20demayo Chapter 186 Christmas Gifts and Prisms
Chapter 186 Christmas Gifts and Prisms
Chapter 186 Christmas Gifts and Prisms
The next day, Christmas morning. When Karen woke up, she found a pile of gifts beside her bed. Phoebus, the snow raven, stood on the windowsill, preening his feathers, with several beautifully wrapped packages beside him, clearly delivered overnight from France.
Karen sat up, filled with holiday anticipation, and began to unwrap her presents.
First, for family and friends:
His parents gifted him a very exquisite, high-precision drawing tool set, with a note: "For our alchemist and engineer."
A wondrous fusion of precision and magic!
Lily gave him a hand-drawn, crooked but whimsical greeting card with a picture of Karen flying around the castle on a broomstick (though it looked more like a stick), and the words "Brother is the best!" written next to it. She also gave him a small jar of colorful, slightly wriggling magic gummies from France.
Wesley sent a handwritten book titled "The Complete Guide to Quidditch Tactics and Moves" on the cover, with a note inside: "Callen! This is something I compiled myself! It should provide some examples for your Quidditch Eyes project!"
Fabian sent a small bag of "Dewdrop" seeds that exuded a fresh scent and shimmered with a faint light, with the note: "Karen, Merry Christmas!"
This flower is said to have a slight ability to attract and gather surrounding magical energy; hopefully, it will be helpful to your research.
Ernesto's gift was the most exquisitely wrapped; it was a book of curses, with a note that read: "Merry Christmas. I didn't know what to give you. For alchemy, there are Master Nico and the others. You probably don't need anything from my house anyway. After looking around, this is all I have. I hope you like it."
Gifts from friends poured in. Cedric Diggory sent a book, *Practical Defense Magic and Its Effects on Quidditch*, with his neat signature and the words "Stay alert, on and off the pitch" on the title page. Fred and George's package opened with a burst of colored smoke, revealing several packets of their newly invented "Skipping Candy (Test Version)" and a prank card that read, "Looking forward to the next collaboration! Merry Christmas!"
Harry and Ron jointly gifted a box of Honeydukes premium sweets and a box of Bibi Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, with a note adding, "Hermione suggested it; she said it's important to have sugar while reading." Hermione, in turn, gifted a high-quality rune encyclopedia (which Cullen already owned) along with a card in neat handwriting: "Thank you for your help. Merry Christmas, Cullen."
The older members of the Spells Club also brought some trinkets: a notebook about the origins of ancient Norse spells,
A box of rune practice blocks that can automatically arrange and combine, and even a small bottle of what is said to be an "inspiration booster" that can bring inspiration.
The professors' gifts reflected their personalities. Professor Flitwick's was a reproduction of his youthful notes on spells, filled with subtle coping techniques and insightful annotations. Professor McGonagall gifted an exceptionally beautiful set of silver figurines of all documented Animagus figures, polished to a gleaming shine. The rest included Professor Sprout's collection of magical plant specimens, Hagrid's lost magical creature materials, and Headmaster Dumbledore's desserts from the Sweethearts.
Finally, the highlight was a package from a tranquil French home, exquisitely packaged.
Karen carefully opened it. Inside was a Christmas present from both Mr. Nico and Mr. Castor.
The first thing that catches the eye is a letter, written in Nicole's handwriting:
Dear Karen:
Merry Christmas!
Seeing your smiles as you reunited with your family last night was the best holiday gift. Enclosed with this letter is the prototype of the "Soul Prism," a gift that Castor and I prepared for you.
Based on the soul fragment sample you captured and our previous discussions, and by reverse engineering some characteristics of the Helbo Curse, I attempted to create this prototype. Its core functions are "forbidden" and "revealed," using the soul fragment as a "fuse" to create a miniature, powerful forbidden field of soul energy. It can temporarily bind unstable soul energy within the target area and force it to reveal its most fundamental energy structure characteristics. This is not an offensive weapon, but a powerful analytical tool.
Activating it requires extremely precise magical manipulation and a keen understanding of the target's soul state. The activation spell is VeraAnima.
