Each mirror represented someone striving toward the highest hall of alchemy.
Some had lived a thousand years ago; others lived in the present.
This place existed beyond time, a space born from the collision of magic and time.
The highest hall of alchemy.
The Philosopher's Stone, which alchemists pursued all their lives, was merely an entry pass to this place.
This was the Gate of Matter.
It was also called the Gate of Truth.
It followed the first principle of alchemy: equivalent exchange.
What you gave was what you would receive.
The immortality you sought might be worth nothing here.
The emotions you despised might be priceless.
The world's greatest alchemist was the caretaker of this place.
His presence represented acknowledgment, and, beyond that, respect.
He was a school governor of Beauxbatons, the greatest alchemist in history, a husband, and a teacher.
"My boy, I once thought it might take much longer before I saw you."
That frail, trembling old man had lived in the mortal world for more than six hundred years.
What he had seen and possessed amounted to an astronomical number.
Even in his youth, he had already possessed the Philosopher's Stone.
He was universally acknowledged as the world's greatest alchemist.
He possessed the Philosopher's Stone the Dark Lord coveted, yet he had destroyed it in exchange for death.
What made him proud was not that hollow, elusive glory.
It was having a great student who loved and respected him.
The Wizard King.
The Wizard King's teacher, the greatest alchemist, Nicolas Flamel.
An old man respected and admired by the Gate of Matter.
Seeing the old man again, John placed his right hand over his heart and said respectfully, "I'm very glad to see you again, Teacher."
"My boy." Nicolas Flamel looked at John's still-youthful face with