pertwk Chapter 233 Ripples of Time
Chapter 233 Ripples of Time
Chapter 233 Ripples of Time
During a tea break after dinner, Karen watched Nico leisurely stirring the honey in his teacup and decided to ask the question that had been lingering in her mind for a long time.
"Mr. Nico," Cullen put down her teacup, her tone inquiring, "I'm having some hesitation about the electives for my third year at Hogwarts. I know the school provides a device called a 'Time-Turner' for students who can handle the heavy workload, which supposedly allows them to go back in time to attend classes. My initial thought was to take as many courses as possible to qualify for it. But now I'm a little unsure."
Nico paused slightly, his silver-gray eyes fixed on Karen with interest. "Oh? The Time-Turner? You're considering taking all courses for it?" He chuckled softly, a knowing smile playing on his lips. "I understand its allure. Controlling time is one of humanity's eternal dreams, especially for inquisitive young people. But Karen, tell me, is it the Time-Turner itself that you truly crave, or the extra study time it offers?"
Karen answered candidly, "Both. The extra study time is important to me, whether it's alchemical research or—other subjects. But the 'laws of time' that the Time-Turner itself represents also fascinate me."
"A very honest answer." Nico nodded approvingly. He set down his teacup and elegantly drew a line in the air with his finger. The space seemed to ripple with subtle energy, and an exquisite pendant appeared in his palm.
The pendant is made of a nearly transparent pale gold metal, with a delicate chain from which hangs an intricately nested hourglass. The sand in the hourglass is not ordinary sand, but rather shimmering, constantly flowing silver particles. The entire pendant exudes an ancient, mysterious, and almost unsettling rhythm.
Without a doubt, this was the Time Converter. Karen's gaze was instantly drawn to it. What he saw was not just an object, but countless extremely fine magical threads, representing the trajectory of time, intertwining and swirling inside and outside the hourglass, forming an independent and fragile small spacetime loop.
"This is a time converter." Nico's voice was calm, yet carried a heavy weight. "Two hundred years ago, Perenel and I discovered it while exploring the ruins of an ancient civilization that had perished in time. It was finally repaired after countless restorations."
Karen held her breath, her gaze fixed on the hourglass filled with the flowing stardust. This was the legendary artifact! Experiencing its immense power over time and space up close was far more awe-inspiring than she had imagined.
"Strictly speaking, its ability isn't 'manipulating' time," Nico began, his fingers lightly tracing the cold mithril frame of the hourglass, "but rather creating an extremely brief, highly restricted 'time loop.' The number of times the user spins the hourglass determines the specific number of hours they can return to in the past. For example, three spins will take you back three hours."
Karen listened and watched intently, her Eye of Truth unconsciously opening as she tried to decipher the magical trajectories within the flowing silver sand and complex runes, only to see a chaotic yet powerful vortex of energy.
"In this cycle," Nico continued, his tone becoming exceptionally serious, "the user will coexist with their past self on the same timeline. The rules are extremely strict: First, the user must never be seen by their past self or anyone else. This would cause a severe time paradox with unpredictable consequences, ranging from mental derangement to being 'erased' by time itself or triggering catastrophic spacetime chaos. Second, the user cannot do anything that might alter the course of major history. Time possesses powerful 'corrective forces' and 'inertia,' and forcibly changing key points often 'bounces back' in unexpected and worse ways. Third, and most importantly," Nico looked directly into Karen's eyes, "using the time converter itself places an enormous mental burden on the user. Each cycle is like forcibly tearing a hole in the fabric of time and then sewing it back up. Overuse will lead to extreme mental exhaustion, accelerated aging, and even—permanent loss in the cracks of time, becoming a ghost that no one can perceive."
He paused, picked up the hourglass, and gently turned it upside down. The silver sand inside began to flow slowly downwards, at a steady and uniform pace. "Its most common and approved use is, as Hogwarts has arranged, to allow outstanding students to 'create clones' to attend time-conflicting classes. That's all. Even so, after each use, a certain amount of rest is needed to recover, after all, these 'clones' are not without cost."
