Chapter 432: The Mystery of Magic
Chapter 432: The Mystery of Magic
Violet held a crystal vial, magnifying glass in hand, her focus entirely on the golden powder within. Her brows furrowed, and she muttered to herself.
Vold had no idea what Violet was trying to discern. He had examined the same substance under an optical microscope, but no matter the magnification, all he saw was fine golden particles.
Vold even suspected that if he were to use an electron microscope in a university lab, he would observe the same image.
Studying magic through scientific methods would only lead to the conclusion that it was 'unscientific.'
"Vold," Grindelwald said, standing up and glancing at him. He pointed at the vial of golden powder and asked, "Have you ever seen anything like this?"
After a few days apart, Grindelwald exuded an even more commanding presence, perhaps due to the many lives he had taken during this time, or maybe because his body, worn down in prison, was slowly recovering, no longer appearing so frail.
On their way here, the effects of the compound potion had already worn off, and Vold had returned to his original form.
Grindelwald didn't inquire about his ill-fitting clothes but went straight to the point.
Seeing that he didn't bring up their previous argument and offense, Vold breathed a sigh of relief, nodded, and added, "I have indeed seen something similar, but I'm not sure if it's the same thing."
Violet's eyes lit up, and she looked at him with curiosity.
Grindelwald wasn't surprised. He waved his hand and said, "You can take a look, too."
Vold drew his wand and approached the crystal vial, casting several standard detection spells on it. Then, he pulled a coin from his pocket, transformed it into a small white mouse with a flick of his wand.
Grindelwald watched the fluidity of his transfiguration magic, his eyes momentarily unfocused before returning to normal.
The tiny white mouse blinked its bright eyes and lay obediently on the wooden table.
Vold opened the vial, waved his wand, and a gentle gust of air carried a few grains of the golden powder, gently landing them on the mouse. He then prodded its back with his finger.
The mouse didn't react; it slowly turned its eyes, its tail drooping, and then it suddenly collapsed.
The little creature wasn't dead but was breathing slowly and deeply, as if in a deep slumber.
Vold used the air current to return the grains of powder to the vial and sealed it.
After a moment, the mouse woke up, looked around, and nimbly ran to the edge of the table. Then, the magic wore off, and it transformed back into a coin.
Violet, seeing Vold's unsurprised expression, asked curiously, "What exactly is this?"
Vold pondered for a moment before replying, "I'm not sure what it is specifically, but when it comes into contact with skin, it slows down a person's physiological functions, inducing a heavy state of consciousness and eventually leading to sleep. The more it is exposed, the more pronounced the effect."
"But this substance is harmless to the human body. Even if someone were to sleep for an extended period without food or water under its influence, they wouldn't die of thirst or hunger, and their muscles wouldn't atrophy. It's like..."
He recalled how he had once placed the golden powder on a small white mouse and only removed it after two months. When the mouse woke up, it quickly resumed its previous activities, nibbling on dried corn.
The two months of slumber seemed to have been erased from its life and consciousness.
"It's like... the creature's time was paused," Vold said, observing the expressions of those around him.
Grindelwald raised an eyebrow slightly, showing no further reaction.
Violet's shock quickly turned into excitement, as if she wanted to dive into the vial herself.
Drey suddenly widened her eyes, then stared at the vial in deep thought.
As for Morault...
"If someone were to put this on themselves, wouldn't it be like achieving immortality?" he asked with enthusiasm.
Vold countered, "Even stones can achieve immortality, but would you want Medusa to turn you into stone?"
Morault shook his head honestly.
"This substance neither grants immortality nor prevents aging; it merely induces a state of hibernation."
Vold explained, "After spending decades or even centuries in slumber, upon awakening, the quality of life and the length of one's existence remain the same. Aging and death are still inevitable."
As he spoke, he suddenly recalled the fairy tale of the beautiful princess who had been cursed by a witch to sleep for a whole century.
The entire palace, including the animals, had fallen asleep, and after a hundred years, everything had awakened simultaneously, regaining its vitality as if no time had passed at all.
Vold paused for a moment, then continued, "Its greatest use is probably in allowing severely injured or terminally ill patients to wait for treatment... It can also extend the shelf life of potions."
For instance, Vold had many potions in his wardrobe space, some of which would expire within a month or two.
However, if you drop two grains of gold dust into it, it remains fresh for a year and a half.
Vold couldn't help but sigh as he thought of his own wardrobe space, longing for the convenience of those days.
"But..." Drey frowned and slowly asked, "How can Muggles possibly possess the power of time? Even wizards can't achieve such feats."
"That's too absolute," Morault countered. "Perhaps the legendary Merlin could."
Drey looked displeased at his colleague who seemed to argue for the sake of argument. "Use your brain! If that organization had someone as powerful as 'Merlin,' they wouldn't need to conduct those clumsy modification experiments."
Morault clicked his fingers, making a 'tsk tsk tsk' sound, and mocked, "Gunter, your thinking is too rigid!"
"They certainly don't have 'Merlin,' but it's not impossible that they stumbled upon a few ancient wizard's alchemical creations."
"Just like the legendary Death's gifts to the three brothers, ordinary-looking objects with immense power that don't discriminate between owners."
Drey thought for a moment, feeling that it made sense, and turned to Vold. "Vold, are these grains of gold dust alchemical creations?"
Vold cautiously replied, "The power they possess is somewhat similar to the Time Converter, but... besides the legendary deities, I don't know what kind of alchemical techniques could create something so magical."
