บท 261: 0260 The Cave (Part-1)
It was around eleven o'clock at night, and a bright moon hung in the southwest sky, casting a cold radiance that illuminated the barren landscape. There was not a single cloud in the night sky, and countless stars were embedded in the unfathomable darkness, their light faint and distant.
The temperature was very low, and the waves near the shore were mixed with numerous broken ice blocks that glittered like shards of glass. They crashed against the reefs with a deafening roar, making a sound like thousands of horses galloping on the ground.
Puff!
Bryan, who had changed into a wizard's robe, suddenly appeared behind Sirius, startling him. He was standing on the edge of a high black rock, carefully looking down at the sea below. His eyes reflected the moonlight, and his face was tense and alert.
"Is this the place?"
Bryan looked around cautiously, and saw that behind them was a cliff, with a steep rock wall falling straight down. It was so dark that they could not see its face, only the outline of its jagged edges. And on the shore below, there were many smooth black rocks shaped like goose eggs, piled up like a graveyard of stones. There was no grass or sand, only desolation and gloom.
"How did Voldemort find this place?" After finishing his observation, Remus asked in confusion, "There is nothing here related to magic. I don't understand how Voldemort found this place."
"Maybe Dumbledore can answer your question."
Bryan said with a hint, and looked at the cliff on his right. His eyes suddenly narrowed, as if he had noticed something. He raised his wand and pointed it at a spot on the rock wall, where a faint trace of magic was hidden.
"Where is Regulus, Kreacher?"
Sirius did not care why Voldemort would hide the seemingly important locket in this desolate coast. He only wanted to find his brother's body as soon as possible.
"There is a crack in the cliff over there, master!"
Kreacher pointed at the steep rock wall and said, "Kreacher can go in by himself, but he can't take master Sirius and Wolf-Master Remus with him. Kreacher can't break the magic there!"
"Bryan, you found something, didn't you?"
Remus noticed Bryan's strangeness. He followed his gaze and saw the faint glow of his wand tip.
"The magic flow in that place is unnatural."
Bryan simply said, and then he also came to the edge of the black rock where they stood. His gaze followed the many uneven cracks below the rock that could be used as footholds, until he pointed at the surface layer of ice slag, and the undercurrents below the sea.
"We are not very lucky. The tide is high now. We may have to swim a long distance to get in."
Bryan said calmly.
"Then let's do it!" Sirius said immediately, "My animagus form is good at swimming. That's how I swam back to the mainland from the isolated island where Azkaban is located."
As he spoke, a black light flashed, and Sirius's body became soft like dough. After a twist, the bear-sized black dog appeared in front of them again.
"Then–"
Bryan pointed his wand at Kreacher, "I put a positioning mark on you. You apparate to the cave first, and I will swim in with Remus and Sirius."
After some preparation, they finally followed the footholds on the edge of the rock and stood in the icy cold sea water. The water soaked their clothes and skin, and made them shiver uncontrollably.
The raging sea breeze that came head-on carried a pungent smell of salt and seaweed, which made them nauseous. And the irregularly shaped, sharp-edged ice blocks in the sea water also kept hitting their calves, cutting and bruising them. In such an environment, diving into the sea was indeed a very dangerous thing.
Bryan's wand tip emitted a white light, which was like the guiding light from the lighthouse on the shore, warm and reassuring. He held it in front of him, and plunged into the dark water.
"I'll lead the way, Remus follows me, and Sirius covers the rear."
Bryan's voice without any waves made them feel very calm in the night that seemed to swallow everyone. Whether it was Remus or Sirius, they naturally regarded Bryan as the operating commander, and followed his orders.
The undercurrents under the sea were more complex than they had imagined. The cold water rushed from all directions and hit the 'adventure team'. There seemed to be a strong suction force in the depths of the sea, like a bottomless vortex, wanting to drag everyone into the abyss. They had to struggle against the water pressure and the lack of oxygen, and hope that they would reach the cave before it was too late.
Bryan bit the glowing wand in his mouth, and he cast a bubble-head charm on himself and Remus and Sirius, so that they didn't have to worry about breathing. He felt a warm bubble of air form around his head, and he dived into the cold water.
But the sea water was too cold. It felt like needles piercing his skin, and he shivered uncontrollably. After a while, Remus, who was pale as a ghost, suddenly struggled. He clutched his right leg with a painful expression, and his body fell weakly to the bottom of the sea. He had been bitten by a vicious sea creature, and blood was oozing from his wound. But fortunately, Sirius noticed his condition. He bit Remus's collar with his mouth, and swam forward desperately with the standard dog paddle. His black fur was soaked and heavy, and his eyes were full of worry.
Soon, the crack they dived into became a dark tunnel. When the tide was low, people should be able to walk here, but now, the tunnel was completely submerged in the sea water. The water was murky and full of debris, and they could barely see anything. They had to rely on Bryan's wand light to guide them.
