And so.
Time gradually passed.
The sun sank toward the west, casting a dark-red glow across the sky, while the outline of the moon faintly emerged among the layers of clouds.
Snap!
The book closed.
Dawn had finished reading the book on comparative body structures. His brow furrowed, but he had found no trace of anything useful.
He let out a breath of stale air.
Looking around, he realized that the library was already nearing closing time. Only a handful of young wizards remained.
After thinking for a moment, Dawn took out his wallet.
Using the edge of the desk to push himself upright, he walked toward three young wizards sitting together a few meters away, still bent over their homework.
Since Merlin had not interfered with him while he was reading here, Dawn wanted to push his luck and test whether the Grand Sorcerer really cared about the safety of young wizards.
"R-Ryan?"
Sensing a shadow fall over them, the Hufflepuff boy instinctively raised his head.
He saw a pair of scarlet eyes and immediately stiffened.
Although everyone had gradually grown accustomed to Dawn's existence during this period, being approached at such close range still made them extremely uncomfortable.
Dawn ignored him.
Standing beside the three of them, he took out a Time-Turner.
He placed two fingers against one end of the hourglass, concentrated his mind, and began to make a show of turning it.
Sizzle!
A red light appeared out of thin air.
As expected, it shot toward him.
Dawn narrowed his eyes and swiftly blocked it with a Shield Charm.
The spell ricocheted to the side and smashed the table ahead of them into pieces.
"Ah!"
The three boys had been caught completely off guard. Their bodies were suddenly peppered with wooden splinters, and they cried out as they fell backward.
Although they had no idea what was happening, they instinctively scrambled away in every direction.
"Hey! What's going on?!"
Madam Pince heard the commotion from behind the desk. She seized her wand and strode over.
Dawn remained expressionless.
He paid little attention to the chaos around him.
All he was thinking was that Merlin seemed determined to prevent him from returning to the past.
Dawn rubbed his chin.
His gaze returned to the three young wizards who had fled.
Perhaps that attempt had not proved anything.
After a moment's consideration, he intended to drag the three of them back, keep them pressed tightly against him, and gamble once more on Merlin's conscience.
But just then...
Pop!
A flame rapidly formed.
Dumbledore stepped out of it.
Seeing the disorder around him, the old headmaster's brows immediately knitted together.
"Child, what are you doing?"
"Tch. Nothing."
Seeing the old headmaster appear, Dawn clicked his tongue in irritation.
He could only temporarily abandon his rather inhumane idea.
He answered perfunctorily, unwilling to say anything more to Dumbledore.
His eyes swept across the increasingly empty library.
Then he picked up his books, preparing to find another place with more people.
Perhaps the Hufflepuff common room would do.
It was comfortably decorated, and the atmosphere was pleasant.
Dawn made his decision.
At the same time, to prevent Merlin from taking the Invisibility Cloak while he was unconscious, he took out a bottle of an invigorating potion.
Until everything was resolved, he intended to temporarily abandon sleep and rest.
"Lai!"
The old headmaster's voice came from behind, carrying a stern warning.
"Do not harm any young wizard. That is my bottom line with you!"
Upon hearing those words, Dawn's expression changed.
His body had just passed halfway through the doorway when he suddenly stopped.
His scarlet eyes became exceptionally gloomy beneath the setting sun.
But he was not angry because of the old headmaster's warning.
What truly mattered to him was the name Dumbledore had just spoken.
Lai?
When Dawn had previously read Fudge's memories, the Minister still knew that his name was Dawn.
But now...
Not only had his surname changed to Ryan, even his first name had returned to Lai in other people's memories?
Crack.
His teeth slowly ground together.
Dawn's expression twisted as he narrowed his eyes and looked at himself.
He immediately noticed that the natural magic surrounding him had become noticeably thicker.
Another World Correction?!
He drew a deep breath.
He had even less desire to waste words with the old headmaster.
Dawn gave Dumbledore a cold snort and strode out of the library.
The corridors were filled with moving figures.
It was almost dinnertime.
Young wizards poured out of classrooms and common rooms, laughing and chasing one another through the castle.
Dawn pursed his lips.
He felt completely out of place in this atmosphere.
It was like the twilight itself, divided by an invisible boundary into two contrasting halves of light and darkness.
