Merlin's Chamber (Bonus Chapter)

"What!" Peeves exclaimed in surprise, "You discovered Peeves's secret so quickly! That's not fun at all! How did you find out?"

Skylar smiled but said nothing.

He had no intention of betraying Aquila.

Peeves could only sigh and say, "Fine, I confess. I'm actually a magical creation of Merlin, that old rascal. He thought the school from the time of the Four Founders was too serious and dull, so he created the great Peeves to bring laughter to the school!"

Skylar chuckled inwardly. He figured only he was truly happy; the principals, professors, and administrators throughout history must have been driven mad by him.

Skylar kept these thoughts to himself and didn't say them aloud.

Skylar said, "But I always thought you were a Poltergeist, an aggregate of playful and destructive emotions, something like Boggart or Patronus? How did you suddenly become a magical creation?"

"Hahaha," Peeves laughed heartily, "Boggart? Patronus? Can they talk? Do they have thoughts? They—" Peeves was unusually serious for once, "Can they even be compared to the great Peeves?"

"When I was born from chaos, I was indeed just an aggregate of emotions. I was confused and didn't know where I came from or where I was going..." Peeves showed a reminiscing expression. "Later, the old man appeared. He used some means to help me gather my consciousness, which created the clever, great, and humorous Peeves!"

Skylar suddenly thought of Dementor. As aggregates of despair, Dementor also possess intelligence. Although they cannot speak, they can follow the instructions of the Ministry of Magic and Voldemort. Could it be that Dementor are actually magical creations under some kind of magic?

If that's the case, if I were to master this magic, wouldn't I be able to imbue Boggart, Vampire Phantom Bear, and even Patronus spirits with intelligence?

Hmm, it seems this idea is worth including in my research scope.

Peeves continued, "After the old man left Hogwarts, he would often return disguised as a student to visit Peeves and tell Peeves jokes..." He sighed, "Then one day, when the old man came to see Peeves, his expression seemed very strange... As he left, he said he had a destined nemesis he had to face, and it was very likely he would never return..."

This was the first time Skylar had ever seen a sad expression on Peeves' face, even though it was only a tiny bit.

Peeves continued, "Let's get back to the point! Before the old man left for the last time, he turned Peeves into a Portkey —anyone who meets certain conditions can be teleported into his Chamber of Secrets by touching me, where his legacy is located—but he also said—only a troublemaker I approve of is qualified to inherit it. Over the years, no one has caught my eye. Hmm, the Gryffindor twins are alright, but you, you—are—not—a—troublemaker!"

Seeing the sudden flash of danger in Skylar's eyes, and realizing he was in a precarious situation, Peeves plastered a fake smile on his face and said, "Of course, great Mr. Malfoy, you've passed the old man's test and been awarded his medal. You're naturally qualified to enter the Chamber of Secrets. Come on! Touch me! Once you touch me, I can activate the Portkey Charm on my body and send you to the Chamber of Secrets."

Skylar sneered, "Do you know what the consequences will be for deceiving me?"

Before Peeves could answer, Skylar's wand shot a dark gray, eerie skull towards the corner of the wall, emitting a series of chilling whistling sounds. Although the spell wasn't aimed at Peeves, the Peeves still felt a strong sense of danger throughout its body. It was certain that the spell contained soul magic that could harm Ghost or spirits!

It swallowed hard. Having roamed Hogwarts for so many years, it knew exactly who it could mess with and who it couldn't— Skylar clearly belonged to the latter.

Peeves forced a smile and said, "How could that be? Peeves would never dare to deceive the great Lord Malfoy! Please put on Merlin's Medal now—not the one from the Ministry of Magic, but the special medal awarded by Hogwarts —it's the key to the true Chamber of Secrets of Secrets. Come on! I'll definitely take you to the real Chamber of Secrets!"

Skylar seemed to understand something. It seemed that when he went through Merlin's Trial back then, Merlin's memory had said that it was a trial. At the time, the participants thought it was some kind of misunderstanding, because the school's statement clearly stated that it was just an internal competition.

Now he finally understood that Merlin's special medal actually had a special purpose—it was the key to unlock Merlin's Chamber.

Just as Skylar had predicted, Peeves was capable of causing trouble in the process—he could send people to a real Chamber of Secrets or a fake Chamber of Secrets that might be dangerous.

Fortunately Skylar had a backup plan, otherwise he might have been tricked by Peeves.

Skylar put on the medal, touched Peeves, and with a "whoosh," the two were teleported into a Chamber of Secrets they had never seen before.

The Chamber of Secrets was dimly lit. Skylar raised his wand and cast "Lumos," while simultaneously activating his Magic Eye.

