"So then, Lady, do you have any suggestions? Like, which emotion should I start with?" Aiden broke the silence.
"Hmm, let me think." The portrait of Lady Rowena paused thoughtfully before answering. "My suggestion is sadness."
"You must understand that other emotions in dark magic are much harder to resolve, but a little sadness can be self-dissolved and forgotten. It won't have much impact on you."
"Alright, I've noted that down. Thank you very much for your help," Aiden nodded respectfully.
He stepped to the center of the laboratory and prepared for his first attempt.
Are you planning to create your own dark magic? the system bubbled up from within.
No, I just need to practice some known dark magic, Aiden replied calmly.
He stretched out his hand, and several dummies materialized around him in the lab.
"Corrosion." Aiden cast the spell at one dummy. The spot where the spell struck was corroded by acid, leaving a small hole.
"Not enough emotion. No, the real problem is that mobilizing massive emotional energy is too difficult for me, and ordinary emotions combined with magic carry no meaning for me."
As a Sequence 4 Manipulator, Aiden quickly understood his own psychological state with precise accuracy.
"So, I should abandon emotional input and delve deeper into the mind."
Thinking this, he closed his eyes and retreated to his consciousness island.
On the island, twenty of his virtual personalities were already waiting on standby.
"Leave the external control to you. I need to completely seal off all my senses and enter the deepest recesses of my self-awareness," Aiden ordered.
He found a quiet place to lean against and began searching for the most primal mental power.
Gradually, he let go of all emotions and preferences, forgetting every perception.
In the endless darkness, Aiden heard the steady sound of ocean waves surging.
Slowly opening his eyes, he found himself standing on a serene beach.
Beside him stood a gentle, intellectually beautiful witch.
"This..." Aiden was too shocked by the scene to speak.
He was witnessing an endless current that penetrated countless worlds, with numerous shining mental bodies following its flow as they departed from existence.
"This is surprising. You can actually project your mental image beyond the boundary. I cannot fathom how vast your mind must be," Lady Rowena smiled warmly.
"Is this the place of departure?" Aiden murmured, awed.
"We met so quickly. My previous blessing was wasted," Lady Rowena pouted, her conversational topics shifting unpredictably—a truly Ravenclaw trait.
"Lady Rowena..." Aiden began, but she cut him off gently by covering his mouth.
"The living should not yearn for the world of the dead," she said seriously.
Only after Aiden nodded did she release him.
"Using the purest mental power is actually very difficult, because our actions are always somewhat tainted by will, and mental power infused with will is naturally impure," Lady Rowena taught.
"Then what should I do?" Aiden asked quietly.
"The Eastern approach pursues unity between heaven and man. Actually, we can also use certain technical means to bypass this limitation," she said, narrowing her eyes thoughtfully.
"Technical means? The Imperius Curse?" Aiden was startled but quickly gave his answer.
"What are you thinking?" Lady Rowena flicked his forehead.
"I ask you: under what circumstances would a person not use their consciousness to control their behavior?" her hint was clear.
"Unconsciousness, subconsciousness, instinct, sleepwalking?" Aiden rattled off.
"Quite clever. Truly worthy of being my Ravenclaw student," Lady Rowena nodded approvingly.
Perhaps because she hadn't seen anyone for a long time, her desire to communicate was stronger than usual.
"Lady, you can't communicate with each other here, can you?" Aiden asked cautiously.
"Sigh, you figured it out. Why do you think this is called the world of the dead?" she replied.
"Because of loneliness, I suppose," Aiden thought of the Resurrection Stone and the Veil of Death.
"Yes. When wizards die, their minds separate from their bodies and souls and enter here.
Endless mental power gathers in this place, making us travelers nearly godlike.
But because our minds, carrying different memories, differ so much, we repel one another."
Lady Rowena touched the ground, and the entire space transformed.
Instantly, Aiden was transported with her to the universe, the beach beneath his feet expanding endlessly until it became a planet.
Various 'people' lived on it, but they uniformly raised their heads to look at him.
"But why can I exist here without being repelled by you?" Aiden asked, looking down at the growing planet.
"Because you are among the living. Absorbing all mental power and continuing to grow is the privilege of the living," Lady Rowena scattered fluorescence from her fingertips.
These lights slowly drifted toward Aiden.
"Are such days endless?" Aiden asked with sudden sympathy.
"Endless? How could that be? If you feel tired, give up your memories and merge into the current.
The current will decompose those who enter and, finally, become pure mental power flowing back into the world and becoming the next wizard," Lady Rowena explained, narrowing her eyes.
"Sounds a bit like reincarnation from India," Aiden observed.
"Many places have similar concepts. I'm not the only one capable of sending messages back.
But it is still quite an interesting place. Endless worlds bring endless memories and knowledge. For me, this is the best destination."
Lady Rowena finished speaking and feigned looking at a nonexistent watch on her wrist.
"Well, it's about time. You should go back. Little wizards shouldn't stay up too late, or they won't grow tall."
She flicked Aiden's forehead lightly. He fell into darkness.
When he opened his eyes again, he was unceremoniously kicked out of his consciousness island.
Opening his eyes, he found himself leaning against a sofa. Tilting his head, he saw a phoenix staring back at him curiously.
His Virtual Personality must have brought him to the headmaster's office.
"Aiden, you're awake. Didn't expect you to be a sleepwalker," Dumbledore teased, setting down his newspaper.
"This wasn't sleepwalking. I went to an incredible place," Aiden said, rubbing his forehead.
"Would you like to tell this old man about your fantastic experience?" Dumbledore asked kindly.
"I crossed the Misty Illusion and journeyed to the far reaches," Aiden said, startling the old wizard.
Dumbledore: "....."
"Cough, say that again? Did I just hear a fourteen-year-old wizard say he died once?" Dumbledore cupped his ear mockingly.
"I didn't die. In the Room of Requirement, using the pathway Lady Rowena left, I connected far beyond this world."
Aiden briefly explained the principle and shared his experiences in the far reaches with Dumbledore.
"Hmm, this is truly something to look forward to," Dumbledore commented thoughtfully.
"You're not thinking of going now, are you? Voldemort still hasn't been dealt with," Aiden rolled his eyes.
"No, I'll wait until after Tom is resolved. Don't worry."
Dumbledore grabbed a cockroach cluster and tossed it into his mouth, a slight smile on his face.