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Edward was also fascinated by the beauty of this tree, but he quickly woke up to study it. He was more interested in how it functioned than its aesthetic.
After a quick observation, he understood something. The purple orb allowed the tree to absorb a massive amount of lunar energy from the eclipse, which in turn activated the powers of the tree.
After introducing Gate Alchemy to the Empire, many forms of energy were discovered, including lunar energy. However, so far, its proper function has not been discovered besides being used for basic alchemy.
However, now, Edward has some speculation. Since the tree can heal, delay aging, and remove curses, lunar energy might have similar properties. After studying it, he might discover some application of lunar energy.
After coming to a conclusion, Edward suddenly apparated to the top of the tree. Each trunk was large enough for him to stand and long enough for him to take a short walk.
With his wand, he began to write Ancient Runes in the air. One thing he noticed since coming to this world is the major change that occurred to his Arcane Rune Magic.
For one, some spells could not work properly or at all. As for the ones that did, they required a tremendous amount of mana–especially compared to when he was back home.
This is one of the reasons that he has been constantly using Wandcraft Magic. For the same spell, Arcane Rune Magic required 3 to 10 times more mana.
Edward was intrigued by this situation and wanted to know the reason. One theory he has is that this world is more restrictive to outsiders, and there might even be many hidden and unknown things that hide underneath the surface.
And he was not the only one being restricted. Hermione's Summoning Talent was rendered useless as she could not sense any other dimensions out there. As for Edward's talent, he did not know whether there was any problem since his talent was more of a passive one.
Unless in danger or encountering someone that can be dangerous to him, it will not activate.
…
After seeing Edward's actions, Hermione understood his purpose, so she apparated closed to him and also began to engrave runes in the air. The runes that they were engraving were to store lunar energy.
They both knew that after the eclipse, the tree would wither and returned to its dead state. On top of it all, the eclipse would not last long. However, with the energy of the runes, it should be fine for a few days.
As predicted, once the lunar eclipse ended, the tree showed signs of withering. So, they quickly activated the runes to power it.
"Frank, you can use a petal to remove the curse on you," said Edward. "As for you, Dr. Lilith, you can take as many as you want."
"Three will be fine," replied Lilith.
After taking the flower, Frank felt like a brand new person; it was as if he was given new life. Meanwhile, Edward was observing the entire process without missing anything.
He witnessed how after the curse was lifted, Frank's soul returned to his Soul Space, once again becoming complete–albeit at the price of losing his mortality.
"It makes no sense," muttered Hermione.
"Indeed. How could a person function normally without a soul inside his body?" added Edward. "The Horcrux only allows one piece of the soul to be removed, and even then, there are many repercussions. Yet, he was completely fine without his entire soul."
Whether it is Frank, Aguirre, and his conquistadors, they were anomalies that did not need a soul to function. They walked around and functioned while their souls were attached to the forest.
This goes against many of the things that Edward or the Empire understood about the soul. As such, this fact further elevated the values of these four cursed individuals.
After frank was cured and Lilith received the prize for her expedition, Edward began his task of taking the tree away. He contacted Morgana.
"How is going up there?"
"Master, many of the Floating City has been stopped, malfunctioned, or running at its lowest capacity, including our energy system."
"Are the changes permanent?"
"No, according to my analysis, things are slowly getting back to normal."
"In that case, that's fine. I need you to teleport this tree back to the city. Create an environment full of lunar energy and placed it here."
Morgana paused for a moment, "That will take roughly 18 hours."
His lisp twitched slightly after hearing this; he finally understood how bad the oppression of the city was. He nodded to her and said he could wait since the runes had absorbed enough energy to keep the tree in its pristine state.
'The problem of World Suppression is more severe than anticipated. I should probably find a way to deal with it.'
After contacting Morgana, he reunited with the group.
"So, what's your plan after this?" asked Edward.
"I want to return to London," replied Lilith.
Edward sighed after hearing this. During the journey, he has been trying to intrigue her with the power of magic. After all, she is an excellent scientist. Adding to that the fact that she is probably the protagonist of her own movie, she might be someone with great luck just like Harry Potter.
As such, she would be a great asset to the Empire.
"Can I ask why?"
"Can't you just read my mind?"
"You told me not to invade your privacy,"
After thinking for a while, she said: "I can probably guess a few things about the origins of you two."
"I'm all ear."
"First, you two are from the future," said Lilith.
"What makes you say that?"
"I overheard you when you said that Doctor Who was not invented until 1960," said Lilith calmly. "Based on this, I guessed that the so-called magic might be an advanced form of science that the current time cannot understand."
Edward laughed softly, "You're not totally correct, but you're not wrong as well."
Before Edward's intervention, magic in his universe was mostly based on mysticism or the occult. However, he has developed magic into a form of science with clear laws, rules, and regulations.
In the Empire's era, magic can be described as the control of energy to change, shape, or bend reality. Through words, runes, or ceremonies, energy is used to create different effects.
"Something tells me that my origin is not the real reason you rejected my invitation?" asked Edward.
"You're right. The real reason was the way you two treated Aguirre and his men, even Frank," said Lilith as she looked at Edward directly in the eyes.
"You were cold, logical, and calculated. In the process of finding the way their curses worked, you treated them as if they were nothing but lab rats. And from your and your wife's behavior, it is obvious that this is not the first time you treated humans live this way.
"I do not know for sure what the future you're from is like, but based on this, I can guess. It is probably a world where science or magic developed without any restraints of ethics or morality. Anything can be done for progress and advancement."
Lilith paused as she took a deep breath. "Honestly, I do not want to live in a dystopian world like this; I would prefer to continue my ordinary life."
Edward sighed, "You are correct."
After that, he reached out his hand to give her a handshake, "I wish you and Frank a happy life together."
"Thank you," said Lilith as she shook his hand as well.
"What about me?" asked MacGregor.
"You too, MacGregor. I hope you find someone that makes you happy; do not let society's rules and expectations dictate your life and happiness. After all, in the end, they are all made up by people and are only valid because we as a collective accept them as such."
MacGregor felt these words contained some deep truth in them so he nodded his head. Soon, Edward waved at them as they floated away in Frank's boat.
He turned around and looked at Hermione, "Something wrong? Did Lilith's words affect you?"
"No; it's just that I never noticed these things that she said."
"Now that you realize it, how do you feel?"
"It's not a big deal. In any world, you have to sacrifice something to attain other things," said Hermione. "In the Empire, we have established a society that worshipped knowledge and pursued the truth.
"In return, it seems that we have to sacrifice a little bit of our humanity."
"Do, you think this sacrifice is worth it?"
"I do," replied Hermione without hesitation. "When I think of all the good things that we have accomplished, and the things will be able to accomplish in the future, I think it's worth it."
Edward nodded in agreement, "As long as we do know completely forsaken the goodness in us, it is indeed worth it."
Then, the two waited for the time Morgana needed to teleport the tree back to the Floating City.
However, right before that, they received a call from Snape and Lily,
"What is it, Severus?" asked Edward as he looked at the small hologram in front of him.
"The entire country of Egypt is surrounded by plagues that looked similar to the ones from the Bible because of a Mummy Priests that is most likely a Tier 4 Individual," said Snape with his usually stoic face.
"Plague? Mummy?" muttered Edward as he suddenly thought of something.
"Do you know the name of the priest?"
"Imhotep."
'The Mummy? This is the world of the Mummy?' thought Edward with a little surprise.
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Next Chapter Title: The Mummy