Chapter 126
"What!" Peeves exclaimed in surprise, "You discovered Peeves' secret so quickly! Not fun, not fun! How did you find out?"
Soren smiled but said nothing.
He had no intention of selling out Aquila.
Peeves could only sigh and say, "Alright, I admit it. I am actually a magical creation of the old man Merlin. That irresponsible old man thought the schools during the time of the Four Founders were too serious and dull, so he created the great Peeves to bring laughter to this school!"
Soren chuckled to himself, thinking that perhaps only you, the mischievous spirit, were happy; the past headmasters, professors, and administrators must have been driven mad by you.
These thoughts Soren kept to himself and did not voice.
Soren said, "But I always thought you were a prankster spirit, an emotional conglomerate of mischief and destruction, like a Boggart or a Patronus? How did you suddenly become a magical creation?"
"Hahaha," Peeves laughed heartily, "Boggart? Patronus? Can they talk? Do they have thoughts? Can they—" Peeves rarely became serious, "Can they be compared to the great Peeves?"
"When I was born from chaos, I was indeed just an emotional conglomerate. I was confused, not knowing where I came from or where I was going..." Peeves showed a nostalgic expression. "Later, the old man appeared. It was he who used some means to condense my consciousness, which created the clever, great, and humorous Peeves!"
Soren suddenly thought of Dementors. As a conglomerate of despair, Dementors also possess intelligence. Although they do not speak, they can follow the instructions of the Ministry of Magic and Voldemort. Could Dementors also be a type of magical creation under some magic?
If so, if I mastered this magic, could I not bestow intelligence upon Boggarts, Thestrals, or even Patronuses?
Hmm, it seems this idea is worth including in my research scope.
Peeves continued, "After the old man left Hogwarts, he often returned in the guise of a student to visit Peeves and tell Peeves jokes..." He sighed, "Then, one day, when the old man came to see Peeves, his expression seemed off... When he left, he said he had a destined nemesis he had to face, and it was very likely he wouldn't return..."
It was the first time Soren saw a sad expression on Peeves, although that sadness was just a hint.
Peeves went on, "Let's get back to the main topic! Before the old man left for the last time, he made Peeves into a key—anyone who meets certain conditions and touches me can be transported into his secret room, where his legacy is kept—however, he did say—only those recognized by me as pranksters are qualified to inherit it. Over the years, there hasn't been anyone I found worthy, well, the Weasley twins from Gryffindor were not bad, but you—are—not—a—prankster!"
Seeing the sudden flash of danger in Soren's eyes, Peeves realized he was in a precarious situation. He then plastered a hypocritical smile on his face and said, "Of course, the great Mr. Malfoy, you are someone who has passed the old man's test and been awarded his medal. You naturally have the right to enter the secret room. Come on! Touch me! As long as you touch me, I can activate the key spell on me and send you to the secret room."
Soren scoffed, "Do you know what the consequences of deceiving me would be?"
Before Peeves could respond, Soren's wand shot a dark gray, eerie skull into the corner, emitting chilling howls. Although this spell was not aimed at Peeves, he still felt a strong sense of crisis throughout his body. He could tell that this spell was imbued with soul magic capable of harming ghosts or spirits!
He swallowed hard. He had roamed Hogwarts for many years and knew very well whom to provoke and whom not to provoke—clearly, Soren belonged to the latter category.
The ghostly figure of Peeves forced a smile and said, "How could that be? Peeves would never dare to deceive the great young lord Malfoy. Please put on Merlin's medal now—not the one from the Ministry of Magic, but the special medal awarded by Hogwarts. That is the key to the correct entrance of the Chamber of Secrets. Come on! It will definitely take you to the real Chamber!"
Soren seemed to understand; it appeared that when he experienced Merlin's trial years ago, Merlin's memory had mentioned it was a test. At that time, the participants all thought it was some kind of misunderstanding because the school's announcement clearly stated it was just an internal competition.
Now he finally understood that Merlin's special medal actually had a specific purpose—it was the key to opening Merlin's Chamber.
As Soren suspected, Peeves had the ability to play tricks during this process—he could send people to the real Chamber or to a potentially dangerous false Chamber.
Fortunately, Soren had kept a backup plan; otherwise, he might have been tricked by Peeves.
Soren donned the medal and touched Peeves, and with a "whoosh," both he and the ghost were transported into a Chamber they had never seen before.
