Being swept up in the tornado and tumbling through the sky, Luke was about to vomit.
"Rómestámo! Think of something! What can you do?" Luke shouted to his companion, but his voice was nearly drowned out by the massive howling wind around them.
Rómestámo had been holding his weak friend Morinehtar, but still heard Luke's words. He didn't speak aloud, but his voice transmitted directly into Luke's mind: "You protect Morinehtar in a moment, then release me outside your magical barrier. I'll use all my power to stop the tornado."
"Are you sure?" Luke asked in surprise and doubt, knowing the wind and sand outside had enough power to tear a person apart.
But Rómestámo gave a definitive answer. Since that was the case, Luke chose to trust him and released Rómestámo outside the magical shield.
Instantly, Rómestámo was like a fallen leaf, directly swept into the fierce wind by the tornado, spinning and tumbling with it endlessly. Luke showed a worried expression seeing this.
But soon, a faint and mysterious incantation echoed through the tornado. The next second, accompanied by a brilliant light flashing from the tornado's center, a massive magical shockwave exploded instantly.
The violent tornado was struck by the tremendous force and came to a standstill. The tornado was blown apart at its waist, forming a huge vacuum area. In the center of the vacuum, Rómestámo hovered there holding his staff, his blue robes torn to tatters, his body covered with countless scrape-like marks.
Without the tornado's support, Rómestámo immediately began falling the next second. On Luke's side, along with Morinehtar in the magical shield, they also fell together. He quickly rushed toward Rómestámo, bringing him back into the magical shield, and just before hitting the ground, cast spells to cushion and slow their descent, landing gently.
But even after landing safely, Luke couldn't relax, because Saruman and the Nazgûl were attacking again.
"Give up your resistance, Luke. Look what you can do—like a caged beast, making only futile struggles..." Saruman tried to use his hypnotic magic voice filled with mental suggestion to make Luke surrender.
However, Luke was no longer who he used to be. His mind now had mental fortresses built by Occlumency, blocking Saruman's mental influence outside, so he wasn't affected in the slightest by Saruman's hypnotic enchantment. He even took out the Horn of Victory and blew it, directly countering Saruman's voice magic.
Seeing his hypnotic magic had no effect, Saruman's face looked rather unpleasant.
"Saruman, your opponent is me!" Rómestámo faced Saruman holding his staff. At the same time, he communicated telepathically with Luke: "Luke, I'll hold off Saruman and the others. You take Morinehtar and leave first. He'll become even weaker staying here and needs to leave quickly."
Hearing Rómestámo's words, Luke was startled. "What about you?"
Rómestámo's expression was very grave, his mental voice becoming more urgent than ever: "We can't stay here any longer. I sense an even more dangerous darkness approaching. The longer we stay, the harder it will be to leave!"
"Take Morinehtar and leave immediately. Don't worry about me. After holding them off for a while, I have a way to escape!"
But Luke didn't believe Rómestámo's words. If he had a way to escape, he would have done it with them long ago. Why wait until now to stay behind and hold off Saruman, letting them leave first? Rómestámo's intention was nothing more than sacrificing himself.
But Rómestámo had clearly made up his mind, not giving Luke a chance to refuse: "We can't hesitate anymore, Luke. The danger is getting closer! If we delay further, all three of us won't be able to leave!"
He seemed to sense something, looking toward northern Mordor with terror and gravity: "He's coming! Go quickly! Take Morinehtar and leave now!"
Just then, distant commotion could be heard as Rómestámo's white wild bull came charging through, knocking down countless Haradrim and orcs, quickly arriving before Rómestámo.
Rómestámo quickly placed the weak Morinehtar on the bull's back. "Luke, don't mind me, go quickly! I'm still useful to them. Even if captured, they won't kill me. You just need to take Morinehtar away, then find other help to rescue me!"
With that, he charged toward Saruman without looking back, unleashing his full power, releasing powerful magical energy, single-handedly blocking Saruman and the Nazgûl, creating an opportunity for Luke and Morinehtar to break through.
