Under Hoffa's calm gaze, the colossal dragon could no longer maintain its transformed state. Its massive body, stretching hundreds of meters, deflated like a punctured balloon, shrinking rapidly.
Eventually, it reverted to human form. Staring at its hands in astonishment, it asked, "Anti-magic potion?"
Hoffa nodded. "Correct. You're just like me now."
"When did you manage to do this to me?" it asked in disbelief.
"Did the plane exhaust smell good?" Hoffa replied indifferently.
"Huh?"
The Void Dragon was momentarily speechless.
Hoffa explained, "You see, when we possess great power, we often stop paying attention to the little details, don't we?"
"You put the anti-magic potion in the fuel tank?"
"A lot of it—enough to last you a while," Hoffa said.
The Void Dragon stared at its hands, dumbfounded for a moment, before looking up with a mocking grin. "You're clever, I'll give you that. You've disrupted my magic flow, but how long do you think you can hold me down? My resistance is beyond your comprehension."
"For negotiation purposes, five minutes is plenty," Hoffa said calmly.
"Negotiate, my ass!"
The Void Dragon clenched its fists and strode toward Hoffa, sneering. "Even without magic, my physical strength is a hundred, no, a thousand times greater than yours!"
"If you want a brawl, I'm more than happy to oblige."
Hoffa pulled a vial of crystal-clear pink liquid from his pocket and dangled it in the air. Under the shimmering starlight, the potion gleamed with an eerie brilliance.
"See this?"
"What is that?" The Void Dragon stopped in its tracks.
"Without that body of yours, you're nothing special," Hoffa said softly. "You're just a monster that exists in everyone's heart—a banal one at that."
"What did you just say?"
Hoffa held up the potion. "Your body may be strong, but it's not without weaknesses. Nor is it irreplaceable. I collaborated with Norbert Hager to replicate your genes."
The Void Dragon's face darkened, and in the blink of an eye, it vanished and lunged toward Hoffa. But Hoffa had anticipated this move. He casually crushed the potion in his hand and tossed it into the Atlantic waves like trash.
The Void Dragon stopped less than a meter from Hoffa, its outstretched hand frozen. It stared at the shards of glass floating on the water, utterly stunned by Hoffa's actions.
"You're not using it yourself!?"
"You see, this is the difference between you and me," Hoffa said calmly. "I would never turn myself into a monster. I'm human. Always human. No matter how I change on the outside, my essence remains the same."
"Spare me the sanctimony! Without power, you're as good as dead!"
Once again, the Void Dragon's face twisted in rage, and it threw a punch toward Hoffa's head.
"Though I won't use that potion," Hoffa said, standing calmly with his hands behind his back, "that doesn't mean others won't. I had Norbert replicate it infinitely and spread it everywhere."
The Void Dragon's fist stopped just millimeters from Hoffa's face, frozen in mid-air.
"Now, this potion can turn anyone into someone just like you—wandering beggars, ignorant farmers, even streetwalkers. If that happens, what makes you special anymore?"
This struck a nerve. The Void Dragon's expression changed instantly. "You!! Dare!! I'll kill you!"
Hoffa remained unmoved. "Killing me won't change anything. I've convinced Norbert Hager to release this virus globally. If I don't return within half an hour, everyone in this world might irreversibly become a dragon."
The Void Dragon's jaw dropped. It retracted its hand, turned, and fled.
"Fine, fine, I'll kill Norbert first! Then I'll deal with you!"
Hoffa remained motionless, standing where he was, his face mocking.
Sure enough, after only a few steps, the Void Dragon realized it was completely surrounded by the vast ocean. Trapped in the middle of the Atlantic, it felt its heart skip a beat. Water stretched endlessly in all directions—it had fallen into its own trap.
At that moment, Hoffa's untimely taunt echoed from behind:
"See? You understand my weaknesses, but did you think I wouldn't understand them myself? I have plenty—low magic reserves, no flying broomstick skills, and, oh, I can't swim either."
"You!" The Void Dragon clutched its head in frustration.
"You're not entirely void. You still care about certain things," Hoffa observed calmly. "My crippling narcissism, my fear of mediocrity, my unrelenting pride, my incurable stubbornness—all of these are part of me. Thanks to you, I've come to understand myself better."
The Void Dragon staggered slightly as it turned around. "You'd rather let those useless idiots become like you than preserve this truth and uniqueness?"
"My understanding of truth and uniqueness is completely different from yours," Hoffa replied. "I am a legend. You? You are nothingness."
"You—"
In a fit of rage, the Void Dragon stomped on the water, creating waves that surged over a hundred meters high. "You!!"
But standing before it was merely a 1.5-meter-tall boy, calm and unflinching. Hoffa tilted his head slightly, offering a faint smile as the water splashed behind him.
"So? Merge with me. Return to where you belong. I'll stop this act. Otherwise, I'll turn the entire world into dragons just like you."
"Never! You'll never make me ordinary!"
"Who cares?"
