Beating Heaven by Half a Move!

Merlin's meaning is very simple.

Leaving behind the Deathly Hallows might cause a lot of killing among wizards, accelerating Death's collection of souls and thus freeing him from his predicament;

Destroying all the Hallows might temporarily delay Death's escape, but once he is resurrected, no wizard in future generations will be able to stand against him!

It is an undeniable fact that the overall strength of wizards is weakening.

In ancient times, in an era when wizards and Muggle coexisted, wizards were gods!

With Anubis's death, the Herpo the Foul, for his own safety, destroyed the Invisible College, which was the repository of Prehistoric Mysteries.

In his attempt to resurrect himself, he unleashed the Deathly Hallows to relentlessly harvest the souls of powerful wizards.

Any wizard who was even slightly powerful would be harvested by him like leeks being cut.

The traditions of many magical arts were suddenly severed.

Even Voldemort was far inferior to the Four Founders, let alone Merlin, a god-like figure.

If Death were to descend, no wizard would be able to withstand it without the aid of the Deathly Hallows.

And Death is indeed making its way to us.

"After his plan failed again, without Horcrux to travel among humans, things became very inconvenient for him," Merlin said calmly.

"He needs to find a new agent. You've already met with that person, haven't you?"

"Corvinus Gaunt," William replied.

"Yes, that descendant of Slytherin." Merlin sighed softly.

"The curse that Death placed on the Deathly Hallows did not apply to the Four Founders, but their descendants all quickly perished."

That's true... Many Pure-blood families have survived to this day, but the Four Founders families disappeared into the torrent of history long ago.

Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, needless to say, were the first two surnames to disappear.

The Hufflepuff also quickly became extinct, and although the Smith family claims to be descendants of the Hufflepuff, they are actually very distant relatives.

The Slytherin family also became the Gaunt family, and the Gaunt, with their penchant for inbreeding, gradually declined.

To use a phrase from the magical world at the time:

Whenever a Gaunt is born, Death tosses a coin into the air, choosing between madness or greatness.

Merlin stood near the gate, gazing at the distant, ethereal white mist, and said:

"Corvinus Gaunt was undoubtedly the most talented of Slytherin's descendants."

He found the Chamber of Secrets left by Slytherin, along with his notes, and learned many Prehistoric Mysteries...

Because he was too outstanding, he was chosen by Death!

"Death is using the same trick he did to me back then," Merlin sneered.

"And this time, it was his youngest daughter, Elaine, who came to Gaunt's side."

Merlin bent down and picked up a handful of golden acorns from the ground, looked up at the oak tree branches and leaves, and continued:

"Gaunt fell madly in love with Elaine, even abandoning his family and taking her to Northern Europe."

They became husband and wife and had a daughter, Babbling.

William nodded.

He already knew what happened after that.

Death began to execute his plan, causing accidents to happen to his daughter Elaine and Babbling respectively.

For the sake of his wife and daughters, Gaunt was forced to become Death's servant and do his bidding!

After Gaunt walked the earth, she chose Tom Riddle from her diary.

First, they tricked him into finding the Slytherin's Wand and obtaining the Prehistoric Mysteries of the obelisk.

They also used these things to modify Tom's body.

The collection of wizards' souls over thousands of years was used to decipher Merlin's Stonehenge, allowing Death to successfully descend upon Tom.

After listening quietly to Merlin's account, William finally understood the whole story.

The History of Magic spanning thousands of years is essentially a story of "Death's escape attempts, only to fail each time."

Hmm... it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the Wizarding World's version of the Shawshank Redemption.

Merlin looked into William's eyes and said:

"I was unable to kill Death back then because one reason was that his Horcrux were still alive and had become part of the Horcrux community;"

Secondly, the Elder Wood tree was not cut down.

Five hundred years later, those four young men dealt with the Horcrux; a thousand years later, Grindelwald cut down the Elder Wood.

Has Grindelwald succeeded?

William was secretly alarmed upon hearing Merlin's words, wondering how the old man was doing now.

