The night was as dark as ink.
A thick cloud layer obscured the moonlight that should have been bright.
Only a few exceptionally bright stars still twinkled in the sky.
The castle towers looked particularly lonely in the darkness, and the vines on the stone walls gently swayed in the night wind, making a faint rustling sound, as if something was happening outside.
It was quite eerie.
Ian's bedroom was located high up in the castle; the room arranged by Little Morgan was spacious and quaint, with several ancient paintings depicting elegant landscapes hanging on the walls.
In the center of the room, where a heavy oak desk should have been, Ian had moved it elsewhere, replacing it with a mirror taller than himself.
It was the Mirror of Erised.
The room was so quiet it was a bit oppressive.
Only Ian's faint breaths and the occasional crisp sound of turning pages could be heard.
In front of him, the mysterious Mirror of Erised stood quietly, emanating an indescribable ghostly light. The candles on the candelabra above were burning, casting flickering shadows in the room. Ian did not light any lamps; instead, he sat cross-legged in front of the Mirror of Erised in the candlelight.
"Sigh, what's the situation?"
Ian had already started seeking help from his collection of alchemy books, indicating he was indeed facing some difficulty. His brow furrowed slightly as he occasionally lifted his gaze to focus intently on the Mirror of Erised in front of him.
Under the influence of the little wizard's magic, complex hidden magic runes emerged on the mirror's frame, each pattern seemingly containing some mysterious power. The mirror surface was smooth like water, reflecting Ian's figure, but his reflection appeared somewhat blurry, as if shrouded in an invisible mist.
Others couldn't see the image within; only Ian knew what he saw, which was a characteristic of the Mirror of Erised—showing only the reflection person's heart's desire.
Now the night was deep.
Yet the little wizard couldn't sleep.
"I've been studying for hours, and I still have no clue..." Ian, frustrated for the first time, muttered to himself as he gently ran his fingers over the magic runes on the mirror frame.
Now, let's be honest.
His alchemical skills were considered top-notch in the wizarding world, although certainly not on par with someone like Nicolas Flamel, who stood at the pinnacle of alchemy. Still, compared to most so-called alchemy experts, he was not to be underestimated. However, when faced with this magic mirror, he was a bit at a loss.
He still remembered earlier today, when he beat up Merlin, Merlin had mentioned that this magic mirror held a secret, and a very significant one at that.
This indeed piqued Ian's curiosity.
His memory was always excellent, practically photographic, possessing a Memory Palace of sorts. Therefore, he also remembered that his teacher Morgan had mentioned similar things several times.
Especially when he hadn't yet found the Mirror of Erised and inquired of Morgan what was special about it, teacher Morgan also mentioned that the mirror contained a secret that had troubled her for half her life.
Since two legendary figures had said so, it was evident that the secret hidden in the Mirror of Erised was no small matter. Ian, confident in his alchemical proficiency, initially thought he could easily unlock the mirror's mysteries, but after hours had passed, he was still at a loss—even though he could understand the ancient magic runes on the Mirror of Erised.
Despite these ancient runes being quite complex and rare, Ian could still decipher them. The problem was that after decoding all the runes, he still couldn't find any runes related to a hidden space.
If it weren't for Morgan and Merlin both having mentioned the Mirror of Erised's situation, Ian might have suspected Merlin of misleading him—after all, he couldn't possibly doubt his own alchemical expertise, could he?
"Revealing the Truth!"
Ian once again cast the spell he used to study alchemical creations and decrypt alchemical secrets, yet the Mirror of Erised did not reveal any hidden runes. This might have been because his magic level wasn't high enough, just as an unlocking spell wouldn't work if its level wasn't high enough to open advanced locks.
"It's too late to start leveling up my magic now." Ian was beginning to feel frustrated. Perhaps he shouldn't have refused Merlin; who would've thought the Mirror of Erised would be so mysterious.
He originally thought that with his knowledge, solving the mirror's puzzle was only a matter of time, but now it seemed that this magic mirror was much more mysterious than he had anticipated.
Merlin was indeed much more adept at alchemy than Ian.
There was no choice.
Compared to those veteran legendary wizards, as a newly minted legend, at just twelve years old, Ian indeed fell short in terms of knowledge accumulation.
"Sigh! I've really embarrassed myself this time!"
Ian sighed, diverting his thoughts momentarily. He reached out and picked up a crystal-clear glass bottle from the table—it was a sealing bottle he had retrieved from Riddle.
Inside this bottle was a shadow creature—a soul body of the big bad wolf.
Look.
The big bad wolf was curled up at the bottom of the bottle, looking very calm, even somewhat well-behaved, like a husky. When Ian uncorked the bottle, the big bad wolf did not seize the opportunity to escape. It merely lifted its head, using its round bulging eyes to gaze at Ian, constantly sticking out its tongue, and exhibiting none of the demeanor a wild wolf should have.
"You've suddenly become much more docile." Ian chuckled at the sight, gently shaking the bottle in his hand and tapping the bottle with his fingers.