Sirius frowned. "That's certainly possible."
"Nick Flume's eyes seemed to pop out of their sockets after learning about this."
It was precisely because of this that Sirius realized all of Nick Flume's previous expressions were feigned, simulated based on his extensive experience. Even when Flume drank the potion of despair, the sadness he portrayed wasn't entirely genuine.
Only after hearing the news and seeing the chibi version of Regulus Black did he truly come to life.
Only then was he a truly living person, not a puppet that seemed to be driven by a clockwork mechanism, with runes set in place, and acting according to predetermined rules.
Ron said nonchalantly, "What's so strange about that? If I were as learned as him and had lived for hundreds of years, I would react the same way when I saw things beyond my comprehension."
Sirius shook his head. "No, that's not it. I don't know how to describe it. But he's more like..."
——
"So, that Nick Flume wanted to commit suicide?" Bellatrix asked cautiously, glancing at Basil as she drove.
Perhaps because he had entered her world, he changed into a white shirt.
Bellatrix quickly suppressed a gasp.
His white shirt had no sleeves and was not buttoned up, so his smooth, snow-white skin stretched from his throat all the way down to his marble-like chest.
His perfect muscles were no longer hidden under his clothes.
She was so lucky to have such a close encounter with someone who was almost divine.
Just as Bella's mind began to conjure up images of Basil's snow-white body, Bellatrix abruptly stopped, turning her groans into a confused murmur. "How is this possible? They clearly prepared enough Elixir of Life to live a century. They gave themselves ample time to arrange their affairs."
"Yes, I also think it's outrageous." Basil's eyes gleamed with reminiscence. "But my predictions about the future are never wrong."
Magic is rooted in flesh and soul, inseparable from the heart, existing in a conceptual state that is both existent and nonexistent.
When a wizard dies, his magic goes with his soul.
If one refuses to go to the afterlife, the magic will become completely united with the soul, becoming an indestructible mark—a ghost.
Even so, magical byproducts still remain in a wizard's body.
They are also the best materials for making Dark Magic items such as Inferi.
To make it more fun, let's earn more gems.
On a whim, Basil used the above principles to 'wish' and invented a method for creating palm-sized, Three-headed Elf.
The chibi elves originated from the magical essence remaining in the bodies of wizards, and were cultivated using the information remaining in the bodies as a base.
Therefore, they will look exactly like the material provider, and if the corpse is fresh, it will even retain most of the memories stored in the brain.
As Basil had predicted, Sirius eagerly agreed after learning the principle behind the magic.
But after Basil created the elves, the vision of the future reappeared before his eyes.
For a moment, he thought he was foreseeing the future of Madison's world—mushroom clouds everywhere, roads littered with coke made of flesh and metal.
But then, the familiar ruins and dried-up Black Lake transformed into a flat, dark forest made him realize that what he had foreseen was the world he treasured and intended to use as his permanent base.
So, in order to figure out all this, the tip of his index finger glowed, and he began to 'make a wish'.
[Divination Prophecy] This ability combines with the wizard's Heavenly Eye, operating at its limit with the help of the vast ocean of emotional magic.
The causes, developments, and even solutions to this future flooded into his mind.
First, after returning to France, Nick Flume used all his wealth to ask Basil to turn his and his lover's corpses into spirits as well.
Then, that very evening, without any prior notice, the bodies of the Flume appeared in the hall.
According to his will, Basil used their corpses as materials to create elves.
Their spirits both have memories, but because they weren't created immediately after their deaths, and because they lived for so long, these two spirits only have a portion of their memories.
Nearly 300 years of memories have been lost.
Then comes the next scene.
Outside the entrance to Beauxbatons in the Pyrenees Mountains, piles of corpses of wizards, dressed in various styles and clearly from all over the world, lie scattered.
He himself stood atop the mountain of corpses, constantly unleashing green lightning as the corpses rotted away, giving rise to red-faced, fanged, bat-winged monsters.
A silver-haired sorcerer fell to the ground, leaving behind an Apparition and disappeared from the spot.
