60. Blood-Curse

Aurelius showed no expression. On the other hand, Nagini was a little surprised. She never thought that Aurelius, a man with the same tragic past as her, would be born into a prominent wizard family. She did not doubt that Aurelius had deceived her, but she did want to know what happened.

"Of course, my Siren can't go to England to find news about you. As you said, your existence is a secret, maybe even a secret that no one in the world knows," Tina smiled mysteriously. "But we are Sirens. Sirens have been based in the endless deep sea for tens of millions of years, and it is not without support."

Aurelius uttered a few words, "Prophecy?"

"That's right. It makes no sense that human wizards have prophets, but mermaids don't. In fact, among all human-like creatures, human wizards have the worst predictions," Tina smiled.

This is true. According to legend, humans cannot predict the future. On the contrary, many humanoid races, such as centaurs, have prophetic abilities. To obtain this magical ability, some wizards sacrificed their color and artificially created hybrids. Some of these hybrids were selected to be closer to human wizards. Some of them inherited this ability to predict, and from then on, their bloodline became the bloodline of prophets. Prophecy is also an extremely precious bloodline.

But this kind of forcibly obtained prophecy ability is not the original version after all. The prophecy ability is very limited, and as the bloodline is diluted from generation to generation, tribesmen with unstable pre-attack abilities or even no prophecy ability gradually appear. If it continues to develop, prophets may become to wizards what wizards are to Muggles, becoming a legend that can only be reproduced through occasional atavism. This is also predictable.

Just like now, there are at least three prophets in existence: Grindelwald, Nicolas Flamel, and Cassandra Trelawney, the great-great-grandmother of the future Hogwarts Divination Professor Sybill Trelawny.

"Centaurs watch the sky because they run on the earth and can see the sky by looking up. Sirens do not have such conditions. Sirens look at water," Tina's words made her sound like magic. "Water has a source, the water has run out, and along the long river of destiny, we trace its origins and along the long river of time, we see its destination."

"And you, Aurelius Dumbledore, although you have great power, you are still within your destiny and within time. This is why I know. I can know anything I want to know. The difference between things is only whether I want to know and when I want to know, not whether I can."

Aurelius glanced at Nagini; she seemed to be frightened. But he didn't. He played with the teacup in his hand and stared at the floating tea leaves: "Ms. Sebastian, do you know if I will hit you next? Take a moment to think, and I will wait for your divination to be complete before making any further moves."

"This..." Tina was stunned. How could she have known that Aurelius was so unconventional?

If she truly had omniscient and omnipotent powers as she claimed, why would she have come to Aurelius?

Aurelius believed in the prophecy but never really cared about it. If it was true, it would come to pass sooner or later. The prophecy only revealed the inevitable consequences of knowing the prophecy, making the prophecy, and ultimately making a decision. Since it was inevitable, there was no need to do anything, and he didn't know what to do, so why should he care? 

And if the prediction was false, there was no reason to care either.

Predictions are like mathematical problems. They have a question and a result, but the process is only a "brief" one.

Whether you use algebra or geometry, the final result will not change.

The world is an infallible calculator, always producing accurate results.

If your solution to the problem is correct, then the result will be correct.

If your solution to the problem is wrong, then the result will be incorrect.

Don't think that any prophet can understand everything in detail. It's like a circle that exists only in theory. It does not exist in reality. No one can draw a perfect circle.

"Mr. Dumbledore doesn't believe in merman divination?"

"I believe it, why wouldn't I? Divinations and prophecies exist, so why wouldn't I believe in them? But I don't believe that you are omniscient and omnipotent. Let's be honest, what is your purpose in using this reason to lure me here?" Aurelius pushed away the teacup and leaned back, looking at Tina indifferently.

If her next words didn't pique his interest, he would immediately turn around and leave.

Tina understood the meaning behind this ultimatum. She hesitated for a moment, and the crystal ball in the cabinet behind her flickered.

Tina seemed relieved as she spoke, "You are searching for the Maledictus."

This wasn't a question, but a statement.

"Hmm, yes, but so what?"

Tina looked at him, her heart skipped a beat, and she raised her hands high. The scene that followed finally made Aurelius uneasy.

Two bone spurs protruded from Tina's arms, two wide fish fins pierced through her clothes, and crystal blue fish scales shimmered like gems as they emerged from beneath her skin, revealing Tina's true nature.

It didn't matter that she was naked. By the time Tina stood upright, she would no longer be human!

She transformed into a beautiful unknown fish.

Her spindle-shaped body was full of beauty, and her wide 4.1-inch face resembled that of a sperm whale.

But would a whale covered in scales be found in a river? When encountering this extraordinary creature, there is only one explanation—it is not an ordinary animal, but a magical one!

Only with the intervention of magic can such contradictory creatures, which defy the laws of nature, evolve.

"Mr. Dumbledore, would you like to continue listening to what I have to say?" the peculiar whale spoke. Between the opening and closing of its massive mouth, its sharp teeth indicated that this creature must not be herbivorous.

"This is truly remarkable. It's the first time I've learned that blood-cursed can also transform into magical animals," Aurelius smiled, straightened up, and added more seriously, "Yes, Ms. Sebastian, we can now have a meaningful conversation."