Chapter 284 Helena: This manuscript
"Ever since my death, I have been afraid to see my mother, so I chose this way of existence."
"Neither belonging to the world of the living, nor to the realm of the deceased."
"Forever burdened by the chains of guilt, using a false name, drifting in this sorrowful place."
"Now, I must make a decision—I am ready to move forward. Perhaps, I can even see my mother?"
Dylan hesitated for a moment, wanting to say something about The Bloody Baron.
But on second thought, The Bloody Baron was nothing more than a lovesick obsession to Helena, and the one who had personally ended her life.
Bringing him up now would only disrupt this rare tranquility, so he swallowed his words.
Moreover, he was going to bring her into his world eventually.
Then, she would naturally be able to see Ravenclaw.
In comparison, he was more interested in Helena's mention of "leaving."
The departure of a ghost was an extremely rare occurrence.
From a certain perspective, ghosts and portraits actually had similarities.
What drove them to remain and act in the world were the various traces a Wizard left behind during their life.
Those traces might be strong emotions, unfulfilled obsessions, or perhaps deep memories, like invisible threads, maintaining their connection with this world.
However, upon closer comparison, one could find obvious differences between the two.
Although portraits could imitate a Wizard's words and actions during their life and communicate with people, this interaction was often relatively passive.
Their reactions were more based on the magic and traces the Wizard infused into them, like a pre-set program.
They could only make limited responses in specific situations.
For example, when someone mentioned something familiar to a Wizard during their life, the portrait might say a few related words or make a few habitual gestures.
But it was difficult for them to actively initiate a deep, unpredictable conversation.
Nor could they truly understand the complex emotions and deeper meanings behind the conversation.
—Unless the Wizard who created the portrait was exceptionally skilled.
Ghosts, however, were completely different.
Their initiative when interacting with people was much stronger.
The key behind this was that ghosts carried the true consciousness of the Wizard themselves.
This consciousness fully retained the Wizard's way of thinking, emotional fluctuations, and autonomous judgment abilities from their life.
They could actively observe their surroundings and perceive the emotions of others.
They could even choose the subjects and topics of conversation according to their own will.
Just like Helena Ravenclaw, she could freely drift through the corridors of Hogwarts.
Upon seeing the ravenclaws diadem in Dylan's hand, she would actively approach him to inquire, show genuine emotion when recalling her mother, and decide to leave after reading the letter.
All of this was not pre-set reactions, but stemmed from her own independent consciousness and thoughts.
That is, truly autonomous behavior belonging to the individual "Helena Ravenclaw."
This initiative made ghosts' connection to the world closer,
And also made their existence appear more vibrant and real, as if they had never truly left, but merely changed their way of being, continuing to perceive and participate in everything in this world.
If a ghost's soul remained in the Limbo, they were unwilling to continue forward, towards true death, but also unable to retreat and come back to life.
Thus, their consciousness was entrusted to the traces left during their life, appearing in this world in a state of neither life nor death.
Note, this is not non-life, non-death.
There is an essential difference between the two.
The former has no concept of life or death at all, while the latter cannot come back to life, and at the same time, cannot completely die, just stuck in the middle.
Similarly, it's not completely dead.
Compared to the powerful effect of a Horcrux, which allows a person to continue living no matter how fragmented their soul becomes,
The state of a ghost, unable to even come back to life, seems much more tragic.
They also basically cannot cast magic, because their soul and body have long since left them, losing the basis for spellcasting.
They also cannot touch physical objects in reality.
Even though this allows them to freely pass through walls and move unhindered,
That sense of untouchable emptiness always remains.
They also cannot enjoy the delicious food of the world.
Only strong, pungent odors of decay can make their sense of taste perceive a faint change.
However, now, Dylan heard Helena say that she could actually choose to continue "moving forward."
His understanding of ghosts couldn't help but change a little, making him feel that the existence of ghosts seemed not so bad compared to Horcruxes?
At least Lord Voldemort, after his death, had no right to choose to move forward.
He could only drag that fragmented soul, forever wailing in the Limbo, with no other possibilities.
However, Dylan still wanted to confirm.
"Can all ghosts choose to move forward?"
Helena looked at Dylan in surprise, then nodded.
"Yes, but I don't recommend you choose to stay. After all, it violates the laws of life and death, and this state doesn't bring a good experience; it's full of endless emptiness and restraint."
"I know, I was just curious."
Dylan smiled slightly.
Given his own situation, if he were to die someday, it would basically be because he was tired of living.
So why would he, at the end of his life, stop and choose to remain in this world as a ghost?
If, while he was living a leisurely life, the system could also slowly take effect.
For example, after living for a hundred years, directly unlocking a wave of achievements related to longevity.
Perhaps by the time he died, he would even have the ability to arm-wrestle with Death.
—Of course, all of this is predicated on the actual existence of Death.
"In fact, as you know, this treasure was once subjected to Dark Arts."
Dylan changed the subject, mentioning the ravenclaws diadem.
Upon hearing this, the quiet, relaxed smile on Helena's face immediately vanished, replaced by a clear look of disgust.
"Of course I know, that thief who deceived me and defiled my mother's ravenclaws diadem—never mind—"
Helena sighed, as if she didn't want to mention that name again, and gently raised her hand, signaling Dylan to continue.
"I got a little inspiration from that Dark Arts—of course, not the parts involving murder, soul-splitting, or other Dark Arts."
Dylan deliberately sped up his speech to emphasize this.
Then, with a flick of his wand, a blank parchment and a quill dipped in ink floated over from a distant table.
The quill scribbled on the parchment, leaving line after line of writing.
