Chapter 105: Dumbledore’s Homework
With that, Dumbledore Apparated next to Vaughn.
Grasping his hand, he lifted him and they flew, Apparating all the way and effortlessly passing through the ceiling.
The ceiling passed before Vaughn’s eyes like a ripple in a bubble.
The next moment, Vaughn found himself in a gray mist, with only a faint light coming from “below.”
He instinctively looked down, and saw a crystal-clear Klein bottle “suspended” in the boundless gray fog.
The room he had been in before, the training ground conjured by the Room of Requirement, was like a painting, flowing across the surface of the bottle.
He watched in surprise, hearing Dumbledore say slowly, “A meditative object, the moment it forms, it records the last scene you were in and manifests it in the Aether. It has no other purpose than to provide you with an anchor!”
The gray fog was, of course, not real fog.
It was essentially a transparent, constantly jumping phantom. It was only gray and ethereal, giving no sense of substance, making it look like mist.
“In the Aether, where the concept of space is lost, getting lost is a very common occurrence. A very obvious question arises: we’ve entered, how do we get back?”
“Therefore, an anchor is very necessary. It can help you locate yourself and also help you return to reality. It can be said to be the foundation upon which modern Alchemy can develop and grow.”
“In ancient times, Alchemy was a very dangerous discipline. Countless alchemists silently got lost in the Aether, their bodies slowly weakening and dying like vegetative states!”
At this moment, led by Dumbledore, Vaughn was flying in the gray mist.
While listening to Dumbledore’s explanation, Vaughn followed the meditation techniques he had learned to sense the Klein bottle.
Like everything else in the Aether, that sense was very strange. According to the concepts of the real world, after he and Dumbledore had “flown” away, the Klein bottle should have been behind them.
But in Vaughn’s actual perception, it was in front, to the left, above, below… as if it were everywhere, seemingly able to exist anywhere if he wished!
Vaughn understood that this was why space had lost its meaning.
He also deeply understood why Dumbledore said that getting lost was a common occurrence. Traveling through such a pervasive gray mist, with no reference points and no location, it would be strange *not* to get lost!
With that thought, Vaughn asked, “Albus, what is this so-called ‘wandering the Aether’? Space doesn’t exist, there’s no direction, is wandering just ‘flying’ aimlessly in this gray mist?”
He didn’t think it was possible.
Because in the notes he had read, descriptions of Aetheric scenery were common. This meant that the alchemists’ wanderings had a technique.
Moreover, this technique was likely related to meditation and emotions; these two were emphasized repeatedly in basic books.
As expected, Dumbledore chuckled, “My dear, we are wizards, of course, we mobilize our emotions and ‘think.’ Like this…”
As he spoke, Vaughn sensed a strange feeling emanating from Dumbledore’s “body.”
It was a feeling that was difficult to describe precisely, like being in water where the surface rippled gently. You could feel faint waves brushing against your skin, but if you tried to sense it closely, it seemed like nothing was there.
As if an illusion.
Only the reaction of the gray mist “before his eyes” proved that Dumbledore had indeed done something—
In terms of real-world concepts, the gray mist below, which had been still and seemed like it would never be active, suddenly churned violently.
Like a whirlpool suddenly appearing on a calm sea.
Then, a “shimmering” tree flew out from the dense fog.
It was indeed a tree. If one ignored the phantom images on its surface and the distinct layers of vibrant color beneath the phantoms, it looked just like a tree in reality, with lush, layered leaves, spreading branches, and a thick trunk.
Vaughn looked at Dumbledore, “Did you summon it?”
“No!”
Old Dumbledore’s head flickered to the sides. “To be precise, the Aether responded to my thoughts and transferred a tree in front of me… or perhaps it transferred us next to a tree. Who knows?”
Responded…
Vaughn noted the word. Dumbledore, like him, opposed the idea of personifying the “Aether.” But the fact that Old Dumbledore still used the word “responded” meant that, in his opinion, the mechanism by which the tree appeared was indeed the Aether responding to him.
Dumbledore explained, “Just like when we cast spells, strong emotions and intentions are also effective in the Aether, and even more magical.”
