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Only pure purpose is the only truth.
Her words reached Hofa, but he had no idea how to respond.
That instant, he found himself weightless in a vacuum. Blinding white lightâhe couldn't see anything.
He didn't know where his body was. Didn't know where he was. Couldn't sense anything. The place made zero sense.
Panic hit, but he remembered the masked woman's words. Only the goal is truth.
His goal: the Disillusionment Charm.
The white light sensed his thought.
One beam separated and merged with him.
Disillusionment.
Mysterious syllables entered his mind. Before he could parse them, the light materialized. Gravity returned.
The white faded. Scenery emerged.
CLANG! CLANG!
Church bells. Birds fluttering. Voices buzzing. Wheels rumbling.
The world cleared.
He wasn't in the basement anymore. Not even at Hogwarts.
Hofa stood on a bustling street.
Cloudless sky. Sunny morning. Four-horse black carriages thundered past, oil lamps clanging.
Last time he'd seen these was Pirates of the Caribbean.
People wore top hats and suits, checking pocket watches. Women in Victorian dress walked byâworn pleated skirts, carrying baskets. Servants or cooks.
Tall villas lined the streetâgrand doors, arched windows, stone corners. Wealth everywhere.
Ornate carvings on pillars and windowsills, plus the distant church spire, made it clear: not 1938. Maybe 1839 or earlier.
Looking closerâthis body wasn't his.
Dirty gray robe. Colorful feather necklaces. Bone bead bracelets. Shaman attire. A Black shamanâlike a slave brought to Europe.
Hofa was stunned.
He tried to move. Couldn't.
The Black wizard stood in shadow beneath a tavern sign.
Waiting.
A richly dressed old man emerged from a villa. Coachmen rushed to open his carriage door.
He boarded. The carriage rumbled away.
The moment it left, "Hofa" movedâbeyond his control.
Two souls in one body. Him and the original owner.
Hofa understood now. First-person shooter perspective after dyingâwatching a teammate's view.
Except this was the Black wizard's memory.
The man hurried to a villa. Looked up at the reliefs. Eyes shifted coldly to a nearby alley.
Seeing no one, he climbed the decorative carvings. Impressive agility.
At the windowsill, he pulled out his wandâstrange, curved, like an iron hook. Tapped the window.
"Alohomora."
Window burst open.
He dove inside. Hofa understood. Wizard thief.
The room had valuable itemsâgold watches, porcelain on the mantelpiece.
On the floor: a naked European woman. Fine silk. Empty wine bottles.
Sound asleep.
The old man's mistress. They'd been playing earlier.
The wizard ignored everythingâwoman, valuables. Searched quickly for something more important.
Hofa glanced at the woman twice, then stopped. Attractive, but nothing special to someone from the 21st century.
He focused on his situation.
The masked woman's scroll was like Riddle's diary or a Pensieve.
It recorded real events, let him witness them to convey information.
But what did this have to do with the Disillusionment Charm?
The man searched without finding what he wanted.
Finally drew his wand. Tapped around. Bookshelves, porcelain, floorboardsâeven the woman.
When his wand touched a marble globe, it rotated. He studied it carefully.
Gave it a hard spin. Click.
Rumbling from the mahogany floor.
Hidden door!
Pitch darkness below. Unknown area.
The woman began waking, but the wizard didn't notice. He seemed excited.
Walked toward the door. Lit his wand.
Grrr!
Low growl from the dark passage.
Extreme danger.
The feeling came from Hofa's heart, as if he was the wizard. He instinctively wanted to retreat.
Control transferred to him. He stepped back.
Just that step.
Threat locked on.
A massive scarlet tongueânearly five meters longâshot from the darkness. Pierced straight through the chest.
Immense, utterly real pain flooded Hofa. This wasn't fake!
Blood gushed.
He fell.
Woman's screams. Bottles shattering. Darkness.
He exhaled once. Died instantly.
Maybe a second. Maybe a century.
CLANG! CLANG!
Church bells. Birds. Voices. Wheels.
Hofa snapped awake.
Same bustling street. Same sunny morning.
Coachmen. Clanging lamps. Cooks haggling.
Perfectly peaceful.
Hofa was stunned. What the hell?
That death was vivid. Blood flowing. Powerlessness. Pain. His chest still felt tight.
Wanted to breathe. Couldn't.
Control wasn't his. He stood beneath the tavern sign again. Cold eyes surveying.
Then worse: the pot-bellied old man pushed through the villa door. Dressed like a politician. Hangover pallor. Early commute displeasure.
Boarded carriage. Door closed. Left.
The wizard moved. Toward the alley. Same movements.
Damn it!
Hofa wanted to stop him. But how? He was incorporeal. Couldn't prevent death.
In the alley, the wizard climbed. Hofa panicked. Couldn't speak or moveâonly watch.
"Alohomora." Opened the window again.
Jumped inside. Same sceneâbottles, woman, sprawled out, drool identical.
Found the globe. Opened the passage.
Low growl.
Control transferred.
"Shit!"
Hofa bolted. Tried jumping out the window. Didn't want that pain again.
Didn't work.
The thick red tongue shot out. Caught him instantly. Pinned him to the windowsill.
Screams. Shattering bottles. Fading sounds.
Game over.
CLANG! CLANG!
Bells again. Starting position again.
Same street.
Chatting cooks.
Hurried coachmen.
Hofa barely processed it.
The grumpy politician boarded. The wizard led Hofa into death's shadow again.
"Fuck!"
Now he completely understood. Furious.
Real immersive game!
21st century hadn't developed this. But wizards had it in 1938.
During the scenario, he'd get about three seconds of control.
Three seconds to make the correct choice. Change the outcome. Otherwiseâexperience death over and over.
The masked woman said face the consequences. What magical item did she use? Even Riddle's diary didn't do this.
What lunatic kept a giant magical creature in their villa? What was the wizard stealing? In real history, did he survive...?
No answers.
As the wizard climbed, opened the window, entered, dealt with the mechanismâcontrol returned.
Life and death in an instant.
Growl in the dark.
Hofa remembered the spell from the white lightâDisillusionment.
Danger made his scalp tingle. This time he didn't run. Drew the wand.
"Disillusionment!"
Magic flowed from the wand throughout his body. Like cold water pouring over him.
His figure blurred. The Disillusionment Charm.
But first time using it, Hofa wasn't skilled. Syllables and movements weren't standard.
Didn't truly become invisibleâjust blurred.
The red tongue seemed affected. Shifted direction. Pierced his left ribs instead. Penetrated lung and stomach.
Paused one second. Flashed back.
This really hurt!!
Tears came. He gasped. Collapsed to his knees. Covered the hole in his chest. Wheezed. Stomach acid seeped into his chest. He'd die from suffocation and poisoning. Worse than dying instantly...
The woman screamed. Threw everything at Hofa.
In his blurring vision, he saw it.
From the dark passage, a massive lizard crawled out. Head the size of a small car. Three bulging eyes. Bristling scales. Like a cold chameleon.
The lizard opened its mouth. Tongue rolled. Dragged Hofa into its tooth-filled maw...
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