Seeing the spikes forming within Aglaia's barrier, Fatier finally panicked. His back was drenched in sweat as he raised his hand and stammered, "I'll tell it... I'll tell it."
Grindelwald, satisfied, lowered his hand and clasped it behind his back.
Fatier swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing. In a hoarse voice, he began to speak:
"Once, there was a group of prisoners trapped in a cave. Their hands and feet were bound, and they couldn't turn their bodies, forced to face away from the cave's entrance."
Grindelwald nodded slightly, his expression tinged with faint fascination.
Fatier continued, "In front of them was a white wall, and behind them burned a fire. On that wall, they saw shadows of themselves. Since they couldn't see anything else, the prisoners believed the shadows were the real world."
At this point, Fatier faltered, his words caught in his throat. But glancing at the barrier behind him, he clenched his teeth and pressed on:
"Eventually, one of the prisoners broke free of his chains and felt his way out of the cave. For the first time, he saw the real world.
He returned to the cave and tried to explain to the others that the shadows were illusions, and he pointed them toward the light.
But to the prisoners, he seemed even more foolish than before he had escaped. They insisted that nothing existed beyond the shadows on the wall."
Finishing the story, Fatier seemed drained of all energy, swaying unsteadily on his feet.
Grindelwald's gaze shifted from nostalgia to pity. He looked at the pale Fatier and softly remarked, "Professor, after all these years, I'm impressed you still remember that story."
"You don't need to mock me, Gellert," Fatier retorted loudly. "I've simply chosen the life I want. If you still hold a grudge over the past, go ahead and kill me."
"Kill you?" Grindelwald's tone was calm. "I know you've stayed away from your family for years, avoiding them because you feared that if I killed you, they'd grieve. But you've misunderstood something, Professor. I could never kill you. If you think I'm a vengeful spirit, you're gravely mistaken."
Grindelwald's voice was steady as he continued, "I have no desire for revenge. I only wish to make you like me."
"Let them go! I'll give you anything you want," Fatier's voice cracked with desperation. "I've told you the story already."
Grindelwald shook his head. "I've already seen through your truth. Lies and compromises are meaningless to me."
"What do you want, then?" Fatier demanded.
Grindelwald chuckled lazily. "If you want to prove yourself, then prove it to me."
"How?"
"Simple. Kill me."
Grindelwald tossed the Elder Wand into the air.
In the dim light of the ancient castle, the black, slender Elder Wand arced through the air and landed in Fatier's hand.
Fatier caught the wand in a daze, unable to grasp the absurdity of the situation.
Grindelwald calmly raised a hand, a playful smile on his lips. "Kill me, or I'll kill your entire family."
With that, he raised his arm again, and sharp spikes began to grow within the barriers holding Fatier's family. In an instant, the captives writhed and struggled desperately against their bonds.
Without hesitation, Fatier raised the Elder Wand and pointed it at Grindelwald. The tension in the air was so thick it seemed to freeze time.
"Go on, Professor Drases," Grindelwald said with a nonchalant smile. "In this world, no one is truly different. A student, a prisoner, or even a headmaster.
At their core, everyone is the same—selfish, foolish, numb, and cold. Just prisoners in a cave."
Fatier tightened his grip on the wand. "Why are you doing this?"
"For no particular reason," Grindelwald replied with a slight tilt of his head, his tone almost mocking. "I just refuse to conform to this filthy world."
He smirked. "Come on, kill me."
Miles away, high in the clouds, Hoffa flew across the sky, covering great distances in an instant.
From above, with his enhanced senses, the entire world unfolded before him like a holographic map. It was a black-and-white landscape, with countless souls moving through the lines that formed this ethereal world.
From his vantage point, Hoffa quickly locked onto Grindelwald's position. At that moment, he felt an overwhelming surge of power, coupled with the pervasive aura of death.
It was as though Death itself smiled upon the earth—a colossal skeletal knight in armor riding a pale horse, its face twisted in a taunting grin as it swept across the horizon.
The magnitude of that power shook Hoffa to his core. He recognized it as one of the world's most formidable forces—a power capable of making its wielder a god's representative in this realm.
Suppressing the unease gnawing at his heart, Hoffa focused his attention.
Though separated by miles, he could see the events unfolding in the castle. He saw Fatier standing there, holding the Deathly Hallow—the Elder Wand—pointed at Grindelwald.
Pointing at whom?
Grindelwald?
Hoffa focused intently.
With just one glance, he was utterly stunned.
In the black-and-white world governed by the rules of reality, the souls of Grindelwald and Aglaia were completely reversed.
