Exploring the Mirror's Secrets

In the dead of night, starlight and the silver moon hung against the black curtain of night, and the sky and the city fell silent. On the Second Floor of a villa in Hampstead Garden, a suburb of London, a faint light still shone.

Loren sat at his desk by the window, holding a small, black mirror with a thin handle, turning it over and over.

On the silver mirror, cracks radiate from the center, covering the entire surface. Seven teardrop-shaped petals twist and swirl, enveloping the mirror like a flower's heart. A handle, about the thickness of a little finger, serves as the flower's stem, with a red gemstone adorning its end.

Turn it over, and you'll see a small bulge on the back of the flower; that's the receptacle.

Through his peculiar vision, Loren could see a crimson Magic Power light emanating from the hand mirror, but he saw no trace of Alchemy and had no idea how to use it.

He found nothing unusual about it; apart from withstanding a Sectumsempra and Magic Power, it was almost indistinguishable from an ordinary antique hand mirror.

Loren recalled the legend Wendell mentioned, "Holding a mirror in one hand and a candle in the other, calling out the name of Bloody Mary."

He casually picked up a piece of paper and lightly tapped it with his wand.

Ripples like water surged across the paper, the four corners quickly folded towards the center, and newly formed corners folded towards the center again. The whole process continued without any pause, and after several repetitions, the thin paper became a pleated cylinder, standing upright on the table.

Loren held his wand and tapped it on the top of the folded paper cylinder, raising a candle flame.

A white candle stood upright on the desk, the wax slowly melting and accumulating at the top, ready to drip.

Loren smiled with satisfaction. "If Professor McGonagall could see this, she would certainly give me credit for my superb Transfiguration."

He held up a candle in one hand and a mirror in the other, then suddenly hesitated.

In horror movies, people who act recklessly like this usually get what they want very quickly, summoning a female ghost or demon, and then meeting their demise.

Isn't it a bit unlucky for him to do this?

But Loren was a staunch materialist, and he snapped out of his reverie and called out to the mirror, "Mary Stuart, Mary Stuart, Mary Stuart."

Loren called out Queen Mary I's name three times, staring nervously at the mirror.

The white cracks divided the mirror into countless fragments, making it almost impossible to see a person's image. Only three fragments of the mirror could barely reveal anything.

But no matter how he looked around, he could only see his own handsome face; he saw nothing else.

Loren waited a few minutes and then decided to change the name he was chanting. "Lee Kester, Lee Kester, Lee Kester."

There was still nothing there; only his reflection was in the mirror.

In most horror movies, the female ghost would be facing my face at this point, right?

Loren paused for a moment, then changed the name and chanted. "Elizabeth Bathory, Elizabeth Bathory, Elizabeth Bathory."

There are three sources for the legend of Bloody Mary: Mary I, Earl Lee Kester, and Elizabeth Bathory of Hungary.

He called out the names of the three people, but nothing happened.

Could it be that he was really damaged by his Sectumsempra? For some reason, Loren felt a little regretful.

Loren sighed softly, "It seems I still have to ask Flamel."

He pushed the candle onto the table, and the flame spread along the candle and the wax on the table, rising and flaming. Once the entire candle had melted into wax, the flame went out. The wax writhed and coalesced into a regular rectangle, then transformed back into paper.

It was pure white, smooth, and without a single crease.

Loren stood up with the mirror in his hand, spun around, and collapsed onto the bed. He reached under the pillow with his other hand and fumbled for the icons on the Fantasy Book.

When he opened his eyes again, Loren's consciousness appeared in the brightly lit Library, sitting opposite Flamel.

Flamel held up the book, with a parchment page floating beside his shoulder, on which a quill pen was scribbling.

Because of this behavior, Loren always felt that Flamel had his own life and his own way of thinking. When he didn't need to be taught, Flamel would entertain himself.

Flamel tilted his head and looked at Loren: "Oh, Loren, how's the camping?"

Loren nodded. "Camping is nice, but the location doesn't seem quite right."

Flamel knew there was serious business to discuss, so he tossed the book behind him, sending it flying and tucking the parchment and quill pen inside like bookmarks, before they landed on the bookshelf behind him.