He recalled the stumbling journey he had taken over the years.
An inexplicable sense of melancholy rose within him.
It was not exactly regret.
Only faint traces of something left unfinished.
Dawn sighed softly.
He turned his head and looked through the transparent windows lining the corridor, allowing his gaze to embrace the brilliant red sun sinking beyond the distant horizon.
But in the next instant...
Dawn froze!
He was almost dazed.
His eyes widened further and further, and his hands unconsciously gripped the windowsill.
Trembling and utterly disbelieving, he stared at the scenery in the distance.
The setting sun melted like gold, painting the mountains and forests in countless shades of orange and yellow.
A gentle breeze moved across the clouds, carving patterns that resembled the scales of a dragon.
Everything was so beautiful.
But!
In his other field of vision...
The sky was an endless expanse of white.
White mist churned and roared, thick and solid like an ocean, carrying an indescribable force as it pressed down violently from above.
There was hundreds of times more natural magic here than what would normally gather during extreme weather.
No!
Thousands of times more!
And within that vast white ocean, countless thin white strands hung downward like a woven spiderweb.
They slowly flowed into the natural magic surrounding Dawn, causing it to grow continuously.
This was World Correction visible to the naked eye.
And unlike before, when it occurred as isolated, fleeting events, this time it was continuous.
An endless stream of World Correction was pouring down without pause.
There was not much time left!
Dawn's face twitched.
The veins on the hand gripping the windowsill throbbed.
He understood this with unprecedented clarity.
The push of fate seemed to have already passed a critical point.
The time remaining was probably not enough for him to uncover the Sorting Hat's secret for blocking natural magic.
Dawn's lips tightened.
He watched the natural magic around him expand at a visible rate, and his heartbeat grew increasingly oppressive.
He could not wait any longer!
Dawn grasped the Time-Turner again.
A wizard's instinct screamed sharply within his heart, forcing him to make a decision.
He would abandon every remaining concern and return to the past to solve the problem!
Pop!
A flash of fire vanished.
Dawn had not forgotten Merlin's threat.
He disappeared from the castle in an instant, then continued Apparating from place to place across the world without pause.
As he did so, his fingers tightened around the golden hourglass.
He repeatedly attempted to turn it, trying to shake the Grand Sorcerer off his trail.
But...
Sizzle!
The spell arrived right on schedule.
A red streak of light cut brilliantly through the air.
Even under these circumstances, Merlin continued following him relentlessly, precisely striking the brief moments when Dawn paused between Apparitions.
Forcing him to stop.
Bang!
Finally, with an explosive sound, Dawn stopped on a vast frozen plain.
He shook his dazed head and abandoned this useless approach.
"What am I supposed to do?"
Dawn narrowed his eyes.
He kept thinking about the same question.
Then he suddenly remembered the reckless idea he had suppressed back in the library.
What if he surrounded himself with young wizards and forced Merlin to hesitate for fear of striking them?
Dawn thought it might actually work.
He immediately prepared to return to Hogwarts.
But then...
He remembered that Dumbledore could also track Apparition.
Getting the old headmaster involved under these circumstances seemed too disadvantageous.
Then...
Should he go to Diagon Alley and capture a few wizards instead?
Dawn was already eager to put the idea into action.
But before he could move, his eyes suddenly lit up.
He had thought of a simpler and more convenient method.
With that thought, Dawn immediately cast Transfiguration.
He transformed a snowflake falling from the sky into a knife, caught it with a reverse grip, and drew it across his finger.
Drip.
Blood flowed down.
The crimson droplets twisted in the air, suddenly expanding and transforming into a variety of magical creatures.
They charged toward him, one after another, pressing their bodies against one another until they densely enclosed Dawn inside a "ball."
Then!
His fingers quickly closed around the hourglass.
He was about to turn it.
One rotation!
He only needed one rotation!
Dawn's gaze sharpened.
Even if he returned only one hour into the past, there would be two Dawns existing within the same period.
Merlin would be unable to deal with both of them simultaneously, allowing Dawn to continue jumping farther into the past.
The Time-Turner's surface was cold.
That chill traveled from his fingertips into his nerves.
But at that moment...
Dawn suddenly saw it.