Then the scene jumps again, and the silver-haired wizard has changed his appearance.
His teeth were yellow, his beard was stubble, and his hair was greasy and matted; he looked crazy.
He held a magic wand in his hand, and opposite him stood the leader of the American Muggle World.
The silver-haired Muggle old man in a suit and tie, with a blank expression, was making a phone call, inviting someone out.
This is everything that Basil foresaw.
The reason for this was that Nick Flume wanted to leave all his inheritance to Basil.
The silver-haired wizard escapes control of the Muggle government and releases a nuclear bomb as a development.
To change all this, all it takes is for Basil to disappear for one day.
"Is this all you Prophecy? That silver-haired wizard caused the end of the world? Who is he?" Bellatrix was very curious after hearing everything.
Basil rubbed his hair. "I didn't come directly to you after I disappeared from Sirius's house."
"I entered the Dream Sea and, through the face I saw in the Prophecy, found the real-life identity of that silver-haired wizard."
Oppenheimer Flume. A direct descendant of Flume.
"Those sorcerers who attacked from all over the world like hyenas smelling carrion must have been led by him or other descendants of Flume."
"Perhaps I was dissatisfied that Flume's estate belonged to me, or perhaps Flume's death was too sudden."
"They gathered all the wizards who were curious about the legacy of Flume to attack."
"My sudden killing was likely due to some disgusting methods they used."
"In the footage, I killed everyone except Oppenheimer Flume, including his equally silver-haired relatives, as well as his parents and brothers?"
"And then he went mad? He wanted to destroy the wizarding world."
"However, it's not surprising that he can do that."
"After all, he is named after Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the American atomic bomb. He or his family may have already known about nuclear weapons."
"And then there's the background of being born into the Flume family, where the Founders was still alive."
"He should have that ability."
"But the cause of all this— Flume's suicide, leaving all his wealth to me. And the way to stop this future—my disappearance for a day, that's so strange. It's really so strange."
Bellatrix speculated, "Could Nick Flume be acting impulsively? Maybe he was so caught up in your magic that he wanted to commit suicide. If you go back later, he'll calm down?"
Basil shrugged. "Is it really that outrageous?"
——
"Isn't this absurd? You wanted to commit suicide as soon as you got back?"
In the purple sun of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, France, Dumbledore looked extremely agitated.
"And you, Perenelle, Nick's nonsense is one thing, but you too—"
The bespectacled girl Perenelle, blinked her violet eyes. "Albus. If that magic is really as Nick says, then death is no longer a predetermined adventure for us, but an eagerly anticipated journey."
Nick Flume, standing nearby, nodded. "I've always been conflicted. I'm not afraid of death; on the contrary, I look forward to it. Our loved ones are waiting for us in that world. But the reason I haven't gone to die is because..."
Perenelle added, "He also can't bear to part with the future of the magical world. He wants to see how the magical world, no, the future of all humanity, will develop."
"Will they hold hands and journey together into the universe? Or will they perish in the conflict between wizards and Muggle?"
He wanted to see it with his own eyes.
"Then?" Dumbledore. "Then why did you agree to my plan? Whether it succeeds or fails, the Philosopher's Stone will be destroyed?"
Flume smiled kindly. "Didn't I already say? I look forward to death."
"But based on my conflicted feelings, I also prepared a century's worth of medicine for myself and Perenelle."
"I have a feeling that the coming 21st century will be the fastest-growing era."
"December 21, 2012 was also the doomsday Prophecy the Maya civilization."
"I'm really looking forward to seeing how the world is going."
Dumbledore: "Then why did you change your plans? Why bring forward your death date?"
Flume stood up, walked to the window, and looked down at the natural scenery and the magnificent Beauxbatons Castle.
After a moment of silence, he said, "You should have heard Sirius describe that magic, right?"
"If the corpse is fresh, the created elf will have memories of its previous life."
"In this way, both of my conflicting needs can be met."
"One of me and Perenelle went to our deaths to reunite with our family and friends."