Seeing this, Luke's expression changed several times, but ultimately he respected Rómestámo's decision and left first with Morinehtar.
Saruman on the opposite side, seeing this scene, also guessed Rómestámo's intention and said with a cold laugh: "Want to create an escape opportunity for them? Hmph, overestimating yourself—none of you will leave today!"
With that, he unleashed his full magical power against Rómestámo while commanding the three Nazgûl: "Stop them for me!"
As the White Wizard, Saruman was stronger than other wizards. Even with Rómestámo fighting with all his might, he was still firmly suppressed by Saruman, only able to watch helplessly as the three Nazgûl charged toward Luke and Morinehtar.
Facing the three attacking Nazgûl, Luke didn't dare be careless. He took out the Starlight Phial, injected it with magic, and activated the Light of Eärendil to drive back the Nazgûl.
The brilliant and holy Light of Eärendil had a restraining effect on dark creatures like the Nazgûl, who didn't dare approach for the moment. Luke didn't linger, immediately preparing to leave with Morinehtar.
Seeing this scene, Saruman was both shocked and furious, trying to prevent Luke's escape, but was blocked by Rómestámo fighting with all his strength. For a time, the massive Minas Harad fortress buildings were continuously destroyed and collapsed under the magical impact of the two wizards.
The surrounding Haradrim and orcs fled in terror, fearing being caught in the crossfire.
But just then, the originally terrified screams of the Haradrim and orcs suddenly fell silent at a certain moment, as if their throats had been physically strangled. The surrounding time seemed to fall into stagnation. The wind stopped, the night became thick as ink, carrying a cold, suffocating pressure that pressed down like a massive stone on one's chest, making even heartbeats extremely difficult.
Around them seemed to be thousands of seductive and despairing voices whispering in their ears, like thousands of cold, slimy worms trying to burrow into their minds and devour their souls.
Morinehtar, lying on the bull's back, showed terror and despair, his weak voice filled with hopelessness: "He—he's coming!"
The battle between Rómestámo and Saruman also suddenly stopped, each showing different expressions. Saruman showed a complex expression of seeing reinforcements arrive but not having completed his task beforehand. Rómestámo showed pure terror and gravity, along with a wave of regret.
To hold off Saruman, he was already exhausted, but still struggled to rush to Luke and Morinehtar's side to face the coming horror together.
In mid-air, darkness quickly gathered, then violently tore open a dark fissure. The fissure was like a giant vertical eye, with shadows around it surging and gathering like living things, resembling clawing dark tentacles. A black shadow emerged from the fissure—a dark entity without a face, only a human silhouette, like a black hole devouring surrounding light. Only two points of crimson light, like eternal ghostfire, coldly swept over those below.
The three Nazgûl respectfully prostrated at the shadow's feet, welcoming his arrival. Though unwilling, Saruman still bowed his head, acknowledging his leadership.
"Sauron!" Rómestámo spoke the name with difficulty. Luke faced a great enemy, feeling the threat of death closer than ever before. The Sauron before them wasn't in Eye form—or rather, the black shadow before them was Sauron's true body. The Eye was merely Sauron's symbol and spiritual form, used to watch over Middle-earth so Sauron could see distant places.
"White Wizard Saruman, Blue Wizards Morinehtar and Rómestámo, and Black Wizard Luke…" His voice slithered into their minds like molten shadow, corrosive and irresistible.
"…to see so many of you gathered before me—such audacity, such folly. It is… unexpected."
The crimson gaze of the Dark Lord swept over the two Blue Wizards, piercing their thoughts, probing their wills.
"Morinehtar, Rómestámo… old companions, long have you defied me in the East. For a thousand years you have stirred unrest, kindled rebellion, vexed my dominion. And yet… I cannot deny it. Your skill, your cunning… it has impressed me. To hinder my designs so, to fragment my armies, to deny me the swift conquest of the West—such deeds are worthy of power.