"While camping in Dean Forest, I was pulled into a dreamlike world through a mirror...and witnessed—" Loren paused for a moment, then said, "...witnessed one of the origins of the legend of ' Bloody Mary.'"

He reached in and pulled out a hand mirror shaped like a flower branch. "After I left the illusion, it was in my pocket."

Loren looked at Flamel and rattled off a series of questions. "Do you know the legend of Bloody Mary? Nicol was a 14th-century man, and the prototypes of Mary's legend are all from the era after him. Mary I the Tudor Dynasty, so you should remember her, right?"

Loren had already considered this: Nicol's personal memories were more authentic than any of the archaeologists' documents.

"And this mirror, is it broken? Can it be repaired? How do I use it?"

"Hey, Loren, one at a time." Flamel held out his palm, indicating that they shouldn't rush.

He took the hand mirror, held it in his hand, and examined it by turning it around.

"You should learn to examine items from Alchemy's perspective."

Flamel released the hand mirror, letting it float between the two of them. The mirror gradually became transparent, leaving only the outline of black lines.

He reached out and fiddled with the gem at the end of the hand mirror's handle, and beams of multicolored light poured out from the gem, filling the transparent area again.

With a silent tremor, the colored hand mirror rapidly enlarged, and beams of multicolored light filled Loren's vision, with individual particles of light growing to the size of a fist.

It turns out that the colorful beams of light flowing on the hand mirror were actually streams of light formed by the convergence of Rune.

Loren stared blankly at the shocking scene before him for a moment. He blinked and looked at Flamel innocently, "But I'm just an alchemy apprentice right now."

"Don't rush, you have plenty of time to study."

Flamel would occasionally pull out a mirror from the stream of Rune light, examine it in his hand, and say, "Mirrors are very strange things to ordinary people. They are different from tables, chairs, and benches, and are often given unique meanings."

"So what kind of magic does this mirror have?" Loren asked.

Flamel advised, "Don't rush, I'm teaching you to analyze things using Alchemy's mindset."

Loren sat up straight again.

Flamel continued, "Mirrors are often associated with images of reality, the inner self, Prophecy. In Greece mythology, Narcissus died because of his narcissistic illusions, and Venus also had her own mirror."

"Reality and illusion, inner feelings and desires—these are meanings derived from the properties of mirrors. As for Seer seeing the future through reflections," Flamel paused, "Now they've all been replaced by crystal balls."

As Loren listened to Flamel's words, he thought of the Mirror of Erised at Hogwarts, which perfectly embodied the dual characteristics of reality and illusion, and the mind and desire.

"Therefore, when analyzing the function of magical items, we should combine the imagery and connotations of the items."

Flamel waved his hand, scattering the colorful hand mirror in the space. "Now, based on your experience and understanding, analyze the function of this hand mirror alchemical artifact."

Loren began to recall his experience of entering the illusion. After a while, he tried to speak, "The first layer I entered was a reflection of reality. This is the reality itself."

"But the reflection is mixed with illusions. It can create the illusion of the hotel manager, luring me into the second level with food. This shows that the mirror can enter my mind or read my memories to a certain extent. This is the characteristic of falsehood, which contains some characteristics of the mind and desire."

"The second layer is the story of Earl Lee Kester. I don't know if it's a real memory or an illusion."

Flamel nodded in satisfaction. "We're very close. This mirror can create three layers of illusion, each deeper than the last. The first layer is a true reflection, which the user can subtly distort to guide you into the second layer."

"The second layer of illusion is user-driven, an illusion generated from your own mind." Flamel looked at him. "Do you remember now?"

Loren's eyes widened in disbelief. "You mean! The Earl Lee Kester and the Yule Ball that the hotel manager mentioned on the first floor were all hints at me!"

Flamel nodded and continued, "If it weren't for your strong will, you would have entered the second level unknowingly and participated in everything that happened Yule Ball."

"You might even enter the third layer of illusion, confronting the illusion deep within your heart. This is the most dangerous place. Anything in the third layer is a reaction of your consciousness, and every change will affect you."

