Glub, glub, glub --
After a devastating battle that ravaged the land, the world was in ruins. Ammosta jumped down from the oak boat and stood on the embankment, wiping the sweat from his brow. He pulled out several bottles of magical potions and guzzled them down greedily. After swallowing potions worth thousands of gold galleons, Ammosta sucked his lips, appearing unsatisfied.
As soon as he stepped onto the ground, the bones in the swamp that were still moving instantly hid away, as if it was a test. Ammosta passed the test with his strength alone.
Dingling --- Huh...
Tossing away a few bottles carelessly, Ammosta heaved a sigh of relief, looking at the marsh which had been plowed almost clean. But then, upon realizing the amount of magical energy left in his body and within his eyes, he let out a wry smile.
"It is indeed quite satisfying, but I just hope that there will be no more trouble from now on--"
Speaking of this, Ammosta kicked the ugly single-legged small creature that was lying at his feet and tied by magic rope hard, hurting it so much that it gritted its teeth.
Under the thick, sinister magical 'nourishment' of the island, these Hinkpunks had already developed tangible bodies, a situation that is quite special and rare. Therefore, Ammosta casually fished out one that was not affected by the recent battle to take it outside for a thorough study.
Putting away this special Hinkpunk, Ammosta turned around and found that while he had been distracted, Gryffindor had followed a narrow path covered in withered thorn bushes up a gentle slope. Standing on the high ground, he was looking at the temple in the distance.
Seeing this, Ammosta did not dare to linger and ran after him. Although it was just a shadow recorded by the chaotic chronicle of time and magic, following him made Ammosta feel inexplicably at ease. It seemed that Godric Gryffindor was just such a man who had 'security'.
In the heart of the island, a vast, majestic temple that oozes a sense of history stands quietly there, unknown how many years it has existed.
Gazing at the temple, Ammosta's eyelashes trembled slightly, and a hint of confusion appeared on his face.
Situated on the steps, the rectangular temple is built entirely of white marble, and what supports this massive structure is a circle of nearly a hundred giant marble columns. The walls that form the main body of the building are in ruins, with many places even collapsed into large holes.
This is a typical temple in the style of ancient Greek architecture, which is why Ammosta is puzzled by it.
As the sacred place of the ancient Druidic order and the center of the mystical Isle of Avalon, how could a temple in the style of ancient Greek architecture appear here out of nowhere? This is as bizarre as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry turning into a palace in Chinese style, which is simply irrational. Ammosta even thought he would see a wooden palace built on an enormous oak tree here!
"Is Kreona there..."
Ammosta looked over Gryffindor's sturdy figure towards the temple, feeling vaguely where the magic of Kreona was located. After a brief pause, Ammosta waved his magic wand to hide his aura and conceal his figure. He wanted to explore with Gryffindor before meeting with Veetia.
Surprisingly, the air around the temple at the center of the island was filled with a sense of decay and death, not as heavy as Ammosta had anticipated. It seemed as if some strange force was suppressing death.
The two started walking again, but Ammosta suddenly stopped in his tracks, his face serious as he looked ahead. Suddenly, many overlapping figures moving forward appeared in his field of vision. These figures were familiar to Amostar, as they were his own silhouette.
"---The chaos of time here has escalated to a completely different level, hm... It must be the result of two powerful magics clashing and interfering with each other. Tsk tsk, an unprecedented sight..."
Ammosta resumed his steps, but as he moved closer to the temple, the strange phenomenon occurred again.
Gryffindor did not seem to be affected by it. His trajectory towards the temple was a straight line. However, Amostar, who was following him closely, kept jumping around like he was constantly using a shadow shift spell. In one second, he was behind Gryffindor, and in the next instant, he directly 'popped' up to a position ahead of him. Then, he suddenly 'floated' above Gryffindor's head.
No need for much thought, Ammosta knew that this space was twisted and out of place. Fortunately, the distortion was still continuous. If there were space discontinuities, it was possible that after taking a step, Ammosta would find his foot cut in two.
The many strange phenomena caused by the magic here, if studied individually, could certainly write several papers that would shake the magical world. But after seeing so much, Ammosta's nerves had become tougher, for this was the "Mythical Land."
Gryffindor did not proceed to the steps leading to the temple entrance, but stood in front of a large hole in the temple's side wall, gazing into the space inside the temple.
