott had a headache when he heard the prophecy, “Another prophecy?”
“Yes, at the critical moment of the battle with the Holy See, the last prophecy made by a prophet in the school before his death.”
Mr. Jeffrey told Scott.
“Even if ‘Agast’ disappears, our ideals will not be extinguished. In the future, there will be descendants who will inherit our legacy and complete our unfinished ideals.”
“It is precisely because we firmly believe in this prophecy that the leader of the school asked us to leave with the research materials and keep the legacy of the school in the secret realm.”
“It is also because of this that my companions hide here without any regrets and wait silently for themselves to grow old.”
When he said this, he laughed awkwardly.
“Do you think we would have made such a choice if there had been no prophecy?”
Scott breathed a sigh of relief.
This prophecy did not affect him at all.
He was originally prepared to inherit the legacy of “Agast” and fulfill that great ideal.
Although this was contrary to his previous idea of keeping to himself.
Although he also vowed to Medea that he would never set up any troublesome organization.
But he had already accepted his transformation with pleasure.
At this time, Scott heard Helena asking, “Did you really kill your companions?”
“Yes.”
Mr. Jeffrey still admitted it.
Helena asked again, “Then why couldn’t you leave?”
“Hehe…”
Mr. Jeffrey laughed unpleasantly again.
“My companions, they are all outstanding wizards.”
“Because my sneak attack caused them to be injured, I had the upper hand in the battle.”
“But they were not easily defeated when they were injured.”
“Seeing that victory was hopeless, they simply sacrificed all their lives and strength together, completely blocking the entrance and exit of the secret realm, so that I could no longer open the space channel.”
“What?”
Rampo, who had been quiet all the time, became anxious when he heard it, and suddenly shouted.
“Scott, can’t we get out?”
“Obviously not.” Scott said with a smile, “We came in, didn’t we? After a thousand years, the power of the blockade should have disappeared.”
Helena also said: “Otherwise, there is no point for Mr. Jeffrey to occupy Scott’s body.”
Rampo asked again, “Since he can leave, why doesn’t he leave?”
Scott sneered, “Leaving like a lonely ghost? The arrangement before his death is here. Of course, he wants to wait until the ‘container’ arrives before leaving.”
Hearing that he unreservedly labeled himself as a “container”, Mr. Jeffrey laughed strangely again.
Scott asked directly, “You should have other arrangements, Mr. Jeffrey?”
“Yes, I haven’t failed yet.”
Mr. Jeffrey’s soul began to emit a blood-red light.
“Thank you for listening to me for so long. Now you have nowhere to escape, Scott.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the pattern on the ground in front of Scott also lit up red.
Soon, strange blood-red patterns appeared on the surrounding walls.
Translucent chains appeared from the air.
Several chains connected the ground under Scott’s feet at one end, forming a circle, and the other end connected to the walls in all directions.
“Gah…”
Rampo screamed and flew off Scott’s shoulder.
Scott looked like a poor bug trapped in a spider web.
“Even if you know ‘Yuktrasil’, you can’t escape.”
Mr. Jeffrey floated in front of Scott.
“A larger magic ritual has been activated, and my arrangement has blocked all the space.”
“Scott, be careful!”
Helena reached out to grab Scott, but her palm passed through his body.
“I’m fine, Helena.”
Scott’s face was calm, and his body slowly became transparent.
“This is just an illusion.”
Mr. Jeffrey finally couldn’t keep calm and shouted, “When?”
Scott smiled and said, “Of course before stepping into this studio.”
Helena said happily, “Oh, even I didn’t notice it. Fortunately, you were prepared, Scott.”
“It doesn’t matter!”
Mr. Jeffrey began to scream.
“As long as you are still in this pyramid, you will not be able to escape my ritual capture!”
As he said this, he flew out the door like a gust of wind.
