Chapter 344 Stars, Illusions, And Magic
"Raising her eyebrows, Ready?" Hermione repeated.
Before them rose a huge black stone door. The stone door was carved with the pattern of the changes in the moon phases. The black moon formed a circle around the entire stone door, transitioning from the full moon at the top to the waxing crescent.
On the inner side, time was marked in a one-month period, corresponding respectively to the New Moon, Waxing Moon, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous Moon, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous Moon, Third Quarter, and finally the Waxing Moon, and again the New Moon. The outer side of the lunar phase diagram was densely covered with words, and there were many strange patterns showing various signs and prophecies predicted by the different moon positions.
Excluding those representing the illusory signs of astrology, Evan had to admire the thoroughness of the Centaurs in observing and recording planetary changes.
In Astronomy and Astrology, the Centaurs achieved much more than humans did.
Magorian approached and touched the full moon on the door, and the black stone door slowly rose up.
Due to its weight, the stone door emitted a creak.
Evan, Harry, Ron, and Hermione held their breath and nervously looked at the door.
Their right hands tightly gripped their wands, not daring to relax their vigilance, as if there were many monsters behind the door ready to emerge at any moment.
But nothing happened. Inside the door was a small circular space.
"Let's go inside!" Magorian said loudly, taking the lead.
They didn't move. Everyone turned their heads and looked doubtfully at Sirius.
"Go ahead, it's an elevator, just like in Dumbledore's office," Sirius pointed out that there was no danger. "The object left by Gryffindor is kept at the top of the temple, and it will take us up there."
They all entered, eagerly looking around. Like the platform at the bottom of the elevator, the interior was also a circular space, with black paint at the top and planetary movements carved on the surrounding walls.
Magorian touched another planet on the wall. A loud noise came from beneath their feet, and the platform began to ascend slowly, then picking up speed.
"It's incredible. How did the Centaurs do this?" Hermione asked in amazement. "Is it magic?"
"It shouldn't be magic. I don't sense any trace of magic."
Evan was also very doubtful. The obsidian platform under his feet was obviously very heavy. To make it rise to such a height, very powerful magic was needed.
He knew that the Centaurs were not as skilled in magic.
They had a unique focus on astrological prophecies and healing magic, but had made little progress in other fields.
Unless there were powerful wizards or other powerful races to help them design these mechanisms, it was difficult for the Centaurs to do this with their own magical abilities.
"It's not magic. The Centaurs use the water from the lake to move this elevator."
Sirius warned them not to approach the rapidly receding wall, explaining, "You must have seen the immense lake outside. Indeed, the temple was built entirely above water. The ancient Centaurs designed various mechanisms to use the water from the lake below to help them achieve all sorts of things."
It was truly a very ingenious mechanism, and everyone was amazed.
It was hard to imagine that the path they had just traveled used to be occupied by the lake.
Magorian remained silent. He stood aside and looked at them coldly, listening to everyone's praise. His face remained extremely proud.
The platform ascended slowly, and after about ten minutes, the ramp disappeared.
Upon finally reaching his destination, Evan felt the gentle night breeze.
He stepped off the platform, took a deep breath of fresh air, and suddenly felt his vision expanding.
At that precise moment, they found themselves in a vast sea of stars.
The night sky and the obsidian beneath their feet merged into one, giving the sensation that the sky and the earth had fused with them, surrounded by the bright stars.
Everything became especially clear and extraordinarily surreal for them.
Evan had never experienced anything like it. The distant stars were now very close to them, so clear and illusory that they seemed to be right next to them. They had the feeling that if they reached out their hands, they could touch the stars in the sky.
Evan was struck by the wonders of the sky and was deeply immersed in it.
He thought he had arrived in the empty world of the stars. Perhaps this was Outer Space!
With countless stars emitting a faint energy, Evan felt his magic becoming restless.
His magic acted erratically and uncontrollably, as if it too wanted to rise and reach the stars. Evan was surprised and hurried to control the magic in his body, but the stars in front of him distracted him from thinking about anything else, and he became lost in them.
The magic surged faster and faster, breaking the rhythm Evan was accustomed to.
Dazed, Evan gazed at the stars until he saw the dark red moon just above his head. Only then did he suddenly awaken from his reverie.
He suddenly realized he was standing on an open platform at the top of the temple.
Regaining consciousness, the agitation of his magic ceased, and Evan felt as if he had fallen into a kind of hallucination, a deep magical hallucination built by the platform at the temple's peak and the stars in the sky.
This magic was not harmful, but the sober Evan felt that his magic had increased slightly, which was simply incredible.
After absorbing the potent power contained in Slytherin's locket, Evan's magic speed had reached a frightening level.
Even Dumbledore predicted that his magic would not significantly increase in the coming years.
But after just over a month, Evan's magic began to grow again through the subtle sensation of being immersed in the Sea of Stars, which was incredible.
He turned his head and saw Sirius and Magorian smiling at him.
Beside him, Harry and Ron reached out their hands as if they were truly going to touch the stars in the sky.
Hermione too gazed at a not-so-distant galaxy, completely absorbed in it.
Evan could clearly sense that the magic of the three of them was also behaving strangely, like a young wizard discovering his powers for the first time.
But they had not yet recovered, and he did not know how long they would be lost in the illusion.
Noticing Evan's clear gaze, Magorian nodded, apparently satisfied that he had recovered so quickly.
He gestured with his hand for Evan to follow him.
Evan looked at Sirius, who told him to accompany Magorian. Black would stay there and wait for Harry, Ron, and Hermione.