Full-Form Obscurus

The Phoenix Tears flowed like a spring onto Aurelius, their crystalline color even casting a hazy glow around him.

Aurelius stared blankly at the Phoenix that had suddenly begun to weep, as if sensing something. So he silently stretched out his hand and looked at his fingertips.

At Aurelius's pale fingertips, black mist swayed like ripples of smoke, and his fingers gradually vanished into the air along with the black mist.

But it wasn't just his fingertips that were fading away— Aurelius' entire body seemed about to turn into smoke and dissipate. Even the healing, misty glow of the Phoenix Tears couldn't stop his body from turning into smoke. Anyone could see that his life was almost over!

Under these circumstances, Aurelius looked at his dissipating body and smiled with relief.

"I can feel that my bloodline has become one with the Obscurus; neither can exist without the other," he said softly. "I made many mistakes while serving under Grindelwald, but now that I can contribute to the Wizarding World's research on the Obscurus, I suppose that's enough to make amends."

"No, we have a final insurance policy." Dumbledore shook his head and abruptly turned to look at the Ghost Xiwen.

"Strange, it's up to you!"

Ghost Xiwen nodded and floated toward Aurelius, striking his dissipating body with a spell he had been preparing.

A semi-transparent Soul Body was pushed out of Aurelius's body by Xiwen, with a pale, wooden face and blank eyes—it was Aurelius's soul!

As his soul left his body, Aurelius's physical form completely dissipated into the air as if it had never existed...

"What... kind of state am I in?" Aurelius asked, looking down at his semi-transparent body as his body turned into black mist and dissipated.

"You are currently in a Soul Projection state," Xiwen explained to Aurelius as he floated in front of him. "It can be seen as similar to a ghostly state. However, unlike a ghost, which exists only as a part of the soul due to its obsession, you are now a complete soul."

"Doctor Strange, how long can Aurelius maintain this state?" Dumbledore walked over and asked softly.

"I'm afraid it won't last long," Xiwen shook his head, speaking with a heavy tone. "It's inherently difficult for a person's soul to leave the body. Even if the soul does leave the body due to an accident, its power will gradually weaken under the erosion of various external forces, making it difficult to sustain."

"My situation is rather special. I have been honing the power of my soul since I was a child, and my Soul Body is very solid, so I am not afraid of the erosion of external forces; while Aurelius's soul has long been tormented by the Obscurus to the point of being extremely weak. Even if he stays in a safe space and is not exposed to sunlight, he probably only has three days left."

"So we ultimately failed." Listening to Xiwen's account, Dumbledore's eyes gradually dimmed, and he sighed. "The Obscurus has long been integrated with its host, inseparable. Completely separating it would lead to the utter demise of the wizarding bloodline."

"However, if it is not extracted from the wizard's body, the dark power within will also slowly erode the wizard's bloodline; the only difference between the two is the time it takes for them to pass away."

Dumbledore gazed into Aurelius's translucent soul with his deep eyes, sighed deeply, and seemed to age ten years in an instant.

His gaze was unfocused, as if he were looking through half a century to see the soul of another little girl...

"Strange, see everyone out." Dumbledore slowly sat down on the wooden bed and said softly. "You've all done your best. There's no need to go out and face Aberforth's wrath. I'll explain to him myself."

In the year and a half since he met Dumbledore, the wrinkles on his face had never been as pronounced as they were today.

This made Xiwen realize, in a daze, that Dumbledore was now nearly sixty years old, which was hardly young even in the Wizarding World...

Because of his immense strength and exceptional wisdom, everyone has always regarded him as a pillar of the Wizarding World. They believed that as long as he was there, there was nothing to fear, even if the sky were to fall.

However, perhaps only he himself knows how much cruel wind and rain, how much heavy snow and hail, a person must endure standing alone on a towering mountain peak.

Xiwen fell silent as he thought about these things.

He glanced at the crowd around him, then silently drew a circle in front of him, summoning a Dimensional Gate to Hogwarts.

However, neither Newt, Theseus, Tina, nor Kama chose to leave. They all silently came to Dumbledore's side, quietly accompanying this powerful wizard who was unusually distraught.

Just as everyone was immersed in sadness, Aurelius had already transformed into Soul Body, suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.

"Um... everyone, there's no need to be so pessimistic," he said, somewhat puzzled, to the crowd. "Actually, I think I can still be saved..."

Dumbledore suddenly looked up at Aurelius, and hope rekindled in his eyes in that instant.

"Aurelius, do you have a solution?" he asked, looking intently at Aurelius.

Aurelius nodded slightly, and said somewhat uncertainly, "I think I probably know what to do."

He then reached out towards the Crystal containing the black fluid beside Dumbledore, Obscurus, which had been completely still inside, immediately became active and began to attack the transparent membrane of the ball.

Dumbledore glanced at Aurelius in surprise and silently untied the sphere from its restraints.

As the restraints were released, a black, flocculent fluid instantly surged towards Aurelius's translucent body, completely enveloping him.

"Aurelius, if you sense something is wrong, speak up. Don't force yourself!" Dumbledore called out to Aurelius with some concern, looking at him as he was enveloped by the dark power of the Obscurus.

"Don't worry, I'm fine!" Aurelius's voice came from within the black mist. His voice seemed to carry surprise and a hint of joy.

After Aurelius finished speaking, the black fluid gradually condensed towards the center, its shape became elongated and taller, and its texture became increasingly solid.

Finally, Obscurus completely coalesced into the shape of a person and gradually acquired colors other than black—first, a dull, dark skeleton, and then vibrant flesh and exquisite clothing.

The living, Aurelius Dumbledore reappeared before everyone's eyes!

Everyone present stared in disbelief as Aurelius reappeared, wondering what was going on.

"How did they do that?" Newt was the most astonished and blurted out the question on the spot. "I mean, I've studied the properties of Obscurus, but I never knew that this power could create a wizard's body!"

Aurelius landed gently on the ground, stomped his foot, and felt the sensation of touching a solid object.

"I guess this is the power of the Full-Form Obscurus," he laughed, speaking with a cheerful tone.