"Am I right, rlin?"
The woman's voice wasn't loud, but the words crashed in Evans's ears like thunder, and for an instant his mind went completely blank.
rlin. In any lifeti, that na rang louder than any other. The greatest wizard in recorded history. King Arthur's closest confidant. Founder of the Order of rlin. Countless titles clung to that na, and even half the wizarding world's oaths and exclamations traced back to it.
Still, hearing that na solved more than a few of his questions.
The woman before him was clearly no ordinary figure. Any ancient witch capable of leaving behind a pyramid like this, crowned with the title of Dark Wizard King, was not to be taken lightly.
If soone like her mistook him for rlin, then his… peculiarity must be very close to rlin's in so crucial way—perhaps even identical.
And since entering this pyramid the first ti, he'd only done one thing that might be called unusual: he had fully triggered the fairy's danger sense in that earlier corridor.
So rlin possessed a similar ability?
Or did she sense not his gift, but his soul?
Evans frowned slightly and glanced at the crimson sphere on the platform.
The na rlin had long sparked debate in the magical world. Historically, the na appeared in two separate periods and with equal renown in each.
Professor Binns had said before that the two rlins were likely unrelated. Yet Evans now felt the exact opposite—those two might well have been the sa person.
Call it instinct, but whenever he looked at that crimson sphere, sothing felt oddly familiar.
While Evans turned this over in his mind, the spectral woman floating above the platform kept her eyes closed and continued in that imperious voice.
"I know that even if I did everything I could, I still might not be able to defeat you. After all, what I leave behind is only a phantom. You, I imagine, have already stopped my teacher and grown even stronger."
"If even my teacher could not stand against you, then what little I leave here cannot possibly prevail."
"Even so, I will try."
"This is my ho. It is our only hope. And I am their queen."
As her words faded, she slowly opened her eyes and looked ahead. Her gaze carried the majesty of a sovereign, yet there was a shade of loneliness and disappointnt within it.
Perhaps, in her imagining, events were never ant to unfold like this.
Or perhaps she still held onto a faint thread of hope, wishing for so kind of turn.
But the instant her stare truly settled on the person before her, Evans saw it change—her eyes went montarily blank.
The sovereign's majesty vanished. The loneliness and disappointnt sank from sight. She stared at Evans in a daze. Even her voice lost its footing, almost endearingly uncertain.
"Who are you?"
Honestly, that was what Evans wanted to ask, too. An odd glint passed through his eyes, but he tightened his grip on his wand and spoke warily.
"I don't know why you think I'm rlin. As far as I know, I've never had any connection with him. To , he's simply a very powerful ancient wizard."
But the certainty in your tone just now almost made wonder if I'm rlin reborn. Evans thought it but didn't say it. The woman, however, seed to consider the sa thing. She watched him for a long ti, and then a faint disappointnt stirred in her gaze.
"No. You are not him." Her tone regained its authority, her voice cleared of that sorrow. "Your soul is different. Your power is different. I should have realized it sooner. Even in reincarnation, rlin's nature magic would not be this rigid, nor would it need to ride upon the abilities of magical creatures as its vessel."
Her voice dipped slightly at the end. Evans, though, felt a quiet rush of relief.
Not reincarnation—good. Being rlin reborn wouldn't exactly be a tragedy, but it left a peculiar taste in his mouth.
Relief settled, and then his expression turned a shade wry.
What did she an, rlin's nature magic wouldn't be this rigid? If he wasn't rlin, he wasn't rlin—no need to compare and condescend in the sa sentence.
Then again, even with his abilities, tricking Dumbledore into handing over Fawkes would be hard enough. He was still a long way from impersonating a wizard of rlin's class.
When Evans had his thoughts in order, the woman's voice shed the last of its feeling. She looked at the young wizard before her with a chill that cut to the bone.
"Where is he?"
The words were frost-cold. It felt like this was her true nature; all her earlier turbulence had been for soone who was not here.
He? rlin?
A curious flicker crossed Evans's eyes again. If he could, he'd quite like to find this so-called rlin himself and ask so pointed questions about his own life.
But the truth was, he'd never t rlin—not in this life, anyway. No connection. No contact.
No—maybe there had been, once? If so, he didn't know it.
"You don't know?"
The woman laughed, low and cold, her eyes boring into him. She swept a hand outward, and a mass of rolling black mist flooded across the wide chamber.
The mist spread, enveloping everything. Evans felt the prying gazes he'd sensed earlier thicken all at once. At the sa ti, figures began to surface within the eerie green firelight around him.
Bandage-wrapped monsters, one after another. Unlike before, their eyes were not hollow. Green fire burned in their sockets.
As the woman spoke again, the monsters stepped forward in unison. A crushing pressure rolled toward Evans.
"Affinity with nature—only he has ever had it. Even if you are not him, you must be closely tied to him."
This ti, the woman's voice held nothing but cold indifference. The bandaged monsters began to move again, closing in slowly on Evans at the center.
"I will ask you one last ti. Where is he?"
"I truly don't know. Why won't you believe ?" Evans sighed, loosening the other hand that held his suitcase as the ring of monsters narrowed and the hatred in the woman's eyes sharpened.
Honestly, at this point, he regretted leaving most of his heavy-hitters outside.
The suitcase hit the floor. With two soft clicks, the latches sprang open, and the case unfolded fully.
"Anyone who can still fight, out here now. This ti, it's a real war."
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