“For instance, just now, I wanted to see a tree, so it appeared before me. So-called wandering, in simple terms, is this process…”
Dumbledore paused, adding, “Of course, these things are not unconditional. In the Aether, emotions are something that can actually be consumed. The stronger your thoughts and emotions, the more likely your goal is to succeed, but at the same time, your emotions are consumed faster!”
Hearing this, Vaughn frowned slightly and asked, “What happens if the emotions are completely consumed?”
“I don’t know.”
Dumbledore chuckled, “As a wizened old man who cherishes his life, I dare not try. However, I imagine that over the past few thousand years, there should have been many wizards brave enough to try. Yet, in reality, there are no documents describing the results, which is quite telling.”
It was indeed quite telling.
Those brave souls probably all perished.
Vaughn thought for a moment and asked again, “The thoughts you mentioned, do they refer to specific requirements and detailed conceptions, or are they more vague and emotional?”
He wanted to know if, by making specific requests, the Aether wouldn’t be like a wish machine?
Dumbledore clearly understood his thoughts and sighed, saying:
“I know what you’re thinking, but unfortunately, thoughts can only be vague and emotional.”
“In this regard, it’s like magic. When you cast a spell, no matter how you conceive it, a Disarming Charm cannot turn an enemy into a flower!”
“The reason Alchemy uses the word ‘wandering’ is that for alchemists, the Aether’s response mechanism is just a tool for ‘traveling’ after the concepts of time and space disappear, or like some alchemists, a tool for briefly experiencing ‘union’ with the Aether and observing the universe.”
“It’s not a wish machine!”
No wonder!
Vaughn nodded in understanding. Just as he was about to say something else, the tree “below” suddenly showed an anomaly.
Vaughn saw that the dense gray fog near the tree, which had been gradually calming, began to churn again. Suddenly, several sticky tentacles emerged from it and instantly wrapped around the tree.
Visibly, the tree began to disintegrate. The overlapping colors within it rapidly faded, and the gray phantom on its surface flickered violently a few times before turning into a thick, liquid-like state, being “eaten” by the tentacles.
“…What is that?”
“Ah, as I said, Vaughn, the Aether is far more cunning than you imagine.” Dumbledore said as if it were commonplace. “These things are called Aether rays, life forms that live in the Aether. It is said their main bodies resemble stingrays, but they are rarely seen… they are very troublesome creatures. They can sense the emotions of wizards, and whenever wizards are active in the Aether, they come to cause trouble.”
Quantum life forms?
Vaughn slightly widened his “eyes,” looking at the tentacles that had “eaten” the tree and hadn’t retracted into the gray fog, still flashing malevolently outside.
“Is it dangerous? Or rather, are these life forms living in the Aether very dangerous? I don’t seem to have read about them in my notes.”
“Most of them are not particularly dangerous, nor are they of much research value. In essence, they are the same as the spiritual bodies of real-world creatures.”
“However, this does not mean the Aether is safe. Here, danger can always appear unexpectedly…”
Dumbledore said.
Sensing a change in his tone, Vaughn looked at him and realized he had raised his head at some point, “looking” towards the depths of the gray mist ahead.
Following his “direction,” Vaughn suddenly noticed a light emanating from there silently.
Piercing through the boundless gray fog, a dim, yellow light!
So warm. Just looking at it, it was as if he saw the poignant beauty of an autumn twilight, the setting sun like blood falling into a riverbank, making one want to plunge into it…
Wait!
Vaughn suddenly became alert. That light was wrong!
The moment he sobered up, Dumbledore also warned, “Vaughn, don’t look at it.”
But in the Aether, where the concept of space is lost, it is very difficult to avoid looking at something. Vaughn could only force himself to shift his attention.
“Albus, what is that?”
To Vaughn’s surprise, Dumbledore replied, “I don’t know.”
“?”
“Vaughn, anything is possible in the Aether. I’ve seen Muggle nightmares form terrifying castles here, and I’ve seen the spirits of ancient wizards wandering in the gray mist like zombies… The Aether is truly too vast and too beyond reason. No one can fully understand how every incomprehensible phenomenon encountered is produced.”
“If you ask me how to make the Aether safe, I would say the best way is to encounter incomprehensible phenomena, not approach them, not be curious, and wait quietly. They will leave on their own.”
