— — — — — —
The golden apple wasn't large. Tom polished it off in just a few bites. It felt less like he'd eaten an actual apple and more like he'd swallowed an apple-shaped jelly.
"What does it taste like?" Andros asked, curious.
Tom thought for a moment. "It barely has any flavor, but it's delicious. I really like it. I kind of want another one."
Andros: "…"
Are you kidding me right now?
How can something have no flavor and still be delicious?
But Tom wasn't joking. The apple itself tasted like nothing, yet once it went down, every cell in his body seemed to burst with joy. The happiness it gave him was stronger than eating his favorite food.
Soon, the golden apple truly began to take effect.
The boy turned into a little golden figure. Countless motes of light drifted out of him like fireflies in the night.
The Runespoors suddenly stirred. They poured out of their pit and rushed toward Tom. The other magical creatures reacted the same way, though once they got close, they stopped short, trembling. One by one, every creature lowered itself to the ground as though in worship.
Meanwhile Tom had fallen into a trance. His soul was rising; his body was transforming.
[Golden Apple: A wedding gift from Gaia, the Mother Earth, to Hera. Grants endless lifespan, eternal youth, and awakens divine power.]
To live forever, the body must become immortal and the soul eternal. Tom was now correcting both defects. A wizard's magical strength is essentially the combined evaluation of these two aspects—so naturally, his power skyrocketed.
A faint divine radiance appeared between the boy's brows.
"Divinity…" Ravenclaw murmured.
She'd once said their world had never produced gods because the only supernatural force in this World was magic—everyone used the same energy, so how could anyone claim to be a god?
But Tom was different. The power stirring inside him was higher than magic. If that wasn't Divinity, what was?
Unfortunately, the aura vanished as quickly as it appeared. When she tried to study it, she could no longer sense it—only that something about Tom's presence had subtly changed.
Grindelwald and Andros weren't legendary wizards, but both were keenly sensitive to shifts in magic. They noticed it too.
"We're seizing Tom later," Grindelwald muttered to Andros. "We're testing that talent of his again. No doubt he's even more of a monster now. His body must feel good."
Ravenclaw: "…"
She was a little annoyed.
After being out in the world this long, she naturally knew Tom had a strange talent that let others temporarily possess him. It was incredibly useful for teaching and for dealing with danger.
But the stronger Tom grew, the less he needed Grindelwald or Andros to help him through possession. Ravenclaw, though—she was sure she could still be helpful.
If only their synchronization were good enough.
Her relationship with Tom was already far closer than the relationship with the other founders back then. Yet somehow it still wasn't enough for the talent's requirements.
There wasn't much she could do about it. She was, by nature, someone whose rationality outweighed emotion. People like her always seem warm and easy to get along with, like you've become good friends who can talk about anything—but deep down, there's still a quiet gulf between hearts.
Time drifted by. And before they knew it, two and a half hours had passed.
Luckily Tom had no classes after Care of Magical Creatures today, so his absence wouldn't cause panic. At last, right around dinnertime, he finished absorbing every bit of the golden apple's energy.
Tom opened his eyes. They were bright and heavy with pressure, sharp enough that the space around him trembled for an instant. Then he deliberately reined it in, though the intensity still made one's heart pound.
"How do you feel?" Ravenclaw asked immediately.
"I feel… incredible."
Tom looked at his hand. His fingers trembled slightly.
He flexed his hand, and a full-length mirror appeared on the ground. Tom and the others finally saw what he looked like now.
A collective hiss of shock filled the study space. The two women reacted even more strongly—Ariana's heart pounded wildly, her breathing quickened, and she had a sudden urge to throw herself at Tom and do very inappropriate things.
Ravenclaw's beautiful eyes shimmered with surprise.
Tom now was the most breathtaking being she had ever seen—or could have imagined. Calling him "human" didn't even feel accurate anymore.
An elf?
Or… an incubus?
Andros offered a wildly inappropriate compliment. "Tom, you'd have been insanely popular in ancient Greece. People would've lined up just for the honor of teaching you."
"Yeah, no thanks." Tom shook his head, looking disgusted. "If I lived in ancient Greece I'd end up murdering half of the men there. I don't think I could stand it."
Grindelwald rolled his eyes. Shallow little brat.
