Meeting Pride

Faced with the shadowy figure's questioning, Dumbledore's expression remained unchanged. His lake-blue eyes, hidden behind his glasses, revealed a hazy light against the backdrop of the night.

"Disordered magical fluctuations, and magical properties I've never seen before—" Dumbledore reached out and made a grasping motion in the air. "I think I've said it from the beginning: cooperation is based on mutual trust."

The shadowy figure was silent for a moment, then remained firm. "Dumbledore, you understand, we're just cooperating, not completely open with each other—you get what you want, and we get what we want."

"But what you want and what I want seem to be in conflict."

"Things are not as you guess. You should also know that the Unbreakable Vow not only binds you, but also that one."

"That doesn't sound very pleasant. I think I've already proven my sincerity, and some things can't be faked."

The shadowy figure paused, then said in a low voice, "I understand. I will go back and consult with that person, and I guarantee you a satisfactory answer—now, can you tell me what exactly happened here?"

Dumbledore shrugged. "This question is also included in my previous one. I happened to be passing by and sensed something strange about the magic, but when I arrived, this place had already become like this—the one who caused this commotion and possessed that strange magic was one of yours, wasn't it?"

The shadowy figure nodded slowly. "He is indeed one of ours, and he was in charge of some tasks... Dumbledore, haven't you discovered anything else?"

Faced with their skeptical questions, Dumbledore smiled and said, "To be honest, explaining this to you is not a pleasant thing—if I did it, how am I supposed to deal with Unbreakable Vow? If I did it, why would I send you messages? If I wanted to hide everything, would you still be here now?"

Dumbledore's question left the shadowy figure speechless. He turned and exchanged a few glances with his companion, both of them seeing the meaning in each other's eyes.

Since cooperating with Dumbledore, he has indeed never done anything detrimental to the Returners. Many Returners have been secretly wary of this old man, but none of them have discovered any clues about him.

Moreover, it must be admitted that they did make many arrangements behind Dumbledore's back, and the two sides were far from knowing each other's true intentions regarding their cooperation.

However, as long as that person is there, and as long as it's certain that Dumbledore won't join forces with Grindelwald, then the current situation is acceptable—at least Dumbledore can't do anything.

Moreover, they have always been the ones with the advantage in terms of cooperation.

Thinking this, the shadowy figure nodded to Dumbledore: "I understand, Dumbledore. Please don't misunderstand, we didn't mean to question you, but there are some things we do need to clarify..."

Dumbledore noncommittal, then took out his wand. "I hope our cooperation will proceed smoothly, and I hope you will keep your promises."

"Of course. We don't need to oppose the greatest wizard of our time. Cooperation would be the best option. And, Dumbledore, believe it or not, our goal is essentially the same as yours: to make the world a better place."

Dumbledore's glasses flickered, and he gave the other person one last deep look, nodded silently, and then turned away.

He disappeared from the spot.

The shadowy figure and his companion exchanged a glance, and one of them said, "Normally, if it was Dumbledore, he wouldn't have needed to summon us here. His strength is beyond question."

Another person added, "But he just happened to be passing by? That doesn't make sense."

"That's hard to say. Dumbledore's strength may be beyond our imagination. Fast Movement is too easy for him."

"But if Dumbledore hadn't intervened, where would Thomas have gone? Don't forget, Thomas isn't the same person he was at the beginning... We've never heard of anyone with the ability to take Thomas away silently?"

Listening to his companions' conversation, the shadowy figure finally said, "Dumbledore probably wouldn't betray us, and even if he wanted to, he couldn't. He and Grindelwald are now complete adversaries... As for Thomas, it's hard to say, after all, many old wizards have lived in seclusion for years..."

"But how could that unknown powerful being suddenly come into contact with the magic left behind by that person?"

"Just investigate and you'll find out. Send people to check the Anchor. That unknown entity will definitely take the Anchor with it—then follow the trail and check the people around them."