"Submit, and all may be forgiven. Submit, and I shall raise you above the Eastern lands; I shall make you lords of the East, rulers of men and nations, partners in the dominion of the world. Your enemies, your victories, all shall be remembered… or erased at my will. Tell me… do you dare resist me still?"
Sauron's voice was full of seductive power, like thousands of voices whispering in their ears, constantly seeking weaknesses to breach their mental defenses and completely corrupt their souls.
Rómestámo guarded his mind closely, not giving Sauron any opportunity, and angrily said: "Don't think of making us submit to you, Sauron, servant of Morgoth! You're nothing but a nameless, faceless being who will ultimately fail!"
"Is that so?" Sauron wasn't angered, but said with slight mockery, "But your companion doesn't seem to think the same."
Hearing this, Rómestámo immediately felt uneasy and looked back at Morinehtar. He saw Morinehtar's expression constantly struggling, sometimes clear, sometimes becoming mad, like split personality. Rómestámo was greatly alarmed and quickly grabbed Morinehtar: "Morinehtar, hold fast to your will! Don't be defeated!"
Morinehtar's eyes were full of struggle. His weak and exhausted mind couldn't block Sauron's mental erosion and was being continuously corrupted.
"Rómestámo, kill me quickly! Don't let me fall into darkness!" Morinehtar struggled to say.
Rómestámo certainly couldn't kill his good friend, but to prevent his friend from falling into darkness, he disregarded everything else and used all his mental and spiritual power as a shield to protect Morinehtar's mind, preventing Sauron's power from further eroding him.
Seeing this, Sauron made no move to stop it, even enjoying watching it happen. Because Rómestámo's behavior was tantamount to consuming his own mental and spiritual power to protect another person, making him weaker and weaker.
When Rómestámo's mind became extremely weak, Sauron could easily breach his mental defenses and corrupt and control him. Such a killing-two-birds-with-one-stone situation naturally pleased him not to interfere.
Seeing Rómestámo no longer posed a threat, Sauron turned his gaze to Luke, his eyes full of mockery and inquiry.
"Luke… you, who walk beyond the threads of fate, who have dared again and again to unravel my designs. For long, I have observed you… with interest. Now… show me the secrets you hide, the power that sets you apart. Let me see what makes you… extraordinary."
Facing Sauron's intensely aggressive gaze and mental corruption,
Luke maintained high vigilance. His Occlumency was operating at full capacity, and the mental fortress in his mind was tightly defended, leaving no opportunity for Sauron to invade and corrupt his psyche.
However, Sauron's power was overwhelmingly strong. Even though Luke's mental fortress was as solid as a city wall, the countless whispers of temptation filling his ears were like swarms of insects relentlessly gnawing at the walls of his mental stronghold, attempting to break through the barriers and completely corrupt and control him.
Luke's face was pale. The disparity in their strength was too great. At this rate, he feared he wouldn't last long before Sauron breached his mental castle. Facing Sauron, Luke didn't dare be the slightest bit careless. He activated the Ring of Power on his hand, forming the sturdiest magical shield to protect himself, Rómestámo, and Morinehtar.
At the same time, he channeled all his energy into the Light of Eärendil to counter Sauron's dark power. Although the Light of Eärendil could suppress dark forces, its effectiveness depended on who wielded it. Galadriel had used its power to repel Sauron in Dol Guldur. But in Luke's hands, it could only barely resist Sauron's power.
Under the relentless onslaught of Sauron's terrifying dark force, the Light of Eärendil was like a faint candle flame in the darkness, seemingly on the verge of extinguishing at any moment, barely illuminating Luke's immediate surroundings.
Sauron naturally noticed that his mental corruption power was being blocked by Luke, unable to penetrate. This only piqued his interest and curiosity further.
"Indeed… with each encounter, you unveil yet another unforeseen power. Your depths are not easily measured."
