Time Travel

Holding the Eye of Agamotto and the Time-Turner, both time-related items, Xiwen silently descended the Marble Staircase of the main Hogwarts Main Tower, heading towards the Entrance Courtyard.

At this time, most of the Hogwarts students had already returned to the common room, and the castle was empty except for the continuous sound of Xiwen's footsteps echoing in the spacious area.

Upon reaching the first floor, Xiwen, who was about to turn into one of the stairwells to return to the Slytherin Common Room, suddenly stopped and, as if having made up his mind, walked towards a secluded corner in the Entrance Courtyard corridor.

He formed the Kamar-Taj hand seal and applied time magic to the hourglass-shaped Time-Turner in his hand, causing it to spin rapidly and continuously, completing 4465 precise rotations.

In an instant, although Xiwen was still taking steps toward the corner of the courtyard, he felt as if he was flying backward very quickly.

Various blurry, cloud-like shapes flashed before his eyes; at the same time, it felt as if something was pounding in his ears, making his brain ache; and even if he tried to speak, he couldn't hear his own voice at all, only intermittent echoes occasionally reaching his mind.

This situation lasted for quite some time before it stopped. Xiwen also stopped and staggered as he grabbed the railing in the corner of the Entrance Courtyard.

He looked up at the night sky, where snowflakes fell like goose feathers, shimmering under the castle lights. Although it was already midnight, the Christmas atmosphere at Hogwarts had not yet dissipated. Colorful torches still hung on the walls, illuminating the corridors in a vibrant display. The floors, walls, and even the ceilings were spotless, as if the entire castle had been washed clean by the snow.

Looking at the snow piled up in the courtyard, Xiwen suddenly shivered, feeling an extreme chill. He then realized that he was still wearing his thin summer robes.

After thinking it over carefully and confirming that no one should be in the dormitory at the moment, he silently opened the Dimensional Gate and returned to his bedside, casually pulling out a thick coat from the closet and putting it on.

"I was wondering why I hadn't seen this coat in so long; turns out I took it myself..." Xiwen straightened his heavy coat and smiled helplessly.

In fact, the signs that he had returned to the past had always been quite obvious; the reason he hadn't been noticed was simply because people usually didn't think about it that way.

This timeframe is roughly when Xiwen had just received Newt's message and opened the Dimensional Gate to the Albania Forest.

Under safe conditions, time travel can only last up to five hours, so simply sending out the Eye of Agamotto as a Christmas gift certainly wouldn't take that long.

In other words, Xiwen still has the opportunity to view other information he wants to know.

For example, the strange events that occurred in the Albania Forest require Xiwen's investigation. It concerns the powerful Demon God Strange spoke of!

Xiwen took a deep breath and opened a Dimensional Gate, arriving deep in the forests of Albania.

Here, the bright moon hangs high, and countless stars twinkle in the sky. But beneath the vast starry sky, a black curtain stretches endlessly, obscuring half the moonlight and starlight in the blink of an eye, transforming into a dome-like cage that firmly shrouds a large forest of trees.

The black curtain was semi-transparent, through which one could barely see the state of the things it covered.

At the dividing line where the curtains hung, two stark contrasts formed on either side of the forest—

On one side were all kinds of lush trees. Even in winter, many tall trees, fir trees and cedars still stood proudly, leaving the forest with a vibrant green. From time to time, small animals that came out to hunt would pass by Xiwen's feet; at his feet, some grasses that had not yet withered completely stubbornly survived.

On the other side, however, was a completely different scene. Inside the curtain, only withered and nearly rotten tree trunks remained, charred black, dry and weak, with not a single leaf on the few remaining branches, as if all nutrients had been drained; and the ground was also pitch black, like a patch of embers from a fire.

Xiwen stood solemnly beside the black curtain, observing its movement and the flow of magic.

After observing for a long time, I couldn't see any signs of magic flowing through it. I could only vaguely discern a unique power within it, but I still couldn't identify it.

Xiwen took a few steps forward, coming within half a foot of the curtain.

The closer he got, the more he could feel the energy contained within. It was a power that could suppress the efficiency of magical flow, and it seemed to be the culprit that prevented Xiwen and Newt from using any magic back then!

Under this suppression, Xiwen could not discern the flow of magic, its magical principles, or even any content related to magic! It was as if it had been there since the beginning of time, without cause or reason.

In Xiwen's view, this black veil that could suppress the flow of magic was less a magical power and more a rule of the world, like the laws of the universe such as the conservation of matter and the inability to exceed the speed of light.

If that's really the rule, then it's no wonder that Newt and Xiwen were unable to use any magic while they were inside the veil.

But the problem now is, if this rule is controlled by the Demon God who is about to invade this world, how can the wizards, who rely on magic at all times, fight against him? Does this mean that the Wizarding World can only pin its hopes on that weak seal that will be broken sooner or later?

Driven by a desire to experience these worldly rules more deeply, Xiwen silently raised his left hand and carefully slipped a flowing Raggatego onto it before slowly touching the black curtain in front of him.

