Nicolas reached out his hand, and Kael immediately handed him the bottle.
The Phoenix ashes, along with the dull Philosopher's Stone, were placed into the Cauldron together.
The potion boiled, transforming from its original pink color to a deep red, and then faded slightly.
Nicolas reached out his hand again.
Kael immediately guessed what he intended to do, as he had been sent away like this last time.
"Wait." He immediately said, "Can I watch from the side? I promise not to disturb you."
This was the process of repairing the Philosopher's Stone; though not the creation, it was still a rare sight. Naturally, Kael wanted to watch a bit more.
Not for any other reason, just purely to learn some techniques.
"I understand, but it won't do…" Nicolas shook his head, "It's still too early for you, do you know the principles of Alchemy?"
"Of course." Kael said, "Equivalent exchange, not touching the realm of God, no Human Alchemy."
He had just seen these while in Beauxbatons.
"Strictly speaking, the Philosopher's Stone belongs to the realm of God, it's forbidden Alchemy." Nicolas said solemnly, "Encountering these too early can unintentionally involve you deeply. This knowledge is like a Golden Ship at sea, luring you to approach, as if you can reach it but you never actually touch it.
"Because the Golden Ship itself is in the sky; what you see is its shadow cast into the sea. Then you find yourself lost in the long pursuit, slowly disappearing into the sea, creating a splash before returning to calm."
Listening to Nicolas's words, Kael shivered involuntarily.
He only wanted to learn some techniques, who knew it would be so dangerous, with talk of Golden Ships and seas—he might as well not learn at all.
"Alright, I understand." Kael chuckled twice awkwardly, and began to walk towards the door.
However, after just two steps, he couldn't help but turn back and ask, "Nicolas, is this 'God' truly real?"
"Why do you ask." Nicolas said with interest, "You've heard it, right? In 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard' there's the story of the three brothers, where three Holy Artifacts related to God appear?"
"But I feel they're more like powerful Alchemy Items, it's just that over time, they gained some mysterious legends."
Kael pondered for a moment and said, "I've seen the legendary Holy Artifact Cloak, or rather, I've seen all three Holy Artifacts. By comparison, I still find Ravenclaw's Diadem more incredible."
"Then do you know how Ravenclaw's Diadem was made?" Nicolas continued to ask.
"I don't know." This time Kael shook his head.
"I don't know either." Nicolas said softly, "But last time I asked Ms. Rowena Ravenclaw's memory about how she made the Diadem."
"What did Ravenclaw say?" Kael asked curiously.
"She didn't know either." Nicolas laughed, "The content that memory could contain wasn't much. It might have been deliberately so by Lady Ravenclaw. She only remembered the Diadem was the result of an accidental Alchemy, but that Alchemy process was actually a failure."
"I see…" Kael hesitated for a moment, "But weren't we discussing the issue of 'God'? How did we suddenly start talking about the Diadem?"
"Because this is the trace of God's possible existence, including those incredible Alchemy Items. I'm certain I cannot make the Diadem, only a crude imitation… which I re-melted after ten minutes."
Nicolas said, "I cannot truly figure out their origins, so your question is something I cannot answer."
Kael felt bewildered, and when he came to his senses, he was already in the living room.
He rubbed his slightly swollen forehead.
If he had known, he wouldn't have talked to Nicolas about these things; he didn't understand how this happened. He had clearly only said a few words, yet felt like he had listened to two days' worth of Magic History, receiving too much information.
But when he carefully thought about it, it was still just those few words.
He now somewhat understood why Nicolas didn't allow him to watch the process of repairing the Philosopher's Stone, and about the Golden Ship and sea expression… this stuff indeed seemed a bit out of the ordinary.
Kael shook his head, trying to shake off all those jumbled thoughts.
"Sir, do you need help?" House-elves Tata appeared beside Kael at some point, his tennis-ball-sized eyes watching him unblinkingly.
"If possible, may I please have a glass of lemonade."
"As you wish, sir." Tata snapped his fingers, and an empty glass appeared in his hands, a few plump gold lemons jumped out and quickly turned withered.
"Sir, your lemonade."
"Thank you." Kael took a sip, the strong bitter and sour taste made his whole face scrunch up involuntarily, but correspondingly, the jumbled thoughts in his brain quieted down a bit.
Kael shook his head again, handing the empty glass back to Tata, while asking, "How long will Nicolas likely take."
He merely asked casually, not expecting the little elf to give him a definite answer.
But Tata answered without a moment's thought, "Master said if you have matters to attend to, you can leave directly, he will come find you after he's done."
"No matter, I can wait here." Kael said.
"This is the master's intention." Tata hesitated, "He believes during this time, it's best for you to leave the manor, it's also for your safety's sake."