Truth Beyond
While the Gryffindor Quidditch Team trained rigorously, in the Chamber of Secrets, Daphne, Morrie, and Susan, under Skylar's supervision and guidance, diligently practiced their Charms and Transfiguration assignments.
The spells practiced in Charms are Summoning Charm and Locomotion Charm; while the spells practiced in Transfiguration are Vanishing Spell and Inanimate Conjuring Spell.
Although the three girls' abilities far surpassed those of their peers, exams and real combat are different. Exams require more precise operations under specific circumstances, while in real combat, it is often only necessary to defeat the enemy.
For example, the Locomotion Charm works by manipulating one or more objects to move along a predetermined path to a pre-set location. Most people can cast it successfully, but getting an excellent score in an exam is another matter.
For example, when the Weasley Twins were carrying their luggage down the stairs the day before school started, they almost knocked Ginny over because they didn't control their speed well. Such poor handling skills would at best get them a passing grade on their exams.
As for the Inanimate Conjuring Spell, that's actually sixth-grade course content. Fifth-grade students only need to grasp the theory and have a basic understanding of its application.
Skylar had higher expectations for them than Professor McGonagall did. They not only needed to have a solid grasp of theory, but they also had to be able to conjure up a whole set of furniture in one go (such as a dining table and chairs, rather than a single dining table).
The most difficult part of the Conjuring Spell is actually magic power. Because young wizards lack sufficient magic power, they need to spend more energy to mobilize and manipulate their limited magic. This is not a problem at all for the three girls. They all have Auror- level magic power, so they only need to find the most suitable way to cast the spell based on Skylar's insights.
Skylar only stopped training the three women when they were drenched in sweat and their magic was exhausted.
Daphne complained a few times, panting, but was quickly pulled away by the other two, who chatted and laughed as they headed towards the Prefects' Bathroom, ready to enjoy a relaxing bubble bath.
After they left, Skylar glanced at his watch— Draco was practicing Quidditch, which meant Gryffindor had finished their practice and returned the arena.
Astoria is working with the Dragon Tail crew to brew new Potions to replenish his reserves that he depleted during the summer vacation.
Cho Chang and her Dragon Soul team members intensified their research on the Growth Potion. As Cho Chang also became his girlfriend, her attitude towards work seemed to have subtly changed, becoming more serious and hardworking than before. Skylar could often see her working alone in the laboratory until late at night on his watch.
Skylar sighed softly, a strange sense of guilt rising in his heart. He had never intended to take advantage of Cho Chang's feelings, but the facts were undeniable—she had indeed invested more energy in this relationship, working for him more diligently than ever before, as if subconsciously trying to prove her worth. This gave him a vague feeling that he had taken advantage of her, even though it was not his intention.
He left the Chamber of Secrets and reappeared in the Ravenclaw Chamber in the blink of an eye.
On Ravenclaw's desk were three things: Hufflepuff's Cup, Paracelsus's bust, and the Marauder's Map.
Skylar has temporarily put his research on the Hufflepuff's Cup on hold, as he awaits the blood of various exotic animals that Ali Bashir has gathered for him.
He looked at Paracelsus's bust and recalled the plot of the original book—the statue was damaged after Peeves used it to hit people, and was thrown into the storage room of the Room of Requirement by the House Elf as trash. In the end, Harry, who didn't know its value, used it as a marker to identify the cabinet where he hid the Half-Blood Prince's Potions Notebook.
The bust passed through the hands of Peeves, House Elf, and Harry, but none of them elicited any magical reaction, indicating that the bust requires special means to activate. However, it cannot be ruled out that it lost its function after being smashed.
Generally speaking, if a wizard wants to leave a legacy for his descendants, then using the blood of his descendants as the key is the most suitable option. However, Paracelsus's roots are in Germany and Switzerland, and since he chose to leave the Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts in Scotland, it is clear that the successor he is looking for will not be the Hohenheim Family.
Skylar gazed quietly at Paracelsus's bust. He had already examined the entire statue with his Magic Eye but found nothing unusual. He suppressed the urge to immediately take Felix Felicis and pondered quietly.
He had already begun to experience the side effects of Felix Felicis on him.
He remembers how cautious and discreet he used to be, but now he is clearly becoming more and more straightforward and increasingly reliant on and abusing his power.
His excessive reliance on the original plot led to his downfall at the fake Resurrection Stone in Gaunt Shack; in the battle of Knockturn Alley, he also carelessly overlooked the possibility that the Werewolf possessed the Dark Blood Transformation, resulting in Night Cat losing many of his men.
Although both times, due to certain reasons, such as the Pure Blood within him, he turned misfortune into fortune, or Savannah's unexpected arrival allowed him to narrowly escape defeat and reduce losses, it was enough to raise his vigilance—he wouldn't be so lucky every time.
It's time to break free from dependence on Felix Felicis.
According to Dumbledore's own conjecture, Paracelsus's legacy should be the second half of the Book of Truth.
Therefore, the successor he is looking for will most likely be an excellent alchemist.
Or rather, there is another possibility--
The one who can bring the complete Book of Truth back to life!
Skylar took out the first half of the Book of Truth, deciphered by the Medieval European Wizards Association, from his robes, placed it beside the Paracelsus Bust, and softly murmured, "In the name of Skylar Malfoy, may the Gate of Truth be opened for me!"
Suddenly, the bust burst forth with a dazzling light, and Skylar vanished from the spot.
When Skylar regained consciousness, he found himself standing in front of a huge, solitary stone gate. All around him was emptiness, as if the entire world had been swallowed up, leaving only the light flowing silently behind the gate.
The stone gate is so tall that its top cannot be seen. The word "Truth" is carved in ancient Ancient Runes on the gate's surface, and seven-colored light faintly leaks out from between the cracks in the gate.
"It seems this is the 'Gate of Truth' that alchemists have been pursuing their entire lives," Skylar murmured.
Skylar strode to the door without hesitation and forcefully pushed open the Gate of Truth.
Light poured out from the crack in the door, like fragments of the origin of the universe. They were colorful, both chaotic and yet with a certain hidden order, like a spectrum of thousands of colors interwoven together, extending layer upon layer to the infinitely distant the Other Shore.
Skylar glanced at it and immediately felt something—it was "the Other Shore," the ultimate secret of life, the ultimate answer to the essence of everything in the world.
His magic surged silently, a forbidden power deep within his bloodline was activated, and an unusual radiance appeared between his eyes— the Magic Eye quietly opened.
The world became completely different in his eyes. Those seemingly chaotic streams of light transformed into interpretable trajectories. They leaped, converged, and rotated, forming rules that transcended human understanding. Yet, under the analysis of the Magic Eye, a glimpse of something could be discerned.
At that moment, Skylar finally saw the secret of the Philosopher's Stone.
It is not the ancient formula sought by the world, nor is it simply alchemy, but a concept that transcends magic, reality, and even this world—"the Outer Heaven."
In the depths of that spectrum, he seemed to see a vast and boundless realm, an existence that transcends all things, and the key to ultimate alchemy—
Only by borrowing the power of the "outer heavens" can the Philosopher's Stone truly be forged.
When he returned to the real world, everything around him was the same, except that the Paracelsus Bust and the upper half of the Book of Truth on the table were gone, replaced by another closed book with a purple and gold cover facing up, on which was written in messy handwriting—
<The Truth Beyond>.
[The complete Book of Truth, <The Truth Beyond>, has been obtained!]