Chapter 367 The Fear Never Ends
Evan fell to the ground panting, while Gryffindor looked at him with a smile.
"What about the evil spirit?" He looked around but saw nothing.
Around the platform, countless clouds rolled, covering everything in the Temple of the Moon.
A dark cloud slipped through the bodies of Evan and Gryffindor, and their shadows rose as if in a dream. The mist made everything surreal.
"It's gone, you defeated it!" Gryffindor said softly.
"But I haven't done anything. My magic had no effect on him. I didn't destroy the wooden statue that summoned him," Evan said puzzled.
"You don't need to do anything. Just by getting here, you have already overcome the challenge," Gryffindor said with a smile, handing Evan a bright red stone. "You are the finest sorcerer I've seen. Take this Philosopher's Stone, it's now yours!"
As Evan gazed at the gentle light of the Philosopher's Stone, a flash of longing crossed his face.
He reached his hand forward and abruptly stopped when his fingers were about to touch the Philosopher's Stone.
A sudden warning arose in his heart, causing him to hold back.
Something seemed amiss. He remembered Gryffindor had previously told him that Voldemort had left a spell on this Philosopher's Stone.
But he didn't even mention it now; and why would he give him the Philosopher's Stone in the illusion instead of sending him back to the real world?
In front of him, Gryffindor's face always smiled, and everything seemed extremely unnatural.
That smile was not so much a kind smile of an elder, but more of a suppressed mockery.
In the clouds and mists, the corners of his mouth lifted exaggeratedly on both sides, becoming increasingly dissonant; as if they had just surpassed the human capacity to... smile!
Evan felt a sudden chill; he swallowed, instinctively gripping his wand in his right hand.
"What are you waiting for? Seize this Philosopher's Stone, and you will attain unimaginable power. It will help you become the most potent sorcerer. Trust me..." although he was close to him, Gryffindor's voice seemed to come from a distant place.
Evan listened intently, the voice resonating in his mind.
As soon as power was mentioned, Evan was convinced this person was an imposter.
Gryffindor would never say that; he always emphasized that power was not the most crucial factor.
The challenge was not over yet. He had to destroy the wooden statue of the evil spirit.
The evil spirit that had turned into Gryffindor kept laughing, but the atmosphere grew increasingly ominous.
His laughter echoed deep within Evan's heart, growing louder and louder, along with the frequency of his heartbeats. Thump, thump, thump...
Evan felt like his heart was about to burst with that tormenting sound, and he couldn't stop his eyes from slightly shining.
His magic began to falter, and all his powers clashed wildly.
Evan panted, gripping his wand tightly and raising his right hand diagonally. A pale green curse shot out, piercing through the body of Gryffindor in front of him.
It had no substance; it was nothing but an illusion.
"Young human sorcerer, you have rejected me and made the utmost foolish decision."
Gryffindor stepped forward, his face contorted and his mouth opening wider.
Numerous green mucus and fragments of flesh fell from within, his body rapidly expanding, and rotting tentacles emerged, like the most horrifying nightmare.
The tentacles moved slowly forward, as if trying to touch Evan's skin.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Evan shouted.
The silver Patronus emerged in circles, and the bright white mist blocked them.
"Young human sorcerer, you still don't understand the true meaning of magic. You have never experienced the collapse of all aspects of life. You are merely the humblest existence in the world."
The countenance of Gryffindor turned completely diabolical, its tentacles quivering and applauding on the screen of light, its mouth uttering mad and nonsensical words: "Sad ant, you are merely a puppet in the hands of a puppeteer; fighting futilely against what you cannot comprehend..."
Evan infused more of his magic into the Patronus charm. Seconds, or perhaps centuries passed, before he realized that he must escape!
Ignoring the malevolent spirit before him, he no longer cared about the surrounding environment, and continued up the narrow, hollow stairs beside the platform, hastening his pace.
Through the dense fog and light, the malevolent spirit's robust tentacles continued applauding, and with a maddening force, it grew increasingly ruthless and cruel, as if attempting to cleave Evan's body in two.
Evan gasped. Atop a small table, he saw an opaque wooden statue, a multiple reduction of the evil god, resembling more like plant roots at that scale.
Without hesitation, he waved his wand, and the red spell shimmered.
Unexpectedly, the wooden statue shattered and dispersed into the air like starlight dots.
The frenzied voice of the malevolent spirit gradually receded, yet remained crystal clear and terrifying; "Sad lamb, you have bested me in the illusion, but little do you know you are entering an even more terrifying one! Fear is like a shadow; it never fades, it never ends..."
The surroundings gradually grew calmer, and as Evan looked up, he once again saw Gryffindor before him with a smile.
He took a step back in surprise and raised his wand warily, but Gryffindor waved his hand nonchalantly, a broader smile on his face.
"Don't do that, Evan," he said with a smile. "That thing is gone. Now it's just you and me here."
"How can you prove that you are truly Gryffindor and not the malevolent spirit?" Evan hesitated and asked, trembling to the core.
His heart beat so loudly that he couldn't clearly distinguish between illusion and reality. He felt he was on the brink of madness.
"I cannot prove anything because I don't actually exist, I am just a part of this magical illusion, the consciousness of my body that remains here," Gryffindor said with a smile, "You have done a marvelous job and gained my approval. Believe it or not, I must tell you that you have overcome the challenge!"
This statement was surprising the first time, and now it sounded utterly terrifying.
Gryffindor seemed unfazed by Evan's performance. He gestured, "I know you have many doubts. Indeed, the malevolent god you saw did not exist in the real story. Okegiga was luckier than you. When he reached the top of the Temple, the malevolent ritual had not been completed, and he managed to halt it."
"What just happened?" Evan asked, breathing deeply.
"As you can see, that is what I imagined and reasoned about that creature, and what I used my magic to create," Gryffindor said with a smile, as if explaining a trivial matter, "In the real world, the so-called evil god ultimately did not enter the world. In the final moment, in a fit of anger, it expended its power to rupture the void, splitting the Philosopher's Stone I left into two halves and nothing more."