Ammosta also arrived with difficulty next to him, looking around the temple for a while. He did not marvel at the magnificent temple supported by those magnificent stone columns, but frowned at the ragged, serrated corners of the wall.
He left Gryffindor behind and walked forward alone, crouching down on the ground. He started to dig into the soft earth with his palm, and soon created a small hole in the ground.
"Yes, indeed, this temple was not originally built on Avalon Island, but was forcibly transported here."
Such a grand and massive building truly belonged to the Isle of Avalon, so it is impossible that the builders did not construct its foundation when it was built. Plus, considering the broken traces of the walls of the temple that connected to the ground, Ammosta had already determined that this temple had been moved here from somewhere else.
"Is this still the Harry Potter magical world?"
Amost shook his head, looking very serious.
If Avalon Island is indeed as Veetia said, the eternal resting place of Merlin, then there's no doubt that the temple in front of us, the various phenomena on the island, and even the island suspended in the sky, should all be Merlin's handiwork.
"Has Merlin already ascended to the position of a deity? What is the limit of magic in that era?"
Amost looked stunned. As someone living in the modern magical world, he couldn't even imagine the prosperity of wizards in ancient times, when they ruled over the land and were revered as gods by muggles!
"Magic had appeared in a discontinuity, and some extremely important events had also been forgotten... or deliberately erased..."
Ammosta murmured softly, driven by his speculation not only by the scenes he had seen along the way but also by Gryffindor's unintended remark -- 'The world is still whole, an era of grand magic!'
Looking at everything before him, Ammosta suddenly thought of the things that Voldemort had done during his active period, and couldn't help feeling a sense of weariness.
Obsessed with power; obsessed with the respect of others; obsessed with immortality; no wonder he possessed formidable strength, but Albus Dumbledore always treated him with contempt.
Voldemort indeed made great efforts to ensure that he would not be killed, but those efforts were nothing more than picking up others' ideas. His path in magic had long been blocked.
Amost shook off his disdain for Voldemort and followed Gryffindor through the large hole in the temple's side wall into the temple.
Amost looked around, and the broken walls and ruins within his field of vision were in line with his expectations. The sequence and space remained chaotic as outside, but there was one thing that surprised Ammosta: the magic within the temple was very "pure", devoid of the evil aura that existed outside. It was as if it had been purified.
Gryffindor appeared a bit out of the ordinary as he entered the temple. By all accounts, anyone exploring this temple for the first time should head towards the hall where Veetia's magic was located, but he did not do so. Instead, he walked solemnly over the ruins, through cracked walls, picking up his pace and heading in a specific direction with clear purpose.
Ammosta hesitated for only a moment before starting to follow again. Compared to the woman in the grand hall, Ammosta, who graduated from Hogwarts, obviously placed more trust in Godric Gryffindor.
The two of them crossed the temple, and along the way, Ammosta passed by many rooms. The ground covered in ash and wood chips from broken shelves must have been the library. The scattered bones of undetermined categories and rotten equipment lying around seemed to be the place where wizards conducted research. There were also some rooms used for daily life, indicating that this had once been the residence of a wizard.
Gryffindor's pace was very urgent, and Amost couldn't help but run along with him due to the constraints of the chaotic time and space. After twenty minutes, they stopped in front of a large, dark-colored stone wall.
Godric Gryffindor was a figure from a thousand years ago, and it is undoubtedly more ancient than the era in which this temple was built. After being damaged by various phenomena caused by time and magic, there was almost nothing left undamaged inside the temple, including the main building. However, the giant stone wall suddenly standing between the rubble in front of Ammosta and Gryffindor was intact as ever, untouched by dust.
"This is where that battle took place..."
Gryffindor showed interest in the stone wall, and the unexpected words he blurted out made Amost suddenly realize what was wrong with the stone wall. They both looked up and focused on the vast stone wall, which was like a primitive cave painting, with crude lines.
The first scroll at the far right end of the stone wall seemed to depict a vast land with undulating mountain ranges, ancient city-states, and lakes. This appeared to be a simple landscape painting, but what puzzled Ammosta was that at the highest point of the wall, far beyond the depicted land, there was an irregular closed figure filled with many lines that seemed to represent 'wind'. It looked like the silhouette of a jellyfish swimming in water.
