Alice and Frank on the sickbed had no idea of what they were about to experience. Basking in the starlight, they were deeply ensnared in nightmarish dreams, and their withered faces twisted slightly.
"Let me see the memories you've collected, Professor Dumbledore."
In the dimly lit room, Dumbledore waved his wand, and a shallow stone basin appeared in front of Armostat, the rim of which was carved with "True Dark Magic." The silvery substance within the basin, which resembled both liquid and gas, nearly overflowed the edge of the basin. Under the mysterious magical influence, they were still bound in the stone basin and rotated gently.
"Have you combed through it already?"
Armostat looked at the meditation bowl that illuminated the dimly lit ward, feeling a bit surprised. It was indeed very easy to work with other wizards of similar level.
"It seems to be fine."
Armostat nodded and looked at Dumbledore's face, which was focused and attentive.
"There are two steps, Professor Dumbledore. The first step, as you know, we need to completely erase the memories in the minds of Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom, which are intertwined with malicious thoughts and evil magical powers. These memories cannot be retrieved in any way. This is not just a superficial memory cleaning like the Memory Charm; it involves going deep into their minds to erase everything."
Armostat said solemnly,
"This is why I need your help, Professor Dumbledore. I tried to cleanse the muggle's mind world using purely magical force, but it didn't work. The Anger Charm is one of the soul magic, and the malicious thoughts and magic it contains must be eliminated by higher-level forces."
And using the power of the soul source is beyond my ability. I'm not like you who crossed that barrier, but because of my research on 'Blood Magic', I found some 'tricks' to trigger the power of the soul source."
Dumbledore remained silent, merely pulling his sleeve up a little higher.
"Step two"
Armostat glanced at the meditation bowl placed on the ground between the two sickbeds.
"Of course, returning those memories to them is not so simple either. It's not just a matter of pouring the memories into their brains; it requires delving into their minds. Using the soul itself to influence personality... I can't explain it very clearly, Professor Dumbledore. This is an unexplored area of magic. In any case, you'll see."
Professor Dumbledore's accumulation of magical knowledge is so deep that he doesn't need Armostat to explain it; he already fully understands his thoughts and should know how to perform it.
"I'm looking forward to it." Dumbledore nodded, "Then... can we begin?"
"I'll deal with Frank, Alice is up to you."
Armostat said, and then, the two men respectively approached the bedsides of Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom. After solemnly exchanging looks with Professor Dumbledore, Armostat fixed his gaze on Frank's closed eyes.
Suddenly, the quiet ward seemed to shift from St. Mungo's inpatient department to the midst of a raging sea, with tumultuous magic roaring through the void. The walls of the ward rippled as if struck by blows, like raindrops on water, and countless streaks of lightning occasionally flickered beside Armostat and Dumbledore.
Snap-snap!
The small bolts of thunder lingering around the two often shot out, nearly destroying everything in the ward, except for the meditation bowl and the two sickbeds that were protected.
Almost simultaneously, Armostat's sharp eyes lit up, glowing with a substance-like purple light that occupied half of the ward. On the other side, Dumbledore's aura was so powerful that it seemed to shake the space, as he kept his wrists moving smoothly. The increasingly radiant clear light around him gradually poured into Alice's body.
Splash!
As if piercing through a layer of water, the din in the ward faded away from their ears. Armostat had already appeared in Frank Longbottom's mind world.
This is a sea on the brink of depletion!
As Armostat bowed his head and looked down, he had a sudden realization about the mind sea beneath him.
The dark storm clouds above, ball after ball of fire, akin to asteroids from the heavens, enveloped in black lightning, carrying an aura of destruction, crashed into the sea. With each impact, tremendous waves were raised on the mind sea. However, those evil fireballs did not extinguish immediately but instead floated on the water's surface, evaporating 'the seawater' with fury.
The sea within the mind was unwilling to disappear so easily. It surged and pushed those fireballs into the depths, sacrificing itself to be extinguished in order to quell a single 'fireball'.
This is probably the reason why Frank Longbottom changed so drastically after his injury!
Armostat surveyed the surroundings, gazing at the fervent mind world filled with anger and malevolence, silently lamenting the impending destruction of this place and the remaining personality of Frank Longbottom.
"Say goodbye to the past, Frank. But you will be reborn."
Armostat recited in a low voice, and then his figure gradually faded into dissolution until finally disappearing completely.
As Armostat disappeared, Frank's turbulent mind world suddenly experienced an even more intense shaking, as if an enormous presence was about to descend upon this place, and its own 'gravity' was causing everything to shake.
As if the heavens and earth were just beginning, a point of pure white light appeared above the drying mind sea. The light was not intense but incredibly gentle. However, it sparked fear in everything that existed within the mind world!
The dark, foreboding sky above began to stir. Every second, several fireballs emerged from the void with a howling whine. Unlike before, these fireballs did not attack the ocean but instead crashed into the newly generated milky halo suspended in the air. At the same time, the mind sea with its floating firelight began to stir as well. One wave after another surged up towards the sky and crashed down upon the halo, covering it from above!
But, just as Armostat did the first time he entered Pastore's mind world.
Pure spiritual power and magic cannot root out the mind world that has already polluted the soul, and malicious thoughts that have blended with memories cannot interfere with higher-level forces.
Fearing the fate of disappearance, the mind sea acting on its own cannot interfere either!
The scene of the heavens and earth crumbling shook the mind world, attempting to erase the white aura that seemed to exist in another world. However, it was of no use; the aura continued to grow from an initial pinpoint of light into a disc as round as the moon.
Within the milky light, there was a...
It was hard to describe Armostat's form at this moment. He was no longer in humanoid shape but had been transformed into a being composed of solid light. He was a small snake, golden in color, with white and black wings on his back and a head that resembled both a dragon and a snake.
A flying snake.
He seems to have the form of his own guardian deity, a rare and powerful creature from the mysterious East that has long since become extinct.
Slowly, Armostat opened his purple eyes and twisted his body in an awkward manner. Although it was the second time, he was still not accustomed to this form, finding it difficult to control.
After much difficulty in the mind world, which has no concept of time, Armostat finally fully stretched out his curled body. He gazed at the mind world that was like an apocalyptic landscape, his pure and clear purple eyes calm and undisturbed — a peace that would not be shaken by the end of all things.
Hū.
The flying snake flapped its wings, and an invisible but tangible flow of air emerged. Fireballs, the sea, and even the space itself, which had previously been darkened in hue, were completely cleared away and transformed into flawless white. It was as if a rubber eraser had rubbed over a sheet of paper on which a pencil drawing had been made.
The airflow was so tenacious that it rapidly roamed through every nook and cranny of the boundless mind world. Wherever it passed, everything was purified, leaving no trace behind. The dim world became almost visibly transparent and bright.
However, this seemed to consume a great deal of energy from Armostat, and his body once again curled up, his pure purple eyes showing exhaustion, even yawning.
Meanwhile, his physical presence was also fading, as if eager to fall into sleep.
It was not a matter of one decreasing while the other increased. Both the flying snake and the remnants of the pollution in the mind world were weakening. After the last speck of dust in this pristine and spotless mind world had vanished, the flying snake disappeared, and Armostat in the ward opened his eyes.
(Chapter complete)