The Chamber was dimly lit, and Soren raised his wand to cast "Lumos," while also activating his magical eye.
"Alright, my task is complete!" Peeves joyfully began to dance an unknown dance and said with some mischief, "Mr. Malfoy, I wish you good luck from here on out. I suspect you will need a lot, a lot..."
After saying this, Peeves suddenly vanished without waiting for Soren to ask anything. He did not pass through the wall but simply disappeared into thin air, as if some force had reversed the unlocking spell on him.
There was nothing much to explore in the Chamber; it was filled with dust and the bodies of insects.
In the center, there was a pedestal with a crystal ball that emitted subtle magical fluctuations, inside which four ancient runes flickered in and out of visibility.
Soren approached and observed carefully.
The four runes stood at the corners, corresponding to each other.
In ancient magical literature, once more than one rune appears, the interpretation becomes much more complex because each rune usually represents more than one meaning, much like polysemous words in modern languages.
When two runes appear simultaneously, the spell-caster must not only exclude other meanings within the runes but also understand the meanings represented by the two runes and the significance of their arrangement.
Four runes, especially arranged in opposing corners, undoubtedly represent one of the most difficult interpretative situations. The combinations of interpretations that can form here are too numerous.
The first rune is Hamr, representing "form."
The second rune is Hugr, representing "thought."
The third rune is Fylgia, representing "spirit."
The fourth rune is Hamingja, representing "essence."
Soren fell into deep thought.
Form refers to the body, appearance, state; thought refers to ideas, thoughts, inspiration; spirit refers to the intuition and destiny; essence encompasses a broad range of meanings, discussing general personality traits, including wisdom, strength, experience, skill, bloodline, and even willpower, mental strength, endurance, luck, etc.
A flash of insight struck Soren.
Could it be...
Could it be referring to the "self"?
Soren recalled the "trinity" theory; isn't the essence of life the body, mind, and soul?
No matter how broad the meanings of these four runes are, they cannot escape the realm of the essence of life.
Understanding this, what does it matter? What should he do next? Soren fell into despair once again.
Could these four runes represent an ancient magic that needed to be cast in order to break through this barrier?
If so, that would be too difficult, right?
Currently, Soren had only fully mastered the rune for "Guardian"; as for the others, "Pixie Fire" and "Ice," he could only be considered to have a rudimentary grasp.
If casting a single rune was already so challenging, it was utterly impossible for him to leap several levels and cast with four runes at once.
After much thought, Soren could only think of one last resort.
He took out a bottle containing a golden liquid from his pocket; yes, he planned to take a sip of the Felix Felicis.
After drinking the Felix Felicis, he realized that his previous way of thinking had been too narrow.
He cleared his mind, allowing his thoughts to wander, collecting various inspirations without missing any, no matter how absurd they sounded, and analyzing them one by one.
First, the magical challenges naturally require magic to overcome, yes, there is no doubt about that.
What is the purpose of Merlin's inheritance, and what kind of successor is he looking for? Hmm, this is very important.
The clues for Merlin's selection of successors emerged one by one in his mind.
First, one must win Merlin's test competition and obtain Merlin's special medal, which indicates that the individual must be an outstanding student who is still a minor, with exceptional abilities in potion-making, transfiguration, and combat magic.
Second, one must gain the recognition of the poltergeist, or in other words, one must have considerable expertise in soul magic to capture the poltergeist.
Third, one must be able to understand ancient runes and also be able to deduce the meanings behind the combinations of ancient runes.
No, that's not quite right; the third point is not very appropriate.
It should be said that interpreting ancient runes is not the biggest challenge. As long as one has an ancient rune dictionary, many people can achieve that.
That said, the real difficulty lies in inferring the meanings behind the combinations of ancient runes, which requires an understanding of the essence of life!
Soren revealed a smile.
He activated the magical patterns on his body, and lines and circles of magical seals appeared on his skin. He gently tapped it with his wand, and the rune in the crystal ball immediately lit up.
He activated the mental power in his spiritual world, his eyes flashing with a lightning-like compelling brilliance, and gently tapped it with his wand; the rune lit up.
He fully activated the soul magic, and a violent shadow faintly appeared behind him. He gently tapped it with his wand, and the rune lit up.
He concentrated, recalling the scene of breaking free from the soul-binding curse, awakening the deeper self within, remembering his own enlightenment, and gently tapping it with his wand; the rune also lit up.
By this point, all four ancient runic symbols had been lit and activated.
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