At the same time, his gaze ignored the Ring of Power's invisibility ability and directly fell upon Luke's hand, filled with astonishment.
"So… this is the Ring wrought by Saruman's hand? Already it grows refined, sharpened in but a fleeting moment of time—near to perfection itself. Such art stirs memory of an elven smith of ages past. He too possessed rare skill… and when I bestowed upon him the hidden lore of ring-craft, he in turn brought forth the nineteen Rings of Power, flawless beneath my shadowed will."
Sauron looked at Luke with admiration and extended an invitation:
"Wizard Luke… thy gift is beyond mortal measure. Yield thy will unto me, and I shall claim you as my chosen disciple. I shall reveal the secret fire of the One, and from thine own hand a Ring of Dominion shall be born. Power unbounded shall be yours, authority without end, together we shall bend this world to our WILL!"
Upon hearing Sauron's words, Saruman stared at Luke with intense jealousy and resentment. The Ring of Power he had painstakingly crafted had now become another's treasure. Even the One Ring, which he had longed for but could not obtain, was now being offered to a young wizard. The disparity in treatment left Saruman deeply unbalanced.
Moreover, he knew Sauron was not deceiving Luke. Upon discovering Luke's exceptional talent for ring-making, Sauron, driven by excitement, genuinely wanted to take him as his disciple. After all, aside from being the Dark Lord, Sauron was also a master craftsman.
Before his fall to Morgoth, he had been the most outstanding student of Aulë, the Smith God, and his craftsmanship had reached an unparalleled level. Otherwise, he would not have been able to design treasures like the One Ring and the Rings of Power.
Although Sauron had infused the One Ring and the Rings of Power with evil forces to corrupt their wearers, they were still rare treasures coveted by countless people.
Although Saruman was also a student of Aulë, he was like a student in a class who excels in some subjects but not others. Saruman was not untalented, but he was specialized—his forging talent was not outstanding. Instead, he excelled in engineering, machinery, and biological fields. Thus, even though he learned the method of crafting the Rings of Power from Sauron, the rings he forged were still deemed inadequate in Sauron's eyes, failing to meet his standards.
After all, as the Dark Lord, Sauron had a sense of aesthetics.
Of course, neither Sauron nor Saruman knew that Luke possessed the Resurrection Stone, allowing him to summon Celebrimbor, the master smith who had personally crafted the Rings of Power. Under Celebrimbor's guidance, Luke had refined Saruman's Ring of Power. Mistakenly believing that Luke had improved the ring himself, Sauron was impressed and developed a desire to recruit him.
This also made Saruman intensely jealous. After all, he had spent so long crafting the Ring of Power, yet in Luke's hands, it had been refined in just a year, even earning Sauron's praise.
However, faced with Sauron's recruitment offer, Luke remained unmoved. He coldly laughed and said, "I have no desire to become one of your Ringwraiths, a puppet in your hands!"
Sauron's words were undoubtedly tempting—becoming Sauron's student, standing second only to him in the dark world, forging his own One Ring, and gaining immense power. But the prerequisite for obtaining these things was being mentally corrupted and controlled by Sauron, turning into a loyal puppet like the Ringwraiths. Would he still be himself then?
Hearing Luke's immediate refusal, Sauron was not angered. Instead, he looked at Luke like a struggling mouse in a cage and lightly chuckled, "So be it. Thy denial is but a passing shadow,it shall not endure. I shall bear thee unto Mordor, and there, beneath my dominion, time itself shall wear down thy will. In the end, thou shalt stand with me… for none may resist forever."
As he spoke, he unleashed a terrifying dark force, striking Luke's magical shield. The immense power Sauron unleashed made even Saruman fearful, forcing him to quickly retreat.
Luke, who was directly facing Sauron's attack, struggled immensely. It felt like a mountain was pressing down on him, suffocating him. And this was with the protection of the Ring of Power's magical shield.
