"The Temple of Time?!" Evan continued scrutinizing the ancient magical language inscribed on the flagstone, which appeared even more illegible.
"Visitors, to exile that fearful creature again, head to the temple with this stone strap, which holds the magic to assist you. I record this sincerely, acknowledging the ignorant greed and destruction committed by Oynya's wizards can never be forgiven. When you seek shortcuts beyond your imagination, it often leads to death and destruction. I watched this city perish with my eyes, but I could not prevent it..."
The writing on the flagstone abruptly ended, leaving Evan with many unanswered questions.
The azure light emanating from the flagstone carried a magical aura he couldn't fully grasp. According to the message, taking it to the Temple of Time could exile the fearful monster that had appeared, and this magic was undoubtedly potent. But where was this so-called Temple of Time?
Evan recalled the nautical chart left by the Ravenclaw in the lighthouse, which mentioned the ancient remnants within the Charybdis Whirlpool. The description seemed to allude to Ravenclaw and time, suggesting that the Temple of Time might be there.
Evan pocketed the flagstone and delved into his knowledge of time-related matters. His understanding of time magic was limited, and it was an unexpected branch of magic for him. Wizards had long used Time-Turners to travel through time, revisiting the past or glimpsing into the future. They could alter history to a certain extent but at the cost of considerable effort and the risk of losing all memory of the journey.
Time travel could lead to seemingly insignificant changes with profound consequences, such as events that shouldn't have occurred or people who should have lived but didn't, and vice versa. Returning to the present after a journey through time, the world might appear unrecognizable.
Over the past three years, Evan had engaged in limited time travel, particularly during the second half of his second year at school. He and Hermione had used a Time-Turner to revisit various moments, scouring magical books and even studying dark magic in secret during nighttime.
During the Sirius incident, Evan had traveled back several hours using a Time-Turner, apprehending Pettigrew Peter and exonerating Sirius. However, his most peculiar experience had been using Rowena Ravenclaw's Time-Turner to venture a thousand years into Hogwarts' past, where he had encountered Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin themselves.
They had listened to Evan's account of Voldemort's impending threat and had decided to leave behind a secret treasure within the school. Evan had received only one key from Gryffindor, leaving three more founders' keys yet to be found. The complexity of the task far exceeded his initial expectations, as it was evident that the buried treasure was not ordinary.
After that journey, Evan had become entangled in events involving dark gods, vampires, nightmares, and other supernatural beings. The familiar plot had grown increasingly complex and altered beyond recognition. Evan described it as a "worldview avalanche," with ancient and formidable entities and magics emerging one after another.
At first, he had struggled to maintain the familiar plot's progression, but as he delved deeper into the magic of time, he realized the root cause of the complexity: his interference with time itself. Saving Sirius had set a cascade of changes in motion, branching off into an entirely new timeline from when he had traveled back a thousand years or even entered Hogwarts.
While he hadn't yet obtained the secret treasure, the founders' trials had begun, and Evan's connections with mysterious secrets, so-called dark gods, and other monstrous entities had grown increasingly intimate. The world had shifted and transformed.
This was the perilous nature of time magic—it could unleash unpredictable consequences beyond one's simple intentions. Using Time-Turners to attend classes or study, like Hermione, was a relatively straightforward application of time magic. It allowed the user to gain two or even three times the amount of time as others, as long as the time traveled remained unseen and the user could withstand the mental and physical toll.
Due to the inherently dangerous nature of time magic, all existing Time-Turners were under strict control by the Ministry of Magic, kept within the Department of Mysteries. Their issuance was heavily regulated, requiring multiple levels of approval and periodic reporting during use. No one wanted inexplicable disappearances, as the magic was profoundly unsettling.
Like the Philosopher's Stone, all known Time-Turners were relics left behind by ancient master wizards. Current wizards had yet to develop the capability to create such formidable magical artifacts despite centuries of research by the Ministry of Magic.
Evan knew that the only known practitioner of time magic was Rowena Ravenclaw, and her Time-Turner possessed unique magical properties. Unfortunately, he hadn't returned the Time-Turner when he traveled a thousand years into the past. It was probably stored in the Ministry of Magic, where all Time-Turners were kept.
As Evan swam rapidly through the submerged ruins, seeking a solution, he couldn't help but think about the city's former wizards. They had the extraordinary ability to exile the fearful monster, a magic far more complex than simply using a Time-Turner.
After several minutes, in the dimly lit underwater environment, Evan spotted a ghost ship emanating a green light not far ahead. Like the other ghosts in the ruins, the sudden appearance of the monstrous creature startled the specters aboard, causing them to panic and attempt to flee.
They were powerless to prevent the Calamity Emissary from using their abilities to continue the summoning ceremony. However, the monstrous octopus-faced captain, roaring loudly to the crew, was unwilling to abandon the ship. The massive octopus hovered near the sailing vessel.
The fearful monster in the sunken city ruins of the seabed, the drifting ghosts, and the desperate, jet-black abyss converged, creating an eerie and terrifying scene.
"Truly a dreadful place," Evan sighed, contemplating how these events resulted from tampering with time. He should have been comfortably lounging on the Gryffindor common room sofa, enjoying the delicious food prepared by house elves, and discussing upcoming exams with Hermione. Instead, he found himself amid the tempestuous sea, facing these incredible sights.