The dim yellow light, just as Dumbledore had said, finally disappeared quietly after appearing for a moment, as abruptly as it had arrived.
But Vaughn felt something was still amiss. He thought for a moment and asked, “Are phenomena like that common in the Aether?”
Dumbledore’s figure “flickered,” his crossed hands at his lower abdomen instantly spread open. “They are not too common. I believe you must have asked Fred and George. They probably never encountered anything like it?”
This was an obvious rhetorical question. If Vaughn knew, he wouldn’t have almost fallen for it.
Recalling the experience from moments before, Vaughn was certain that the light possessed a powerful, enchantment-like ability. The problem was, under normal circumstances, Vaughn, protected by the highest level of Occlumency, should be immune to enchantments or any magic targeting the mind.
Unless, that dim yellow light involved the soul!
Anything involving the soul is not simple. As a novice, encountering a phenomenon that seemed related to the soul on his first entry into the Aether…
Vaughn didn’t think it was due to his bad luck. He looked at Dumbledore doubtfully, always feeling that it might have something to do with this old man.
Unfortunately, there was no evidence, and Dumbledore’s gray face revealed no expression.
After some thought, Vaughn gave up pressing the issue. For a goblin over a hundred years old, verbal pressure was useless.
Since Dumbledore answered “I don’t know,” it meant he didn’t want to say for now.
However, Vaughn subtly jabbed, “The progress of any subject and technology is built on the unremitting exploration of the unknown, just like Hogwarts’ school song: ‘We shall forever seek knowledge, until we rot.'”
“Yes, yes, wizards should have such a mindset.” Dumbledore nodded repeatedly, two heads appearing and flickering on his neck. He said earnestly, “You must remember the school song, Vaughn. Be proactive and strive forward, don’t be like me, a rotten old man!”
Vaughn was speechless. Facing an old man who had given up, what else could he say?
By virtue of shamelessness, finally gaining the upper hand in the verbal exchange, Dumbledore’s tone became cheerful again. “My dear, shall we continue exploring, or go back?”
Was there even a need to ask?
Of course, continue exploring.
The two continued to fly in the gray mist. This time, Dumbledore didn’t use his emotions anymore—which made Vaughn increasingly suspect that the strange dim yellow light earlier was likely attracted by the old man.
No longer using emotions, Dumbledore could no longer demonstrate. He began to guide Vaughn on how to transmit thoughts to the Aether.
“It’s similar to when you cast spells. Strong emotions, strong will, but more concentrated, with a clear recipient. You can imagine it like this: there is a great being in the void waiting to respond to you…”
Hearing this, Vaughn couldn’t help but interrupt, “Is this the method all alchemists use? No wonder the ‘Creator’ theory became the mainstream ideology in Alchemy. From this technique of transmitting emotions, one can see that everyone subconsciously believes the Aether is alive.”
Dumbledore smiled and countered, “What do you think? After entering the Aether, will you still insist on your so-called assertion that the Aether is merely an objective phenomenon?”
Without hesitation, Vaughn replied, “I still insist. To be precise, I don’t believe that the Aether absolutely lacks personified characteristics or possesses will or wisdom. What I oppose is treating the Aether’s will and personification as truth.”
“In Muggle society, even if a theory is proven a thousand or ten thousand times, it’s not necessarily correct, because human cognition is subjective. Interpreting objective phenomena with subjective cognition is bound to have limitations. Even if the probability of error is very small, that probability still exists.”
Listening to these words, Dumbledore pondered for a moment and smiled, “Is this what you said before, that Muggle science only falsifies, it doesn’t verify?”
“Yes, this way of thinking is very simple. For example, ‘it rains, the ground is wet.’ If we reasoned entirely subjectively, we might also assume ‘it doesn’t rain, the ground is not wet.’ Subjectively, this seems logical. But in the actual objective environment, there are many reasons for the ground to be wet, and rain is only one of them.”
“So, in my opinion, the Aether, which can respond to wizards’ thoughts, possessing will, wisdom, personality, or divinity… these are all just speculations, one of countless possibilities, and should not be treated as a certain and sole outcome.”
Vaughn’s assertion undoubtedly went against the wizarding way of thinking.
