Golden light filled the magnificent library, washing over endless shelves packed with books.
"Hey, Nicholas kid!"
Leo stared at the scruffy old man standing in front of him. The man wore black-and-white wizard robes, his white hair looked as though it had never met a comb, and his grin carried the reckless confidence of someone who had caused trouble in at least three different centuries.
"Who are you?" Leo asked cautiously. "And where is this place?"
"I am Ambot Nicholas," the old man said proudly. "Your great-great-grandfather… or perhaps just your ancestor. I'm not entirely sure myself."
He spun around as he walked, gesturing grandly at the glowing library around them.
"As for this place, it is the spiritual world inside your mind. More accurately, your soul space."
Leo did not immediately believe him. The old man looked too strange, too casual, and far too familiar with Leo's inner world.
Fortunately, there was an easy way to test whether this was truly his spiritual space.
Leo lowered his gaze to his hand. A small ball of light appeared in his palm, only about ten centimetres wide at first, before stretching and reshaping itself like liquid.
Just as he had manipulated water in the bathroom earlier, he controlled the glowing mass until it finally hardened into the form of a Colt Python revolver.
Leo blinked at it.
Not bad.
Ambot watched him play with it for a moment, eyes darting with sudden interest. Then a revolver appeared in his own hand as well.
Only his was different.
The barrel was absurdly long.
Leo glanced at it silently.
Ambot's robes transformed at once. His wizard outfit became a cowboy hat, a leather jacket, and jeans, as though the old man had decided this was now a Western film.
"Hey, kid," Ambot said with a grin. "Duel?"
Leo stared at him. Then he extended the barrel of his own revolver, created a holster at his waist, and slid the gun into place.
The golden library fell still.
An inexplicable bell rang.
Both of them drew at the same time.
Bang.
Bang bang bang.
The duel immediately became ridiculous.
At first, they stood face-to-face and fired wildly. Then both began using the golden bookshelves as cover, ducking behind rows of shining volumes while shooting at each other like children who had been given infinite ammunition and absolutely no adult supervision.
Which, apparently, they had.
Their revolvers never seemed to empty. Golden bullets flashed across the library, leaving no damage behind, only bright streaks of light that vanished after striking the walls or shelves.
Leo did not know how long they played.
Eventually, the guns finally stopped firing.
Leo collapsed onto the golden floor, sprawled out without the slightest concern for dignity. Ambot sat on a conjured stool nearby, looking at him with deep amusement.
After that strange fight, Leo also realized something important.
He had not been acting like himself recently.
From rushing into the basement with only a wand and an axe, to accepting the raven's crystal ball, to his reckless behaviour inside this soul space, his thoughts had been scattered and impulsive. His usual caution had been weakened.
The likely reason was the enormous energy stirred up by his magical outburst and spiritual advancement. His mind and body had become slightly disconnected, leaving his concentration unstable.
That explained a lot.
"Hm," Ambot said suddenly. "It seems a remarkable person is about to emerge from the Nicholas family."
His figure was no longer as solid as before. For brief moments, parts of him disappeared and reappeared, flickering so quickly that most people might not have noticed.
Leo noticed, though, and his expression shifted.
"That's right," Leo said from the floor, still too tired to sit up.
Ambot smiled faintly.
"All right, Nicholas kid. Stop talking and listen to your ancestor."
His voice softened.
"More than three hundred years ago, I left the family and accidentally entered the wizarding world. I awakened magic and became obsessed with that mysterious power."
As he spoke, his body became more transparent.
"Later, when I was over one hundred and forty years old, I decided to leave something behind for my descendants. I hoped that one day, someone from our family would step into that charming and wondrous world again."
Leo listened silently.
The old man's gaze seemed to pass through the golden library and reach somewhere far beyond it.
"Go," Ambot said. "Explore that profound, mysterious, and captivating world."
His final words faded.
Leo's eyelids grew unbearably heavy. A moment later, he lost consciousness again.
Outside the soul space, the golden light inside the crystal ball faded.
The raven, Hei Si, watched the glow disappear. A faint trace of sadness flickered through its dark eyes.
Then it looked toward the now-closed wooden chest.
With a quiet caw, the raven flew to Leo, picked up the crystal ball from his hand, and slipped it into his pocket.
After that, the small raven grabbed Leo's collar with its claws and lifted him.
Somehow, despite its small body, Hei Si carried him out of the basement and back upstairs without alerting anyone in the manor. If an ordinary person had seen it, tomorrow's newspaper might have featured a headline about a raven with impossible strength.
The bird brought Leo back to his room and placed him carefully on the bed.
After completing its task, Hei Si glanced at the sleeping boy, flew to the desk, and settled there quietly.