Then, Nico did something that made Karen's heart stop. He didn't turn the hourglass much, but just flicked the rotating base of the hourglass with his fingertip—by a tiny, almost imperceptible angle.
Buzz—.
A faint, almost imperceptible hum, seemingly emanating from the depths of time and space, resounded. The scene before Karen's eyes instantly underwent a bizarre transformation!
He saw a small cookie on the saucer next to Nico's teacup. In the instant the low hum sounded, the cookie—vanished! It wasn't eaten, nor knocked over; it simply disappeared into thin air! As if it had never been there at all.
To Karen's even greater surprise, at the very moment the cookie disappeared, Nico, who had just put down his teacup, reached out with remarkable ease towards the spot where the cookie had been. His fingers paused briefly in mid-air before naturally retracting. Karen could see that this wasn't a simple act of magic causing the cookie to vanish; it was simply disappearing into thin air.
The whole process was so fast it was almost an illusion; Nicole's expression remained completely unchanged, as if nothing had happened. Mrs. Perenel continued trimming the bushes, oblivious to what was transpiring.
Only Karen, who was intently watching Nico and the Time-Turner, and whose Eye of Truth keenly observed the changes in energy, witnessed this bizarre scene: the instant Nico flipped the Time-Turner, the cookie was "erased," and Nico's movement experienced an extremely subtle, illogical pause—the instant his body's memory of "the cookie's existence" clashed with the reality of "the cookie's disappearance"! Time was "rewinded" in an extremely minute, localized way, affecting only the cookie and the cause and effect of its removal! And the price for all of this was merely that tiny, almost imperceptible movement of Nico's fingertip.
Nico casually restored the Time-Turner to its original state, and the silver quicksand ceased its abnormal flow. He looked at Karen, whose face had turned slightly pale, his eyes deep: "Do you see? This is the power of time. Even the slightest interference is full of unpredictability and potential danger. It's like the most intricate, yet most fragile, sandcastle; the change of a single grain of sand can trigger a chain reaction of collapse. The Time-Turner only allows you to briefly come into contact with these grains of sand and bear the heavy price of moving just one of them."
He put the Time-Turner back into his robe's inner pocket, his tone returning to its usual gentleness, yet carrying an undeniable warning: "Karen, I understand your curiosity about alchemical masterpieces. The runic structure of the Time-Turner truly represents a pinnacle of alchemy in the realm of spacetime. However, its dangers far exceed your imagination. Forcing yourself to learn all the courses just to use it is putting the cart before the horse, a tremendous waste of energy, and an overdraft of your own potential. The ocean of alchemy is vast and boundless, and the mysteries of spacetime are unfathomable. What you need now is to lay a solid foundation and deeply understand the areas you've already touched—soul, will, energy conversion, and matter transmutation. These cornerstones are enough for you to study for a long time. When you truly become powerful and have a more fundamental understanding of spacetime, it won't be too late to touch such forbidden creations."
He gently patted Karen on the shoulder, his gaze seemingly piercing through time: "Remember, those who play with time will ultimately be played by time. Curiosity is a driving force, but reverence is the path to longevity. Focus on the path before you, Karen. As for those electives, choose those that truly interest you and are of core benefit to you. The Time Converter is not a research subject worth sacrificing your core growth time for."
"You'll have plenty of opportunities to study this one in my hand, so don't worry about it, child!" Nico said before walking toward the garden.
Karen paused for a moment, shifting his gaze from where Nico had retrieved the Time-Turner to the vibrant magical plants in the garden and the ancient stone walls of the tranquil dwelling in the distance. The path to power and knowledge was long, and it would be unwise to be greedy and distracted, especially by pursuing a tool fraught with danger and limitations. The secrets of Horcruxes, the control of Fiendfire, the refinement of the protective badge, the advancement of Occlumency, and the vast treasure trove of knowledge possessed by Nico and Castor awaited his exploration. These were the core issues he should focus on most at the moment. This mysterious Time-Turner could be studied later.
"I understand, Professor Nico." Karen's voice was calm and firm, all her previous hesitation gone. "Thank you for your demonstration and guidance. I will choose my courses carefully and focus on what truly matters. The Time-Turner is not my goal for now." He knew what choice he had to make.