What weighed heavily on Luke's heart was that Sauron's attacking power was countless times stronger than Saruman's. The magic stored in the Ring of Power was draining away like a flood. The magical shield, which could originally withstand Saruman's full-force attack for half a day, could now only withstand Sauron's assault for half an hour at most.
Even more surprising, Sauron's powerful mental corrosion ignored the magical shield and continuously invaded Luke's mind, attempting to breach his mental castle and corrupt his psyche!
Luke could only continuously operate Occlumency, reinforcing the barriers of his mental castle. At the same time, he channeled the Light of Eärendil and cast the magical music taught to him by Tom Bombadil, filling his body and mind with joy and summoning a Patronus.
To resist Sauron's mental corrosion, Luke employed every means at his disposal, layering protections around himself to ensure his mind and spirit would not be broken by Sauron before the magical shield of the Ring of Power was exhausted.
For the moment, Luke could catch his breath. But as he watched the magic stored in the Ring of Power rapidly depleting, he grew increasingly anxious. Was he doomed today?
[Hogwarts Sign-In System: Location—Harad, Minas Harad. Sign in?]
Seeing the system's sudden prompt, Luke felt a glimmer of hope and hurriedly shouted in his mind, "Sign in! Sign in quickly!" He could only hope the system would be reliable this time and give him something useful to escape his current predicament.
[Sign-in successful. Congratulations on obtaining a Portkey!]
Luke's eyes lit up, and he felt a surge of ecstasy. Exactly what he needed! Now he was saved!
Due to the magical restrictions Saruman had set up earlier, Luke had lost the ability to Apparate and could not teleport away. However, a Portkey was different from Apparition. A Portkey was an enchanted object unaffected by Anti-Apparition spells, capable of transporting anyone who touched it to a specified location.
Luke immediately immersed himself in learning the Portkey spell. The invisible Crown of Wisdom on his head provided full support, allowing his brain to operate at its height. Because he was distracted, Luke's mental and spiritual defenses weakened slightly, allowing Sauron's mental corrosion to progress faster.
But Luke paid no heed. He needed to learn this advanced spell as quickly as possible to secure a chance of survival for himself and his companions.
As a Dark Lord skilled in mental control and corruption, Sauron was highly sensitive to emotional and mental fluctuations. He quickly detected Luke's emotions of joy and hope and immediately sensed something amiss.
He instantly unleashed his full power, attacking the magical shield protecting Luke. The magical shield rippled with each attack, and the magic stored in the Ring of Power was rapidly consumed. The originally estimated half-hour durability of the magical shield was now sharply decreasing.
The sturdy magical shield began to thin and waver, on the verge of collapse.
Just then, Luke reopened his eyes. Ignoring the attacks from Sauron and Saruman outside, he quickly cast a spell on the crystal vial containing the Light of Eärendil in his hand.
"Portus!" The crystal vial emitted a faint blue light and vibrated slightly.
"Rómestámo, quickly grab the crystal vial and hold onto Morinehtar!" Luke shouted to Rómestámo.
Rómestámo was also pale and weak. He had used all his mental energy and magic to protect his friend Morinehtar's mind, preventing Morinehtar from being further corrupted by Sauron's mental erosion. The cost was that he had lost his combat ability and was in no better condition than his friend Morinehtar.
Upon hearing Luke's words, he mustered his last bit of strength, tightly grabbed Morinehtar with one hand, and quickly touched the crystal vial in Luke's hand with the other.
At the last moment, Luke also touched Rómestámo's wild ox with his other hand.
Instantly, they felt as though a hook behind their navels yanked them forward violently. Their feet left the ground, and the scenery before them quickly blurred.
"No!" Sauron, witnessing this scene, was furious and unleashed his most terrifying power in an attempt to stop them. But before he could break the magical shield, Luke, Rómestámo, Morinehtar, and even a wild ox vanished before his eyes.
Sauron felt utterly fooled!