Dumbledore was silent for a longer time this time, and ultimately offered no evaluation, as if this conversation had never happened. He continued to guide Vaughn:
“We continue… Before transmitting thoughts, you need to first deactivate Occlumency. This is a prerequisite. We must have closer contact with the Aether to make everything accurate and without error.”
“Of course, I must also remind you that you may not be very adaptable, because we are currently spiritual bodies without the constraints of physical bodies, and we are also influenced by the Aether. It may behave a bit too… lively!”
Soon, Vaughn experienced Dumbledore’s “unadaptability” and “excessive liveliness.”
As he deactivated Occlumency, the cool, lingering sensation that had always enveloped his head dissipated, as if a shackle had been removed.
Countless burning, frantic thoughts seemed to churn up from the depths of his consciousness, leaping and shouting. Vaughn felt his mind split into countless parts, each with its own thoughts and opinions, “arguing” amongst themselves.
For a moment, Vaughn even “saw” the phantom image on the surface of his spiritual body flickering more intensely, as if something were about to detach.
Old Dumbledore beside him gloated, “Oh—my dear, your spiritual body is more complex than I imagined. Generally speaking, a 12-year-old child shouldn’t have such chaotic thought activity!”
Vaughn didn’t have the time to retort to Old Dumbledore now.
For him, who had mastered Memory Magic, gathering his thoughts and maintaining focus was not too difficult. In reality, he could make his thoughts “spotlessly clean” within 1 second.
But in the Aether, this process became much more difficult.
The main issue was the misconception of time. Time represented “continuity,” which could be the continuity of matter or the continuity of thought. Before, Occlumency had protected Vaughn’s consciousness well; the “interruption” of material continuity had not affected his thoughts.
It wasn’t until Occlumency was deactivated that Vaughn truly felt what it meant for “time to lose its meaning.”
The thoughts that should have proceeded from the previous second to the next, like walking along a line, suddenly became “leapfrog.”
The perception of time was also infinitely subdivided into countless moments, existing simultaneously. This caused his thoughts and consciousness to also be divided into countless parts.
For a Muggle, such a confusion of thoughts caused by a misperception of time could immediately turn a normal person into an idiot.
But wizards, especially those who knew Memory Magic, had plenty of ways to solve it.
The world of the mind mirrored reality. This originally continuous space had been divided into countless parts, like stacked microscope slides. In each “slide,” there was a “Vaughn Weasley,” some calm, some angry, some anxious.
Existing simultaneously, unwilling to yield to each other!
Persona Embodiment appeared. It transformed into a plume of white smoke, permeating and gliding over the countless “slides,” exploring and searching.
After an unknown amount of time, it stopped on a “slide” of someone deep in meditation and merged into it.
In that slide, the meditating “Vaughn Weasley” gently moved a finger, and a few wisps of white smoke shot out from “him,” quickly seeping into adjacent slides.
Infecting, controlling, assimilating…
One by one, the “Vaughn Weasley”s transitioned from chaos to tranquility, closing their eyes like the first one, with white smoke swirling within the scene.
After this process was repeated dozens of times, even in the lightless world of the mind, there were still many “slides” in a state of separation, still arguing. However, the closed-eyed “Vaughn Weasley”s, already linked by Persona Embodiment, gradually gained dominance!
Then, the closed-eyed “Vaughn” opened his eyes!
In the Aether, within the dense gray mist, Vaughn gently exhaled.
His consciousness had always been clear. After all, no matter how finely divided, those countless “he”s were still him; they just lacked a core and were scattered.
Even now, he still felt his mind was a mess, with various thoughts flooding in, but at least he had a core, allowing him to think clearly.
“Exquisite Memory Magic!”
Dumbledore’s praise came from his side.
Vaughn gave him a look. Even in his spiritual state, Old Dumbledore couldn’t see it, but that didn’t stop him from expressing his displeasure. “Thank you for the compliment, and thank you for not warning me, which almost made me an idiot.”
“My dear Vaughn, that kind of thing is impossible. It’s just a confusion of thoughts caused by a misperception of time. Even without Memory Magic, as you get accustomed to the Aether, you will slow—ly—recover!”
