Chapter 401: Death and the philosopher's stone

Nicolas Flamel paused and carefully watched the expression on Ivan's face before saying softly, "I saw death in him!"

"Death?" Ivan was surprised.

"Yes!" Seeing the look of surprise on Ivan's face, Flamel couldn't help but smile. "This must be accurate, right? This stone basin made an effective divination and proved its accuracy. After talking to Albus two years ago, I have destroyed the Philosopher's Stone, so that I can keep people from their ulterior motives. But it also means that I can no longer make the Elixir of Life."

Although Ivan was still worried about the elusive man he had just seen in the stone bowl, the mood became particularly somber when he heard Flamel's words.

He wasn't sure if he should comfort Flamel.

"All right, son! Don't show that expression, it's no big deal." Flamel continued speaking in a relaxed tone, "Death is a relief to us. My wife Perenelle and I are ready to taste it."

"But...," Ivan said.

"For a young man like you, it seems a little unbelievable. But for us, death is really like going to bed after a long day." Flamel waved to show Ivan that he didn't mind. "And you may have heard Albus say that death is another great adventure for a wizard. Keep in mind that this is far from the end."

In the empty hallway, only Flamel's deep old voice echoed.

He seemed to be hinting at some thoughts, but Ivan could not understand him.

Although he had seen descriptions of death in many magic books before, they were all vague.

Among the ancient lost doctrines, many magicians believed that death did not simply mean the end of life, but the beginning of a new cycle, one that transcended life itself and opened the doors to another mysterious category of magic.

Only a truly powerful magician was qualified to explore it.

Ordinary people, however, would only do their best to prolong their lives and avoid death.

Although not many would agree with this, if it really belonged to magic, then there must be secrets to which death showed people.

Ivan was not sure that he would just close his eyes and face death calmly if it came.

Obviously, Flamel was more certain.

But before Ivan could ask him his opinion about the relationship between magic and death,

Flamel blinked and continued. "I want you to ask me, but now is not the time to tell you. My son, when your life is about to come to an end, you will understand what I have said today."

Flamel looked at Ivan carefully, a smile on his lips, and noted the confusion on his face.

"How long until that day? It all depends on your choice." Flamel's eyes slowly descended and fell upon the locket hanging from Ivan's chest. "Unlike most, you have a choice. You also have a Philosopher's Stone, like me before, which means that no matter how much wealth you want and how long you want to live, you can get whatever you want."

"I can't do this!" Ivan said dejectedly, "It originally belonged to Godric Gryffindor. Gryffindor transformed this Philosopher's Stone a thousand years ago, and now it has no use other than to provide magic."

He opened the locket and pulled out the Philosopher's Stone.

The jagged red stone glowed softly in his hand.

"I don't think so. If you have a little knowledge of alchemy, it's just a way to use the magic of the Philosopher's Stones to make gold from a stone and make the elixir of life. The key is the Philosopher's Stone itself. It is the foundation. Anything is possible with this Philosopher's Stone." Flamel bent down and looked carefully at the Philosopher's Stone in Ivan's hand. "This Philosopher's Stone has much power, much stronger than the one I had."

Instead of removing the Philosopher's Stone from Ivan's hand, he held the position and watched it for a few minutes before slowly raising his head.

"Although I don't know much about curses, there is no doubt that the power within this Philosopher's Stone is very pure and powerful, far beyond imagination." Flamel looked at Ivan and said quietly, "Breaking the curse upon you is not a problem. In fact, as long as you master the use of this stone, no matter what you want, it will help you achieve it."

"What should I do?" Ivan asked subconsciously.

"This involves a very esoteric knowledge of alchemy and related theories, it's still beyond your level." Flamel laughed. "What you have to do now is to restore this broken Philosopher's Stone and find the other half as soon as possible."

Ivan put away the Philosopher's Stone. For the other half of the piece, it had only been removed by the fallen centaurs in the war 800 years ago.

He didn't know where it was hidden now, and he had no idea where to start.

But from what Sirius had said earlier, Dumbledore should already be investigating and nothing could be kept from him.

"Although what I want to say next may not be appropriate, I have to. The Philosopher's Stone is not so wonderful." Flamel's expression suddenly became serious and he warned Ivan: "With it, you seem to have everything, but in reality you lose everything. This is in line with the most basic principle of alchemy: equivalent exchange. It took me over 600 years to understand this truth."

Ivan blinked. He didn't fully understand what Flamel was saying.

Like Dumbledore, Flamel always liked to say half and keep half. All his warnings were to stop and let Ivan think about the rest.

This might be an admirable way to teach, but it was ambiguous enough to drive him mad.

"With the Philosopher's Stone, you will get all your wealth and longevity, but at the same time you will have to be prepared to give up more." Flamel looked at Ivan and said slowly, "As a pioneer, if you ask my advice, I will tell you that these seemingly important things do you no good."

"I don't understand!" said Ivan.

"When you do understand, you can face death calmly!" Flamel gasped for a moment before continuing, "Today is the first time we've met. But no surprise, this should be our last meeting."

Ivan looked at the old magician. The light in his eyes was slowly fading.

At that moment, he was like a dying old man whose life was passing through his body at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Flamel waved his hand, interrupting Ivan, and signaled him to continue listening. "The moment I destroyed the Philosopher's Stone, I was ready to face death. But since there was one thing I couldn't be sure of, I never acted. Seeing you today, I can finally do it."