"One of me and the other Perenelle remain in the real world, watching how the real world unfolds."
"Isn't this perfect?"
At this point, Perenelle walked to his side and took his hand.
It seems to be supporting his decision.
Dumbledore also stood up. "You've overlooked one thing. That is your descendants, and the wizarding families who followed in your footsteps to France. They are all waiting for your death to dismember the vast legacy you left behind."
"Only someone like you, who has lived for over six hundred years and accumulated countless potential connections and resources, can peacefully resolve this enormous force."
"Immortality is humanity's greatest and ultimate desire. Even I cannot stop it without resorting to ruthless means."
"This war will only end when no one dares to lay a hand on the enemy anymore."
"But most of them are indispensable members of the Wizarding World, playing important roles in its operation, or holding important positions in the Ministry of Magic Wizarding World, wielding great power and influence. If I were to do that, the Wizarding World would face unprecedented weakness."
"It could even be exposed in the Muggle World."
"Of course, if it is a rational and wise leader, he will not rashly start a war after learning of our existence."
"In this situation, we have plenty of time to show him through various means that we are not to be trifled with."
"But as you and I both know, Muggle society is not like wizarding society, where power resides within oneself. In the Wizarding World, powerful wizards can attain high positions simply by wanting to. Even if weak wizards try hard to climb the ladder, without superior magic, they cannot hold important positions (Umbridge also knows the Patronus Charm, and summons a physical Patronus. Wizards who can summon physical Patronus are often recommended as high-ranking officials in Wizengamot and the Ministry of Magic)."
"Fudge is an exception; he got the position through my endorsement and by leveraging my political influence. Because I didn't want to become Minister for Magic, even though it was within my grasp."
"But in Muggle society, the leaders at the top are often not wise; they are even short-sighted and foolish. They only get to their positions by luck and family connections."
"Of course, there are also the superb political struggle techniques learned through constant exposure."
"I find it hard to trust that Muggle government would act wisely when facing an unfamiliar group."
"As for the Wizarding World, although we can easily control the minds of all high-ranking officials in the Muggle government in one go, we can also use a single Transfiguration to wipe out all the large armed forces of the army."
"But the Ministry of Magic right now underestimates Muggle. They have no idea about the development of Muggle."
"I didn't know how terrifying technology could be."
"Without preparation, the outcome will only be a lose-lose situation."
Flume sighed. "You're absolutely right. I know my descendants."
"They have been looking forward to my death, to my vast legacy, and to my resentment at my refusal to share the Elixir of Life."
"They are extremely dangerous; they are skilled in alchemy and also passionate about scientific research."
"Even my youngest descendants will use a Muggle name like Oppenheimer."
"If I had a century, I could slowly dismantle them."
"Let my death be a trivial matter."
"I was too hasty."
——
"You're in too much of a hurry." Tall and strong, with perfect muscle groups, Emmett looked like a clumsy brown bear, ran through the forest at a speed beyond the human eye's perception.
He ran straight ahead, unmoved by damp ferns and dense moss, or by fallen trees and boulders. The air crackled with each step.
Before him, the person he was speaking to, seemed to be an elegant elf.
She had black hair and a slender, petite figure, like a porcelain doll.
She moved just as quickly, ignoring Emmett's calls from her family, and resolutely looked ahead.
If there were satellites, they would have discovered that the direction she was heading was exactly the same as the location Bellatrix's truck was about to arrive at.
Emmett crazy. The last time this happened, he lost control and took the lives of two people.
And now, his family, Alice.
And because of her strange ability—to abandon everything she already had.
Alice's abilities are rare even among vampires; she can see what might happen and what is about to happen.
She has no memory of anything before she was 19, so she is fascinated by the bright future she sees and is dedicated to making it a reality.
It was because she saw Jasper and the Cullen Family in the future.
So she found Jasper and brought him to the Cullen Family.
According to her, in the original future, she was supposed to be with Jasper.
But because of that vaguely better future, she only maintained a family relationship with Jasper.
And today seems to be the day that will come true in the future.