Even with the aid of Gillyweed, his vision still couldn't penetrate the darkness of the abyss ahead.
Evan's body tensed as he approached the ghost ship, readying his wand. He had no intention of recklessly interrupting the Calamity Emissary's dark magic, as it would likely result in failure. He planned to explore the Charybdis Whirlpool, his current destination. All these elements were converging towards that mysterious vortex.
Rowena Ravenclaw's footsteps, the Temple of Time, ancient yet powerful magic—all these threads pointed him in that direction. He needed to leave this accursed place as soon as possible, and the only way to do that was by passing through the ghost ship.
Evan observed the ghost ship and the gigantic octopus with tentacles that clung to its sides. He thought this grotesque colossus might be the pet of the monster captain, but it appeared to be more than that—it seemed like a sea monster bound by magic. Heavy shackles held its body in place on the ghost ship, and it dared not approach the green light that enveloped the ship, its withered yellow eyes gleaming with greed as it gazed covetously at the crew above, including the octopus-faced captain.
The struggle on the ghost ship escalated quickly, with the deceased crew members appearing overwhelmed by impending fear. They concentrated on attacking their captain, but the uprising was swiftly quelled. Apparently far more powerful than the crew, the monster captain emitted a chilling cry and roughly threw one of the crew members overboard. The disembodied soul fell onto the deck before being pulled into the ghost ship by the green light, losing its protection. As it lay on the deck, the colossal octopus suddenly moved, swiftly curling up the crew member and devouring it in one bite, its sharp teeth crushing the soul.
The octopus waved its tentacles, its unblinking gaze fixed on the deck. Undeterred by the previous loss, the crew engaged in a futile battle against their captain. The monster captain, visibly stronger than the crew, selected another crew member and hurled them overboard, their soul landing on the deck before meeting the same fate as the previous one.
The monster captain let out a sinister, triumphant laugh. But the next moment, it was struck by a blue ray from the side, and its laughter abruptly ceased. Stiffening, it turned to look at a 13-year-old human boy, seemingly in shock over the sudden turn of events. Before it could react, it was blasted off the ghost ship and plummeted into the abyss.
As it fell, leaving the ghost ship's protective aura, the octopus's tentacles seized it without hesitation. The monster captain emitted a shrill, sorrowful cry and began to cast a powerful dark magic spell. However, before it could complete the incantation, it was ensnared by the serpentine jaws of a gigantic sea creature.
Evan calmly stood atop the mast, his wand emitting a steady blue light. He watched as the sea creature consumed the monster captain; its dark magic rendered powerless.
The other 50-odd deceased sailors all raised their heads, their dumbfounded and lifeless eyes now displaying a glint of astonishment. They struggled to comprehend the events and remained hesitant about their next actions.
Despite being the natural enemies of the living, the dead sailors hesitated to take up arms against Evan, perhaps due to fear of being struck away by his formidable presence or devoured by the massive octopus below, as the summoning ceremony was still in progress. When the dead no longer had the power to die, what did they have left? What courage could they muster in the face of such fear?
"Set sail," Evan calmly ordered, addressing the bewildered ghostly crew members. In a peculiar twist of fate, the undead sailors, who should have been Evan's antagonists, now obediently followed his command.
It was unclear whether they were frightened by Evan's imposing aura, the evil ceremony being conducted nearby, or the dazzling blue light radiating from his wand. Regardless of the reason, the bizarre had occurred. The natural enemies of the living were now taking orders from a living person.
The ghostly crew members hurriedly complied with Evan's instructions, tightening the ship's front shackles. The massive octopus's tentacles writhed as it twisted the ship and propelled it forward. The octopus's body contracted and expanded, propelling the ship rapidly away from the sunken city, away from the realm of the dead, and away from this dreadful place.
As they sailed away, Evan stood proudly on the mast. He extended his right hand to maintain balance, gazing at the monstrous apparition of the sunken city rapidly receding into the distance.
The dark blue expanse before him instantly transformed into a tranquil sea. With a resounding crash, the ghost ship emerged from the water, causing waves to surge.
Perhaps due to the absence of the monster captain, the thick mist did not materialize, and the domain of the dead dissipated. Under the vast night sky, as all the crew members looked up, the human boy who had stood atop the mast had disappeared without a trace.
In Evan's next visualization, he was suspended above a serene sea. His arrival seemed to trigger a reaction from the ocean, causing the space around him to vibrate.
Similar to the scene he had witnessed in the memory of Ravenclaw, a sudden rift split open below Evan's body as if a colossal, voracious beast were opening its maw to swallow the entire world. Massive seawater cascaded into the expanding abyss, tumbling and crashing as it poured in.
A deafening roar reverberated, causing the entire earth and sea to tremble. A colossal vortex emerged, with surging spray and turbulent currents. At its center, a crimson, magma-like substance began to appear.
This was a formidable magical power, rapidly spreading within the vortex, its rotation akin to a volcano preparing to erupt.
In the next moment, Evan's body descended, plunging directly into the heart of the great whirlpool.
With a deafening explosion, a golden-red magical barrier enveloped Evan's body. He could feel the entire world vibrating as the seawater surged and collided around him, and a potent magical force enveloped him and imbued him with immense strength.