Harry Potter: The Golden Viper

0587 Return

Bryan, who had collapsed on the ground, even forgot the pain that had not yet been completely calmed in his soul. His eyes were wide open, staring in utter disbelief at the starry sky that had suddenly appeared above him, only to start collapsing moments later. The shock was so astonishing that Bryan's thoughts were frozen by the sheer incredulity of it all. 

"In the starry sky lies your way home!" the mysterious voice had said.

But what could that possibly mean? What does it mean to have his way home in the starry sky?!

Bryan struggled to wrap his mind around the cryptic message. He hadn't been this utterly shocked in many long years. His breath became rapid and shallow as his brain worked intensely, desperately pondering this question. He had a vague guess in his heart, but he dared not believe it!

Beside him, the elderly centaur Horn stood equally dumbstruck, his face was filled with pure astonishment. For over a millennium, the centaurs had faithfully guarded this secret chamber and the clay tablet it contained. In all those long centuries, nothing had ever disturbed the heavy veil of time that lay over this place. It was as if the flow of time itself had frozen here.

But then this human, Bryan Watson, had touched the ancient tablet, and everything changed in an instant. The tablet vanished without a trace and an old voice abruptly gave a revelation!

Though he had never heard it before, Horn had little doubt as to whom that aged, powerful voice must belong to. The conclusion was almost certain.

Falling to his knees, tears welling in his eyes, the old centaur gasped in awe, "This is a revelation from the great sage, Merlin!"

But there was no time to ponder the implications of this shocking realization. No sooner had the tablet disappeared than the chamber around them began to shimmer and shake. As if this chamber seemed to have lost its necessity to exist, like flakes of old paint peeling away, the glorious starryscape flickered and faded, showing rough, gray-brown stone walls to Bryan and Horn!

Rustle--

The shaking within their field of vision continued. With an ominous rumble, the ancient stone blocks started to crack and tumble down. A flood of foul-smelling black sludge began pouring into the chamber from all sides, indicating the structure's imminent collapse.

It went without saying that Horn also knew that this chamber probably could not be saved, but he himself did not want to die here.

Horn turned around and galloped for the exit with his hooves clattering on the uneven stones. But after barely clearing the threshold, he suddenly froze, casting a conflicted glance back at the weakened Bryan still struggling to rise to his feet.

A trace of struggle flashed in Horn's turbid eyes. Without time to think too much, he rushed back to Bryan's side and bent his front knees.

"Quickly, Mr. Watson!" he urged. "You must climb on my back! We have to get out of here right away before it all comes down on our heads!"

Bryan looked at Horn in surprise, not expecting the centaur to be willing to come back for him, he could only nod his thanks. "You have my deepest gratitude, Horn," he said sincerely, before hoisting himself up onto the centaur's back without further ado.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Horn surged to his feet and charged out of the disintegrating chamber. Seconds later, with a final heaving groan, the domed roof collapsed entirely, and the black sludge swallowed up the room.

The destruction of the chamber weakened the structural stability of the entire underground temple. As Horn galloped through the shaking, closing passageways with his human cargo, the second and first levels also began to fracture and cave in. Dust and debris rained down on them from all sides. Horn had no time to mourn the loss of his people's most sacred site - all that mattered was getting himself and Bryan Watson to safety.

After a close race against time, the two finally burst out into the above-ground temple just as the last rumblings died away. Horn's knees almost gave out from sheer exhaustion, and he collapsed to the floor, utterly spent. Bryan, still drained from his own torments, slid off the centaur's back and crumpled to the ground with his chest heaving.

The commotion had not gone unnoticed by the other centaurs. The vibration from the collapse of the chamber could be felt even on the ground. Although the shaking had now subsided, the previous abnormality had already attracted the attention of the centaurs. Within moments, the temple was surrounded by a mob of the creatures.

"Mr. Watson! What has happened?" Firenze was the first to rush into the temple. With one glance, he saw Bryan Watson bent over and panting, and the elder lying on the ground looking like he was at death's door. A terrible guess flashed through his mind.

"Damn human!" Bane rushed in after him. When he saw the scene inside the temple, he immediately let out an angry roar. "How dare you hurt Elder Horn!" With that, Bane raised a spear, ready to hurl it right through Bryan's heart.

"Stop, Bane!"

Horn crawled up from the ground, panting heavily, and shouted to stop Bane's rash behavior.

