Chapter 353 Okegiga The Centaur
"In the illusion, you will be personally involved in the fierce Civil War of the Centaurs," Gryffindor looked at Evan with his serene eyes. "Help the Centaurs reseal the evil spirit. Through the trial, you will obtain the Key to my Treasure. If you fail, you will be disqualified."
"If I get that Philosopher's Stone, your consciousness..." Evan suddenly thought.
"With the help of the Philosopher's Stone and the power of the stars, my consciousness has existed for too long. I'm tired of it!" Gryffindor said calmly. "In the past thousand years, I have witnessed too many vicissitudes, far exceeding everything I expected to see. This is a special experience for me but also a kind of torture. After you obtain the Treasure Key, I will disappear completely. Now, do you have any other questions?"
Evan shook his head, slightly regretful.
Although this was only a part of Gryffindor's consciousness, the brief communication still allowed him to learn a lot; he felt a bit reluctant to leave him.
Furthermore, he felt more uncertain about the future. Evan was confident about facing Voldemort, but he was unsure if he could defeat the monsters transformed by the evil god and Herpo the Foul, whom even Gryffindor admired.
Faced with the unknown, he felt his strength was still too weak. He needed a mentor. If only Gryffindor could stay and help him...
"I am sure you can overcome all difficulties and open the Treasure we left behind," Gryffindor said reassuringly. "This was true a thousand years ago, and it is true now. It is a pleasure to have a student like you as part of Gryffindor House."
He bid a noble standard farewell to Evan, waving his hand with a smile, and the next moment, the world before Evan began to crumble.
Everything fragmented like shattered crystals.
The debris shimmered silver, falling and disappearing, even Evan's body.
It was an extraordinary sensation to see his body disappear.
When everything darkened again, only Gryffindor's muffled voice intermittently reached from afar.
"By the way, that wicked young Slytherin was here fifty years ago. He left a dark spell on the Philosopher's Stone, which is quite cunning and could cause you a little trouble, but I believe you will overcome those difficulties. Just reassemble the two parts of the Philosopher's Stone..."
Wait, Voldemort left his magic! Evan instantly thought of Professor Trelawney's prophecy about the one who was about to be chosen by Voldemort in the Dark Temple.
He wanted to ask Gryffindor what magic it was, but he couldn't make a sound.
A strong sense of oppression spread from all sides, and Evan felt the surrounding air vanish in an instant.
In the dark void, he felt breathless, as if he were going to die.
When he came to his senses, he found himself lying on the grass, panting heavily.
"So, you are the one the elder calls for help?" A strange voice resonated next to Evan. "A young colt, this is ridiculous."
Evan looked up and, in the glow of the setting sun, found himself lying on a hillside.
He was surrounded by tall trees whose tops he couldn't see. A proud Centaur stood beside him.
Unlike the Centaurs he had seen before, he wore a strange gray leather armor, carried a bow and arrows on his back, and his body seemed as solid as a mountain.
The Centaur spoke a language Evan had never heard before, but he could understand.
"Who are you?" Evan asked, instinctively touching his wand.
"Human, my name is Okegiga, a warrior of the Centaur tribe." In his left hand, Okegiga held a huge silver spear, flashing a pulsating light in the sun.
Evan suddenly realized who he was. No wonder he seemed familiar! This centaur was the ghost he had just seen in the Obsidian Temple.
According to Magorian, he was the finest warrior in the history of the Centaurs.
Evan recalled that a man named Okegiga slew an adult fire dragon and numerous other unimaginable monsters.
"Hello, my name is Evan, from Hogwarts, I was…" Evan hesitated and continued, "I was requested by Gryffindor to assist you."
"I know, the elder informed me, so I remained here awaiting your arrival. I hope it hasn't been a waste of time," said Okegiga with a gruff voice. "Get up, we don't have time to lie around on the ground! My people are attacking the colony occupied by traitors. We must get there as soon as possible."
He stooped down and pulled Evan abruptly from the grass.
Okegiga scraped his front hooves on the ground, casting a doubtful look at Evan.
Then he pointed towards the depths of the Forbidden Forest, signaling for Evan to follow him and muttering that Evan was too thin and not strong enough.
"We must hurry, human!" Okegiga exclaimed.
Evan followed on, but the Centaur moved so swiftly that he soon vanished among the trees, leaving only the echo of his hooves pounding the ground.
"Curse it, wait for me! How am I supposed to keep up with a Centaur in the forest?"
Watching Okegiga's back, Evan was secretly anxious.
Who knew what would happen if he didn't reach the Centaur colony in time?
He remembered his mission was to aid the Centaurs in winning the war and resealing the accursed evil spirit. If he spent two or three hours running at a normal pace and everything ended before his arrival, he would fail!
"If only there were Hippogriffs around here," Evan glanced around, hoping to find something to help him reach the Centaur colony as swiftly as possible.
But there was nothing around; the forest was quiet and still.
Just when he was unsure of what to do, Okegiga returned running once again, his massive figure like a hill bursting out from the bushes.
"I wonder what a young human colt like you can do to help us," said Okegiga proudly. "If the elder hadn't repeatedly mentioned your usefulness, I wouldn't have cared. Well, just sit on my back."
The Centaur lowered his body slightly, and Evan climbed on hastily. He had been with Firenze before, and Firenze had taken him and Peter Pettigrew through most of the Forbidden Forest in the middle of the night, but that was entirely different from riding on Okegiga's back.
The sturdy Centaur's body was too broad, and Evan had to lean forward to maintain his balance. The rough leather armor in front of him was very uncomfortable.
Okegiga advanced swiftly, cutting through the forest with Evan onboard.
Like being on a train, the surrounding trees zoomed past rapidly. Though not very comfortable, the journey was much smoother than Evan had envisioned.
As they climbed a hill, the surrounding view suddenly widened.
Evan saw Hogwarts Castle in the distance. Compared to the Hogwarts he knew, the castle from 800 years ago appeared more like a military fortress with a rougher shape.
Apart from the main building, many other structures had not yet been constructed.
At that moment, Hogwarts Castle was completely enveloped in a purple energy shield, which flickered through waves from time to time, looking quite peculiar.