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Not only could it not find south, but it was even difficult to make the needle stop spinning.
"Indeed, this is what you and my mother agreed upon. No wonder you've been trying so hard to persuade me these past few days." Helena Ravenclaw did not seem anxious at all.
She seemed to have pieced together many things.
Even the portrait of Rowena Ravenclaw in Hogwarts made sense to Helena now, which was also why she was in no hurry.
"Hogwarts is crowded and noisy; I could only try to hint at you. Fortunately, you didn't keep your mother waiting too long." Ian began to walk away from the volcanoes.
Underfoot, it was no longer solid ground or soft grass but an endless road paved with obsidian, each step echoing with a low, mournful sound.
These stones were etched with strange patterns, occasionally flickering with ghostly blue or dark red light as if the fires of the underworld pulsed beneath the surface.
It was unbearably hot.
"Do you plan to walk out of here?" Helena Ravenclaw followed him, her cautious and nostalgic posture evident as she had not used her own feet to walk for a long time.
"I need to take you to find your mother." Ian wasn't just trying to escape the heat of the volcano; he was more worried that after his time was up, Helena Ravenclaw would be left alone here.
It would be dreadful if his good intentions turned into a disastrous outcome.
"Thank you, but I think we should stay here and wait; then everything will be fine." Helena Ravenclaw hadn't shed a single drop of sweat; she was surely a cold woman who didn't understand the struggles of a hot man.
"Perhaps the ancestors of Ravenclaw will come to find you, but that's something no one can be sure of. My understanding of this place isn't much better than that of other wizards."
Ian quickened his pace.
The surrounding mountains and land were desolate, with only dim stones and no plants or animals. This was undoubtedly a barren land that even souls would avoid, with not even the shadow of the smallest insect or plant. There was no human clamor nor the whispers of souls.
Only the suffocating echo of magma eruptions filled the air.
To avoid the atmosphere falling into silence, Ian sighed lightly and said to Helena Ravenclaw, "To be honest, I don't even know why we ended up here. According to the theory my teacher told me, my desires would guide me to the corresponding realm of the Twilight Zone."
"This theory seems obviously unreliable now; how could I possibly desire to come to such a hellish place?" As Ian spoke, he suddenly remembered something.
He quickly pulled out the golden box given to him by Grindelwald. "Tell me! Is it you two spectral things! Is it you who desire to live in this infernal place!"
Inside the golden box were Voldemort's two Horcruxes: the Resurrection Stone ring and the locket of Slytherin.
Just as other wizards with obsessions could choose their resting places after death, the desires of these two lingering souls could indeed outweigh those of a young wizard; no one knew what criteria the Twilight Zone used for judgment.
In response to Ian's questioning.
The two fragmented souls curled up in the depths of the Horcrux... They certainly wouldn't respond; before being triggered, the souls existed in a state akin to wild beasts.
"You actually brought such things in!" Helena Ravenclaw exclaimed in disbelief, covering her mouth upon seeing the Horcrux in Ian's hand.
"I just wanted to send Tom home; I didn't expect him to aspire to be the Dark Lord Sauron. This must be his dream of Mordor; Tom must have read 'The Lord of the Rings' when he made the Horcrux!" Ian firmly believes that the suffering he was enduring was all because of Tom Riddle.
His complaints were indeed much more reasonable than "ignoring the facts."
In this world, aside from the existence of wizards, many other aspects developed similarly to Ian's original world, and 'The Lord of the Rings' was published between 1954 and 1955. It was not only famous in the Muggle world but also one of the rare stories in the wizarding world... a biographical tale based on historical adaptations.
There were many fictional elements.
However, it was certainly more substantial than Lockhart's '"Me, the One Who Can Do Magic."'
"Perhaps we can just throw them into the volcano." Helena Ravenclaw suddenly suggested, her voice carrying a subtle edge of gritted teeth.
It was clear that this lady was already restraining her emotions.
"This is the Resurrection Stone, my lady, and the locket of Slytherin. I just want to get Tom out of them and not destroy them in the process." Ian was reluctant to part with the two ancient treasures.
"That man is such a despicable scoundrel! He tricked me into giving him my mother's Diadem, and I didn't expect that the Horcruxes he chose for himself would all be such renowned treasures!"
Helena Ravenclaw was also surprised; she recognized the locket of Slytherin but did not expect that the gem on the other ring was actually the more significant Resurrection Stone.
The Deathly Hallows!
A legend that wizards have pursued for centuries!
"Damnable wretch! How does he have such good fortune?" Helena Ravenclaw was furious with Voldemort and deeply resentful that he could obtain the Deathly Hallows.
"It doesn't matter; his good fortune has come to an end."
Ian shook the items in his hand vigorously, rousing the dormant souls within. He still tried to grab Voldemort's fragmented soul with his bare hands but still couldn't reach it.
"Perhaps you should pray to the master of this place?" Helena Ravenclaw, who lived in an era a thousand years ago, knew that wizards of that time were far more reverent toward the gods than modern wizards, and her hatred for Tom Riddle made her eager for him to receive divine punishment.
"Fool not belonging to this era, mysterious ruler of the gray mist, master of luck... grant me gold Galleons, and quickly help me catch the two Toms inside!" Ian's mumbled "prayer" was clearly just nonsense, meant to lighten the mood; he had never learned how to pray.
Moreover, even if he could pray, who would he pray to that would be of any use?
"I think it would be better to ask your mother; she previously demonstrated how to catch Tom with her bare hands, yes, the one hidden in your mother's Diadem."
Ian's words left Helena Ravenclaw utterly astonished.
However.
Before she could express her anger.
"If you had a thorough understanding of soul magic, you would find that what I am doing is not difficult at all." Suddenly, a gentle voice sounded not far away.
A woman with long hair, dressed in plain robes, crossed the black sea and climbed over the high mountains, walking gracefully toward them. Her silver hair shone even more brightly in this dark place.
"Mother!"
Helena Ravenclaw exclaimed, her voice filled with complex emotions, a mix of anxiety and joy. She instinctively wanted to hide behind Ian.
However, Ian's size and build were not enough to shield her, so this thousand-year-old ghost could only crouch behind him.
Feeling Rowena Ravenclaw's gaze, Ian wisely stepped aside, and without any cover, Helena Ravenclaw, like a startled bird, dared not stand up.
(To Be Continued…)