Ian sat in the eerily quiet room, staring blankly at Claire. Outside the window lay a dark, boundless cosmic starry sky, as if the entire world slumbered in the ancient silence.
There was no ticking of a clock in the room, nor the whispering of the wind; only Claire's bubbling pot of soup, gently churning with somewhat mysterious golden bubbles.
It seemed as if the core of some ancient ritual was still at work.
"You mean..."
Ian finally spoke, his voice dry.
"The origins of the Dumbledore family come from a bowl of soup?" As he spoke, his brow furrowed so tightly, it could pinch a fly, and his eyes revealed a complex emotion of "are you messing with me?"
Upon hearing Female Titan Claire's words, Ian was utterly bewildered.
He had considered many theories regarding the origins of the Dumbledore family, but he never expected that it could have anything to do with a bowl of soup.
It truly was a bit too absurd!
Though the ancient broth wasn't cooked, the origins of the Dumbledore family came from a bowl of soup?
"I mean the power of the Phoenix comes from my Phoenix, and the Dumbledore family's affinity with the Phoenix comes from this pot of soup," Titan Claire corrected Ian with great seriousness, which left Ian opening his mouth and not knowing how to respond, only able to hold his forehead in astonishment and ask again.
"Fine, even if that's the case, the blood power of the Dumbledore family coming from this leaves me speechless. Your wild antics are simply too much."
This was Ian's heartfelt sigh.
Yet.
Faced with Ian's complaints, Female Titan Claire only smiled softly. The steam from the bowl swirled around her, making her pupils even deeper.
"It's mainly because I have a good teacher."
She even added some green vegetables to the soup she served, the kind Ian didn't recognize, considering such a thoughtful balance of diet.
"..."
Ian fell into silence.
If he remembered correctly.
Female Titan Claire referred to herself as a teacher.
Her teacher was the Raven.
"The Dumbledore family was born from you, is the era really that long ago?" Ian shifted to a different topic, as he remembered this was a time before the birth of the Gods.
If the Dumbledore family began to develop in this era.
Besides asexual reproduction.
The only thing Ian could think of was interbreeding with the Gods—yet, the later Dumbledore family did not have Divine Blood, which left Ian quite curious about this contradiction.
Upon hearing this question.
Claire, who was stirring the soup with a spoon, raised her head and a mysterious smile appeared on her lips: "That depends on how you view it."
Her expression carried the familiar old silver coin look that Ian recognized.
"Huh?" Ian was puzzled, "What do you mean?"
The little wizard quickly asked.
Female Titan Claire immediately responded.
"Time has never been a linear force," she said slowly, with a gentle yet indisputable tone, "Do you think history flows from the past to the present, then into the future? No, it's more like a river, sometimes swirling, sometimes flowing backward, sometimes even starting over from the source."
This explanation was indeed a bit too philosophical.
It was beyond the little wizard's understanding.
"Can you speak plainly?"
Ian sighed helplessly.
"You'll understand this sooner or later."
Once again, Female Titan Claire spoke in a mysterious manner, her lips slightly upturned, showing a mysterious smile, and her voice ethereal, with an out-of-time charm.
Hmm.
In plain language, it's just showing off, not much different from those flamboyant and exaggerated speech patterns.
Ian looked up at her and noticed her expression remained that unfathomable look, like a sage standing on a mountaintop overlooking all beings.
While he was just a mere mortal climbing halfway up the mountain, utterly confused.
Wasn't this also a kind of mind game?
"Riddler, get off the Earth."
Ian held his forehead, unable to help but complain. In his lifetime, he detested three groups: one that disliked him, another was people who spoke with exaggerated tones, and the last being those who refused to let him speak in an exaggerated tone.
"Hmm?" Claire merely blinked at Ian's complaint, her tone calm: "But... this isn't Earth at all."
"We are among the cosmic starry sky—did you doze off?" She looked as if it were all self-evident. Indeed, this place floated above Earth.
Not part of Earth's territory.
To be fair, Female Titan Claire was truly the master here, a place not just from Ancient Times, lacking Hogwarts, nor any magic world he was familiar with.
This room was located inside a floating Titan Castle in the universe, with walls embedded with star fragments, and the air imbued with a scent not belonging to any known civilization.
The entire isle was a spaceship for the Titans.
Thus, indeed Ian stood on someone else's territory.
Ian: "..."
He was left speechless, forced to glare at the three-meter-high homebody Titan, who was smugly swinging her toes, much like a mischievous child pulling off a prank.
"Want to know the answer?" Claire suddenly leaned closer, her silver-white hair cascading down, with tips shimmering like starlight, "Then go to Earth and gather things for me."