Fatier, holding the wand, wasn't pointing at Grindelwald at all but at his own daughter, Aglaia. The real Grindelwald was within the barrier behind him. He had used the Imperius Curse to control Aglaia and altered her appearance.
Realizing this, Hoffa shuddered as though a giant claw gripped his heart. He let out a sharp cry into the heavens, his speed increasing as he raced toward the scene with all his might.
At that moment, Hoffa fully grasped the depth of Grindelwald's madness.
What is he trying to do?
Inside the castle, Fatier still held his wand aloft, aiming at the man before him.
The tip of the Elder Wand trembled, as though yearning to savor the pleasure of taking a life. Yet, it also seemed uneasy, dreading the horror about to unfold.
The world outside the window was pitch-black. Distant lightning flashed feebly against the vast darkness.
A gust of wind blew through the garden, scattering rose petals across the ground. As the petals rolled and twirled, they were carried into the room. The moment they passed between the two men locked in a standoff, the petals turned black and withered.
"Grindelwald" spoke again, his voice mocking. "What's the matter, Professor Drases? Would you rather wait for me to kill your family than kill me yourself?"
Fatier replied through clenched teeth, "What is wrong with you? Can't you act normal for once?"
"If you kill me, maybe then you'll understand," Grindelwald replied, feigning indifference.
Raising his hand again, he caused the transparent blades within the barrier to extend further. Several captives' faces were now streaked with fresh blood.
Fatier's trembling hand grew more unsteady, and cold sweat dripped steadily from his face to the floor.
As the wand's tip wavered, "Grindelwald" suddenly twitched, as if struggling against something unseen.
Seeing the movement, Fatier instinctively gripped the Elder Wand tighter.
When the moment passed, the man in the moonlight raised his head and spoke hoarsely, "Do you know how this wand came into my possession, Professor? Let me tell you a story."
"Shut up, Grindelwald," Fatier snapped.
"Shut up," he repeated.
Grindelwald continued as if he hadn't heard. "While traveling through Europe, I once came across a drunken vagrant lying on the streets of Paris at three in the morning.
"When I turned him over, I realized he was Osbarton—the previous Dark Lord, the Duel Master. A man who had never lost a fight in his life."
"Shut up, Gellert," Fatier growled.
"Destitute and holding nothing but an empty bottle and the Elder Wand, he begged me to buy him another drink.
"For the wand, I killed him. He didn't resist at all, dying nameless in the gutter."
"Enough, Gellert Grindelwald!"
"In that moment, I realized that in the face of death, everyone is insignificant."
With those words, Grindelwald suddenly thrust his hand downward. Inside the barrier, spikes burst forth one by one.
Finally, Fatier closed his eyes. With a flick of the wand, he shouted:
"Avada Kedavra!"
A jet of green light erupted from the tip of the Elder Wand.
At that moment, it was as if Death itself swung its massive scythe. The scythe sliced heavily downward.
High above a distant tower, lightning flashed across the sky. In that instant, Hoffa's eyes widened in disbelief as he raced forward like a gale. His body halted abruptly mid-flight. Falling from the clouds, he crashed through five or six houses before staggering out of the rubble.
"This can't be real," he murmured, pale as a ghost.
Transforming back into a Thunderbird, he disappeared into the sky once more.
The green light faded, and everything returned to silence. It was unclear how much time had passed—perhaps a minute, or maybe just a second.
Fatier, pale as a ghost, opened his eyes. Inside the darkened castle, the curtains continued to flutter in the wind. The man before him lay lifeless on the ground. The air was still, tranquil, and eerily calm.
He glanced at the wand in his hand, then at the motionless body on the floor. For a moment, words seemed to escape him entirely.
He exhaled deeply, tilting his head back as if trying to release the weight pressing on him, and turned around.
But then, he froze.
The barrier imprisoning his family had not disappeared.
The transparent cubes remained suspended in mid-air.
Moments later, the cube containing Aglaia slowly descended to the ground.
The long-haired girl stepped out with an air of detachment. As she walked, her form began to change. Her body grew taller and her silhouette transformed.
Finally, she became another tall figure.
Grindelwald stood before Fatier, unharmed.
His gaze held only endless pity and scorn.
"You truly could go through with it, Professor," Grindelwald said.
Fatier stood paralyzed. "How…?"
"Only someone who truly understands reality can perfectly wield illusions. Don't you agree, Professor Drases?"
With that, Grindelwald raised his hand. The Elder Wand, like a bird returning to its nest, flew back into his grasp.
Fatier's heart sank. Slowly, mechanically, he turned around bit by bit. The lifeless body behind him had completely transformed.
(End of Chapter)
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