"William, even at this point, you still can't kill Death."

Merlin said with a serious expression:

"He is a god, and has been a god for over two thousand years. How could he die so easily!"

"The bloodline of Death is also the continuation of his life; they must all be eliminated."

"Huh?" William paused, then asked, "You mean, his children must be killed?"

"Yes," Merlin said calmly, standing beneath the great oak tree.

"I've said it before, Death has no children, only pawns to use!"

His three daughters, including me, were all enchanted before they were born, making them a kind of Bloodline Horcrux.

"As long as we don't die, Death won't die."

William raised his eyebrows.

"However..." Merlin said smugly, "I have severed that connection."

When Morgan attacked Vivian, she was killed, as was Elaine. All contact with them was severed.

The only one who needs to die is Morgan!

William looked at Merlin and felt nothing but fear towards the man.

He calculated everything... How could Death like that not die?

"The only problem now is..." Merlin looked at him and smiled.

"William, your strength is too weak."

"The power I left behind has been almost completely used up by you."

Even if Death isn't Death, he's still one of the most powerful wizards, and you're definitely no match for him right now.

What you need to do is return to your world and acquire power even greater than his!

William stared blankly at Merlin, then tentatively asked, "You mean the Ravenclaw Bronze Ring?"

"Of course." Merlin looked up at the lush greenery in the distance and said calmly:

"You haven't had enough time to learn the Prehistoric Mysteries. With me and the Bronze Ring around, time is the one thing you won't lack!"

"This ring has been enchanted by Ravenclaw," William cautioned.

"A little magic will do the trick!" Merlin said dismissively.

"Your timeframe should be from the moment Death was trapped at Stonehenge until he escaped, spanning several hours."

If you were to spend an entire day in a loop like you did at Hogwarts, and you were to face Death, he would be able to see through your special condition at a glance, thus destroying the Bronze Ring!

"But he's currently inside Stonehenge; even if he senses it, he can't stop it."

William nodded.

"Of course, with my last bit of magic, I can't hold on for much longer. You'll need a little help."

Merlin extended two fingers, pretended to pinch the oak tree by the roadside, and cut off a section of oak branch out of thin air, then pulled it back into his hand.

He wove a wreath, tossed it to William, and laughed:

"Exceptional wisdom is the greatest wealth of mankind."

I made you a grass wreath, which has a similar effect to the Diadem Ravenclaw holds.

It can boost your IQ and accelerate your learning progress!

William put the oak wreath on his head, then touched the Ravenclaw Bronze Ring, feeling a surge of emotion.

Unexpectedly, the ring that initially helped him was still helping him at the last moment!

Merlin stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the sky.

This is a grand game that has lasted for thousands of years. The first players were Herpo the Foul and the previous Grim Death.

After Herpo the Foul's victory, he began to play against himself, using all living beings as his chessboard.

Merlin was the first piece to transcend the chessboard, and he was the third player to play against the opponent.

In that great battle, Merlin knocked Death's axe to the end of the River Styx, waiting for someone to find it and cut down the Elder Wood.

He also trapped Death on the island, blocked his vision, and made him no longer omniscient and omnipotent, thus leaving a glimmer of hope for future generations.

But that was still a long way off. Merlin himself couldn't see the future clearly, feeling that the future was bleak and there was no way out.

Fortunately, a thousand years later, four more young people stepped out of the chessboard, took over his strategy, and continued to play against each other remotely.

After they left, Gaunt, Dumbledore, and Grindelwald were all considered half players and half pieces.

Now, all the pieces have been placed in their positions.

Merlin looked at William.

"The outcome hinges on him..."

This young wizard will determine the grand landscape of the human world for the next thousand years!

He was the one who would ultimately bring everything to a close!

Regardless of what the future holds, at this moment, Merlin can proudly say:

"I,

Merlin,

"A half-stone victory over Heaven!"

(I originally planned to finish writing this today, but now I can't finish it.)

In short, the finale is tomorrow.