"Emotion… belief…"
The two words echoed endlessly in Lewis's mind.
"Belief… emotion…"
"Of course… isn't belief itself just another form of emotion?"
"Gods harvest faith. Monsters feed on fear. Isn't that all just different applications of emotional energy?"
"Gods refine faith into divine power. Monsters turn fear into their own strength. Wizards… directly utilize emotional force. And in the Shadowlands, they extract it straight from the soul."
"Emotion, faith, fear, anima… they're all fundamentally the same."
"So if that's the case… why don't I just go somewhere like a church, where belief gathers—or a casino, where emotions explode—and collect it directly?"
"…No. That's too simple."
Lewis frowned.
"Across all worlds, no god or powerful being does that."
"A war god gathers power from battlefields. A god of revelry gathers it from celebration. Gods only absorb the faith of those who call their names."
"That means… absorbing unfiltered emotional energy is harmful."
"But anima in the Shadowlands is universal. Faith can be transferred. Devils and demons even use it as currency."
"Which means… different emotional energies can be refined into a pure, universal form—through authority, talent, or divine function."
"So…"
"If I want large amounts of emotional power…"
"I either gather specific types through belief systems…"
"Or find a source of purified, universal emotional energy."
Lewis fell silent.
"…So what, I start a cult worshipping Ravenclaw?"
He immediately shook his head.
"Yeah, no. That's way too low."
If not that—
Then only the second option remained.
Find an existing source.
But where would he find a massive, pure reservoir of emotional energy?
That was rarer than a godhood falling from the sky.
"…Wait."
Lewis's eyes lit up.
"No… there actually is one."
And it was—
Right beneath Hogwarts.
The underground chamber.
The ancient magic.
Everything in Hogwarts Legacy revolved around it.
The fifth-year transfer student—
The last inheritor of ancient magic.
Because the previous wielder had fallen, that power had nearly been lost.
Ancient magic—
Was raw emotional force.
Pure.
Unfiltered.
The previous wielder, Isidora Morganach, had discovered this.
At first, she tried to remove others' pain—
Extracting negative emotions.
But that power—
Was dangerous.
Unstable.
She fell.
Killed by her own mentors.
And the massive accumulation of negative emotional energy—
Was sealed deep beneath Hogwarts.
The entire conflict in that era revolved around it.
A goblin named Ranrok sought to reclaim it.
According to goblin law, creators owned their creations—even if sold.
The vault—
Was theirs.
And they wanted it back.
Ranrok attempted to break the seal, absorb the power, and wage war.
At the final battle—
He became a being of pure magic.
A dragon of raw energy.
His power nearly tore the underground apart—lava bubbling beneath the earth.
If not for the transfer student—
Hogwarts might have been destroyed.
In the end—
Ranrok was defeated.
And the power—
Remained.
Sealed.
"There were two endings," Lewis muttered.
"In the good ending, the power stays sealed."
"In the bad ending… the protagonist absorbs it."
He smirked faintly.
"This world definitely took the good route."
"Otherwise, who needs Dumbledore or Grindelwald? That transfer student alone would've ruled everything."
Which meant—
The power was still there.
Waiting.
"…That's it."
"The underground chamber."
"I need to check it."
"Lewis! Lewis! What are you thinking about? We're at the Great Hall!"
Ciri's voice snapped him back.
He looked up.
She and Hermione were both staring at him.
Concerned.
He had already been dragged into the Great Hall.
Lunch time.
Students crowded the tables, eating and chatting after the match.
Apparently—
He'd walked here on autopilot.
Seeing him finally respond, Ciri spoke:
"Cedric went a bit too far… but he had a point. You can't keep zoning out like that. It's dangerous."
Lewis nodded apologetically.
"You're right. But I've been thinking about something important."
Hermione leaned forward.
"What exactly? You've been completely distracted lately."
After a brief hesitation—
Lewis told them.
The underground chamber.
Ancient magic.
The sealed energy.
Hermione blinked.
"…Hidden chambers? Underground ruins? Ancient magic?"
She stared at him.
"It's only been a few days. How did you discover more insane things?"
Then she narrowed her eyes.
"…You're not planning to sneak off underground in the middle of the night again, are you?"
Her tone was half admiration, half exasperation.
Lewis had a talent for trouble.
Even more than Harry.
Harry caused chaos—
But usually needed luck and coincidence.
Lewis?
He had both the ability—
And the intent.
That made him far more dangerous.
Hermione herself was conflicted.
She liked rules.
Wanted to be a model student.
But deep down—
She also wanted adventure.
To achieve something great.
And really—
Wasn't that obvious?
Follow rules.
But also change the world.
Future Minister of Magic material.
Lewis simply asked:
"So… are you coming or not?"
"I'm coming!"
She answered instantly.
"This time, you're not leaving me behind!"
Lewis chuckled, gently patting her head.
"Alright, alright. I won't."
Then he looked at Ciri.
She smiled.
"If you need me, I'll always be there."
Lewis nodded.
"Good."
"Tonight, eight o'clock."
He paused.
"…At the library entrance."
Then, with a faint grin:
"Let's go explore what's buried beneath Hogwarts."
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