A More Unfathomable Future

Dumbledore fell silent.

His wisdom, capable of seeing through people's hearts, seemed to have failed him in front of Lin Yuan.

He couldn't define the boy before him as "good" or "evil."

Because Lin Yuan's pursuit had already surpassed the scope of good and evil. It was a pure, cold, "thirst for knowledge" that was almost akin to the laws of the universe itself.

A "Scientist" who wanted to make himself a research subject.

Dumbledore suddenly felt an inexplicable chill.

He looked at Lin Yuan, then at the mirror, and a terrifying thought surged in his heart.

Grindelwald and Voldemort, they wanted to control Magic, to enslave the world. Their destruction was still within the realm of understanding.

But what if... what if the boy before him succeeded?

An existence that became the "laws of the world" itself, how would he treat this world?

Would he, like a Programmer, casually modify a piece of "Code" he disliked? For example, delete the "Emotion Module" of "love"? Or remove the "death" setting from the world?

That would be a more complete, more irresistible... ending than any rule by any Dark Lord.

"Mr. Lin," Dumbledore took a deep breath, his tone becoming unprecedentedly serious, "I must remind you again. Indulging in this mirror will only cause you to lose yourself. What it shows are illusions you can never reach. True 'Dao,' if it truly exists, would never be found in a mirror."

"I understand."

To Dumbledore's surprise, Lin Yuan nodded, a smile of relief appearing on his face.

"In the few minutes I've been talking with you, I've already figured it out."

He turned around, cast one last look at the mirror, his eyes no longer holding the previous fervor and indulgence, only clarity.

"You are right. It's just a 'projector,' a 'telescope.' It can let me 'see' the destination, but it cannot pave the road to it for me. Staring at a map forever will never get you to your destination."

"It is a delicious poison. A few days ago, I indulged in its sweetness. But now, I have tasted enough, and I have successfully extracted the 'toxicity' I needed—that is, the 'Obsession' that makes my Dao Heart firmer."

"Now, this candy has no value to me anymore."

After speaking, Lin Yuan bowed slightly to Dumbledore.

It was an ancient Eastern gesture of respect.

"Thank you for your teachings, Mr. Headmaster. It allowed me to... Broke Through Inner Demons."

Then, he turned and walked out of the Room of Requirement with composed and firm steps, disappearing into the darkness of the corridor.

Leaving Dumbledore standing alone, stunned.

He looked at the Mirror of Erised, which was still emitting a faint glow, then at the direction Lin Yuan had disappeared, the chill in his heart growing even stronger.

Broke Through Inner Demons?

No.

Dumbledore had a strong intuition.

This boy hadn't broken through his inner demons.

He had transformed his inner demons into the most terrifying fuel for his progress.

He looked at the mirror, and in it, Ariana's smiling face flashed by.

He sighed deeply, his tone filled with unprecedented fatigue and confusion.

"Fawkes," he called softly, "I feel... I feel like I'm seeing a future... more unfathomable than Tom Riddle's..."

After that night's conversation with Dumbledore in the Room of Requirement, which could be called "Discussing the Dao," Lin Yuan's life trajectory returned to its precisely calculated track.

The "Mirror of Erised" in his heart had been shattered by his own hands. The illusions in the mirror were no longer a poison that made him indulge, but had been refined and extracted by him, transforming into an unswerving "Beacon" pointing to the destination.

He no longer needed to glimpse the shadow of "The Great Way" from the mirror, because he understood that the entire world was the most real manifestation of "The Great Way."

Every class at Hogwarts, every commotion, every so-called "plot," was a perfect sample for him to analyze the laws of this world.

And the trio of Harry Potter was undoubtedly the most active and unstable "sample source" in the school.

The trio's exploration of Nicolas Flamel and the Magic Stone finally yielded a breakthrough one afternoon.

After being driven out of the Potions class by Snape once again with the reason "Gryffindor loses five points for that nest of birds on your head," Harry accidentally pulled out a Chocolate Frog card from his pocket, which he had already eaten.

On the card, Albus Dumbledore was smiling and winking at him.

"I got him again," Harry said somewhat disappointed to Ron.

"I already have six of him," Ron complained. "Want to trade? I'll trade you one Ptolemy for him?"

But Harry wasn't listening to him; his gaze was firmly fixed on the text on the back of the card.

He read it out in a low, hurried voice:

"Albus Dumbledore, current Headmaster of Hogwarts. Widely regarded as the greatest Wizard of his time. Dumbledore's well-known contributions include: defeating the Dark Wizard Grindelwald in 1945, discovering twelve uses for Dragon Blood, and... his fruitful research in Alchemy with his partner Nicolas Flamel..."

"Nicolas Flamel!"

Hermione suddenly looked up from a pile of Parchment Assignments, her eyes wide, like an Owl that had discovered treasure.

"How did I not think of that!" she exclaimed, jumping up from her chair and spinning around twice, "I'm sure I saw that name somewhere!"

"I knew it! I knew I had to have read it somewhere!" Hermione's face was flushed with excitement. She jumped up from her chair and dashed towards her dormitory like a whirlwind. From a trunk under her bed, she pulled out a huge, ancient book filled with a musty aura, which she had brought from home during the holidays.

"I found this in a second-hand bookstore before Christmas, Great Alchemists and Their Immortal Masterpieces. I thought it would be useful then!" she said, flipping through the pages at a dizzying speed. "Flamel, Flamel... Aha! Found it!"

She slammed the book open on the table with a "bang" and pointed to a page.

Three small heads immediately leaned in.

On that page was a drawing of an old man with a long white beard, who looked kind and amiable. The accompanying text, however, made them gasp.

Nicolas Flamel: Famous Alchemist, the sole creator of the Magic Stone.

Magic Stone: A substance of legend, crafted through complex Alchemy. It has two main functions: First, it can transform any metal, such as lead, into pure gold. Second, it can be used to create the Elixir of Life, which grants immortality to those who drink it.

Mr. Flamel and his wife, Pernelle, had lived to the ripe old age of six hundred and sixty-five, thanks to the Elixir of Life. They were currently living in seclusion in Devonshire, enjoying a peaceful retirement. The sole source of their continued life—the Magic Stone—was currently being kept safe by Mr. Flamel's old friend, Albus Dumbledore.

Silence.