The Mists of History

Merlin could actually tell that Matthew had practiced the Meditation Method!

And he was only a Magic Portrait now.

Merlin really did know the Meditation Method, but why hadn't it been passed down?

Matthew voiced his question. "Professor Merlin, why wasn't the Meditation Method passed down?"

"The Meditation Method was practiced between 400 and 600 AD.

But beginning in the sixth century, the Meditation Method mysteriously vanished overnight.

After that, the Meditation Method could no longer be described in any way. Even related memories extracted using Memory Magic would be erased by some mysterious force.

As time went on, fewer and fewer wizards knew the Meditation Method, until it gradually faded into obscurity."

A flicker of confusion passed through Merlin's eyes.

"I'm curious, too. How did you learn the Meditation Method in this era?"

Matthew's mind was in turmoil. He hesitated over how to explain, but he couldn't reveal the secret of traveling to another world.

Fortunately, Merlin seemed to realize that he didn't want to say more on the subject, and said considerately,

"Everyone has their own secrets.

"However, things seem to be a little different now. Even this level of communication used to be impossible.

"That mysterious force that erased the Meditation Method seems to have disappeared.

"It must have happened sometime within the last hundred years. More than two hundred years ago, a scholar researching Ancient Runes was also curious about the phrase 'Meditation is the key to Runes.' He came to ask me what 'meditation' meant, but I couldn't discuss the Meditation Method with him then."

"Even this level of communication would be interfered with..." Matthew couldn't imagine what sort of immense power could accomplish something like that. "Was it magic?"

Merlin said, "In the sixth century, the wizards who knew the Meditation Method all tried to find the source of that mysterious force. But even by the time the Meditation Method had been lost, no one had uncovered the truth."

"But as for whether it was magic..." Merlin paused. "I believe it was."

"Magic can do something like that..." Matthew was dazed. The force had affected such a vast area and continued to work for over a thousand years, only ceasing within the last century.

Matthew suddenly thought of Voldemort's Name Curse. Anyone who said "Voldemort" would reveal their location to him. Perhaps that mysterious force was also some kind of curse.

But Voldemort's Name Curse only revealed people's locations. It was nowhere near the same level as a mysterious force capable of interfering with reality.

Matthew asked, "Then how was the phrase 'Meditation is the key to Runes' left in the manuscript?

"I saw that the manuscript said this was a record of a conversation between the Slytherin Dean and you. That would count as discussing the Meditation Method, wouldn't it?

"Based on what you just said, shouldn't this conversation have been erased?"

"I only said that one sentence. My teacher didn't learn anything about the Meditation Method from it." Merlin's voice grew more somber. "That mysterious force wasn't mechanical."

Matthew suddenly remembered that Professor Merlin should have lived sometime between the tenth and twelfth centuries. If the mysterious force had been interfering since the sixth century, how had he learned about it?

Matthew voiced his question. "You were the Slytherin Dean's student, hundreds of years removed from the sixth century. How did you learn all this?"

Merlin smiled faintly. "I once uncovered a little of the Secret of Time. I learned about it in Historical Time."

Matthew was astonished. Merlin could see history from so long ago? Even if he'd seen it in the tenth century, that was still more than four hundred years after the sixth century.

The Wizarding World had an item that could enable time travel—the Time-Turner—but its maximum safe travel duration was only a few hours. Going back any further would have serious consequences.

"I sensed the Rhythm of Time in you. If you want to keep exploring the mysteries of history, I can draw upon the Time Force within you and send you into the past." Merlin paused, then added, "This portrait of me doesn't have any specific memories of the Meditation Method. Perhaps you can obtain it from my past self."

Matthew was completely baffled. He had some kind of power related to time?

Then he immediately remembered that each time he traveled between worlds through the disc, he arrived seamlessly at the exact moment he'd left. Perhaps that was the effect of the Time Force Merlin had mentioned. Other than that, Matthew couldn't think of anything else connected to time.

Matthew was very interested in traveling to the past. Perhaps he could obtain a better Meditation Method from an earlier time.

He asked, "Would it be dangerous to go back to the past?"

"Exploring the mysteries of time is extremely dangerous, so you must first undergo a trial by traveling to the past once. Only then will I help you return to a thousand years ago." Merlin continued,

"I'll send you to 1943.

"My teacher once kept a Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets in the castle, but he didn't take that pet with him when he left Hogwarts. Basilisks live an exceptionally long time, so a thousand years later it was still alive in the Chamber of Secrets.

"In 1943, a student opened the Chamber of Secrets and caused deaths. I need you to go back to 1943 and kill that Basilisk."

Matthew's heart stirred. He knew that the person who had opened the Chamber of Secrets in 1943 was Voldemort, who was still attending Hogwarts at the time. Back then, he was still called Tom Marvolo Riddle.

Matthew thought he could handle the Basilisk. He nodded and asked, "How do I get back after killing it?"

"There's a Secret Passage in the Chamber of Secrets that leads to the Forbidden Forest. After killing the Basilisk, you can leave the Chamber through the passage and return to this room. I'll send you back."

Then Merlin's expression turned serious.

"Once you return to the past, a hidden layer of Time Force will protect you. You must return here before it runs out. Otherwise, you'll enter a parallel Timeline and never be able to return to the current one."

He continued to emphasize the point. "After you return to the past, the Time Force will hide your presence. As long as you don't take action, no one will discover you. But once you start interfering with the past, the Time Force will stop hiding you.

"And you mustn't let anyone who can live into the current Timeline see you. That would drain a tremendous amount of the Time Force protecting you."

Matthew understood. He basically had to avoid affecting the current Timeline, which meant keeping clear of Dumbledore, Voldemort, and the others.

Matthew asked again, "But wouldn't killing the Basilisk also interfere with the current Timeline?"

Merlin smiled faintly and reminded him, "There's no Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets in the current Timeline."

Matthew's pupils contracted sharply. His heart shook. There was no Basilisk in the current Timeline!

Was this no longer the Timeline of the original story?

Was he destined to go back to the past and kill the Basilisk?

What would happen if he refused right now?

Matthew felt as though he was growing a rebellious streak. Unable to stop himself, he asked,

"What if I choose not to go back and kill the Basilisk?"