"Look—"
Although Helena Ravenclaw said her wisdom was not as good as her mother's,
This was only something she and her mother would say to each other.
Her own wisdom still far surpassed most people in the world.
Moreover, she grew up by Rowena Ravenclaw's side.
She received a good education during the time when all four founders of Hogwarts were still alive.
Her insights and knowledge were extraordinary.
Most importantly, Helena was about to leave, a clean departure from which she would never return.
—Although Dylan didn't actually intend to let her go, her act of leaving could be utilized.
This excellent opportunity not only allowed him to take advantage of the situation but also to silently bring Helena into the space.
Indeed.
Helena watched as Dylan explained and wrote down symbols and formulas on the parchment.
Regarding the complex principles within, which blended Charms, alchemy, and runes, involving will and thought,
She showed no signs of discomfort at all.
Instead, she listened with great interest, her eyes gleaming with thought.
"Thought-form—your idea is truly both brilliant and selfish."
Helena listened to Dylan's explanation, then fell silent for a long time, before looking deeply at Dylan and speaking.
"Ahem, I'll take that as a compliment." Dylan coughed twice and replied with a smile.
"Of course, it's a compliment."
Helena's gaze fell on the parchment covered in symbols and formulas, her ethereal eyes filled with complex emotions.
There was admiration, scrutiny, and a hint of inexpressible melancholy.
"In this world, I'm afraid no one can resist the temptation of this magic. It's just a pity that its conditions are too strict. Can you really achieve this?"
She couldn't help but turn to look at Dylan, her ethereal eyes reflecting his calm profile, her tone carrying a hint of imperceptible inquiry.
"I'm not talking about using your memories of others as an anchor to hide in the soul—your theory is already complete enough, with no flaws to pick out."
"But can you truly completely strip away a person's entire life?"
"It's replication, madam."
Dylan emphasized these two words, his eyes showing an undeniable seriousness.
"Thought-forms are just copies. Their original selves cannot continue moving forward with a blank soul."
"I'd rather you said 'stripping away.'"
Helena looked at Dylan again with a complex expression.
Her gaze seemed to see another person through him.
This almost absolute confidence was exactly like her mother's back then,
Making her no longer able to doubt what he wanted to do—even if the idea sounded ridiculously absurd.
Replicate a person's life?
More precisely, to replicate a person's personality.
This involves too many things.
Memories as fragmented as the warmth of the morning sun,
The tactile sensation of fingertips running over a book page.
Feelings of trembling from joy, of suffocation from sorrow.
Sudden thoughts, obsessions hidden deep in the heart...
Everything that makes a person "him" or "her."
All of it must be replicated without a single error.
And these things are already as complex as a tangled ball of thread, and as ethereal as something that cannot be grasped.
This is not like block printing, where you can simply press it and get an exact copy.
If Dylan had said 'stripping away,'
Helena would at most lament his selfishness, his genius, and that almost cruel decisiveness.
—To satisfy his own desires, he would strip away everything from the deceased.
But Dylan said he could make it happen—to make those who should have passed away live again by his side.
Although they would only live in a portrait.
But the Wizard's will is complete!
Wizards may not have a saying like "I think, therefore I am."
But the exploration of will and thought never stopped with Helena Ravenclaw.
Especially now that she herself was a ghost.
An existence anchored to traces left during life, acting through will.
Naturally, she could better understand what this "completeness" meant.
The biggest difference between an existence like a thought-form and a ghost living in a portrait is that
They can enjoy delicious food.
Unlike ghosts, who can only salivate over delicacies without tasting a single flavor.
This was clearly a great thing.
Of course, thought-forms also have their drawbacks.
They cannot float around like ghosts.
But a ghost's range of activity is also limited, only able to move along the paths they walked during life.
Portraits, however, can enter landscape paintings they've never been to!
If you want to go somewhere, just paint a picture, which is actually more free.
Moreover, the core principle of this magic—
Will Anchor.
Actually derived from Horcruxes, the Fidelius Charm, and Dylan's findings in Ravenclaw's portrait.
This allows the portrait to be maintained until the anchor person passes away, making it almost indestructible.
However, this also brings limitations.
Thought-forms cannot be created for living people.
Because once the anchor person dies, the thought-form will also disappear.
This is also why Helena said this magic was selfish.
It's not true resurrection; it only exists to fulfill the caster's wish.
Besides this, Helena also had unspoken concerns.
The created thought-form exists entirely because of the caster.
And a Wizard capable of casting this magic can obviously also fabricate non-existent memories, shaping the thought-form into whatever they desire…
Such perfect yet dangerous magic made Helena feel a hint of jealousy towards Dylan's genius and madness.
Oh, Mother, how could this young Wizard have such thoughts?
And even be able to put them into practice!
Especially since, after examining the manuscript Dylan gave her, she had a strong feeling that much of its content
Felt unusually familiar to her. If she hadn't known that her mother couldn't possibly exist in this world anymore,
She would truly have thought that this manuscript was not written by Dylan at all,
But by her mother!
It seems I miss her too much.
Phew.
It's okay, we'll meet soon.
Helena exhaled a non-existent breath, her eyes filled with a touch of complexity.
Just as she said earlier, who doesn't have people and things they wish they could salvage?
If this magic could truly succeed, who knows how many people would flock to it!
However, this emotion was fleeting.
Helena had long accepted all her past.
Even during her life, she didn't have Dylan's ability to replicate personalities.
"I understand. When the time comes, I will try my best to control it and clearly show you the process of dissipation."
Helena's voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable certainty.
She floated in place, her ethereal gaze fixed on Dylan.
Dylan smiled faintly.
"Actually, you won't truly dissipate either."
"Hmm? What?"
"Nothing."
.......
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