Darkness...
Before his eyes was boundless darkness, void. Time, space, who am I, where am I, what's for dinner tonight, which pier should I go to steal some fries from... perhaps, every problem that might trouble humans or seagulls had lost its meaning here. He didn't know how long he'd been sleeping in this void.
He only knew that he could possibly sleep like this until the end of time...
"...Just this simple?"
A fuzzy noise sounded by his ear, like mosquitoes and flies buzzing around on a summer night.
The man instinctively felt disturbed.
"Yes... sir."
This time, the voice became clearer, and this familiar female voice suddenly awakened him... no, awakened His memory.
And the memory poured out like an opened floodgate, irretrievable once released. He rapidly recalled himself, His experiences, His identity, His name... He who commanded the sky of this world, He who was the king of the gods of Olympus, He who was Zeu...
"That's good, hey, Old Gre, crank up the bitrate to the maximum!"
"Boom—"
The just-formed consciousness shattered with a boom, together with the beautifully sculpted statue. Zeus, once the king of the gods, didn't even get a chance to officially make an appearance. Under the effect of the "Armstrong Spiral Turbo Magic Energy Extractor" (William's named version), he turned into an incomparably pure mass of magic energy, like paste.
"Succeeded?"
Grindelwald pushed the goggles that covered most of his face to his forehead, peeking out from behind the "Armstrong... Extractor", and asked.
"Absolutely perfect!"
William also took off the goggles from his eyes, lightly flicking his magic wand forward, the mass of "Zeus Paste" obediently flew over, "Truly... befitting of the 'Lord God King', the raw essence extracted is so pure..." Saying this, he resisted the urge to gulp it down, guiding the energy toward the center of the secret chamber.
The "Secret Vault", that white energy sphere, was quietly floating there.
When the Zeus Paste got within a certain range, the warm white sphere released a strong suction force like a whale swallowing, drawing the energy mass close and then "gulped" it down. Afterward, it swayed slightly as if satisfied, its glow becoming noticeably brighter than before.
"It works well, at this rate, it'll soon be a success—"
Grindelwald watched this scene with a face full of joy, his tone carrying a trace of excitement—at this moment, the map chamber was filled with stone statues almost forming an array, now queuing up one by one waiting for their "demise".
Obviously, for those with incredibly flexible moral boundaries like William and Grindelwald, disposing of some "gods" hiding in dark crevices wouldn't cause any psychological burden.
But for others, that might not be the case.
For example, Athena, standing silently behind William—
She was currently wearing a black and white maid outfit, her eyes lowered, avoiding the scene that was unbearably cruel to her, attempting to cover her eyes' surging bitterness and unwillingness with her actions—she knew that when she chose betrayal, there was no turning back.
On her wrist, dark blue flame-like patterns twisted slightly like a living thing, bringing a not-strong-but-constant tension, like a cold viper coiling around her soul, making any deviation from the word "loyalty" in her thoughts melt away instantly like snow exposed under the scorching sun.
The woman's gaze involuntarily swept to the slightly hunched figure on the other side of the secret chamber—Hephaestus.
The once-god of fire and craftsman was now standing numbly beside the hideously-shaped machine still emitting a faint steam of overheating, like a worker completing assembly line tasks, gaze empty as he looked at the once-his-father-now-empty statue base.
Athena probably could guess what he was feeling, because she felt it too.
She had betrayed her kin, and he had personally crafted this "deicide" machine to destroy his blood-linked kin...
Such absurd and cruel reality was enough to shatter any steadfast will.
And William paid no attention to the complicated feelings of the two "former gods" behind him. He watched with satisfaction as the "Secret Vault" sphere became more solid and bright after absorbing Zeus' essence, taking a few steps back, he casually patted Grindelwald's shoulder beside him.
"Old man, keep an eye on this side first, one by one in order, and then..."
"And then, got it."
Grindelwald pushed the goggles down to his nose, his balding head reflecting a faint oily shine under the glow emitted by the Secret Vault. He grinned with a slightly pathological smile, speaking with some fervor, "Don't worry, I've got the process down... at this rate, the magic net will soon truly be successfully developed..."
Saying this, he looked at those stone statues, commenting, "I really admire how you can come up with such a heartless idea, truly commendable."
"It's more convenient than catching black wizards all over the mountains..."
William shrugged, not continuing to chat idly, but turning around to walk toward a lit fireplace on the chamber's side.
Behind him, Athena dared not neglect, following closely like a tamed shadow.
Emerald flames licked his body, and after a brief dizziness, the two of them were now in the warm Room of Requirement, where the air was filled with a unique scent of books, tea, and magic potion, completely different from the cold feeling in the map chamber.
Dobby's figure appeared almost the moment William entered. The elf was wearing several layers of clothes it had picked and bought for itself, a tray in its hand holding William's usual teacup and a pot of steaming hot tea, performing its duties with impeccable precision.
"Sir, you're back."
Dobby's voice sounded, the tone steady but lacking the usual bubbling excitement and liveliness. Its big eyes didn't glisten fixating on William as they normally would, instead, they drooped slightly, occasionally unintentionally glancing at the figure standing quietly behind William.
William raised his hand to take the teacup, his fingertips touching the warm porcelain, his gaze lingering on Dobby for a moment.
The misty, dejected, and uneasy color floated almost to his face—clearly, today the little elf's mood could be described as terrible.
"Hmm?"
William took a light sip of tea, his tone gentle, "What's wrong, Dobby? Did something happen... Could it be that Kabuda stole your money?"