"Yes--!"

"Ding-dong—"

The doorbell rang, and Mr. Parsons looked up and hurried toward the door.

At this hour, the family should have been asleep, but because of Mr. Wallop's arrival, they couldn't fall asleep and were currently discussing their son's future plans to go to School of Magic in the living room.

The sudden ringing of the bell in the middle of the night immediately made Mr. Parsons think of the wizard—was there something Mr. Wallop hadn't told him yet?

To his surprise, when he opened the door, an old man in a long robe was standing in front of them.

"Who are you?"

The old man gave an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, this is very unreasonable, but I promised Sean that I would handle the aftermath."

"Sean? That Mr. Wallop? You know him? You're one of them too?"

Mr. Parsons ' words caught in his throat. He felt his vision blurring, and then he shook his head vigorously.

There was no one in front of the door.

"Honey, didn't you say you forgot an umbrella by the door? What, couldn't you find it?"

Parsons scratched his head in confusion, then picked up the long umbrella that had been leaning against the doorway.

"It's getting dark, and I couldn't find it right away—"

He went inside and looked at his son. "Doug, stop reading that prank letter. It's time to go to bed."

The little boy, fiddling with a letter on the sofa, pouted somewhat resentfully. "Maybe it's true..."

"It's a pity that this school called Durmstrang is all fictional, so no one will come looking for it—how about this, Dad will buy you another set of your favorite fantasy novels?"

"But..."

The family was talking when the doorbell suddenly rang.

"Hmm, why would someone come to the door in the middle of the night?"

Mr. Parsons opened the door and saw a middle-aged man he didn't recognize.

"Sir, what brings you here..."

Mr. Parsons stopped talking, struck by a flash of light, and stared blankly at the person in front of him.

Have any strange people come to our door in the last few days?

Mr. Parsons nodded.

The middle-aged man's eyes lit up. "Who?"

"It's already 11 p. m., and I've never seen you before..."

The man choked for a moment, then gave Parsons a dark look before asking, "Tell me everything you've seen these past two days."

"Yes, I..."

After a long while, Mr. Parsons closed the door and went back inside. He shook his head and regained his clarity.

"Honey, didn't you say you forgot an umbrella at the door? Why did it take you so long?"

Parsons glanced at the umbrella in his hand, looking a little confused, and shrugged. "It was a bit dark, so I looked for it for a while before I found it—hey, Doug, you should go upstairs and get some sleep now."

Doug started fiddling with his letters again. "Maybe this is true?"

"If it's true, then I will definitely send you to this school called Durmstrang, okay?"

"Real?!"

"Of course, but now you should go to sleep."

The lights in the villa gradually went out.

In the shadows not far away, several dark figures were talking to the middle-aged man who had just appeared at Mr. Parsons ' door.

"Is that Parsons guy okay?"

The middle-aged man shook his head. "No problem. Although his son received an acceptance letter from Durmstrang, no wizards have come to his house recently—I checked Durmstrang's Admissions Officer activity records, and no one has come here."

"We haven't found any strange people in the surrounding houses, but there are still some magical fluctuations left in the Lloyd Couple ' house, which must have been left by that unknown powerful being..."

A dark figure uttered annoyedly, "How did it have to be that person who ran into us..."

Another shadowy figure said, "There are too many wizards living in seclusion in the Muggle world. It's unavoidable. This isn't the first time someone has touched magic."

"But that person is too strong, and most importantly, Thomas was taken away!"

"Don't worry, they won't figure anything out... Thomas, let him die, we have more important things to do."

"...I see."

The air distorted, then the night returned to calm.

At Hogwarts Castle, Sean, who had been teleported back by the Portkey, was in the Room of Requirement, where he had placed Lloyd Couple on two cushions.

"Strange..." Sean looked at his hand in confusion.

The magical properties that had changed within me are now slowly returning to normal.

