Chapter 344: Stars, illusions and magic

"Ready?!" Hermione repeated, raising her eyebrows.

In front of them, there was a huge black stone door. The stone door was carved with the pattern of changing phases of the moon. The black moon formed a circle around the entire stone door, changing from the upper full moon to the waning crescent.

The time was marked on the inner side, with a period of one month, corresponding respectively to the New Moon, the Crescent, the First Quarter, the Waxing Gibbous, the Full Moon, the Waning Gibbous, the Third Quarter, and finally the Crescent, and the New Moon again. The outer side of the moon phase diagram was densely covered with words, and there were many strange patterns showing various signs and warnings that were predictable by the different positions of the moon.

Excluding those that represented the illusory signs of astrology, Ivan had to admire the meticulousness of the centaurs in observing and recording planetary changes.

In Astronomy and Astrology, the centaurs accomplished far more than humans did.

Magorian reached over and touched the full moon on the door, and the black stone door slowly rose upward.

Because it was too heavy, the stone door made a creaking sound.

Ivan, Harry, Ron and Hermione held their breath and looked nervously toward the door.

Their right hands gripped their wands tightly, and they dared not relax their vigilance, as if there were many monsters behind the door ready to rush out at any moment.

But nothing happened. There was a small circular space inside the door.

"Let's go in!" Magorian said loudly, taking the initiative.

They didn't move. They all turned their heads and looked unwillingly at Sirius.

"Come on in, it's an escalator, just like in Dumbledore's office." Sirius pointed out that there was no danger. "The object left by Gryffindor is kept at the top of the temple, and will take us up there."

They all went inside, all huddled together and looked around excitedly. Like the platform at the bottom of the escalator, the inside was also a circular space, with black paint on the top and planetary motions carved into the surrounding walls.

Magorian touched another planet on the wall. A loud noise came from under his feet, and the platform began to rise slowly, then picked up speed.

"That's amazing, how did the centaurs do that?" Hermione asked in amazement. "Is it magic?"

"It shouldn't be magic. I don't feel any trace of magic. " Ivan was also very doubtful. The obsidian platform beneath his feet was obviously very heavy. To make it rise to such a high place, he needed very powerful magic.

He knew that the centaurs were not so proficient in magic.

They had unique research in astrological prophecy and healing magic, but little progress had been made in other fields.

Unless there were powerful wizards or other powerful races to help them design these mechanisms, it was difficult for the Centaurs to do this with their own magical abilities.

"It's not magic. Centaurs use the water in the lake to move this escalator."

Sirius signaled everyone to stay away from the wall, explaining, "You must have seen the huge lake outside. In fact, the temple was built entirely on water. The ancient centaurs designed various mechanisms to use the water in the lake to help them accomplish all sorts of things."

It was a very clever mechanism, and everyone was amazed.

It was hard to imagine that the road they had just passed was occupied by the lake.

Magorian did not speak. He stood aside and looked at them coldly, listening to everyone's praise. His face was still arrogant to the extreme.

The platform climbed slowly, and after about ten minutes, the ramp disappeared.

When they finally reached their destination, Ivan felt the gentle evening breeze.

He stepped off the platform, breathed in the fresh air and felt his vision suddenly widen.

At that very moment, they were in a vast sea of stars.

The night sky and the obsidian beneath their feet merged into one, and the sky and the earth felt as if they had merged with them surrounded by the bright stars.

For them, everything became particularly clear and extraordinarily surreal.

Ivan had never felt like this before. The distant stars were now very close to them, because they were too clear and illusory, as if they were right next to them. They felt that, if they raised their hands, they could touch the stars in the sky.

Ivan was amazed by the wonders of the sky and plunged deep into it.

He thought he had arrived in the empty world of the stars - perhaps here was Outer Space!

With countless stars emanating faint energy, Ivan felt his magic becoming uncomfortable.

His magic was acting erratically and out of control, as he also wanted to climb up and reach for the stars. Ivan was surprised and hurried to control the magic in his body, but the stars in front of him distracted him from thinking about anything else, and he lost himself in them.

The magic was acting faster and faster, breaking the rhythm Ivan was familiar with.

Ivan, dazed, looked up at the stars, until he saw the dark red moon just above his head. Only then did he suddenly awaken from his daze.

He suddenly realized that he was standing on an open platform at the highest point of the temple.

As he regained consciousness, the movement of his magic ceased, and Ivan felt as if he had fallen into some kind of hallucination, a deep hallucination magic built by the platform at the top of the temple and the stars in the sky.

This magic was not harmful, but the sober Ivan felt that his magic had increased slightly, which was simply too incredible.

After absorbing the mighty power contained in the Slytherin locket, the speed at which Ivan's magic increased had reached a terrifying level.

Dumbledore even predicted that his magic would not increase significantly for years to come.

But after a little over a month, Ivan's magic began to grow again through the subtle sensation of being immersed in the Sea of Stars, which was incredible.

He turned his head and saw Sirius and Magorian smiling at him.

Next to them, Harry and Ron were stretching out their hands as if they were actually going to touch the stars in the sky.

Hermione also looked at a galaxy not too far away, completely lost in it.

Ivan could clearly feel that the magic of the three of them was also strangely out of control, just like a young wizard who was aware of his magic for the first time.

But they had not yet recovered, and he did not know how long they would be lost in the illusion.

Noticing Ivan's clear eyes, Magorian nodded his head; seemingly pleased that he could recover in such a short time.

He waved his hand and motioned for Ivan to follow him.

Ivan looked at Sirius, who told him to go with Magorian. Black would stay here and wait for Harry, Ron and Hermione.