The old fellow quibbled.
Of course, he wouldn’t admit to having a bit of malicious fun and cited his reasons with conviction: “Most importantly, your thoughts are too complex, and your personality is too dominant. Other young wizards encountering the Aether for the first time don’t react as strongly as you; their expressions are much simpler.”
Although it sounded like he was mocking him, Vaughn knew Old Dumbledore was right.
He not only had complex thoughts and a dominant personality but also two lifetimes of experience. Clearly, under the concept of time that lost continuity and was infinitely subdivided, such special experiences were not an advantage.
However, that was all.
He was too lazy to bother with Dumbledore anymore.
Vaughn quieted his mind and continued to control Persona Embodiment to link his consciousness and strengthen his core.
He stopped when the chaotic thoughts in his mind became fewer and fewer, and most of the floating “slides” in his mental world turned white.
“Next is to transmit thoughts to the Aether…”
Ignoring Dumbledore’s crossed hands and his posture of watching a play, Vaughn adapted to his current mental state and began to mobilize his emotions, following Old Dumbledore’s previous teachings and his current casting experience.
Concentrate, focus!
In a daze, he suddenly felt like he had returned to a few years ago when he first tried casting spells. It was awkward and unfamiliar, and his emotions were always difficult to gather.
Unlike back then, and unlike in reality, Vaughn clearly felt that as he mobilized his emotions, a strange sensation was condensing from his spiritual body.
It was wisps, and something hazy gray, like the phantom image on the body’s surface.
In reality, emotions, feelings, etc., are ephemeral and unquantifiable things, but here, they clearly also possess form.
Vaughn merely “looked” at them and then stopped paying attention, instead beginning to ponder what exactly he needed the Aether to respond to.
“Alchemy states that all things possess sentience, and Aether is the sum of the sentience of all things. This is the fundamental reason it connects all things. Then, if sentience were to be explained from the perspective of Muggle science, what should it be?”
“Information, or perhaps, the informational state of matter?”
Vaughn hadn’t forgotten that his greatest confusion before entering the Aether was what the Aether actually was!
Broadly speaking, it is certainly a type of substance, a substance capable of expressing the informational state of matter （ sentience ）.
However, things cannot be measured solely from a broad perspective; they must also be defined and confirmed from a narrow perspective.
“Before entering the Aether, Dumbledore said that exploring the Aether is like a dream. He also said before that he once saw a Muggle’s nightmare, and it formed a terrifying castle in the Aether… Then let’s see what consciousness or dreams, things that are not tangible in reality, actually look like!”
As his thought solidified, the emotions that had condensed into form within his spirit began to flow away immediately.
They were like ripples spreading from a light touch on the lake’s surface, emanating from his spirit in circles, in segments, discontinuously, leaping away.
They left Vaughn’s body, carrying with them faint whispers:
“Dreams… consciousness… mind… all non-physical, spiritual places…”
They touched the gray mist and vanished instantly, as if something around had been waiting all along to receive them!
Then, abruptly, Vaughn raised his head.
He could feel a peculiar concept responding to him, a feeling that was hard to describe.
It was as if a voice was being transmitted from a distant place, or as if it was a thought emerging from his own heart.
In any case, he knew that the Aether had “responded” to him!
And it wasn’t just a feeling; the gray mist “before” his eyes began to churn and boil.
But this time, unlike when Dumbledore “summoned” the tree before, no physical form emerged from the gray mist. Instead, within Vaughn’s perception, he was suddenly being pulled “down” by something!
Caught off guard, Vaughn instinctively resisted, but immediately heard Dumbledore say:
“Don’t resist!”
Vaughn abandoned his resistance as instructed, yielding to the “force” pulling him, falling towards somewhere either below or in front… in any case, a direction he couldn’t discern.
Since entering the Aether, this was the first time he had regained the sensation of being captured by gravity.
He passed through the boundless gray mist, and in a state where he lost all sense of time, he couldn’t judge how long he had been falling, only knowing that colors suddenly began to appear before his eyes.
It was an incredibly vast, horizon-like, seven-colored iridescence with a slight curve.
Thin yet dense, illusory yet real, with distinct layers, piled upon each other!