"Mr. Watson did not hurt me, he is my invited guest--"

An invited guest? The elder had invited a wizard to visit the tribe and even let him enter the temple?

Firenze and Bane looked at each other. Even if it was Bryan Watson, a famous wizard in the wizarding world, this was too incredible.

Horn anxiously eyed the pale faced Bryan Watson, who still had not moved or spoken. Seeing that he had no intention of making any aggressive move, he couldn't help but breathe a big sigh of relief in his heart. Drawing himself up to his full height, Horn faced the growing crowd of onlookers.

"Firenze, let all the tribesmen go back," Horn ordered, his old voice surprisingly coming firm and commanding. "No one is allowed to set foot inside the temple. I am discussing important matters with Mr. Watson!"

An angry old centaur had a majestic aura. Although the centaurs crowded at the door were full of worry and confusion, they had to follow the elder's orders and gradually retreated back down the steps. Even Bane only glared resentfully at Bryan before Horn's stern gaze sent him reluctantly galloping away as well.

"I apologize for their hostility, Mr. Watson," Horn said wearily, turning back to Bryan. "The young ones can be quite hotheaded..."

But Bryan cut him off with a dismissive wave, staggering to his feet. "No, Horn, the fault is mine. I'm the one who should be apologizing."

Still unsteady, he paced slowly over to peer down into the underground passage. From what he could see, while the tunnels were not completely submerged by that black sludge, the damage was extensive. It would likely take significant effort to excavate and restore the centaurs' sacred temple.

Meeting Horn's gaze solemnly, Bryan promised, "I give you my word that I will help the centaurs rebuild what has been lost. It's the least I can do, considering I'm the one who triggered this disaster."

After saying this, Bryan returned to the cushion he had transformed before. He looked at the dark hole in the wall leading underground, and his vision was far less sharp than usual, and he looked a little dazed.

The disappeared tablet of destiny, the mysterious object the centaurs had guarded for more than a thousand years, disappeared after he touched it. Oh, it couldn't be said that it disappeared. This mysterious clay tablet was now in his body. Although he couldn't feel it and didn't know why this happened, it had indeed entered his body.

This was undoubtedly something that Merlin had arranged long ago, or rather, had foreseen. This legendary great wizard was indeed able to see through the secrets of the future.

But most importantly, one phrase echoed in his mind like a ringing bell: "In the starry sky lies your way home."

Obviously, this was a revelation Merlin left for him, not for Horn. Bryan had always had a feeling that this series of events was not unrelated to his identity as a transmigrator. What happened tonight, that revelation, undoubtedly provided evidence for this guess.

Way home. What does it mean, does he have a chance to return to the Earth of his previous life?!

Moreover, after the clay tablet entered his body, the door that suddenly flashed into his mind, of the same substance as the clay tablet, was extremely majestic and mysterious, exuding an indescribable aura. He was wearing the clothes of his previous life. It seemed to be a soul state, passing through that door. Where was that door, when did it happen? He had no memory of it at all!

Since realizing that he had transmigrated into the magical world of Harry Potter, Bryan had been trying his best to recall the plot for a considerable period of time. But no matter how hard he tried, those memories remained hidden in a flowing gray mist, unable to appear.

He remembered many things from his previous life, but the memories related to the plot were the most cleanly blocked. Bryan had guessed that this was most likely the work of the intangible but real will of the world. This was the most reasonable explanation. But based on the current situation, that was not the case. The possibility that his memory had been tampered with was extremely high!

'Was it Merlin?'

But that doesn't make sense. He had only been born in this world for a little over twenty years, while Merlin had disappeared more than a thousand years ago. Unless, Merlin had never died and had been lurking all along?

"Mr. Watson."

Bryan's gradually heavier breathing and the changing expressions on his face fell into Horn's eyes. The doubts brought to him by what had just happened were equally great. He asked tentatively, and then his voice woke Bryan Watson from his contemplation. This famous young wizard suddenly raised his head, his stern gaze pointing directly at him with a silent murderous intent swirling!

This sense of impending doom instantly stunned the old centaur in place, unable to move, while Bryan came back to his senses only after a few seconds. He rubbed his brow and sighed softly.

"I'm sorry, Horn, I was just thinking about something. Hmm, it's like this--"

Bryan slowly stood up. Under Horn's horrified gaze, a wand appeared in Bryan Watson's palm.

"You must understand that what happened in the chamber just now is of great importance to me and cannot be known by others, so..."

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