In his rage, he recklessly unleashed his terrifying power, instantly destroying the entire Minas Harad fortress. Countless Haradrim, Orcs, and even Mûmakil were torn apart by the immense force.
The Ringwraiths respectfully prostrated themselves on the ground, not daring to provoke their master.
Saruman, gritting his teeth and leaning on his staff, cast spells to protect himself. He looked at the terrifyingly furious Sauron with fear.
Far away, thousands of miles distant, in Isengard.
Accompanied by a ripple in space, Luke, Rómestámo, Morinehtar, and a white wild ox appeared out of thin air outside Orthanc Tower. Seeing the familiar surroundings, Luke finally breathed a sigh of relief.
They had finally escaped safely!
Looking at the Ring of Power in his hand, it had become much dimmer, with all the magical power stored within completely drained.
That was magical power he had accumulated and stored for more than half a year! It was equivalent to the combined magical power of hundreds of himself, yet now it was all depleted under Sauron's few attacks!
Luke felt heartbroken. After all, this was magical power he had accumulated bit by bit, and now it had returned to zero overnight. He would have to slowly accumulate it all over again. Moreover, the Light of Eärendil in his hand was also mostly consumed and had become dim.
However, being able to successfully escape from Sauron and rescue the two Blue Wizards was fortunate enough.
He then turned to look at the two Blue Wizards.
"Rómestámo,Morinehtar, are you two alright?"
Rómestámo, exhausted, nodded slightly with a weary smile on his face: "I'm fine. Thanks to you, we were able to escape. It seems my premonitions are never wrong—you are our savior."
Morinehtar, no longer under Sauron's continued mental erosion, finally recovered. His eyes were no longer mad but became clear again. However, in his extreme weakness, he no longer had the strength to speak.
Even because Sauron's mental erosion had already caused damage, he was still using most of his willpower to suppress the evil will that Sauron had left in his body, avoiding complete fall into darkness.
Seeing his friend in this state, Rómestámo was full of worry.
Sauron had imprisoned Morinehtar and used this to set a trap, luring Rómestámo. His purpose was not to kill them, but to corrupt and turn them into subordinates loyal to him, like Saruman.
But Morinehtar was essentially a lesser divine Maia with a very strong and firm mental will. Even for Sauron, corrupting their minds was not easy.
So he imprisoned him in the high tower of Minas Harad fortress, constantly torturing and tormenting him daily, weakening his mental will and exhausting his soul.
When his mental defenses became weak, he would then take advantage and use evil power to corrupt and twist his mind, eventually turning Morinehtar into an evil wizard under his control.
Morinehtar had been trapped and tortured by Sauron in Minas Harad for many years. That he could persist until now without being completely corrupted and fallen was already very remarkable.
But how to free Morinehtar from Sauron's influence—Rómestámo couldn't think of a solution for the moment.
Seeing Rómestámo's worried expression, Luke suggested: "Perhaps we can take Wizard Morinehtar to Rivendell. Lord Elrond of Rivendell is Middle-earth's finest healer. He might have a way to solve Wizard Morinehtar's problem."
Hearing Luke's words, Rómestámo's eyes immediately lit up.
"Then I'll trouble you, to help with the introduction! Thank you, Luke!"
The two Blue Wizards had only met Elrond briefly when they went to the East and weren't familiar with him, so they could only ask Luke for help.
Luke nodded and said with a smile: "Don't mention it. Lord Elrond is a compassionate lord. When I went to the Far East to search for you, it was Lord Elrond who suggested it. He greatly praises your achievements in the East and would surely welcome your arrival."
He then led Rómestámo and Morinehtar into Orthanc Tower, preparing to travel to Rivendell through the fireplace.
Upon entering the main door, Rómestámo was surprised by the enormous space inside.
But then he was attracted by a giant wolf that was countless times larger than his mount, the Araw bull.
Especially its three-headed appearance greatly surprised Rómestámo.