It was just like… just like the colorful manifestations beneath the gray phantom image of his spirit.
Vaughn suddenly felt that his previous guess about the colors beneath the phantom image of his body might have been wrong; perhaps it wasn’t just the appearance of light in the Aether.
Before he could ponder further, the fall suddenly stopped, and Vaughn, slightly startled, lowered his head.
He saw that he was standing on a concrete floor—a floor identical to reality, without any gray phantom image!
Vaughn arrived at a road.
A winding, long road that seemed to have no end.
It came from the endless gray mist, winding around the incredibly vast, horizon-like, curved seven-colored iridescence that Vaughn had “just” seen as he fell—
It was only now that Vaughn noticed that the iridescence was actually the surface of a giant “bubble.”
It was so magnificent that the road Vaughn stood on seemed like an almost imperceptible mycelium clinging to its outer edge.
Dumbledore, who had fallen beside Vaughn at some unknown time, hopped on the concrete floor with a shimmering gait, like a childlike enthusiast, then cheerfully said to Vaughn, “Good luck, Vaughn, the Aether has helped you find a modern human.”
Vaughn immediately focused on the key point: “Modern human?”
“Yes, a modern human, this Muggle road makes it quite obvious.” As if happy for Vaughn’s good fortune, Dumbledore replied with a light tone, “Don’t forget that time has no meaning within the Aether, so the things that exist within it are not limited to the present, but also include the past and future. I once saw a futuristic person who looked quite sci-fi.”
“…”
The word “sci-fi,” coming from Dumbledore’s mouth, felt truly incongruous…
Vaughn walked to the edge of the road and looked up at the giant, seven-colored, flowing bubble “before” him.
He curiously asked, “Such a giant bubble, and only one human inside?”
“That’s right, to be precise, this soap bubble-like thing contains a human’s dream world, or rather, his unconsciousness.”
Upon hearing “unconsciousness,” Vaughn immediately recalled some knowledge he had previously overlooked.
Due to the “Creator” theory and the Golden Soul Theory, the mainstream thought in modern alchemy actually leaned more towards the mental realm, which, in Muggle terms, would be psychology.
Modern alchemy not only categorized humans into two states, “physical being” and “spiritual being,” but also further subdivided the “spiritual being.”
They believed that a person’s spiritual being consisted of a three-layered structure:
Consciousness, personal unconsciousness （ subconsciousness ）, and collective unconsciousness （ collective subconsciousness ）.
Consciousness was located on the surface, being the “self,” the subject of a person’s thoughts and memories.
Personal unconsciousness was on the second layer, acting as a “container” for all psychological activities that were inconsistent with the conscious mind’s functioning, such as all forgotten memories, experiences, perceptions, dreams, fantasies, etc., considered “waste material” that must be separated from the subject.
The theories he had previously read flashed into his mind. Looking up at the giant bubble before him, Vaughn mused, “Muggles and ordinary wizards, lacking alchemy talent, so their spiritual beings cannot enter the Aether… Now it seems, it’s the ‘consciousness’ that cannot enter, but the unconsciousness can?”
Honestly, he hadn’t paid much attention to the three-layered structure theory of the spiritual being in modern alchemy before.
Because, based on his experiments after learning Memory Magic, he found that each person’s personality was singular and complete. He hadn’t considered before that the foundation of the three-layered structure theory wasn’t reality, but the Aether.
It was a summation of conscious phenomena within the Aether!
Beside him, Dumbledore smiled and added, “The collective unconsciousness can also be materialized by the Aether. If you have the opportunity in the future, you will encounter it… For now, let me show you the personal unconsciousness of this unfortunate Muggle.”
As he spoke, Dumbledore took Vaughn’s hand, and with his other hand, pressed it onto the “bubble.”
Vaughn recalled his previous incorrect guess about the seven colors. His greatest virtue was his willingness to “ask without shame,” so he asked Dumbledore, “What do the seven colors on the bubble’s surface represent? Are the colors beneath our spirit’s phantom image the same thing?”
Unfortunately, Old Dumbledore didn’t give him a definitive answer.
“In your words, it might be some external manifestation of the mind. No one has yet figured out exactly what it is. If you figure it out later, remember to tell me!”