Then the entire world seemed to fall still.
Morning arrived with birdsong outside the window.
"Leo, wake up. Breakfast time," Stoke called from the hallway, knocking gently on the door. "The sun is already up."
Leo opened his eyes slowly.
His mind felt clear.
Strangely clear.
He shook his head and released a long breath, feeling as though he had finally recovered from days of dizziness.
"I'm up!" he called back.
After Stoke's footsteps moved away, Leo sat on the edge of the bed and looked toward the desk.
The raven stood there calmly, completely undisturbed by the noise.
Then Leo felt the extra information inside his mind.
Everything that had happened last night was real.
He looked down at the dust on his clothes and the marks on his bed, then stood and walked toward the bathroom.
He seriously needed to learn cleaning magic.
After washing up and changing clothes, Leo went downstairs to the dining room. He greeted everyone good morning and sat down to enjoy breakfast.
Grandma Alice studied him with relief.
"My dear Leo, you look much better today. Did you sleep well last night?"
"Yes, Grandma Alice. I'm fine."
Leo flexed his small arms to prove he was healthy.
Everyone looked at him after Alice spoke, but seeing his bright expression, they finally relaxed.
After breakfast, Stoke and Rose drove back to the city for work. Rose's law firm had cases waiting, and Stoke's family business also needed attention.
Grandpa Sean and Grandma Alice, already enjoying retirement, went out for a walk after breakfast and likely would not return until noon.
That left Leo alone.
Perfect.
He gathered the items bought from Diagon Alley and placed them into his enchanted suitcase. Then he carried the suitcase down to the basement.
Through the knowledge left in his mind, Leo now understood what the ancient wooden chest truly was.
It was a powerful alchemical creation.
Not only did it contain spatial magic similar to an Undetectable Extension Charm, but it also carried something even more unbelievable.
A Fidelius Charm.
Its Secret-Keeper was the raven.
Yes.
Hei Si.
The talking raven.
Even more astonishing, Hei Si was not an ordinary magical creature. It was also a magical alchemical creation, bound to the chest itself.
Because of the Fidelius Charm and certain bloodline magic left by Ambot Nicholas, Muggles and unrelated wizards could not notice the chest at all. Even those who entered the basement would have their attention gently redirected, which explained why Leo had never properly registered it before.
The chest also carried concealment, defence, reinforcement, and several other layered protections.
Calling it a mobile defensive fortress would not be an exaggeration.
Leo placed the suitcase near the chest and tilted his head slightly toward the raven perched on his shoulder.
"Hei Si, open it."
The raven immediately flew onto the chest and glared at him.
"You stinky Nicholas brat, stretch out your hand. Also, call me Grandpa Hei Si. Caw."
Leo looked at it speechlessly.
He had no idea how Ancestor Ambot had created such an irritating personality.
Still, he extended his hand.
The first time the chest was opened from the outside, it required blood recognition. According to the information in his mind, any magical descendant of the Nicholas bloodline could claim ownership using this method.
"Caw."
Leo felt no pain, but a drop of blood appeared on his fingertip.
Then, before he could react, Hei Si opened its beak and swallowed the drop whole.
Leo stared.
The raven's originally black pupils gradually became tinged with crimson. Soon, they transformed into a pair of glassy red eyes.
At the same moment, Leo felt a connection form.
He could open the chest.
More than that, he could control it.
He also sensed that the enormous wooden chest could shrink into a pendant. The moment the thought appeared, the chest before him rapidly contracted at visible speed, becoming a tiny box no larger than a bottle cap.
"Whoa."
Leo picked up the miniature box with both hands and raised it high.
"Ancestor Ambot, you were amazing."
He held the suitcase in one hand and the little box in the other.
A name immediately appeared in his mind.
Dongtian.
A hidden world.
A separate heaven and earth contained within a box.
Whether the name sounded good or not did not matter. It was his box, so he would decide what to call it.
As for why Hei Si had swallowed his blood, Leo now understood.
Hei Si itself was the alchemical key to Dongtian.
When the box had no owner, Hei Si's duty was to search for a magical descendant of the Nicholas family and serve as the key to opening the hidden space.
"Caw," Hei Si said lazily. "Grandpa Hei Si is going to sleep. Don't disturb Grandpa Hei Si."
The raven flew toward Dongtian.
Just before it collided with the tiny box, the lid opened by itself. Hei Si was instantly pulled inside and vanished from sight.
Leo stared at Dongtian in his palm.
His excitement surged.
He was already eager to understand and learn the magical knowledge of this world.
....
Join my P@treon and get 60+ advanced chapters.
Link: p*atreon.com/0LordSilvere0 (Remove the *)
Free members get 2 chapters free.
Join Right Now