Ministry of Magic, Department of Mysteries, Dead Chamber.
Andy stepped down the winding stone steps to the bottom of the stone pit. Looking at the towering arch in front of him and the curtain hanging from it, Andy felt that the sound of whispers seemed to become a little clearer.
Andy listened patiently, but still couldn't hear what the voices were saying – it didn't seem to be human language.
'Voices of the dead?'
'What's behind the curtain?'
'Is it the underworld where the dead live?'
Andy really wanted to lift the curtain and see what secrets it hid. But every cell in Andy's body, including Andy's soul... they all prevented Andy from doing so.
'Dead people... souls... ghosts!'
Andy had been paying attention to ghosts for some time.
Wizards could leave their mark on the world and walk the earth after their death, but only a few wizards chose this path.
Ghosts know nothing of the mysteries of death. They merely mimic life in a seemingly plausible way.
This is how the book describes ghosts.
As you can imagine, being a ghost is not a very pleasant feeling. But Andy, as a living person, can hardly understand what it feels like to be a ghost.
Besides, a ghost is not the same as a soul.
'Perhaps behind the curtain is a one-way ticket to the underworld, the place where the souls of the dead live. Anyone who goes in there can never return to the world of the living.'
Andy looked at the Resurrection Stone in his hands.
'If there is no curtain to separate the two worlds, can the Resurrection Stone summon the souls of the dead from the underworld?'
'If this theory is correct…'
Then, if the souls of the dead can be summoned back to the world of the living, a new body can be created for them using magic.
'Is this the true use of the Resurrection Stone?'
Andy had a lot of ideas, but he didn't intend to try them at all.
There was a big difference between experimenting with magic and being suicidal.
Andy was as small as dust in the face of the power of 'death'. Just as people in the two-dimensional world will never be able to understand the structure of the three-dimensional world.
In fact, Andy felt that what he was about to do was a bit suicidal. If it weren't for a hunch he had, and if it weren't for his talent in Divination, a third-level talent, Andy would never have attempted it.
"Hoo..."
Walking up to the archway, Andy let out a breath.
'Let me see!'
Andy raised his left hand high, his face was solemn. The Resurrection Stone lay quietly in the palm of his left hand, emitting a faint, invisible glimmer.
'...'
Andy lowered his left hand, and the Resurrection Stone was suspended in the air by an inexplicable force. In the dark stone chamber, the light on the black stone grew brighter and brighter.
It was strange!
The stone chamber was dark, almost without a glimmer of light; the Resurrection Stone was black, and the light it emitted seemed to be black as well.
But amid the darkness, Andy could clearly see the faint glimmer of light emanating from the Resurrection Stone.
Without a breath of wind, the curtain began to swing violently, as if an unknown force had spilled out from behind it, a force that was drawn to and absorbed by the Resurrection Stone.
'Is this the power of death?'
Andy wasn't sure.
In fact, until now, everything Andy had known was just speculation. And the so-called evidence was just ambiguous clues and some far-fetched legends.
But now it was different!
This scene before him was enough to prove that the Resurrection Stone was indeed related to the secret behind the curtain.
Death, the Deathly Hallows, and the arch and curtain in the Death Chamber... They were connected.
Perhaps the speculation about 'killing a god' was also true.
Someone had deprived Death of his power!
'What about the other gods?'
As a human, Andy wondered if he still knew much about humans.
Every country in the world has its own culture of gods and beliefs, but if one day, a god really appeared in the world, what would humans do?
Fear? Apprehension? Excitement?
If the god was really incredibly powerful, that would probably be true.
But if a human attack was strong enough to break the god's defences, Andy believed that the only result would be the god being placed on an experimental table.
In ancient times, people believed in gods and worshipped them.
But some powerful wizards might not be averse to coveting the power of the gods.
Legend has it that the Trelawney family's prophetic powers stem from the curse of the sun god – but what if it wasn't a curse, but the Trelawney family stole the power of the god?
The legendary gods had incredibly powerful powers.
But were the gods really that powerful?
Did they have no weaknesses?
Humans, who stood at the top of the food chain on Earth and invented nuclear weapons, could be killed by the bite of a tiny poisonous insect.
As the saying goes:
If you can break the defence, there's no boss you can't kill!
Andy's mind flashed with many thoughts as he looked at what was in front of him.
The scene in front of him was not impressive. There was neither a powerful energy fluctuation nor a terrifying aura like that of an abyss. There was...just an unremarkable stone floating in the air and a black curtain swaying in the windless space.
However, this ordinary scene proves a terrible history to Andy.
The power of Death has been stolen by the wizard!
The Deathly Hallows...is really related to death!
Legend has it that whoever obtains the three Deathly Hallows can become the master of Death.
If this legend is true...
Just imagine, would Death give such an important thing to a human?
'The power of Death!'
Andy quietly watched the Resurrection Stone floating in the air.
'Will the Resurrection Stone, which has absorbed the power of Death, undergo any new changes?' Andy was a little apprehensive, but also a little excited.
Time passed minute by minute.
Andy waited patiently while taking a sip of the Polyjuice Potion.
Although he could not pretend to be Sirius, his identity as John Dawlish would still allow Andy to conceal his own identity.
After all...who would expect a thirteen-year-old wizard to have the nerve to sneak into the Ministry of Magic?
'Hm…isn't it a little cold?'
After standing here for a long time, Andy suddenly felt a chill that went right to the bone.
The chill came very suddenly, and in just a dozen seconds, Andy felt his body stiffen with the cold.
"Shhh..."
Andy let out a breath of white air.
The temperature had indeed dropped, and a light layer of frost seemed to cover the walls around the stone chamber.
'It's coming from behind the curtain!'
Andy took a few steps back, clutching his wand tightly in his hand, not knowing whether he should just leave now.
After hesitating for a moment, Andy took his wand and spun it in place, using the Fire-Making Charm to create a ring of fire around himself, trying to use the heat of the flames to dispel the cold.
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