"Alright, my mission is complete!" Peeves cheerfully broke into some unknown dance, saying with a hint of malice, "Mr. Malfoy, good luck now, I suspect you'll need a lot, a lot..."

After saying that, Peeves vanished without a trace before Skylar could ask any questions. It didn't pass through the wall, but disappeared directly into the void, as if some force had reversed the activation of the Portkey Charm on its body.

There was nothing to explore in the Chamber of Secrets; it was covered in dust and insect carcasses.

On the central circular platform stood a crystal ball, emanating subtle magical fluctuations, within which four Ancient Runic Magic Symbols were faintly visible.

Skylar approached and observed carefully.

Four magic symbols stand at the four corners, corresponding to each other.

In Ancient Runes, once more than one magical symbol appears, the interpretation of the symbol becomes much more complicated, because each symbol usually represents more than one meaning, much like polysemous words in modern language.

When two spell symbols appear at the same time, the Curse-Breaker must not only eliminate other meanings in the spell symbols and understand the meaning that the two spell symbols represent in this context, but also understand the meaning represented by the arrangement of the two spell symbols.

Four magic symbols, especially arranged in a four-cornered, opposite-center configuration, are undoubtedly the most difficult to interpret. There are simply too many possible combinations of interpretations.

The first magic symbol is Hamr, which means "form".

The second magic symbol is Hugr, which means "thought".

The third magic symbol is Fylgia, which means "spirit".

The fourth magic symbol is Hamingja, which means "sex".

Skylar fell into deep thought.

Form refers to physical appearance and state; thought refers to ideas, thoughts, and inspiration; spirit refers to intuition and Psyche, or even destiny; and nature has a broad meaning, referring to personality traits in a broad sense, including wisdom, strength, experience, skills, bloodline, and even willpower, mental strength, endurance, luck, and so on.

Skylar.

Could it be...?

Could it be referring to the "id"?

Skylar recalled the "Trinity" theory: isn't the essence of life simply body, mind, and soul?

No matter how broad the meaning of these four magical symbols, they cannot escape the realm of the essence of life.

So, now that we understand that, what's the next step?

Skylar was once again at a loss.

Could these four magic runes represent an ancient spell that needs to be cast to break through this barrier?

If so, isn't that far too difficult?

Skylar has only fully mastered the "Guardian" magic rune so far. As for the other runes, such as "Goblin Sacred Fire" and "Ice," he can only be said to have a basic understanding of them.

Casting with a single rune is already so difficult; it's absolutely impossible for him to skip several levels and cast with four runes at once.

After much deliberation, Skylar could only come up with one last option.

He pulled a bottle containing a golden liquid from his pocket; yes, he intended to drink a mouthful of Felix Felicis.

After drinking Felix Felicis, he realized that his way of thinking had been too narrow.

He emptied his mind, letting his thoughts wander, collecting and analyzing every single inspiration, no matter how absurd it might sound.

First of all, magic levels naturally require magic to solve, and there's no doubt about that.

What was Merlin's purpose in establishing this legacy? What kind of successor was he looking for? Hmm, that's very important.

Clues for Merlin's selection of a successor surfaced in his mind one by one.

First, one must win Merlin's Trial and obtain Merlin's special medal, which means one must be an outstanding student under the age of 18, possessing exceptional abilities in Potions, Transfiguration, and combat magic.

Secondly, one must gain the approval of Peeves, or in other words, one must have considerable skill in soul magic in order to capture Peeves.

Third, one must be able to read Ancient Runes and deduce the meaning of the Ancient Runes combinations.

No, that's not right. The third point isn't quite right.

It should be said that deciphering the ancient Ancient Runes is not the biggest challenge. With an ancient rune dictionary, many people can do it.

Therefore, the real difficulty lies in deducing the meaning behind the ancient Ancient Runes, which requires an understanding of the essence of life!

Skylar smiled.

He activated the magical runes on his body, causing lines and circles of spell marks to appear on his skin. He then gently tapped Hamr with his wand, and the rune in the crystal ball immediately lit up.

He activated the spiritual power within his mind, his eyes flashing with a dazzling, lightning-like light, and gently tapped Hugr with his wand; the runes lit up.

He channeled his soul magic with all his might, and a raging Black Shadow faintly appeared behind him. He then lightly tapped Fylgia with his wand, and the runes lit up.

He focused his mind on recalling the scene of breaking free from the Imperius Curse, awakening the depths of his personality, remembering his awakening, and then gently tapped Hamingja with his wand, the runes lighting up.

At this point, all four Ancient Runic Magic Symbols were activated.