Vaughn: “…”
The seven-colored flowing bubble gave a feeling of being both illusory and real.
When Dumbledore’s hand passed through it, bringing Vaughn along, the sensation was the same.
It was as if they passed through layers of curtains, or as if they merely passed through empty air, or a spectrum of colorful light.
Then, a completely different scene appeared before them.
It was green trees, forests, grasslands, sunshine…
The monotonous gray suddenly disappeared from view, and the previous experience seemed to vanish like a dream.
Vaughn felt as if he had returned to reality, to a warm and pleasant afternoon.
Of course, he understood it was merely an illusion caused by the sudden sight of everything before him!
Vaughn and Dumbledore’s spiritual beings hovered in mid-air, overlooking the beautiful scenery below, overlooking the sun-drenched golden hues, illuminating a warm forest path where a middle-aged man was leisurely strolling.
He noticed Vaughn and Dumbledore and didn’t seem surprised at all.
He cheerfully waved at the two and shouted, “Good noon, gentlemen!”
But neither Vaughn nor Dumbledore responded.
Because they both understood that this was merely the middle-aged man’s dream.
In the blink of an eye, a beautiful Madam appeared beside the middle-aged man. He immediately stopped paying attention to the two figures floating in mid-air and laughed heartily, taking her hand.
The entire world seemed to become vibrant and full of life due to his joy.
The small blades of grass by the roadside strained to hold up their leaves, and dew drops reflected the sun, sparkling with brilliant light like pearls.
Trees drooped their branches to form shade, and through the dappled light and shadow, the forest sent forth a gentle breeze.
Flowers by the roadside unfurled their petals with all their might, their fragrance filling the air as butterflies fluttered about.
Everything seemed like a fairy tale, and all changes revolved around that middle-aged man. Everything here was his dream!
“It looks like a beautiful dream!” Dumbledore exclaimed.
“Yes, but it only looks like a beautiful dream…”
Vaughn said softly.
Immersed in such a “dream,” as a master of Memory Magic, he could sense the essence of the middle-aged man’s “dream” and understood why Dumbledore had called this Muggle “unfortunate” before they entered.
“The personal unconsciousness, as the second layer of the spiritual being’s structure, exists to protect the conscious subject. On one hand, it contains the unimportant parts of life experiences, making it convenient for the conscious subject to forget, thus reducing mental burden.”
“On the other hand, it is also responsible for containing things that might harm the conscious subject.”
“Such as pain, frustration, despair, anxiety…”
Gazing down at the middle-aged man, Vaughn silently recited words he had read before. He could sense that beneath the seemingly beautiful facade of this dream, or fantasy, lay intense pain.
At the center of the pain was the beautiful Madam who had suddenly appeared and was accompanying the man!
To Vaughn and Dumbledore, masters of Memory Magic, the pain permeating this “dream world” could not be any clearer.
They watched silently.
Until a certain moment, the entire “space” suddenly collapsed. The giant bubble rapidly shrank, its surface with its distinct seven colors flashing past the two and collapsing into the gray mist.
In the blink of an eye, the originally giant bubble vanished, and the beautiful scenery was once again replaced by gray.
“…What happened?”
“He probably woke up!” Dumbledore shook his head. “We can’t feel the passage of time, nor do we know where he is. Perhaps in reality, dawn has already broken where he is.”
“Then what will happen when he wakes up? Will he remember us, remember this dream?”
Vaughn was a little curious.
He suddenly recalled his own occasional experiences—
Sometimes, upon waking, he knew he had dreamed, but could never recall the content of the dream.
Dumbledore shook his head again: “No!”
Vaughn knew that in his research on spiritual beings and the Aether, he was currently far inferior to Dumbledore, so he never missed an opportunity to ask questions: “Why? Because his consciousness was not in the Aether? Or because everything that happened within the Aether is relatively ‘unreal’ to reality?”
As mentioned before, consciousness is the subject of a person’s thoughts and memories. Experiences that do not involve consciousness clearly cannot be remembered.
And through reading previous notes, Vaughn had vaguely understood that the Aether and reality overlap yet are also mutually isolated. At least, things that happen within the Aether seem to have difficulty affecting reality.