Ammosta frowned as he stared at the pattern, which could not possibly be the 'sun' or 'clouds', looking dark and mysterious. It was somewhat perplexing, but he had a vague sense that whatever it was must be extremely important.
Curiosity piqued, he quickly walked towards the second mural, stepping back to look up at the stone wall. At the top of the wall, the 'jellyfish' was still depicted, but there were dramatic changes in the situation on Earth.
On the vast and boundless land, a tense standoff was taking place.
The opposing party was a warrior riding a majestic unicorn and wearing an imposing cloak. He held a sword of exquisite design, looking up at the sky with cold indifference. Even with its simple lines, Ammosta could feel the aura of royalty surrounding this warrior, akin to that of a god of war.
Behind the warrior, there was an endless expanse of a massive muggle army, led by twelve knights with impressive presence. The entire formation stood silently like steel, exuding an oppressive atmosphere.
The other side of the standoff was only one person, who was hidden in a wide black robe. According to the figure depicted on the stone wall, which was exposed by her black robe, Amost could guess that she should be a woman. She held a unique wand with slender wrists.
About the two opposing sides, Amost, with his vast knowledge, had some idea of who they might be. However, he didn't utter a word and instead remained silent as he went to the third mural.
A grand and extremely fierce war began. The forest was levelled to the ground, and everywhere on the earth were shocking cracks. The once vast lakes had completely evaporated, and the large stone walls representing the sky were etched with numerous cracks, as if the very space had been torn apart.
The third mural depicted content that was still relatively clear, but Amost furrowed his brow.
"Could the muggle soldiers and knights have the ability to withstand a legendary witch like this?"
Amost was puzzled and confused in his mind, but then he suddenly glanced at Gryffindor, who was also observing the mural with a silver sword at his waist. His doubts were somewhat alleviated.
The fourth mural recorded the result of this battle. The witch didn't seem to have changed much, she still floated in mid-air, staring coldly at the land covered in bloodshed and mutilated muggle limbs. On the ground, the twelve knights who followed the warrior were nowhere to be seen, only the warrior stood alone with a sword, and his behind wind was still faintly visible, indicating his resolve.
Mesmerized by the war depicted on the stone wall, Ammosta had walked to the center of the mural without realizing it.
In the fifth mural, the warrior's mount transformed into a flying horse. Riding the flying horse, he charged towards the witch with an unyielding and fierce determination, as the witch, who was holding an ancient and strange wand, summoned a massive island that almost filled the entire stone wall. The direction of her gaze was towards a city in the distant horizon.
"Avalon Island..."
Ammosta squinted his eyes and gave his judgment. Earlier, when he followed Gryffindor to the island, he had seen its contour from below, which was easily recognizable.
The fifth mural contained a very important piece of information: at the junction between the fifth and sixth murals, there was an elderly wizard with flowing hair and a figure somewhat similar to Albus Dumbledore, racing towards the battlefield.
"Merlin..." Amoste pursed his lips and muttered softly.
Deep within the Flourishing Alley, there was a small square with a statue of Merlin carved from pure white marble. This statue, which served as the entrance to the underground world located in London, was often passed by Amoste. He was very familiar with Merlin's appearance.
Without a doubt, the sixth mural depicted the scene of Merlin and the warrior joining forces to confront the witch.
The earth shook, lava gushed from the depths of the earth to the sky. Amost felt as if he were witnessing a 'divine war' that had been lost in time!
There was a detail in this mural that interested Amost.
In the previous five murals, the 'jellyfish' at the top of the stone wall remained motionless in the same position. However, in the sixth mural, the outline of that 'jellyfish' seemed to be trembling violently, with about one-tenth of its area having pulled away from the stone wall and disappeared!
The events depicted in the seventh mural shocked Amost to the core and made Gryffindor's eyes sharp.
With the combined efforts of Merlin and the warrior, the witch had fallen, and she landed on the island of Avalon that had returned to the ground. However, there was a vague figure that strongly resembled an old witch that Amost had encountered in the underworld. Just before she died, this witch transformed into a dark figure of death that was similar to a ghost. This figure emerged from her body!
As we approach the last mural, the 'jellyfish' at the top of the stone wall that had been continuously detaching itself from the wall has disappeared completely. So has the witch. The wand she used in the previous mural was held by the 'Death God' in this mural, and this defeated Death God seems to be making a throwing motion, as if he wants to throw the wand in his hand!