The tunnel was very narrow, and the muddy rock walls on both sides were only three feet apart. Under such space constraints, Bryan could no longer swim forward. He used his numb fingers to push against the rough rocks, and supported himself to walk through the last distance. He felt the water pressure increase, and his ears popped painfully.
Splash!
Twenty minutes later, Bryan finally got out of the water, and stood up from the remaining few steps. He shook his head to get rid of the water droplets, and took a deep breath. And Kreacher, who was standing in the cave twenty feet away, finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Bryan's head. He had been waiting anxiously, fearing that something bad had happened to them.
"I almost thought I would die in the sea–"
Remus crawled up the rock platform with his limbs, and leaned against the rock wall, gasping for breath. He looked pale and weak, and his leg was still bleeding. And Sirius also returned to his human form, bending his waist and holding his knees, panting heavily. It seemed that they were both exhausted. They had never experienced such a difficult journey before.
Bryan had entered the state of exploring the secret realm. He left the two somewhat weak middle-aged men behind, and stood in the center of the cave, looking at the rock walls and the high dome with the light from his wand.
Kreacher was already anxious, but he didn't dare to disturb Bryan, who was observing the situation. He could only worry by himself.
"Oh, interesting–"
Suddenly, Bryan's gaze pointed to a wall, and he walked over quickly, touching the rough rock wall with his fingers. His light purple eyes turned dark, and a vortex appeared in his pupils.
"What's going on, Bryan?"
Sirius and Remus helped each other and walked over. They looked at the rock wall and were confused. They couldn't see anything unusual, just a plain and solid wall.
"This is the front hall, and this wall is not a natural barrier, but magic–"
Bryan's interested expression made Remus puzzled, "This is just a normal rock wall, isn't it? I can't see anything special."
Effort can help you overcome some obstacles, but on the road of magic, only those with extraordinary talents can reach the higher levels. Bryan ignored Remus's question, because the scenery on that level could not be explained by words. He was seeing something that ordinary wizards could not see.
In Bryan's vision, the core of the black rock wall was intertwined with countless indistinguishable magic pattern circuits, which formed a magic that connected the space magic power. It could continuously replenish itself with magic power, and only by using the correct method could the rock wall be opened. Using violence was not impossible, but the premise was that you had the ability to move the entire cliff.
"Voldemort probably borrowed some of his ancestor's ideas–"
After a long time, Bryan stepped back a few steps and smiled, "But he also added some of his own style."
"What do you mean, Bryan," Sirius, who couldn't understand anything, said annoyedly, "How on earth are we going to get through this wall?"
"If I'm not wrong," Bryan looked at Kreacher and said with certainty, "We probably need to pay a price, right? I think it's. blood?"
Kreacher had been here twice with the Dark Lord and Regulus, and he knew how to get through the wall. But Bryan saw it by himself without any hint, which made Kreacher very shocked.
"As you said, Mr. Watson–" Kreacher bowed and said respectfully, and then he told the three people what he knew.
As expected, Sirius offered his own blood, and when the glowing door appeared in front of them, Remus, who was healing Sirius, said with disgust,
"I don't understand, why did he set up such a mechanism?"
Remus asked, his voice full of bewilderment and frustration. He couldn't comprehend Voldemort's twisted logic and cruel methods.
"We can only guess–"
Bryan leaned back with his hands behind his back, and looked at the edge of the glowing door with interest. He was fascinated by the ingenious design and the complex magic involved. In the invisible magic world, the life force and magic power from the blood were maintaining the light door, but as the power was consumed, the door outline had already shown a slight contraction, like a dying flame.
"Voldemort probably wanted to weaken the wizards who came here."
Seeing that Remus's confusion did not disappear, Bryan continued, "If there were more than one wizard here, then this door would have limited meaning. It would only serve as a warning and a deterrent. Of course, I don't think Voldemort would allow a bunch of people to approach his hidden and protected dark magic items, so, behind this door, there are probably some other means–"
Bryan led the way, followed by two people and a house elf, and passed through the door. In an instant, the environment changed, and a very strange scene appeared in front of them.
Although they had heard Kreacher's description before, the real scene they saw with their own eyes was more shocking than words.
They stood on the shore of a large black lake, which was vast and boundless, and they couldn't even see the opposite shore. The water was so dark that it seemed to absorb all the light, and they couldn't tell how deep it was. They could imagine that there was an underground river connected to the sea at the bottom of the lake.
This was a huge hollow space inside the mountain. The cave was so high that even Bryan's wand, which shone brightly, could not illuminate the top. It was like a dome that covered the whole lake, and they wondered how it was formed and supported. There were no stalactites or stalagmites, no signs of life or vegetation, only rocks and shadows.
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