What appeared before Ethan's eyes was a sunflower slowly emerging from a broken, pitch-black egg.
A vibrant green stem rose upward, and its leaves unfurled.
Petal by petal, thousands of golden petals bloomed, layer upon layer.
Golden, amber, primrose, orange-red...
Various shades of yellow intertwined, like flames leaping outward from within.
Flowing, gushing with vigorous vitality!
"You have obtained 'Ever-Burning Sunflower'!"
"Description: Life bursting forth from a pitch-black egg; it is the embodiment of radiance in the mundane world."
"Effect: Nourished by magic and life, it can return several times the energy in an explosive bloom; when blooming, it scatters seeds that parasitize living organisms, absorbing the host's nutrients to continue blooming upon receiving a signal. [The caster and creatures designated by the caster will not be harmed.]"
"Evaluation: The living bathed in radiance, the defiant incinerated."
"Good!"
Beneath the pure white mask, Ethan's eyes lit up.
It sounded like this hatched thing was quite formidable.
Ethan felt his magic and life force rapidly draining away, transforming into nutrients to nourish the newly hatched sunflower.
Then, the spider pendant replenished his life and magic.
This was the perpetual motion machine of life!
Ethan felt that the Grand Alchemist Nicolas Flamel would have to kneel and call him father.
However, after blocking Harry's heartfelt sword thrust, the spider pendant temporarily shattered.
On his chest, Harry was astonished to see a steady stream of crimson blood flowing from the wound pierced by his sword.
Yet, it vanished into the skin midway, as if sucked dry by something.
And around his neck, a crimson, almost dripping spider-shaped pendant hung.
It was shattered now.
But the magic within it, so potent that Harry could feel it, flowed into the pierced chest.
It clung like spider silk, resembling pulsating red meridians.
"W-what is this?!"
Harry's eyes widened.
His wrist was seized, preventing him from even drawing his sword or dodging.
"Crack."
Above, a sound of something breaking echoed.
In his panic, Harry instinctively looked up.
He saw the pure white mask shatter, and from within, several golden sunflowers burst forth!
They obscured his face.
Harry was completely stunned, mouth agape, staring blankly at this utterly illogical sight.
His mind went blank, as it was beyond the scope of his comprehension.
"Is... is this even human...?"
The "Sunflower" slowly lowered its head, looking at Harry.
Its golden petals burned outward like flames, yet they only highlighted the dark, lightless center of the flower, like a deep, endless tunnel.
From its depths, it gazed down at him with no human emotion.
A phoenix let out a high-pitched shriek, swooping down and striking the terrifying Sunflower Man with its crimson wings, causing Harry to shiver and snap back to his senses.
"Ugh!"
Harry suddenly pulled his hand, breaking free and drawing his sword along with it!
The blade left his chest, but no blood came out.
Instead, a faint golden light seeped from the empty wound.
"Hoo, hoo, hoo..."
Harry gasped for breath, still shaken.
What... what kind of creature was that?!
What exactly was this Mr. Lamp?!
"Ah, is this power...? I see the light."
Mr. Lamp—Ethan—muttered in fascination.
He caressed the sunflowers blooming on his face.
He felt as if everything his eyes could see was enveloped in brilliant radiance!
"Blood as pigment, soul as fuel... My body, as the canvas."
As he spoke, Ethan looked down at Harry's face, filled with disgust and shock, and a smile played on his lips:
"I must congratulate you, Mr. Harry Potter, you have successfully stopped me—or rather, you have made me change my mind."
"If there are other brave young wizards like you at Hogwarts, then there might still be something to look forward to."
"Grow well—and then, I will destroy all of you."
Harry felt he would rather face a thousand Lord Voldemorts than this eloquent psychopath.
He felt like he had been targeted by something dirty.jpg
Mr. Lamp raised his wand and softly said, "Bloom, Ever-Burning Sunflower."
As his words fell, in an instant, the gloomy green hue of the Chamber of Secrets turned into a golden expanse.
Harry was almost numb with shock, watching the countless sunflowers sprout up all around him in an instant, as if he had suddenly arrived in a pastoral flower sea from a dark, damp basement.
Harry even caught a whiff of fragrance.
"Oh, dear, why is this guy as wicked as Ethan?" Harry ranted wildly in his mind.
If Ethan were here, he would definitely have a lot in common with this Mr. Lamp.
No, Ethan was the president of their righteous Enlightenment Society!
How could he subconsciously compare Ethan to this evil monster?!
Harry deeply condemned himself, believing his cultivation was still insufficient.
Then, his brow suddenly furrowed; he felt as if something was wrong.
Why did it feel—so hot?
The color of these sunflowers seemed to be getting brighter and brighter?
The golden light was dazzling.
Unbeknownst to him, Harry's gaze became unfocused.
In the entire world, only that brilliant, dazzling radiance remained.
"—Chirp!"
A bright neigh, like Professor Binns's history class bell, instantly brought Harry back to his senses!
He felt a tightening in his shoulder, and then he was lifted up!
It was the phoenix!
The phoenix was carrying him upwards!
But above was the ceiling; there was no way out—
"Boom!!!"
A colossal explosion, like mountains and rivers collapsing, came from below!
It made Harry's head buzz, and for a moment, he couldn't hear anything!
The sunflowers blooming in the Chamber of Secrets had exploded!!!
The heat wave was like a gale, its intense force blowing even the powerful phoenix like a small boat in a storm, shaking ceaselessly!
Thick stone pillars were instantly blasted into dust.
Large sections of the walls cracked and crumbled, and under the extreme heat, the cracks glowed red, like a network of blood vessels!
The golden-red flames surging from below instantly enveloped Harry, but he was not burned.
Instead, he felt as if he were in a hot spring, warm and cozy.
It was as if this flame did not want to harm him, but Harry quickly had no time to think about these things.
Because he was astonished to see that the entire vast Chamber of Secrets was collapsing!!!
"This is too damn artistic!!!" Harry, with his hair blown back by the strong wind, screamed silently in his heart.
"Rumble—!"
Large chunks of stone fell from above, and the previously sealed ceiling also shattered, creating a large opening!
Harry, dragged by the phoenix, dodged left and right, rushing into the crack, squeezing into the darkness, and flying rapidly upwards!
Harry couldn't help but widen his eyes.
He even felt a hint of excitement amidst this grand spectacle.
He looked down and saw the figure standing quietly amidst the golden-red dust.
The sunflowers on the man's face were gone.
He looked up, meeting Harry's gaze with a pair of smiling, cobalt-blue eyes.