Lucian stood calmly before the mirror.
Behind him, Harry held his breath in tense silence.
In the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore didn't dare blink.
It felt as though the entire world was waiting for the answer.
The surface of the mirror began to shift wildly.
In one instant, mountains of glittering gold Galleons appeared—enough to buy the entire Ministry of Magic.
The next moment, the gold vanished. In its place stood a supreme throne forged of bone and obsidian, with countless wizards kneeling before it, chanting in reverence.
Then the throne dissolved like smoke.
A vast, endless library appeared instead, filled with innumerable ancient magical tomes—where the ultimate truths of the world seemed hidden between the pages.
The mirror was doing everything in its power, constructing every possible temptation for mortal beings—
Power.
Wealth.
Authority.
Knowledge.
Yet no matter how the visions shifted, the boy standing before the mirror remained unchanged.
His gaze was still.
Calm as an ancient pond reflecting a chaotic world.
So that's how it works…
Lucian had already seen through everything.
It reads the strongest desire deep within a person's soul… then uses magic to materialize it within the mirror.
A clever form of interactive soul magic.
But unfortunately…
If the observer has no desire that the mirror can comprehend… how will it create an illusion?
His unparalleled comprehension activated.
Research Topic: How to block illusion generated through soul interaction and observe the true magical structure of an artifact.
Solution: Construct a new visual perception model. Use one's own magical power as a filter to eliminate all mental interference effects, allowing only the analysis of magical structure and energy flow.
Spell Constructed.
Name: Eye of Shattered Illusion.
A faint, almost imperceptible golden glimmer flickered deep within Lucian's dark eyes.
The moment the Eye of Shattered Illusion activated—
The world before him changed completely.
All illusions and false images melted away like snow beneath sunlight.
What remained was the cold, undeniable truth.
The ornate golden frame of the mirror vanished.
In its place appeared a complex energy framework composed of countless ancient runic circuits, glowing like intricate magical circuitry.
The smooth reflective surface disappeared as well.
What replaced it were clear streams of magical energy flowing through the interior of the mirror.
Under Lucian's gaze, the entire Mirror of Erised had been reduced to its true form—
A magical machine, constructed from layered runic arrays and circulating power channels.
He could see everything.
How magical power flowed from the core rune at the top of the frame.
How it passed through amplification circuits.
How it finally gathered at the center of the mirror to generate the powerful psychic field capable of reading and projecting the deepest desires of a soul.
But when his gaze reached the very center of the system—
The point where magical energy converged most densely—
Lucian's expression shifted for the first time.
Barely.
Because he saw something unexpected.
At the center of the mirror's structure—
Bound tightly by countless runic chains—
Was not an energy core.
Not a magical crystal.
But a fragment.
A fragile, nearly transparent fragment—
A soul.
It trembled silently.
Curled in on itself.
Emitting a faint aura of endless sorrow and pain.
A soul fragment imprisoned within the mirror.
Condemned for eternity to remain inside it.
Forever forced to gaze into the desires of others…
Forever unable to escape.
A pitiful prisoner.
And at the exact moment Lucian's golden eyes pierced through the deepest secret of the Mirror of Erised—
Hummm—
A faint vibration emerged from within the ancient artifact.
The sound did not resemble magical machinery.
It was closer to a silent cry filled with fear and grief.
Then—
For the first time since its creation—
The legendary mirror began to tremble.
Not violently.
But with a rapid, subtle vibration originating from its very core.
It was almost imperceptible.
Yet unmistakable.
The powerful magical artifact—one that had destroyed the minds of countless wizards—
Now seemed like a creature cornered by its natural predator.
Unable to flee.
Unable to resist.
All it could do… was tremble.
Perhaps the imprisoned soul at the mirror's core had realized something.
In its countless years of silent captivity—
For the first time—
Someone had looked through every layer of illusion, every magical law, every disguise—
And seen it.
Seen the truth of its suffering.
And that moment of complete exposure—
Of having its deepest secret revealed—
Was the true source of its fear.
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