Across the vast frozen plain, a phantom hand appeared out of nowhere.
Its fingers replaced a wand, gathering a spell and stretching it into a faint red light that shot toward the sphere surrounding him.
It was useless!
Dawn's eyes narrowed.
He was certain of it.
There were several layers of magical creatures pressed tightly around him. How much could a single spell possibly accomplish?
Besides, turning the Time-Turner would take less than a second!
Swish.
The sand shifted.
The Time-Turner tilted forty-five degrees.
Dawn could already feel the scenery around him beginning to blur.
But at this critical instant...
The red light rippled like an illusion beneath water.
It passed through the dense mass of magical creatures without obstruction and shot directly toward Dawn!
"What?!"
Dawn was utterly astonished.
Under his incredulous gaze, the spell flew straight toward the Time-Turner.
The instant it touched the hourglass, the faint light suddenly became solid.
Bang!
A muffled impact rang out.
The Time-Turner was destroyed instantly, exploding into flying fragments of metal that carved bloody cuts across the magical creatures surrounding Dawn.
"Yow!"
A cat-like creature cried out.
Its ears flattened, and it instinctively opened its mouth and clamped down hard on Dawn's arm.
Its teeth sank deep into the flesh.
Blood poured freely.
But Dawn no longer cared about the pain.
He raised his hand in disbelief.
There was nothing in his palm.
Only mangled flesh and blood.
Recalling the spell that had passed through every obstacle and struck the Time-Turner directly, Dawn's heart slowly sank.
What had happened?
Judging by its effect, that had clearly been nothing more than an ordinary Severing Charm.
But why had the magical creatures been unable to stop it?
Dawn gritted his teeth as he analyzed every possibility.
Then, when he considered Merlin's current state, he suddenly understood.
It looked extraordinary, but ultimately it was simply because after Merlin had become disconnected from the world, the spells he cast were disconnected from it as well.
Therefore...
Just as the Grand Sorcerer could choose when to insert himself into the world,
the magic he used could also choose when it would truly affect the world and take effect.
For example, in what had just happened, the spell only became real when it touched the Time-Turner.
That was why it could ignore every obstacle in its path.
Then, if that was true, the plan he had previously considered, finding other people to protect him, was fundamentally useless as well!
Dawn clenched his hand.
His heart pounded violently inside his chest, forcing warm breath from his lips that immediately condensed into frost in the frozen air.
Difficult.
Merlin was simply too difficult to deal with.
Dawn recalled the fragmentary abilities and characteristics Merlin had revealed.
He had already reached the point where he did not know what to do.
"Ha! How interesting."
Dawn's pupils swept across the surroundings, searching for Merlin's hidden location.
At this critical moment, he did not mind using a few psychological tactics.
"The legendary Grand Sorcerer himself, yet you're shameless enough to bully and pressure a child barely in his teens."
And this time...
Merlin actually responded.
"You are not an ordinary child."
The Grand Sorcerer's voice drifted from every direction, like the echoing toll of a bell inside a temple.
"Dawn, I think... even Lai himself probably never imagined that the one who would replace him would be a wizard as exceptional as you."
Hearing that, Dawn curved his brows slightly.
It looked like delight.
Or perhaps mockery.
"Ha. Is that a compliment?"
"It can be considered one."
Merlin's voice remained calm and even.
Whether in dreams or reality, he rarely displayed much emotional fluctuation when speaking.
Dawn took out another Time-Turner and began pacing across the snow.
He continued speaking while searching for an opportunity.
"Grand Sorcerer, aren't you worried? If you keep stopping me from returning to the past, I'll charge into the castle and start killing indiscriminately. Do you really want to see so many innocent children die?"
"They would be killed by you. What does that have to do with me?"
Merlin's tone remained calm.
Whether he genuinely thought that way or simply refused to allow Dawn to hold anything over him was impossible to tell.
Dawn snorted coldly.
He was about to say something else when Merlin's voice sounded once more.
"Besides, Dawn... even if I allowed you to use the Time-Turner, what would that accomplish? You have already fallen into a dead end."
The Grand Sorcerer's explanation was slow and merciless.
"You want to return to the past for one reason: to prevent Lai from writing those words on the parchment.