Hoffa's voice dripped with sarcasm. "No one is inherently superior to anyone else. That's the essence of nothingness. You and I are just struggling in different directions within this meaningless game. You try to change the world, to leave your mark. I just want to master myself."
Boom!
The sand beneath them exploded as the Void Dragon leapt nearly a hundred meters into the air, but under the pull of Earth's gravity, it inevitably landed back on the desolate island. With nowhere to go, it thrashed about wildly.
Hoffa watched its struggles with calm sympathy. "You can disregard everyone else, you can complain about the futility of life. But beyond that, what else can you do? Without me, you're nothing. You were a shadow before, and now you're just a sick, pathetic, lonely beast. What's left of you besides this so-called ultimate body?"
"I'm not!"
Amid the crashing waves and shattered stones, the other self raised its arm to strike Hoffa. But midway through, it stopped, withdrawing its hand and clutching its head tightly.
Hoffa looked up. "If you're not, then why are you so afraid of me making others like you? Is it because you think you're not good enough?"
The dark-haired boy's face twisted in despair, anger, and sorrow. "Why are you doing this? Why?"
"Because it brings me peace of mind."
Hoffa extended a hand toward his other self, his voice steady and calm. "I'm sorry."
"Get lost!"
The Void Dragon roared, its voice raising a tempest that whipped Hoffa's hair wildly.
Still, Hoffa bent forward calmly, placing a hand on the other's shoulder. He spoke softly: "I'm truly sorry."
"Sorry for what?"
The gale from the Void Dragon's roar raged on, but Hoffa's voice remained serene:
"I'm sorry for ignoring my desires. For suppressing my yearning for adventure. I locked myself away in a school, terrified of my true aspirations as if they were some kind of monster. I never truly examined myself. If you give me another chance, I'll leave Hogwarts and pursue my own destiny."
As the final words left his mouth, the other self froze. Its struggles ceased, and its pained expression gradually softened. First peaceful, then gentle, until it mirrored Hoffa's exactly.
The two identical figures stood on the beach, silently gazing at each other for a long time.
"What kind of person do you want to become?"
Hoffa asked himself.
"I want to become a legend—one unlike anyone else."
He answered himself.
"That will be a journey filled with loneliness."
"It doesn't matter. I'll have myself for company."
Moonlight cascaded down, coating the surface of the ocean in a silvery glow.
Facing the starlit and prophetic night, for the first time, he opened his heart to the indifferent world. He returned to himself, realizing how much this world resembled him and understanding its essence. Ultimately, despite all the suffering, he found himself and still chose to face life with hope.
At last, the boy identical to Hoffa lowered his proud head. Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, he said, "I take back my words—you've changed."
"Perhaps this is what it means to be human," Hoffa replied softly. "In the end, we all have to accept reality."
The other boy looked at the ocean beneath his feet, a bittersweet smile flickering across his face. After a moment, he stepped forward and embraced Hoffa. Hoffa embraced himself as well, closing his eyes.
The void returned to his soul. Hoffa straightened, and the sounds of the universe echoed in his ears. The scents of the night, the sand, and the ocean surrounded him, cooling his temples. This strange silence washed over him like a tide, permeating his entire being.
His soul and body unified. When he opened his eyes again, the other version of himself had vanished, as had the fragmented reality he'd been in.
His perception had drastically heightened.
In that moment, the entire world transformed into countless black-and-white lines, trembling continuously in the void. It felt as if he had returned to the solitary time spent with the Dementors.
However, those lines, which had once seemed chaotic and messy, now appeared orderly and structured.
Each line represented a social rule created by a wizard. Every line's origin was a powerful wizard.
In that moment, Hoffa understood: this was the essence of a true wizard. A true wizard must first learn to govern themselves. They must learn to master solitude.
Then, he heard a soft call. He turned his head sharply and saw a faint black silhouette watching him from a distance.
With just one glance, he knew who it was.
It was Grindelwald—the spirit of Grindelwald.
In an instant, the distance between them collapsed. The shadow collided with him, transforming into a massive eye glowing brilliantly in the darkness. It was Grindelwald's eye.
In that moment, Hoffa understood Grindelwald's intentions, and his expression changed.
The path he had walked, Grindelwald had walked as well. Grindelwald had also conquered himself, but through methods completely different from Hoffa's. And his purpose was entirely opposed to Hoffa's—he sought to destroy every existing rule in the world.
This realization filled Hoffa with dread. It was an unfathomable madness.
That eye looked at him, a faintly satisfied smile flickering within it.
Then, the vision disappeared.
Hoffa returned to the real world, standing on the sandy beach in the middle of the ocean, his gaze heavy with contemplation.
He understood his destiny. In facing this world, there were far more important things for him to do.
Clenching his fists, he felt a surge of immense power. That power came from his soul, from his heart. In that moment, he possessed strength—both physical and magical—that far surpassed any he had ever known.
Amid crackling lightning, he transformed into a four-winged Thunderbird and vanished into the horizon in the blink of an eye.
(End of Chapter)
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