Roger's arguments were indeed sound, but that still couldn't negate the fact that what he and Nicolas Flamel were doing was a high-risk operation.
Dumbledore didn't want Nicolas Flamel to continue.
But Nicolas Flamel wasn't inclined to listen to his old friend's advice this time.
"I'm perfectly fine right now."
After failing to persuade Roger, Dumbledore approached Nicolas Flamel again, but his old friend's reply was even more direct than Roger's.
"I think you're worrying about unnecessary things." He put down the alchemical instruments he was using for research and tilted his head to look up at Dumbledore's tall figure, his beard and hair as white as snow.
"Death isn't the end, but another great adventure, isn't it?" Nicolas Flamel said with a light laugh. "But this is different from the death of the physical body. Once consciousness is extinguished, even the afterlife..."
"No," Nicolas Flamel shook his head, interrupting Dumbledore.
"It's not because there's an afterlife that death is another great adventure."
"Dumbledore, even if everything after death is eternal silence, it's still an interesting journey."
Having lived for over six hundred years, and having once chosen death before.
Nicolas Flamel's state of mind was not what Dumbledore imagined.
This wasn't because Dumbledore lacked wisdom and couldn't see this; in Nicolas Flamel's opinion, Dumbledore was simply letting his concern cloud his judgment.
"Roger is a very interesting person. Perhaps you could try trusting him more." Nicolas Flamel patted Dumbledore's forearm.
He had intended to pat his shoulder, but given his current height, that was as far as he could reach.
With his centuries of experience, Nicolas Flamel could certainly understand the complex relationship between Roger and Dumbledore.
Roger had never forgotten Dumbledore's friendship, and Dumbledore was incredibly excited about the changes Roger was bringing to the world.
Yet, they were also wary of each other because they both held something more important in their hearts.
Dumbledore worried that the changes Roger was bringing to the world might lead to terrible consequences, while Roger worried that Dumbledore would stop his actions for various reasons.
"Don't always worry about my life and death."
"No matter who is missing from this world, the sun will still rise tomorrow."
"Whether wizards or Muggles, life will always find its own way."
To Dumbledore, he was not just a long-lived alchemist, but also a failsafe to prevent the world from spiraling out of control if Roger went too far.
But Nicolas Flamel felt that the world didn't need him that much.
"But..."
Seeing the hesitation on Dumbledore's face, Nicolas Flamel sighed lightly. "In my memory, you are a very decisive person. The you now is not quite like 'Dumbledore'."
"This is different," the hesitation on Dumbledore's face turned into helplessness.
"You're involved in Roger's research now, you should know how outrageous his work is."
"But what you've seen is just the tip of the iceberg."
In this world, although Professor McGonagall was the one who initially guided Roger's magical path and understood his personality and mind the best.
When it came to who was most familiar with the magic Roger was researching, it was only Dumbledore.
"If Roger makes even one wrong step now."
"It won't just be Britain, or just the wizarding world that will suffer..."
At this point, Dumbledore hesitated before finally saying the words: "All living beings might... be completely annihilated."
"...Huh?" Nicolas Flamel blinked in surprise.
It wasn't that Dumbledore was indecisive; it was that the lives of billions of beings in the entire world rested on his shoulders, and he was truly struggling to bear it.
Grindelwald or Voldemort, even if he couldn't stop them, what would be the worst that could happen?
Grindelwald wanted supremacy for wizards, and Voldemort simply wanted to rule the world.
At the very least, there had to be people in the world for them to rule.
So the worst outcome would be a change of leadership, like in the Dark Ages, where most people would endure a period of hardship.
In the wizarding world, thoughts had power.
When things reached an extreme, they would reverse. When oppression became too great, 'heroes' and 'saviors' would naturally emerge to sweep everything away with the power of destiny.
That was why, after the race wars, wizards would brainwash subordinates like house-elves, who could perform complex magic, to the point of near-loss of self before feeling secure.
If it weren't for the Goblins' considerable strength, they would have met the same fate.
But Roger was different. The things he was researching, even just a few of them, could at best lead to human extinction, and at worst, endanger all life.
"The specific files have been sealed by me and Roger using magic."
"This is the name of a plan Roger once had. I think you'll understand once you see it."
As he spoke, a trace of magical light emanated from Dumbledore's fingertips.
Lines of text appeared in the air.
"On the possibility of spacetime itself becoming a universe simulator after detaching from the timeline in a linear spacetime"
"Methods of Casting Spells on the World Using the Collective Subconscious of All Beings as a Medium Dimension"
"Advanced Applications of the Time Phantom Shuttle Spell, The Possibility of Resurrecting and Cloning Historical Figures"
...
Dozens of lines of text like these flashed before Nicolas Flamel's eyes.
"I believe you understand now," Dumbledore said. His wariness of Roger wasn't unfounded; it was genuinely necessary.
Roger was constantly conducting various magical experiments, his mind overclocking at speeds tens of times faster than ordinary people. His achievements went far beyond what was visible on the surface.
It was just that the remaining ones were either too risky or too disruptive, and it wasn't the right time to use them.
That's why they hadn't been revealed.
Although it was just a draft now, based on Dumbledore's understanding of Roger, 'if a gun appears in a book, it's bound to go off.'
Ever since he had known Roger, his plans, unless superseded by better alternatives, had always been put into action as long as he had the capability and the timing was right.
Roger's strong will was both his strength and a source of great headaches for Dumbledore.
Once Roger decided on something, it was usually impossible to dissuade him.
Nicolas Flamel remained silent for a long time.
He had finally understood.
That's right.
He was so ruthless with himself that he would use hundreds of billions of years to scour his mind in pursuit of immortality.
He would be even more ruthless with others!
Although Nicolas Flamel understood Dumbledore's intentions, his answer remained unchanged.
"If that's the case, then I have even less reason to abandon what I'm currently doing."
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