The three-headed wolf smelled an unfamiliar yet powerful scent and instantly all three heads woke up, immediately becoming fierce, baring teeth and snarling, with flames brewing in their throats, preparing to attack.
"Quiet!" Luke shouted. "Cerberus, this is a guest, be polite!"
Hearing this, the three-headed wolf retracted its aggressive attitude, wagging its tail, sticking out its tongue, and whimpering affectionately toward Luke.
Luke helplessly patted the three heads: "Alright, I know. I have urgent matters to handle now. I'll play with you later."
Seeing this, the three-headed wolf stopped pestering Luke and obediently continued guarding the door.
Rómestámo, surprised but showing some fondness, asked: "Is this your pet?"
Luke nodded and said somewhat apologetically: "Yes, his name is Cerberus. He's a variant three-headed hound, just over a year old now, still not mature, so he's a bit mischievous."
Rómestámo didn't mind the three-headed wolf's earlier attempt to attack him, but instead looked at it with full appreciation and praised: "To have such power at just over a year old—if properly trained, he might become another divine hound Huan."
Luke shook his head, not taking Rómestámo's praise to heart. The divine hound Huan was a true divine beast who not only killed the most ancient and terrible werewolf Draugluin, but even Sauron had suffered at the divine hound Huan's jaws:
When the elf princess Lúthien rescued her beloved Beren, Sauron personally transformed into the largest werewolf in history to fight, yet Huan was still not suppressed. After Lúthien used magic to confuse Sauron, Huan seized the opportunity to bite Sauron's throat. No matter how Sauron transformed or cast sorcery, he couldn't break free, ultimately forcing Sauron to abandon the Isle of Werewolves and escape as a vampire.
And they had just successfully escaped from Sauron, who was defeated by the divine hound Huan.
With such a power gap, Luke couldn't even imagine how strong the divine hound Huan was.
But back to the matter at hand, Luke didn't linger in Orthanc Tower but directly brought Rómestámo and the weakened Morinehtar to the fireplace and teleported directly to Rivendell.
Elrond, seeing Luke had returned, inquired: "Was the journey successful?"
Luke shook his head: "The location of Hildórien has been confirmed, but we can only find it on the first day of the New Year. And this time there was a bit of trouble along the way..."
Luke told him everything that had happened in the Far East.
Hearing what Luke said, Elrond frowned slightly, then shook his head disapprovingly: "Your journey was somewhat risky. Sauron's power is stronger in the East. If you hadn't escaped in time, you would likely have fallen into his clutches, your fate unknown."
Luke nodded in acknowledgment of his error. If he hadn't obtained the Port Key from his sign-in at the last moment, he would likely have become Sauron's prisoner, even mentally corrupted and completely turned into a puppet.
Perhaps it was because things had gone too smoothly before, making him lower his guard.
He hadn't anticipated that Sauron would appear personally, nearly leading to a desperate situation.
After they finished discussing the matter, Luke and Elrond went to the medical room to see the two Blue Wizards.
Elrond expressed his respect for the two Blue Wizards' achievements in the East in restraining Sauron, stating he would do his utmost to heal them.
Rómestámo was relatively fine—just exhausted and not too deeply affected by Sauron's evil power. With proper rest, he could recover. But regarding Morinehtar, Elrond also frowned.
"Wizard Morinehtar has suffered tremendous torment and is already physically and mentally exhausted. I'm afraid he'll need a very long period of recovery.
But most troubling is that part of his mind has been polluted by Sauron's evil. His pure soul has been stained with darkness. If his will weren't extremely firm, he would have already fallen into darkness!" Elrond said with grave concern.
Hearing Elrond's words, Luke's expression became serious. He hadn't expected Morinehtar's condition to be so severe.
Rómestámo was even more worried, asking anxiously: "Lord Elrond, do you have a way to heal Morinehtar?"
Elrond shook his head apologetically: "I'm sorry, I cannot root out the pollution of the mind. Perhaps only in the Blessed Realm of Valinor could Morinehtar possibly be cured."