The magical transformation resulting from the "energy exchange" with the Black Hood is returning to normal.

"Dumbledore knows this? So, he sent me to do it partly because he was bound by his oath, and partly... just to let me experience the difference in this kind of magic?"

"Because of the [Pride] within me? I've sensed this magic beforehand; could it be of some benefit to me in dealing with Pride in the future?"

"But the nature of this magic is too strange... Dumbledore doesn't seem to fully understand it either..."

"Or..."

As Sean sensed his magic power returning to normal, a bold idea suddenly popped into his head.

He had come into contact with the magic of [Sloth], and the nature of his magic had changed, but the [Pride] within him showed no reaction...

What if he went to see Pride in person? Before the nature of the magic had fully returned to its original state.

Sean hesitated for a moment, then took out the Unstable Coin.

Unstable Coin (Purple): A Divination tool. State your question and toss the coin. Heads represent affirmation, tails represent negation. 2/5 uses remaining. (Note: The coin's orientation is affected by weather, mood, and luck; it often lands upright. Moderate Divination is beneficial, but superstitious Prophecy are harmful to health.)

Sean used the coin three times, and only once it landed upright; the rest of the time it landed on its edge, so the effect wasn't significant and it was purely a matter of luck.

Thinking this, Sean coughed lightly and said, "Wouldn't it be disadvantageous for me to go in and communicate with [Pride] now?"

The coin tosses, heads!

A positive sign means that if Sean goes to see "Pride" at this time, nothing bad will happen!

Sean immediately sprang into action, summoning a full-length mirror and staring intently at the Obscurus vortex in his eyes.

When he came to his senses again, he was already standing on the familiar Sky Island.

Sean looked down and saw that he was still dressed in his real-world attire, including his wand and ring. Of course, Dave and the other Magical Creatures could not materialize in his Soul World.

Sean turned his head and looked around. The Sky Island was unchanged from the place he had visited last time, and the villa belonging to the Wallop family in the center was also intact.

Sean didn't rush to find [Pride]. He first returned to the villa that represented his soul and carefully checked it. Only after confirming that there were no problems did he start walking towards the edge of the Sky Island.

He was now certain that the Soul World he shared with Pride was part of Realm of Illusion.

Reaching the edge, Sean tried to cast a farsighted spell on himself to look as far as possible, but all he could see was a vast expanse of red lava, with no edge in sight.

According to the parable, the Realm of Illusion has been destroyed, but Sean is unsure whether the lava represents the current state of the Realm of Illusion or a change in his Soul World caused by the presence of Pride.

I wonder if asking this guy will yield any results... Sean thought to himself.

He stuck his head out and looked at the lava.

"Hey, want to come out and meet me?"

"Pop—pop—" The magma bubble shattered peacefully, and the Giant Sean did not give any reaction whatsoever.

"You were clearly planning to take over my body, but now that I'm talking to you, you're pretending to be dead and refusing to come out... How can that be..." Sean muttered, then extended his wand.

"Boom—Boom—"

The Explosion Charm burst open in the lava, sending up a shower of lava.

"Hey, big guy, I'm your host, come out and let's talk."

He deliberately used the last remaining trace of Sin magic that had not yet changed its nature.

Finally, there was some movement below.

The lava began to churn, dozens of times more terrifying than Sean's Explosion Charm.

A gigantic head slowly emerged from the lava, hot red liquid dripping from between its brows. Then, it tilted its head back and looked toward Sean at the edge of the Sky Island.

It felt like looking through a magnifying glass... Staring at the enormous Sean was exactly the same as himself, Sean pursed his lips.

"Finally willing to come out? You sensed it?"

Giant Sean stared silently at Sean, his inherent negative emotions and violent aura making the air even hotter.

"Don't just look. I know you're intelligent and can communicate. Why don't you talk to me?"

Moments later, a deafening sound resounded throughout the world.

"Where did you get your power from?"