Chapter 261 - 261: Beware the Taint

Words : 1894 Updated : Oct 13th, 2025

"Alright, it's time for me to go." Regulus smiled gently as he floated a step backwards, his body once again rising into the air. Kreacher cried out and rushed forward, trying to grab hold of his master, while Sirius stood still, holding back his emotions, watching his younger brother fade into the distance. "Thank you both. Take care." With those words, Regulus turned around and resolutely stepped into the black vortex, vanishing without a trace. Immediately after, the Crumple-Horned Snorkack gave a gentle sweep of its long tail, causing the vortex to dissipate into nothingness. Then it turned around, preparing to leave. "Wait!" Edward quickly called out and shot out several rapid questions: "Is the Underworld real? Are you truly its emissary? Does Death really exist? Have you heard of the abode of the gods?" The Crumple-Horned Snorkack's footsteps halted for a second. It gave them a sidelong glance—yet said nothing. Tsk. Should he try to stop it by force? But the creature had just shown them goodwill, giving Regulus and Sirius a final reunion. Attacking it now would be downright disgraceful. Audrey also stepped forward and asked, "Do you remember me? We met in Alice Longbottom's mental world. Could you tell me—when will they return to normal?" "Soon." This time, the Crumple-Horned Snorkack actually spoke. A low, resonant voice rang out. Then it quickened its steps and vanished into the darkness. "Sigh…" Edward let out a long breath. "Let's head back." Audrey reached up and patted his head gently, offering a small smile. "Maybe it doesn't know the answers either. But at the very least...it did give us some good news, didn't it?" "Yeah." Sirius's voice was hoarse as he spoke next. "I...I don't even know what to say to thank you both." He bowed deeply. "Thank you." Kreacher was sobbing and sniffling as he also gave a clumsy, grateful bow. "Thank you… wuuu…Master Regulus…!" ——— Ten minutes later. They had returned to the Black family's old manor. The golden trio immediately rushed over, curiosity in their eyes. But Sirius was in no mood to tell stories right now. So Audrey took over that task, recounting their strange and wondrous experience to the children, as well as to Lilith and Susie. Hermione was left stunned. "So the Underworld...actually exists? I thought that was just mythology." Ron scoffed. "Come on, there's magic and wizards, but the Underworld is too far-fetched?" Harry, however, murmured quietly, "So...does that mean my mum and dad were also taken to the Underworld by that 'emissary'? Is there a chance...I could see them again?" Lilith leapt onto Edward's shoulder, muttering in frustration, "I should've gone with you." "Why?" "Because I want to be just as amazing as that so-called 'emissary'!" Edward laughed. "You'll be even more amazing than it someday." "Really?" "Of course—because Lilith is the smartest kitty in the whole world." She happily wagged her tail. "That's right!!" ——— Half an hour later, Sirius reappeared with a more composed expression and a smile. He called everyone over for dinner. Around 9 p.m., Edward and Audrey returned to Hogwarts. After walking Audrey back to her dormitory, Edward immediately sensed something: the Mirror of Erised was reacting again! Without hesitation, he Apparated to the Room of Requirement, summoned the mirror, and sure enough—its surface was glowing faintly once more. Edward quickly backed away to a safe distance, tensing his body and preparing for anything that might happen. After a full ten minutes of flickering light, the dark door appeared again on the surface of the mirror. "Is it happening? Is it really time to go back?" Truth be told, Edward was nervous. Though he'd acted calm these past few days, continuing with his daily tasks, it had all been to mentally prepare himself after hearing everything Audrey had told him about the past. What if he couldn't come back? What if something went wrong in the process? What if some step had been messed up these past few days? His mind was spinning with anxious thoughts. Suddenly, the door inside the Mirror of Erised creaked open—not with the emergence of those ghastly pale arms as before—but Edward still didn't dare lower his guard. Moments later, the mirror's surface rippled like water. A dark figure slowly approached from within. Then a hand reached through. No—that wasn't a hand. It was a pale, skeletal claw—stripped of all flesh. And then the entire figure emerged into reality—cloaked in black robes with a hood, holding a massive scythe. A…Grim Reaper? Edward froze. Even though this figure looked exactly like the reapers from Western mythology, his intuition screamed: this is the one—the being I glimpsed through the crack in the door when I advanced to Sequence 6. The "Reaper" seemed to sense Edward's gaze and turned toward him. The blue flames flickering within its hollow eye sockets pulsed once. Its jawbone clicked twice—was that…a smile? Despite lacking flesh, its skeletal expression somehow conveyed a strange familiarity to Edward. At the same time, his spirituality surged violently. Danger! Danger! Danger! For over ten seconds, they stared at one another. Then the Reaper slowly extended its bony left hand from within its sleeve—clutching a wand. It thrust both the hand and the wand into the Mirror of Erised. A wand? Edward blinked. Then a thought struck him: Could it be...the Elder Wand from the Tale of the Three Brothers? Dumbledore once said the Elder Wand had been lost long ago. Is this the wand? Then, with a powerful tug, the Reaper pulled something out of the mirror—another Edward—unconscious, breathing steadily. So…this