Rómestámo was disappointed to hear this. How easy would it be to return to Valinor? They had not yet completed their mission, and without the Valar's permission, they simply couldn't return.
But Elrond added: "However, I can try to seal the polluted part, preventing Sauron's evil power from continuing to influence Wizard Morinehtar. But this only treats the symptoms, not the root cause. Without complete purification and removal, there will always be a risk of corruption."
Hearing Elrond's words, Luke breathed a sigh of relief and silently complained about this suspenseful way of speaking.
Rómestámo, however, regained hope and hurriedly requested that he seal Morinehtar.
Since Elrond had mentioned it, he naturally intended to help.
He first treated Morinehtar's physical wounds and restored his vitality, then used the power of Vilya, the Ring of Air, to seal the eroded part of Morinehtar's spirit, isolating Sauron's evil power from continuing to influence Morinehtar.
Elrond truly deserved to be Middle-earth's finest healer. He quickly healed the originally extremely weak Morinehtar's body and allowed him to finally fully regain consciousness.
"Thank you, Lord Elrond. Without your help, I would have fallen into darkness and could never have been saved!" Morinehtar first thanked Elrond, bowing to him with solemn ceremony.
Elrond accepted his thanks with a smile and advised:
"Although I've sealed the corrupted part within your body, Sauron's influence still exists. The closer you are to him, the deeper the influence and the weaker the seal becomes. Moreover, when I sealed you, part of your power was also sealed along with it, so you need to be mentally prepared."
Morinehtar was quite optimistic, saying with a smile: "This is much better than what I had expected."
Morinehtar then formally and sincerely expressed his gratitude to Luke, thanking him for traveling thousands of miles with Rómestámo to rescue him. "Although Rómestámo has already given you the Victory Horn, this is not enough to express my gratitude!" Morinehtar said to Luke with complete sincerity.
"You not only saved me but also saved Rómestámo. I truly cannot imagine how desperate and terrifying it would have been if, without you, we had fallen into Sauron's clutches, been corrupted by him, lost ourselves, and ultimately forgotten our mission!"
Morinehtar then indicated that he had a golden bow in his collection and planned to give it to Luke as a thank-you gift when they returned to the Far East.
It was said that this golden bow was crafted by a Noldorin elf craftsman in Valinor, modeled after the bow of Oromë, the Huntsman of the Valar, and possessed the characteristic of never missing its target. No matter how distant or cleverly hidden the target, it could hit with perfect accuracy.
Hearing this, Luke was very curious about the bow and, at Morinehtar's insistence, accepted this gift he had yet to see.
During the time the two Blue Wizards were recovering in Rivendell, Luke returned to Weathertop. He went to the cellar treasury and saw the dragon Smaug with half his body buried in the treasure mountain.
When Luke entered, Smaug had already awakened and said enthusiastically: "Master, you're back!"
Then he inconspicuously pushed the treasure behind himself, afraid that Luke had come for money again.
Luke ignored his actions and simply said: "Bring out that thing of mine!"
Hearing this, Smaug opened his mouth and spat out a round black crystal stone.
It was clearly Luke's palantír.
Luke cast a cleaning spell with some disgust to remove the saliva, then caught the palantír.
This palantír was different from before, faintly emanating the aura of dark magic.
Moreover, within the crystal, there was a mass of black mist swirling, manifesting Luke's face.
This was Luke's ultimate life-saving measure—a Horcrux.
Before heading to the Far East, he had secretly split off a fragment of his soul and used the palantír as a container to create his first Horcrux. The palantír was extremely hard—even the divine spear Aeglos or a flaming sword could not destroy it, so Luke chose it as his first choice for a Horcrux.
At the cost of killing an orc, Luke created the palantír Horcrux and entrusted it to Smaug for safekeeping.
Should he encounter any life-threatening crisis, he could rely on this Horcrux to resurrect.