"That's because it's not purely an alchemical product," Grindelwald suddenly said.
Everyone turned to look at him, and Drey bowed slightly and asked, "Sir, have you figured out the origin of this gold dust?"
Grindelwald sat in an armchair and gestured for the others to sit as well. With a wave of his hand, the crystal vial flew into his grasp.
Voltaire's gaze seemed glued to it, following its every move.
Grindelwald gently shook the crystal vial, watching the gold dust flow like water within. After a moment, he said, "Even the most absurd fairy tales have some basis in reality. Whether it's the story of the Three Brothers and Death or Sleeping Beauty, they all correspond to some incomprehensible yet real power."
"Those powers are innate magic, difficult to explain and control. The Ministry of Magic has been researching these mysterious forces, achieving some results, but the more they study, the more unknowns they uncover, even inducing an indescribable fear."
"You mean..." Drey said, "The mysteries that the Unspeakables of the Department of Mysteries are researching?"
"Indeed," Grindelwald confirmed. "Thoughts, life, death, emotions, time, the universe, the future, elements... these are the mysterious magics they're studying."
He looked at Vold and said, "I've heard you're one of the top students at HOGWARTS, taking every course available. So, you must have obtained the Time Converter?"
"Yes," Vold replied, and added, seeing Voltaire's eager gaze, "But it was taken back by the school before the holidays."
Voltaire's eyebrows drooped in disappointment. After a moment of thought, he hesitantly said, "That... Gellert, speaking of which... Vold's term starts in a few days..."
Fortunately, time has a peculiar self-healing ability. After a few days, this interference became negligible, and the flow of time gradually returned to normal.
Since then, various strict laws and penalties have been enacted by the Ministries of Magic around the world regarding time travel.
"This story is the most obvious manifestation of time magic. If the British Ministry of Magic continues their experiments, they might uncover the true nature of time. But it's more likely that the entire world will be destroyed due to the chaos of time."
Grindelwald spoke, "Humans cannot bear such a cost. The Ministry can only choose to prohibit radical experiments, focusing on observation and control rather than exploitation."
"So, Violetta, Vold's time converter can only be used to solve trivial time management issues—for example, he can have more time to write his thesis—but it cannot be used to address truly crucial matters. It cannot be used to endlessly reverse time, change the past or future, or truly transcend the limitations of time."
"Oh..." Violetta seemed a little disappointed upon hearing this.
Vold felt a bit uneasy when even Grindelwald said this.
Then he thought about his last use of the time converter; he hadn't changed the past—he couldn't stop Mabel from becoming the Silent One, and Hailey's rescue was already a fact before he rewound time.
So he hadn't changed history—his actions were part of history itself.
"I was getting ahead of myself... What I wanted to say is that ancient magic is not a power that wizards can create at will."
Grindelwald continued, "A long, long time ago, they suddenly appeared in some part of the world, bringing great chaos and disaster to the locals. The original purpose of the Ministry of Magic was for ancient wizards to research, monitor, and restrict these powers."
"Nowadays, deep within the Ministries of Magic of various countries, each possesses several ancient magics, and what aspects these magics focus on is absolutely confidential, unknown to outsiders."
Grindelwald placed the crystal vial on the table, snapped his fingers slightly, and the crystal vial emitted a crisp sound. The gold powder inside shook slightly and then slowly drifted down.
"But... if these things can truly freeze time, then just like time reversal, they must be a form of time magic."
Everyone's eyes shifted, each deep in thought.
Drey slowly said, "So, either those people discovered a newly born source of time magic and found a way to extract this gold powder, or they controlled a Ministry of Magic."
"Control the Ministry of Magic?" Morault asked incredulously. "Is that possible?"
"It's impossible for the Ministries of Magic in countries like Britain, France, and Germany, but some small countries have less than ten wizards in total."
Drey explained, "The so-called Ministry of Magic is just a mentor with a few apprentices, and their magic level is usually not that great. Some even have to set up stalls on the street to make a living."
Morault murmured, "...So, whether tempted by money or forced by might, they might sell the secrets of magic and become the running dogs of Muggle aristocrats."
Drey nodded heavily.
"Don't worry," Grindelwald said. "Even if they control some wizards, the number won't be too high. I will peel off their layers one by one until their deepest heart is exposed."
"Be patient, children. If an institution that has existed for hundreds of years is easily uprooted by us, I would be disappointed."
"This time, we suffered a big loss because we weren't prepared for such things. Vold—"
He looked into the young wizard's clear gray eyes and asked, "Since you've researched it before, do you have any countermeasures?"
Vold said, "The simplest method is to wear protective gear. Muggle hospitals have ready-made equipment. As long as it doesn't come into contact with the skin, the gold powder won't take effect."
However, it's inconvenient for wizards to use wands while wearing protective gear. Even wearing an extra pair of gloves would affect some people's magic.
Vold thought for a moment and then said, "Most spells have no effect on the gold powder, but it is subject to the limitations of its container and is objectively affected by force. I've seen those people use vacuum-like devices to suck up this gold powder."
Recalling the scene, a flash of inspiration came to him, and he said, "I can make a portable self-suction dust collector, which should be able to eliminate the influence of this substance."
"Very good," Grindelwald finally smiled and asked, "If Violetta assists you, how long do you think it will take to complete it?"
"Er..." Vold thought for a moment and modestly replied, "You can see the finished product tonight."
(End of Chapter)
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