Dumbledore clasped his hands together, thought for a moment, and replied, “Both are possible!”
“Albus!”
Dumbledore burst into laughter. He glanced again at the spot where the bubble had disappeared and said, “It’s getting late, Vaughn. Let’s end this exploration for now!”
He paused and added, “Let me give you one more lesson. Before the lesson, I want to ask you a question, using your recent inquiry as the theme: Vaughn, what do you think is real, and what is false?”
Hmm?
Of course, objective facts are true, and things that do not exist or did not happen are false!
Vaughn was a little puzzled and was about to answer when he suddenly stopped.
He suddenly understood that Dumbledore wasn’t asking about objective reality and falsity, but about subjective judgment as a conscious subject!
Seeing that he seemed to understand, Dumbledore continued, “From our perspective, what just happened is definitely real, because we remember the entire cause, effect, and process. But what about that Muggle?”
“What you just said is actually not wrong. Yes, his conscious subject did not experience it, so he will not remember it. Similarly, anything that does not exist in his memory is false. He does not know about the existence of the Aether, nor does he have the concept of the Aether… And there are billions of people like him in the world, even including most wizards without alchemy talent.”
“Comparing them, then, who is right?”
Vaughn frowned slightly. He didn’t quite understand the meaning of this question.
Because from his perspective, neither was wrong; it was merely the difference in the amount of information they possessed that created this discrepancy.
Dumbledore didn’t seem to expect an answer. Before the frowning Vaughn could speak, he used his “thoughts” again.
“The final lesson begins, and it’s also related to this question.”
He reached out towards the gray mist, and ripples of emotions spread out, segment by segment, leaping out of his body.
These transmitted thoughts were quickly met with a response from the Aether.
The gray mist churned and spat out “materials”!
Those materials were familiar: Milkweed Juice, Mercury, Mithril powder…
Dumbledore pointed at these materials, “summoned” by his thoughts, and asked, “Vaughn, are these real or false?”
Vaughn’s frown deepened. He suddenly realized he couldn’t answer.
Because, based on what he understood, things in the Aether couldn’t be brought into reality. From this perspective, these materials were definitely fake.
But…
Dumbledore transmitted “thoughts” to the gray mist again.
This time, the ripples flowing from him were more intense and frequent, with many phantom images leaving his body.
In contrast, the materials began to fuse due to the Aether’s “response”—much like the steps Fred and George used to make the mithril mercury amalgam. Before long, a golden, anti-magic, insulating rubber skin was born. The moment it was created, it seemed to have fulfilled its purpose and rapidly disintegrated into wisps of gray mist.
However, it didn’t completely disappear but left behind a “symbol” in its place, emitting a faint glow, appearing perfectly round from any angle!
Dumbledore pointed at the “symbol” again and said, “This is how alchemy obtains a symbol, Vaughn. Is it real or false?”
If it were any other time, Old Dumbledore’s feat would have made Vaughn’s eyes light up with curiosity—Fred and George had spent days inventing the alchemical item, only for the old man to replicate it with ease.
But at this moment, Vaughn’s mind was not on that at all.
He stared at the symbol. Without a doubt, the symbol could be brought into reality. From the perspective of an alchemist, it was undoubtedly real.
But from the perspective of someone other than an alchemist, it simply didn’t exist!
Vaughn was beginning to understand what Dumbledore wanted to teach him.
As expected, he heard Dumbledore continue, “I can sense your ambition, Vaughn. You are attempting to combine alchemy with Muggle technology, and I suspect you also want to try promoting magic… There’s no need to deny it. I don’t understand Muggle technology very well, but I understand you.”
“If you didn’t have such aspirations, you wouldn’t have tried to understand the Aether using Muggle knowledge from the very beginning.”
“The problem lies here. Let’s temporarily ignore the possibility of failure and assume that one day you truly succeed. How will you explain what the Aether is to Muggles who cannot access it at all?”
“On the other hand, how will you persuade alchemists to understand Muggle theories?”
“You have a great ambition, child, but you aren’t even an alchemist yet, and you don’t even know how they view the world!”
“I believe you should first learn to think like an alchemist. This is the homework I’m assigning you… Don’t look at me like that. You’re the one who said you wanted me to be your mentor!”