But changing the past like that will undoubtedly provoke a fierce backlash from fate.
The Invisibility Cloak is indeed powerful. To a certain extent, it can shield you from fate.
But after enduring the enormous pressure it is under now, if you attempt to alter history as well, it will inevitably be overwhelmed instantly.
By then, you will have no time to change anything. Fate will sweep you along and transform you back into Lai."
Merlin's voice drifted calmly through the frozen air as he delivered his final judgment.
"So accept reality, Dawn. You cannot change the fact that you are destined to disappear."
Dawn's fingers tightened.
His gaze darkened.
What Merlin had said was precisely what he feared most.
The Invisibility Cloak could indeed block natural magic.
But it definitely had a limit.
It was impossible for it to keep resisting forever without end.
And now, the natural magic seeking to change him continued gathering around his body, accumulating more and more rapidly as it approached that limit.
But returning to the past and altering history would likewise attract World Correction and natural magic.
That meant the Invisibility Cloak had to retain a certain amount of "capacity" when he did it.
That was precisely why Dawn had decided not to wait any longer and immediately return to the past.
Otherwise...
He feared that if he hesitated any longer, even if he did nothing at all and merely appeared in front of Lai...
The World Correction that followed would instantly exceed the Invisibility Cloak's limit and completely transform him.
Dawn's expression remained tense.
The urgency of time weighed on him more heavily with every passing moment.
However...
Even though the situation had become this dire, Dawn did not reveal the slightest trace of it on his face.
Instead, he calmly asked, "If that's the case, why don't you simply let me use the Time-Turner? Why keep stopping me like this?"
"Because the fate you are currently bearing is still somewhat below the Invisibility Cloak's limit."
The Grand Sorcerer answered frankly.
"Besides, I understand very well how terrifying time can be. I do not want you to return to the past and leave some irreversible flaw in this body."
Dawn gritted his teeth.
Merlin's attitude, as though Dawn were something that belonged to him, irritated him immensely.
But for the moment, he had no way to counter it.
What should he do?
Dawn asked himself the same question once again.
Merlin was blocking him relentlessly, determined not to let him use the Time-Turner.
And the only way Dawn could save himself was to return to the past.
So...
What was he supposed to do now?!
Dawn felt pressure bearing down on him like a mountain.
Sweat seeped across his back.
Even in the frozen wasteland, his entire body felt hot and restless.
Could it be...
That he could only wait for the Ministry of Magic to find the Death Arch?
Was that his final remaining path?
Dawn habitually narrowed his eyes.
He was already considering what kind of confrontation he could arrange with Merlin around the arch once Fudge found it.
But then...
Merlin seemed to see through his thoughts.
His calm voice sounded once again, completely extinguishing the hope that had just begun to rise.
"Dawn, are you waiting for the Death Arch? If so, I advise you to give up now, lest you waste your effort."
The Grand Sorcerer's voice drifted through the air.
"Perhaps you haven't noticed, Dawn, but your luck has been getting worse and worse recently.
Plans that should have worked are ruined because you become confused for a moment and miss the best solution.
Things you want to accomplish encounter setback after setback, and even after all that, they may still fail.
Although the Invisibility Cloak has blocked the most critical changes imposed by fate, its rejection of you has already manifested in countless ways.
I dare say this right now. Before you once again submit to fate and become Lai, no matter how hard the people from the Ministry of Magic try, they will never be able to find that door of resurrection!"
Merlin's voice was calm but heavy.
It pressed Dawn's heart deeper and deeper.
Dawn fell silent.
He said nothing more.
He tightly gripped the Time-Turner in his palm, then cast layers of Shield Charms around himself and once again attempted to turn it.
Sizzle!
The red spell passed through layer after layer of obstacles in its phantom form and once again shot toward the hourglass.
Just before striking it, the spell suddenly became solid.
Dawn's muscles tensed.
He leaned backward and barely dodged the spell.
During the movement, one hand remained clamped around the Time-Turner as he continued trying to turn it.
At the same time, he would suddenly Apparate without warning, doing everything possible to prevent anyone from discerning his intentions.
But...
Merlin's spells continued without end.
They always appeared at the most critical moment, as though he could see the future, taking position one step ahead of Dawn every single time.
___________
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