Loren clicked his tongue in amazement.

Isn't this just the same as subconscious suggestion hypnosis?

psychology?

Is science the ultimate goal of magic?

It turns out it's still a humanities major.

Flamel clicked his tongue. "If the user didn't have any ill intentions towards you, he could force his way into the third level to annoy you. You'd at least need to learn Memory Magic to organize your thoughts and memories."

Loren retorted, "Maybe I broke the mirror, and he couldn't do it."

Flamel shook his head. "Once you're in the illusion, unless you can find a way to wake up, smashing the mirror won't stop him."

Loren asked in confusion, "I was conscious at the time."

"If you are truly awake, you will break free from the illusion and return to reality, just like waking up from a dream," Flamel said.

The illusions that appear when interpreting the Book of Abraham have a similar structure. Is the solution the same?

Loren rested his chin on his hand, seemingly lost in thought, and asked, "If I were to encounter this situation again, how can I quickly regain my composure?"

"A strong will, or death," Flamel explained. "There are two possibilities for death in a dream world: one is to wake up immediately, and the other is to actually die. If all else fails, you can take a gamble."

That's a really good suggestion.

Loren was expressionless and didn't want to speak; he even wanted to give the middle finger.

"Being aware of an illusion while in an illusion is like being aware that you are dreaming. Your will will exert pressure on the illusion. Being able to see and attack the real mirror is your consciousness at work. When your consciousness is strong enough, you can directly crush the entire illusion."

Flamel said, "I believe Albus can do it."

Loren raised an eyebrow, recalling the scene where he received the ritual from the birthmark between his eyebrows. When he opened his eyes from the illusion, Dumbledore's wand was right on his forehead.

He still doesn't know whether the power of the illusion could only affect him for a short time, or Dumbledore broke through the illusion and pulled him out.

Forget it, Dumbledore is a monster, don't worry about him.

"Can this mirror still be used?" This was Loren's biggest concern right now.

"The Rune on the hand mirror are mainly on the outer shell; replacing the mirror will fix it."

"I'll demonstrate for you." Flamel waved his hand, and the bright Library turned upside down, transforming the environment into Alchemy Laboratory.

Inside the inverted hemispherical space, the light was dim, but the black boiler in the center emitted a red glow.

A straight, sharp corner appeared in the space, along with a jumble of miscellaneous ores.

"The Unicorn Horn represents reality, a pure white heart that can hold any illusion, and some minerals are added to make glass." Flamel threw these things directly into the boiler and then kicked them lightly twice.

Loren stood by and watched, feeling that the Alchemy's methods were too crude, much like Muggle television repairman.

White steam billowed out, and a pool of hot, red-glowing, magma-like liquid flowed out.

After rapid cooling, the liquid transformed into irregularly shaped glass, about 10 square feet in size—enough to make a vanity mirror.

Flamel dissolved a piece of silver in a transparent solution and spread it on a flat side of a glass.

After being heated and dried in a boiler, a thin layer of silver adheres to the glass, turning it into a mirror.

He then applied a protective coat of varnish to the silver and showed it to Loren: "Just cut a piece and inlay it."

Loren blinked. "Very well, so the first thing is, where do I find the Unicorn Horn, what are those ores, and what kind of Potions is the solution for dissolving silver?"

"Ore and Potions are common things. All you need is Unicorn Horn, even a small piece will do," Flamel optimistically.

Loren chuckled dryly, "That's easy. When the Unicorn pierced my chest with its horn, I should have been able to touch it."

Young Unicorn can only be approached by pure young girls, while adult Unicorn cannot be approached by anyone.

Especially after Voldemort hunted down two Unicorn, the Unicorn colony now hates all humans.

"Besides that, there's a second thing," Loren said, spreading his little hands helplessly, "Where am I supposed to find a boiler?"

This is even more critical. He had noticed the boiler in the Alchemy Laboratory a long time ago. It looked very high-end. Building this boiler might be even more troublesome than making a mirror.

Flamel waved his hand casually, "Don't worry about it, we'll talk about it after you find the Unicorn Horn."