Chapter 56

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Ethan nearly missed it. He was pretty sure he had missed it several times, with the way it had been hidden.

Had it not been for the entrance he had opened earlier, Ethan would have probably missed this, because it was not solely a runic enchantment. Instead, several magical techniques had been used and synergized.

From what he could feel, there was at least a Charm, Runes, Transfiguration magic, and at least two other forms of magic Ethan was unfamiliar with.

The five or more forms of magic seemed to be weaving into each other perfectly, drawing into each other's strength to form a powerful enchantment that was nearly invisible to his magical sense.

What made it so hard to find however was that the enchantment was not contained in the walls, or any other physical object, but was instead spread in the air of the room.

It was beyond any enchantment Ethan had ever seen. Well, Ethan supposed it bore some similarities to what his mother had done against the Kitsune, all the way back when he was four, but he was too young to get a sense of it.

It wasn't just a runic achievement either, because be it Charms or Transfiguration, one always had to have material support to make an enchantment work, be it the simpler spells like the Levitation Spell or the incredibly advanced ones such as Fiedelius Charm, which could erase a place from collective memory.

As he looked into it, however, Ethan started getting some clues as to what might have been done. His first theory was that it was linked to one of the magics he did not know about, but he quickly abandoned that theory.

The enchantment was strange, but as he spread his magical sense around, knowing what to look for, Ethan started getting more clues about it.

The core of it was the invisible runes. The other forms of magic were supplementary and mostly served to alter them.

The runes were not only invisible, but they were also constantly moving around the air of the room, without any pattern to them that Ethan could see. However, he was getting the hang of it, and he was starting to be able to follow them.

Although Ethan could not extend his magical sense to the entire room like his mother did, he had his advantage, which came in the form of his mind. He realized as he tried to expend his magical sense, that his mind was also capable of catching onto the enchantment. That is when Ethan realized that one of the two forms of magic he did not recognize was none other than mental magic.

This enchantment was mixing Runes, Charms, Transfiguration, Mind Magic, and another kind of magic… it truly was beyond anything he had ever seen. And yet, his mother was seemingly capable of brute-forcing her way through it.

In any case, sensing the enchantment through his mind was different from using his magical sense, the details were a little blurrier, but it allowed Ethan to quickly get a view of the whole enchantment.

With that done, it allowed Ethan to project his magical sense more efficiently as he analyzed each of the runes, and soon, as he found all the different runes part of the seal, Ethan understood what the enchantment did.

As for the four other kinds of magic, they were there to make finding and deciphering the runes harder. Moreover, Ethan could feel that there was a sort of key that would open the seal, but they did not have it, so they would have to resort to lockpicking.

Then, Bilaal, who had been keeping mostly silent until now, said, "I'm sorry, but Ms Rakepick won't be able to open her end of the portal. The seal is too strong."

Helene looked at Ethan with a raised eyebrow, and he said, "I think I should be able to do it. Do you think I can activate the triggers with my mind's energy?"

Helene simply nodded, a happy smile spreading her lips thin as she addressed Bilaal, "It's fine, I'll come to her. Ethan will deal with this end."

Bilaal seemed shocked as he looked at Ethan and said, "Are you sure this is wise? The seal could shut itself off if-"

Henry cut him off, "He'll do it. Just pass the message."

Bilaal looked exasperated, but he still complied. His exasperation quickly turned to shock however as he muttered, "Ms Rakepick agreed…"

"Fine! Ethan, continue studying the seal while I make my way over there," Helene turned to her husband, "Honey, you stay with the kids?"

Henry nodded, "Of course. Los Alamos?"

Helene nodded back, "Los Alamos," before walking away. The others looked between the two in confusion, without a clue as to what the two meant. Even Ethan had no idea what his parents were talking about, although it was obvious it was some kind of secret code, which was enough to make him think.

Why would his parents communicate using a secret code? Moreover, why say it out loud? Ethan knew that his parents were capable of communicating through telepathy, which would have been the easiest way to carry a secret message.

This meant that it wasn't actually for them. It was for someone else. Him.

Ethan could not find thousands of reasons why his parents would want to pass a secret message, especially one he could not understand.

Los Alamos was a kind of tree if Ethan's memory wasn't failing him, but it wasn't anything special.

That meant the content probably wasn't what was important. It just had to be obvious enough for him to understand they were passing a message.

But as Ethan looked at his father, he realized he was forgetting something essential. His parents were capable of telepathy, but so was he. Besides, even if wasn't, Henry didn't need him to be to transmit a message.

If they had a secret message for him, why not just use telepathy? Did that mean it wasn't really for him then? But the logic could be extended to everyone. Then, why would they do that?

Ethan was sure it had a meaning, they would not randomly say something like this, especially in a place like this. Did that mean they were unable to communicate telepathically then? Ethan couldn't detect there being anything wrong around them that would prevent it, his mind seemed to work just fine.

Maybe the message was only between the two of them. Maybe it was for Ethan. Maybe it was to set everyone on edge.

Whatever it was, Ethan decided to raise his guard. He would have warned Tracey, but if his parents did not say anything, then warning her would potentially mess everything up. He wasn't close enough to her to have any secret way of communicating. Besides, it would probably degenerate the situation if he did this right after his parents.

While Ethan remained careful, he focused on the immediate matter of the seal, and so while his mother was going all the way to the twin seal, Ethan continued examining the seal on his end. Although he was confident of breaking it, he couldn't be too sure.

Moreover, it was such an impressive work that Ethan could not help but study it.

What interested him the most was the way the different kinds of magic were used together. The first thing he thought of when he saw the seal was that it felt similar to what his mother did.

Was that her secret then? Was she somehow capable of using runes the way she did by merging several magics?

"They are ready. Ms Grindelwald is waiting for your signal."

Ethan nodded at Bilaal's warning, before focusing his attention on the central rune, the only one that wasn't moving and that served as the first trigger.

Taking a breath, Ethan said, "Now."

As soon as he said it, Ethan activated the rune mentally, and the moment he did, the chaotic seal suddenly stopped. His mind quick, Ethan mentally eyed all of the runes, before activating them in a quick, purposeful sequence.

A second passed, and Ethan felt a slight shudder in the seal. His mother had completed her end of the seal.

It took Ethan six whole seconds to finish his.

As the last rune was activated, there was a low rumble, and the sarcophagus in the middle of the room moved, revealing a dark tunnel.