However, the moment he touched the curtain, all the protective magic on Xiwen's hands was completely destroyed by that rule, and there was even a strong suction force coming from the curtain, trying to devour all the magic power on Xiwen's body!

Xiwen's eyes narrowed, and he was about to pull his left hand away, but another power within him was suddenly activated, involuntarily resisting the suction force.

"This seems to be... the power of Blood Curse?" Xiwen sensed the strange movement originating from the depths of his bloodline, his expression somewhat unusual.

Is the power of the Blood Curse not suppressed?

Is it because the power granted by the Blood Curse isn't considered magic? Or is it that this rule, which suppresses magic, cannot detect the magic hidden deep within one's bloodline?

Using the power of the Blood Curse within him, Xiwen easily pulled his hand out from under the curtain, fell into deep thought, and remained silent for a long time.

In order to continue his research into this bizarre power of rules, Xiwen opened another Dimensional Gate.

This door leads into the forests of Indonesia.

Xiwen recalled that on Christmas Day he went to Flamel's safe house to ask him to help determine whether the Eye of Agamotto was dangerous.

While chatting with Flamel in the workshop, Dumbledore happened to come to visit, asking Flamel for a favor—that he use his Crystal to see exactly how many forests were experiencing large-scale withering.

Although Xiwen later dismissed Dumbledore, using the same excuse of not wanting underage wizards to participate in dangerous activities, Xiwen still clearly remembered what Xiwen had said before he left.

Dumbledore once said that a forest in Indonesia was experiencing phenomena similar to those in the Albania Forest: the grasslands were withering, the trees were drying up, and the animals had disappeared... This was also the reason why he went to Flamel for a Divination on Christmas Day.

With this in mind, Xiwen arrived in Indonesia.

This forest also seems to be where Nagini was born, and there might be dark wizards skilled in using Blood Curse there as well. So, to avoid trouble, Xiwen opened the Dimensional Gate directly deep in the sparsely populated forest.

He was thinking that it would probably take at least half an hour to find the black curtain, and he would quickly investigate it to send the Eye of Agamotto back, and then rush to use the Time-Turner to return to the future before the five hours ran out.

But then he realized that his estimate had been too conservative.

The black curtains were so vast that they could be seen from a distance, even standing at the edge of the Forbidden Forest; there was no need to search for them at all...

The black drapery here is not significantly different from that in the Albania Forest, and the effects produced by its rules are almost identical.

Just like last time, Xiwen wrapped his hands with the Raggatego, then walked to it again and reached out to touch the curtain.

It was still a suppression of magic, instantly causing all protective magic to fail. Then, the power of the Blood Curse acted spontaneously, confronting the strong suction force.

'It seems there's still a lot to explore with this Maledictus Blood Curse,' Xiwen thought to himself.

It seems that since Xiwen tamed the Blood Curse, he has gained far more benefits than troubles. Without the Blood Curse, he might have failed in his Department of Mysteries to obtain time energy, let alone go back in time to deliver the Eye of Agamotto to his past self!

Just as Xiwen was silently pondering the Blood Curse, the curtain in front of him suddenly moved.

It suddenly opened a gap and quickly moved forward a few feet, enveloping Xiwen, before swiftly closing back in.

If there were a third perspective, you would see that the huge black dome seemed to open its bloody maw, then swallow the unsuspecting Xiwen whole!

Xiwen hadn't expected the curtain to extend further, and looked around in bewilderment.

The same withered trees, the same lifelessness, and the same inability to use any magic—they now seem to be in the same predicament as when they rescued Newt last time.

However, this time it seems even more dangerous, because at this point in time Ghost Xiwen only informed Dumbledore he had gone to Albania to rescue Xiwen and Newt. Dumbledore has absolutely no intention of returning to Indonesia anytime soon to save the future Young Wizard Xiwen's life...

By the time he arrived to check on the situation in Indonesia, it was probably already the afternoon of the following day.

Xiwen sighed helplessly and secretly glanced at the Time-Turner in his hand.

Fortunately, the power of time within the hourglass continues to operate, meaning that if Xiwen wants to go back, he can simply use the Time-Turner to return to the future. Even if the Eye of Agamotto isn't sent back, it's just a matter of going back again, no big deal!

This also illustrates that the rules governing the flow of magical power possessed by the Demon God here are not omnipotent; they still have many limitations. For example, they cannot completely restrict the power of Blood Curse or the energy of time.

Thinking of this, Xiwen breathed a sigh of relief and looked up ahead.

Before he knew it, a young Southeast Asian wizard dressed in a dark black wizard's robe appeared before him. His face was not as bizarre as that of the Albania black wizard with the two-faced appearance; it was still human.

However, his dark circles were extremely severe, as if he had been punched twice in the eyes.

This is also a possible outcome when someone is overly influenced by Dark Magic.

"I didn't expect a child to deliver himself to my door so late." He laughed sharply, looking at Xiwen as if he were looking at prey. "With your soul, your master will surely be satisfied!"