The gate of light dissolved, and Lucian felt the world spin violently.
He tore free from the narrow prison of perception and crashed into a boundless sea of stars.
When his vision finally focused again, he realized he had not returned to the tower.
Instead, he stood above a vast river of galaxies.
Beneath his feet stretched a silver chessboard crossing endlessly in every direction. Each chess piece on the board was a star.
It was a space where the entire universe had become a chessboard.
At the opposite end of the board, the blurred figure he had once seen in a vision finally became solid.
Rowena Ravenclaw.
She wore a deep blue robe. Her face was difficult to see clearly, but her eyes were calm like time itself, filled with ancient loneliness and quiet indifference.
Even as a projection of light, she carried a presence far beyond any statue.
There was the authority of someone who had watched centuries pass, and the quiet motion of stars turning through the sky.
"You are a Ravenclaw who shows almost no greed," Rowena said. As she spoke, the galaxy itself seemed to shift with her voice.
"You understand Ravenclaw House better than anyone, Founder," Lucian replied calmly.
Even within a cosmic chessboard powerful enough to crush ordinary souls, he stood straight and bowed slightly.
It was a gesture of respect to one of the founders of Hogwarts, a pioneer who had spent her life chasing truth.
"Only when reason stands above greed can one find the exit within the fog of truth," Lucian continued. "I simply do not want to be distracted by illusions while searching for it."
"Rejecting omniscience and resisting desire," Rowena murmured, nodding faintly.
"In a thousand years, you are the first living variable to reach this place."
She raised a hand.
A sheet of yellowed parchment appeared in the air before Lucian. Its edges were burned and blackened.
Beside it stood an alchemical workstation covered with rare materials long lost to history: crystallized dragon blood, the first horn of a unicorn, powdered phoenix bone.
"This was the final research I pursued in life," Rowena said. "An attempt to transcend the will of the world through immortality."
"I failed."
"The Philosopher's Stone was meant to be the first step."
She gestured toward the materials.
"Create it. If you succeed, my legacy will be yours. If you fail—"
Before she finished speaking, Lucian had already stepped forward and opened the parchment.
It was filled with dense alchemical formulas and frantic notes. The handwriting was chaotic, clearly written during a period of intense obsession.
"You have only one chance," Rowena's figure said as it slowly faded into the starry sky.
"Begin."
Lucian stood at the workstation and flicked his fingers.
A blue alchemical flame ignited beneath the crucible.
He followed the instructions written in the manuscript, pouring mercury and sulfur into the vessel while tapping the rim with rhythmic movements of his wand.
"First stage. Nigredo. The return of matter to its original chaos."
The materials broke down rapidly under intense heat, forming a black sludge. It represented decay and death, the foundation of all rebirth.
Lucian dropped a fragment of crystallized dragon blood into the crucible.
The liquid instantly turned thick and dark, the color of dead lead.
"Phoenix bone powder. Stabilize the spirit."
He sprinkled a handful of faintly glowing dust into the mixture.
A mournful phoenix cry echoed through the rising smoke. The leaden liquid twisted and writhed, preparing for a distorted rebirth.
"Second stage. Albedo. Remove impurity and reveal truth."
Lucian's inner sight operated at full capacity. To him, the black mass was nothing more than countless tangled threads of causality.
He held his wand above the crucible and slowly added powdered moonstone.
As the powder fell, the dark corruption was stripped away. The liquid shifted from gray to transparent, and eventually it shone with a sacred silver light.
The cosmic chessboard around them reflected perfectly across its surface.
The third stage began.
Rubedo.
This was the crucial moment when intangible will became eternal matter.
The manuscript read clearly:
The Red Lion is its father, and fire its nurse.
When the beast roars within the furnace, feed it the blood of the sun.
From the flame separate cold from heat, and refine the subtle from the crude with utmost care.
Inside the crucible, the silver liquid had transformed into a roaring lion made of crimson vapor. It symbolized the most violent and primal tension of magical energy.
Lucian raised his wand to reduce the temperature.
But just before acting, he stopped.
Within the calculations of his inner sight, he saw countless gray paths of failure.
Following the manuscript exactly would always lead to collapse.
"That is wrong."
He looked toward the empty sky.
"Lady Rowena, this must be why you failed. You sought stability and forgot that magic itself is a betrayal of stability."