was how he had returned? After completing this task, the Reaper turned and walked back toward the mirror. "You…are you Death?" Edward couldn't help but ask. Crack. Crack. The creature's jawbone moved. "Yes...and no." Then, with one final step, it vanished back into the watery mirror. The black door sealed shut behind it. Snap! A crisp sound rang out. In the next second, the Mirror of Erised shattered—splintering into countless shards and crashing to the floor. "The Mirror of Erised…just broke like that?" Just then, Lilith wriggled out from Edward's arms, her eyes still drowsy. "Edward~ what happened?" she yawned. "Huh?!" Crap. He had forgotten about Lilith. Should he stuff her into the leather pouch now? But she had already seen his past self—there was no point. And it wasn't like he could just cast an Obliviate on her. Forget it. His past self was back anyway, so the matter was pretty much settled. Thinking that, Edward briefly explained the situation. Lilith's eyes widened instantly. "So…after using the Time-Turner, there were two Edwards?" "That's right." "Then, if Miss Lilith used the Time-Turner, there would be two Liliths too?" "…" Edward's eyelid twitched. He quickly said, "Lilith, that…that's not necessarily a good thing! If you went back and did something that disrupted the timeline, it could cause huge problems." "…Oh." She nodded. "Miss Lilith doesn't understand." Then why even pretend to understand?! Edward shook his head helplessly and walked over to his unconscious self. Lilith stared in awe. "Wow! There really are two Edwards!" She lightly leapt down and padded over to the other Edward, first sniffing him, then stepping on his face with her soft little paws before turning back. "Exactly the same!" "…" Of course they're the same. "All right, Lilith, I have something very important to do. Stay to the side and keep watch for me." "Okay~!" In the original text, Daly had once explained that channelling meant allowing one's own spirituality to enter another's spiritual world, thereby witnessing some of the experiences the other had gone through. Normally, the targets of such channelling were the deceased—since their lingering spirituality was purer, free from the clutter and chaos of conscious thoughts. Living people could also be channelled, but that required the channeler's will to overpower the subject's, otherwise it could be dangerous. But channeling oneself—sending his own spirit into his own spiritual world—that…didn't sound quite right. Edward took out a bottle of Draught of Living Death and poured some into his past self's mouth, just in case he suddenly woke up. Then, he brought out the materials for the channelling ritual and began the setup. In the faint mist, he stepped back two paces, then solemnly chanted in Hermes: "I beseech the power of the night; I beseech the power of secrecy; I beseech the goddess's favour. I beseech you— Allow me to communicate with the spirituality of Edward, the Beyonder beside me." --- As the string of incantations echoed, Edward saw darkness slowly seep outward from the candle flames tinged with a dim, eerie glow. He didn't avoid it. Didn't resist. He allowed this deep "night" to envelop him. In an unusually clear state of mind, he felt his spiritual body drift away from his physical shell, entering a cosmic void—boundless, silent, and pitch black. Above him, the sky was filled with transparent, indescribable figures: brilliant bands of colour containing unfathomable knowledge. Then, he saw another version of himself—hazy, dazed, and translucent. It worked. He had successfully channelled himself. This experience…was probably the first of its kind in all of history. This was completely different from when he had tried to divine his own fate last time. Edward adjusted his breathing and asked, "These past few days—where did you go?" The past Edward murmured, "The mirror world." "When you entered the Mirror of Erised…what did you see?" "Oceans. Rivers. The Reaper. And…" His expression twisted slightly in pain. "I forgot." "That reaper-looking guy—was he really Death?" "Yes…and no." "Is the Mirror of Erised really the dwelling of a god?" "No. There are no gods in this world." Edward froze. No gods? That completely contradicted what Slytherin had told him! "Why do you say that?" The channelled Edward looked increasingly tormented. Then, his expression went blank. "Forgot." "What exactly did you encounter in there?" "Forgot." "Why is your memory missing?" "Forgot." Damn it!!! What the hell happened inside the Mirror of Erised? What exactly did that "Reaper" want? If he had malicious intentions, why return him unharmed? If he didn't, why drag him in at all? Edward believed that any intelligent being—especially one as exalted as a supposed god—should have a reason behind their actions. Otherwise, what would someone of that level get out of playing games? Then, a thought struck him. Wait…that was entirely possible. The best example was Amon. Wait a second— Ariana was like that too, wasn't she? He had suspected before that she was an Undying who had revived multiple times and lost her memories each time… But now, was it possible that she had also entered the Mirror of Erised? He fell into deep thought for a long while. "You really remember nothing?" The past Edward hesitated for a few seconds, then finally nodded. "Yes." Edward's eyes rippled slightly. "Is there anything you want to say to me?" The past Edward fell silent. After about half a minute, he murmured in a vacant tone: "Be careful…of contamination." ——— [Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.

Chapter 261 - 261: Beware the Taint

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