In the simulated memory scene, a biting wind howled and winter snowflakes fell endlessly, blanketing the world in white.
Gradually, the forest within the simulation was also buried under snow.
"Are the gods in my hands right now? What the hell?" Ian stood in the silver-white snowfield, hearing the crunch of snow under his boots.
His gaze was fixed on Merlin, his brows slightly furrowed. He was clearly confused by what he had just heard.
"Of course, it's exactly as it sounds." Merlin stood in the snowy memory scene as well, his eyes on the elderwood wand Ian was playing with.
"The authority of the gods is contained within that wand." Merlin's voice echoed in the frigid air, and his expression carried a hint of complexity as he spoke.
Hearing this, Ian's eyes widened and his face showed shock. Combining this revelation with the scene he had just witnessed, Ian instantly understood what Merlin was implying.
"So, the reason the Raven was overfed is because it devoured all the Gods?" Admittedly, this was terrifying, a revelation no less explosive than Merlin's earlier secrets.
Merlin sighed helplessly with a trace of reminiscence flashing across his face.
"I don't know for sure. Back when I was just a young wizard, I only wanted to explore the world of magic in my own way. By the time I was qualified to delve into the mysteries of the gods, they had already vanished without a trace. All I could find were some remnants they left behind."
As for the mystery of their disappearance, perhaps no one in this world can solve it. Maybe you really did something no one knows about." Merlin's gaze drifted into the distance as if he were peering back into a long-past age.
Ian fell silent, lost in thought.
His choice of words differed slightly from Merlin's; perhaps because of his need for inner wholeness, he didn't like lumping "the Raven" together with his own identity.
"The Raven must have had a reason for doing that, right?" Ian spoke with an uncertain expression on his face while he couldn't shake the feeling that an earth-shattering secret lay hidden behind it all. However, instinct alone wouldn't lead him to the truth.
"I don't know about that." Merlin only shrugged at Ian's question, his tone helpless. "Perhaps you could turn to your cherished apprentice, Morgan? She's always been chasing after your secrets."
Clearly, Merlin and Morgan had quite a few interactions after Ian left that era. So when the archmage mentioned her name, there was a faint trace of resentment in his tone.
It was not the bitterness of romantic disappointment, though.
"Hm?"
When Ian heard the name "Morgan," his expression immediately changed. He quickly waved his hand to correct him.
"Teacher, Morgan is my teacher! Don't talk nonsense and don't put dangerous ideas in my head!" Ian's eyes were full of vigilance as he spoke.
Of course he had to be on guard; women like her were dangerously cunning. Who knew if she was spying on the mortal world at that very moment?
"This isn't the Raven I know." Merlin teased with a mocking tone.
"My name is Ian Prince." Ian corrected the title that had made him feel uncomfortable.
Merlin didn't argue.
Just then, Ian raised his wand again, his thoughts flashing back to the first time he had stepped foot in Diagon Alley last year, when he went to Ollivander's wand shop to buy his wand.
"I still remember when I bought this wand. Mr. Ollivander told me its core was a unicorn hair." No wizard ever forgets the moment they purchase their wand.
But for him, it was clearly false advertising!
Of course, Ian had always known Mr. Ollivander was a swindler. Just then, he wondered whether he could keep the wand and still go back to demand a refund.
"You only heard that. It wasn't the truth." Mr. Ollivander believed he was using a unicorn hair when he made his wand. But, in reality, I simply sold him raven feathers disguised as unicorn hair."
"Confusing cognition is my specialty." For some reason, perhaps because Merlin was using the identity of Ollivander's descendant or because of a sudden pang of conscience, he went out of his way to clear Ollivander's name.
However, this left Ian with no grounds to demand a refund.
"I don't think you're limited to just clouding perception, right?" Ian wasn't overly concerned about eight gold galleons. Instead, he became suspicious of his past impressions of Arthur, Jin, and Lirim.
"When you can deceive reality itself, it also means you can alter it." Merlin's expression remained calm as he spoke. He raised his hand to show Ian the ring on his finger.
"It strengthens my power in that area."
There was no concealment as Merlin spoke frankly.
"The power of the Fae bloodline?" Ian asked curiously. He had heard countless legends about Merlin, the most famous of which was that he was half-fae.
In response, Merlin only smiled silently. That was as good as an admission.
"So my wand really is made with the Raven's feather, then." Ian twirled the wand that resonated so closely with his soul. He still felt the whole truth was strangely surreal.
"That's right. I thought it would be an amusing joke, don't you?" The feather of the most insidious creature in the world passed off as a unicorn's hair."
Merlin nodded, a trace of pride in his eyes as if congratulating himself on his wit.
"You should have realized long ago just how naturally your wand handles dark magic."
His tone was half teasing.
"...
Ian was left speechless.
He had suspected, of course, why his wand felt so attuned to dark magic. But he had never thought that it wasn't a unicorn hair. He had never considered that a Raven feather could embody the balance between life and death.
"Merlin, you scoundrel! Someone entrusted you with those feathers, and you still played middleman to turn a profit? That's just vile." Ian could only change the subject and snap at Merlin.
"Uh..."
Merlin was taken aback by the jab. After a pause, he replied in an awkward tone, "Well, what can I say? I had to eat somehow."
It was such a plain and almost laughable excuse.
But really, Merlin was penniless? No one would ever believe it, not even Ian. Even a wizard of decent ability could find ways to earn money, let alone someone like Merlin, who was one of the strongest at the very top of the pyramid.
"Excuses, nothing more."
Ian continued to glare at him with disdain.
Merlin quickly pretended not to notice. With a flick of his wand, the surrounding scenery began to blur, and the simulated memory dissolved into nothingness.
"My knowledge of the Raven ends here. I once tried to track it, but I nearly got killed several times. Perhaps you just don't want anyone knowing your secrets."
There was a hint of lingering fear in Merlin's tone as he spoke of the Raven. Who knew what he had faced?
"Mm." Ian nodded thoughtfully. Morgan's death suddenly surfaced in his mind, and his eyes flashed with complex emotion. Just as quickly, however, his expression returned to calm.
The two of them reappeared in the Hogwarts dormitory.
Ian was still mulling over the revelations he had received that day while Merlin turned to the window and watched the sun rise. After changing his clothes quickly, he headed straight for the door.
"I don't want to miss breakfast."
His words left Ian utterly stunned.
"You actually plan to keep using Lirim's identity to attend classes?" Ian had never imagined that Merlin loved to eat so much or that he intended to keep freeloading at Hogwarts.
"Why not?"
Merlin glanced back at Ian, then turned the doorknob and stepped out. The corridor was filling with students who had just woken up; none of them were aware of what had transpired there.
Groups of three to five students made their way out of the dormitory area. Merlin, with the appearance of a blond-haired boy, blended seamlessly into the crowd of students.
(To Be Continued…)
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