"The stillness of the magical world is death."
He lifted his wand.
°Fiendfyre°
A roar erupted.
The blue alchemical flame instantly transformed into a pale, living inferno. The terrifying heat turned the entire silver space white.
"Madman," a faint voice murmured in the void. It was impossible to tell whether it was praise or mockery.
Inside the crucible, the red lion screamed as the Fiendfyre tore it apart. The creature collapsed, reformed as a crimson dragon, then split into three lions biting each other.
A blinding red light exploded outward and swept across the galaxy.
When the light faded, a small crystal rested quietly at the bottom of the crucible.
It was no larger than a thumb.
The crystal was deep crimson, pulsing like a heartbeat and radiating overwhelming vitality.
This was the Philosopher's Stone.
A creation born from the distortion of natural laws.
"That is the correct answer."
The starry universe trembled.
Rowena's figure condensed again.
"You are more arrogant than I was," she said slowly. "And perhaps more correct."
She drifted forward and lightly touched Lucian's forehead. "I lost to the rules of the world. You may be someone capable of tearing the script apart."
The surrounding galaxies collapsed into streams of light that flowed into Lucian's body.
"The crown outside has long been corrupted by dark intent," Rowena whispered. "It is now only a curse."
"The true crown is the wisdom that can examine all things."
"Go, child. And if you encounter Helena…"
For the first time, the legendary witch showed the faint, bitter smile of a mother.
"Tell her I never blamed her. I simply failed to defeat fate. But now someone else has taken the board."
A cold beam of moonlight entered Lucian's mind.
The nature of spells, the weaknesses of magical rules, the hidden patterns of destiny—all flashed before his eyes before merging into a single, intricate spiral mark.
It was the total magical insight of Rowena Ravenclaw.
At that moment, Lucian could see the magical flow within every brick of the castle.
He could see threads of causality drifting through the air, and faint blind spots hidden behind every living being.
A thought arose in his mind.
This perception felt strangely similar to his own inner sight.
....
When Lucian opened his eyes again, the marble statue stood quietly before him.
But the weight inside his pocket reminded him that everything had been real.
Just then, a golden-red blur rushed into the tower.
Professor Flitwick appeared first, his wand glowing red. Behind him came Dumbledore, his blue eyes unusually serious.
Fawkes circled overhead and let out a long cry.
"What happened here? The magical surge from the tower just now even woke the creatures in the Forbidden Forest!" Flitwick said as he waved his wand and carefully scanned the room.
Lucian quickly suppressed the starlight in his eyes and leaned lightly against the wall.
Yet there was still a burning intensity in his gaze that made both professors uneasy.
It was the look of someone who had just glimpsed the truth.
Lucian spoke with a slightly hoarse voice. "My apologies. I may have gone a little too far."
"Too far?" Dumbledore looked around.
The magical residue in the air was astonishingly dense, carrying an ancient and pure aura.
"I believe I solved the legacy left by Rowena Ravenclaw," Lucian said calmly.
"But I found her manuscript quite interesting. I attempted to reproduce it using alchemy and… triggered a small resonance."
Dumbledore and Flitwick stared at him.
The faint silver starlight still lingering in Lucian's eyes left them speechless.
"Merlin's beard…" Flitwick whispered.
The Ravenclaw Head of House looked at his student in disbelief. "All of this… just for the pursuit of truth?"
"Curiosity is difficult to restrain," Lucian replied politely before turning to Dumbledore.
"Headmaster, I hope I did not violate any school rules. The rulebook never mentioned that studying during curfew is forbidden."
Dumbledore's familiar gentle smile returned.
"Of course not, my boy."
He studied Lucian's slightly tired expression.
"However, next time you attempt research of this magnitude, you might inform Professor Flitwick first."
Dumbledore spoke softly.
"Some truths are heavy. Carrying them alone can be exhausting."
He blinked, and a hint of mischief flashed in his blue eyes. "And you might miss the chance to share the joy of discovery. That would be rather unfortunate."
Share the joy?
Lucian paused for a moment.
His gaze lingered briefly on the concerned expressions of the two professors before drifting away.
"Thank you for the suggestion, Headmaster."
His voice returned to its usual calm and distant tone. "But the road toward truth is always a solitary journey."
He inclined his head slightly in farewell.
"If there is nothing else, I believe I should get some rest."
__________
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