"Revelio" (The True Soul Appears). Although it's not a fully developed work yet, Castor and I both believe you can handle it. As for the final version, it will take some time, but don't worry, it should be out before the holiday ends.
Finally, hopefully it will help you solve more puzzles.
Merry Christmas again! Stay in touch.
Beneath the letter from Nicolas Flamel and Castor Grindelwald was a deep purple velvet box.
Karen's heart skipped a beat. He carefully picked up the deep purple velvet box and gently opened it.
The box was lined with black silk. A prismatic crystal, about the size of a thumb, lay quietly in its center. Its material was neither gold nor jade, but a deep, dark silver that seemed to absorb light. The crystal's interior was not completely transparent, but filled with countless tiny, constantly rotating, flowing points of light. The crystal's surface was inscribed with numerous complex runes, which were not static but rather flowed and changed extremely slowly, emanating an ancient and obscure magical fluctuation. It gave the impression of Castor's "Touch of Hermes"—this was the prototype of the "Soul Prism"!
Karen carefully took it out and placed it in his palm. It was cool to the touch and lighter than he had expected. He carefully sensed the vast and intricate magical structure contained within. Without a doubt, this was an absolute masterpiece, priceless and a testament to Nico's pinnacle alchemy skills.
He took a deep breath, suppressing his excitement. Now was not the time to test it immediately. He needed a calm state of mind and a relatively safe and quiet environment.
Karen placed the Soul Prism back into the velvet box and closed it. Then, he picked up the card with the activation incantation "VeraAnima" written on it.
The note with the incantation "Revelio" silently imprinted the pronunciation, syllable transitions, and the implied will in my mind.
He walked to the workbench of the portable alchemy workshop and activated several basic protective and stabilizing arrays, creating a relatively safe small operating space. Then, he held his breath and concentrated his mental energy to its highest level.
He opened the box again, took out the Soul Prism, and carefully suspended it with tweezers on a specially made crystal stand in the center of the control panel. Under the stable and soft light, the dark silver prism showed a slow flow of starlight inside, and the runes on its surface seemed to flow more quickly.
Karen closed his eyes, confirming the incantation and the precise flow of magic to be infused in his mind once more. Then, he opened his eyes, his gaze sharp and fixed on the suspended prism. He slowly raised his right hand, the tip of his wand aimed at the prism, and began to channel his pure magic.
"Vera! Anima! Revelio!"
As the incantation was uttered, a stream of magic flowed from the tip of the staff. This magic did not directly impact the prism, but rather, at a specific frequency and rhythm, it gently and precisely "taped" at several key, flowing rune nodes on the surface of the prism!
Buzz—.
A faint, almost soul-stirring sound rang out. The suspended dark silver prism suddenly lit up! The slowly flowing starlight within it instantly accelerated, spinning into a dazzling vortex of light! The complex, flowing runes on the prism's surface seemed to come alive, freezing abruptly before bursting forth with a powerful, silvery-white light!
The entire prism seemed to transform into a miniature, blazing sun! A powerful and peculiar force field instantly spread out from its center, enveloping the entire control panel. Karen felt as if her mind had been gently swept by this force field, a sensation of being "seen" through, but not unpleasant. Within the control panel's area, the air seemed to freeze, and the flow of magic became exceptionally clear. This light and force field lasted for less than three seconds before receding rapidly like a tide.
The light faded, and the Soul Prism returned to its original state, hovering silently. The galaxy of light within it flowed slowly once more, as if nothing had happened. But Karen clearly sensed that the prism's restrictive force field had been successfully activated and was operating stably!
It worked!
Karen let out a slow breath, fine beads of sweat appearing on her forehead. The operation just now seemed simple, but it was actually a great test of magic control and mental concentration. However, after succeeding once, it became much easier afterward; she just needed to practice more.
He carefully placed the Soul Prism back into the velvet box and put it into his bag. Silence returned to the Eagle's Nest, with only the flickering firelight in the fireplace. Outside the window, the soft Christmas morning light illuminated the snow-covered castle; it seemed the snow had been exceptionally heavy the night before. Karen stood by the window, gazing at the white campus; a new day had begun.