"Honestly…"
Tom stared at his reflection and let out a sudden sigh. "Tell me… looking this good… isn't that kind of unfair to Daphne and the others? What kind of girl could even match up to me now? I'm just... so good to be real."
The three adults were speechless at his narcissism. Ariana, on the other hand, lowered her head in sudden insecurity.
She'd always been confident in her looks. Her older brothers had praised her since she was little, and she held up fine next to girls like Daphne and Hermione.
But compared to Tom… she'd already been a little outmatched, and now… now she just felt plain.
What if Tom didn't like her anymore?
The little witch spiraled into anxious thoughts.
Tom had no idea one offhand comment had sent Ariana into a crisis. He continued examining his changes.
Appearance was secondary. Sure, he liked good-looking people, but that was other people. His own face? Whatever. Not a big deal.
He relied on strength to get by. Living off beauty? He'd stopped doing that after first year.
So after a round of tests, the results were pleasantly surprising.
His physical body and soul had both improved—noticeably, but not dramatically. The golden apple was meant to grant immortality, not boost power directly. The increased vitality just came with the package.
Because of those improvements, his magical power also rose a bit, though that wasn't the important part.
The biggest gain was that Tom felt constantly energized. Even after all that testing, he wasn't tired at all, as if he'd been inside the study space the entire time, maintaining a perfect, stable state.
Lastly, there was the so-called divine power.
It felt more like the natural power of a high-tier lifeform. One golden apple wasn't enough to fully grant divine force, but his magic had definitely evolved—almost like his circuits had been compressed and strengthened.
"Come on, let's test it properly."
You only truly understood your power through a fight. Tom entered the space and immediately challenged Grindelwald.
Grindelwald's stomach fluttered with dread. He had a bad feeling.
He was genuinely afraid he wouldn't be able to overpower Tom anymore. What would that mean for his dignity as a teacher?
Was he going to end up sitting at the kids' table with Ariana?
And sure enough, the results were no surprise. Tom had already been close to the level of a King of the Century fight, and now he couldn't fully hold himself back. Grindelwald threw out everything he had, but he couldn't beat Tom—he could only barely keep the advantage in terms of skill.
The problem was that Tom's divine power buffed everything. Attacks, defenses—every spell hit harder.
Even blocking a basic Disarming Charm felt strange to Grindelwald, like his magic was naturally weaker than Tom's. It was maddening to fight.
After half an hour, Grindelwald called it quits.
Any longer and nothing would change. He couldn't do anything to Tom, and Tom couldn't fully overpower him either. It was exactly like his current stalemate with Dumbledore.
"Andros, your turn."
Tom, riding high on adrenaline, immediately challenged Andros next. Andros laughed loudly and strode onto the field, replacing Grindelwald.
Thirty minutes later, Tom was firmly embedded into the ground, staring up at the ceiling and reevaluating his life choices.
Ravenclaw chuckled softly and leaned over to look down at him. "Still feeling cocky?"
"…No," Tom muttered. He tried to shake his head, but the crater fit him too perfectly. He couldn't move at all.
"You did very well," Andros said, comforting him. "A bit more improvement and I really won't be able to keep you down."
Boom.
The ground cracked as Tom jumped out of the hole.
"Enough, you don't have to comfort me. You two should be reflecting on yourselves. How did I get stronger and you've barely improved in years? A third-year student shouldn't be scolding you like this."
"Shame on you."
Both old men's faces darkened. The brat held grudges. He didn't let a single chance to stab them back slip by.
"Tom, when are you planting the tree?" Grindelwald finally asked. The golden apple's effect was too strong—even he couldn't help wanting one.
"Let me think about it. But don't get your hopes up. Eternal life is guaranteed, but the divine power won't be as strong as mine. It'll be weaker."
Tom had already been thinking it over.
The moment he ate the apple, he'd received the knowledge of how to grow the tree. Every requirement and detail was clear in his mind. And he knew the fruit he produced would be weaker.
It couldn't be helped.
One was a mythical treasure made real. The other would be grown in the real world. Different environments meant different quality.
The biggest problem now was choosing a planting site and figuring out fertilizer.
After thinking for a while, Tom's eyes suddenly lit up.
"What do you think… about moving Voldemort's lake over here?"
.
.
.