Farewell (4/5)

"Have a seat, Dumbledore. I came to say goodbye."

He Shenyan gestured for the old man, who had shot to his feet the moment he appeared, to sit down. He pulled out the purple Velvet Chair in front of Dumbledore's desk and sat in it.

"Goodbye?"

"Yes. I'm afraid I have to leave."

He Shenyan nodded at him. He continued, "It isn't that I want to leave. I'm afraid that if I don't, I may bring an unprecedented war upon all of you."

"Is this about those things?"

Dumbledore's expression turned grave. His azure eyes watched He Shenyan through his glasses. His phoenix, Fulgrim, observed the two humans from a perch nearby.

The man merely nodded.

The old man sighed. He stood, shook He Shenyan's hand, and spoke with complete sincerity. "It was a pleasure working with you, He. I am also deeply honored to have been one of your students."

He Shenyan smiled. "There's no need for that, Dumbledore. Abundant Magic Power will grant you a very long life. Perhaps we'll meet again someday. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to teach my students one final lesson."

He turned and left, closing the door with barely a sound. Dumbledore sat in his chair, lost in thought.

--

He Shenyan walked unhurriedly through the corridors. Students passing by greeted the professor they had not seen for a week.

He returned every greeting with a smile. He continued all the way to the fourth floor and pushed open a familiar door. Severus Snape, dressed in black, stood at the lectern. He froze for a moment upon seeing He Shenyan, then walked over and asked softly, "You're back?"

"Yes, Mr. Snape. Let me take this lesson. It should also be my last."

Snape gave him a deep look, then nodded and left the classroom.

He Shenyan stepped up onto the lectern. Cheers erupted in the classroom. Rarely, He Shenyan smiled gently during class. Still smiling, he pressed both hands down, signaling the restless young wizards to quiet down.

"Though saying this at a time like this may dampen the mood, I must tell you all that this will be my final lesson."

Gasps sounded all around.

"For this lesson, I don't intend to discuss Magic Theory or any other knowledge. I only want to tell you one thing."

"Has anyone here played an RPG?"

Quite a few young wizards in jackets raised their hands.

"Very good. But I should explain it anyway, since not everyone knows the term."

"You can think of it as a special kind of game. You can freely decide your character's name, gender, appearance, personality, and background. You can even decide what they like and dislike doing."

"Let's call it an avatar. On this peculiar journey, your avatar will go through all sorts of adventures, face hardships, and find treasures. But every journey must eventually end. At its end, what will your avatar do?"

"And what will you do?"

He deliberately gave them a moment to think.

"That is the cruelty of farewell. Whether or not you have thought about this question, whether or not you have rehearsed it in your heart, when that day truly arrives, every speech you prepared beforehand will come to nothing."

"In an RPG, when your avatar reaches the end of their journey, they receive an ending. They may retire to the countryside, or die on the battlefield. They may spend the rest of their life with a loved one, or bury themselves in Magic research until death comes."

"Farewell is something we must all endure in life. I know some of you may feel terribly upset about it, but..."

"Do you remember what I said in my first lesson? The amount of Magic Power one possesses is not the standard by which a Mage is judged."

He softly recited those words, and the children sitting before him recited them aloud with him.

"The second half of that sentence was told to me by my teacher. Now, I will tell it to you."

"The amount of Magic Power one possesses is not the standard by which a Mage is judged. Whether one can remain calm is. Never lose that calmness under any circumstances, everyone, even when you are facing a dragon. Be courageous, cast your spells calmly, and use the methods I taught you to defeat it soundly."

"Do not treat farewell as never meeting again, nor romanticize it too much. You may not care about it, or you may be hurt by it for a long time. But the meaning of farewell is precisely so that we may meet again."

"I'm finished. Goodbye, students."

He turned and left the lectern, crossed the classroom door, and stepped into his Portal without a trace of reluctance. His departure, like his arrival, was silent; only a few people in the world knew of it.

--

He Shenyan appeared on the moon once more.

The stirrings in his heart had yet to settle, but he could not stop moving forward. From the Angels' memories, he had already obtained their World-Breaking Method.

After reviewing those dozens of methods, He Shenyan had to admit something: his original method of crossing worlds had been crude and primitive. But now, it could be improved.

His method was full of uncertainty and risk. It also depended on weak points in the World Barrier. Then he had to tear out half his soul and assimilate it, giving himself the same properties as the World Barrier. Afterward, he would pass through the weak point, wander the sea of stars, and be drawn into some unknown planet.

He did not even know whether some curious outer god might snatch him up along the way.

For the first time, He Shenyan felt that his luck was absurdly good.

When Angels moved out in groups, they drew upon Eternal Heaven's seemingly inexhaustible energy. He had no idea how many worlds they had brainwashed to accumulate so much of it.

That energy would be sent into something called a 'Crossing Engine.' In the Angels' memories, it usually appeared as an immense, blazing sphere of light. As long as the coordinates of a world were entered, it could reach that world.

By using the method of "throwing messages in bottles," they induced mortals to use their spells. Through the backdoors left within them, they assimilated living beings and transformed them into Heaven creatures to serve as the vanguard.

During this process, they could also obtain the coordinates of that world, allowing them to go there directly and 'discover' it.

Cold, precise, and efficient. But it was not what he needed, leaving aside whether he could even use that thing.

After killing twenty-five Angels, He Shenyan did not think he could swagger into their lair and politely ask as though nothing had happened, "Hello. I know this may be a little rude, but may I borrow your Crossing Engine?"

Though those twenty-five Angels had not come here by using world coordinates.

Still, that thing was indeed quite interesting.

Fourth update. Damn, I'm really incredible.