Death is but another great adventure！

"Welcome, young man."

Her voice was gentle, more soothing than her smile and eyes combined, as she spoke, the herbs planted in the room seemed to come to life, gently swaying.

"Hello," Tewell bowed respectfully, unable to afford any disrespect to such a figure, "I presume you are Lady Hulga Hufflepuff?"

Hulga tilted her head slightly, a playful glint in her eyes, "And what about you, young visitor? Could you tell me your name, and how much time has passed since you left?"

"My apologies for not introducing myself first," Tewell bowed slightly, "You may call me Tewell, Tewell Fawley, current Professor of Dark Arts Defense at Hogwarts."

"As for the time, it has been a thousand years."

There was a flicker of excitement in Tewell's eyes, this was indeed the Hulga from a millennium ago!

"A thousand years..."

Hulga seemed intrigued, inspecting him with newfound interest.

"A thousand years have passed, and are all the professors in the school as young as you?" she inquired.

Feeling a sense of ease in the pleasant atmosphere, Tewell relaxed a bit, "I am the only one, as I am exceptionally talented."

"Then can you tell me, young and talented professor, how you found your way here?" Hulga asked with a light laugh.

As they delved into the matter at hand, Tewell's expression turned serious and earnest. He raised the badge in his hand, "It was the guidance of this badge."

Hulga's gaze sharpened, the warmth in her eyes giving way to a sharpness, showing the aura of this legendary wizard.

"Can you give me this badge?" she asked abruptly.

This question puzzled Tewell.

If the badge was made by Hulga, she should have a better understanding of it than him and wouldn't reveal such an expression.

Things seemed to be heading in an unknown direction.

He stepped forward and placed the badge in Hulga's outstretched palm.

In the meantime, he also observed this figure from a thousand years ago. Her hands were not delicate, with rough calluses from work and scratches from thorns.

After receiving the badge, Hulga first explored the animals representing the four houses on it, and as her fingers touched the Hufflepuff badger, it seemed to respond joyfully, leaping slightly.

With a look of reminiscence in her eyes, the badge's magic was continuously stimulated by her touch, emanating waves of vitality.

Standing beside her, Tewell seemed like a sponge, absorbing this hard-earned vitality with each inhale and exhale.

He raised his right wrist, where the Dark Mark was gradually being washed away by the vitality, the protruding snake slowly receding, and the skull symbol gradually dissolving and shrinking.

In the end, only a tiny dot remained, unaffected by the vitality's wash.

After multiple futile attempts, the vitality no longer wasted, retreated back into Tewell's body.

"This is a powerful curse," Hulga concluded, puzzled.

"People often speak of curses, but in reality, they are just destructive magic with continuous effects, hardly worthy of the term 'curse.'"

"But what you have on you, is like—"

"An evil prophecy?" Tewell finished her sentence, because those were the words the ring had spoken just before being sealed, and it was because of this sentence that he had been carrying the ring, trying to find a solution from it.

Hulga's face lit up with realization, "Indeed, a prophecy. That's a fitting term. It seems that wizards' magic has improved quite a bit over the past thousand years."

"Then can you help me remove this curse?" Tewell asked eagerly.

It was his primary purpose for coming here, to rid himself of this damned curse!

However, to his disappointment, Hulga shook her head gently.

"If you understand the nature of this curse, you'll know it has become a part of your destiny," she explained.

"Before it tainted you, you could easily dispel it, but once it has taken hold, it becomes a part of your fate."

"Unless..."

Tewell's despondent eyes suddenly lit up. "Unless what?"

Hulga pondered for a moment, then raised the badge in her hand.

"Unless you can find the maker of this badge. If I'm not mistaken, as a seer, she possesses the ability to evade fate."

"But, isn't the maker of this badge you? I followed its magic to find my way here," Tewell furrowed his brow, seeking clarification.

Hulga shook her head, but a mischievous smile played on her lips. "Indeed, a part of the magic does originate from me. To be precise, the release of vitality is done through my magic."

"But in reality, the badge is a fusion of the magic of all four of us," she continued.

"Four people? The four founders, you mean?" Tewell's skepticism deepened. "What kind of individuals could achieve such a feat?"

"Of course, her," Hulga smiled, pointing at the eagle on the badge.

"Rowena Ravenclaw!"

Tewell's eyes widened suddenly. When he met Hulga, he had vaguely guessed whether all four founders were still alive.

"Is Lady Ravenclaw still alive?!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Hulga burst into laughter, as if he had told a very funny joke, her laughter ringing out clearly in the small room.

"Alive?" She chuckled, "Where did you get that idea?"

Her eyes shifted, pointing to herself with her finger. "You don't think I'm alive, do you?"

Only then did Tewell realize he might have been mistaken. He pursed his lips, focusing his gaze on Hulga's body.

She also felt Tewell's gaze and welcomed it openly, her smile still intact.

"Do you see it now?"

Tewell nodded helplessly, "Your current state indeed cannot be described as 'alive'."

To be precise, Hulga's current state was more like a soul, more complete than a ghost, but it still couldn't be called 'alive'.

"As part of my research on vitality, I successfully created a semblance of a soul. Of course, the dissipation of the flesh is inevitable."

Hulga gestured to a corner of the room.

"But I don't have a preference for people seeing my ashes," she shrugged playfully.

"A semblance of a soul?"

"Of course, this is only a part of my will. The real me has long gone to pursue new journeys."

Tewell suddenly understood.

Even with immense vitality, legendary figures like Hulga weren't the type to evade death.

For the powerful, death was just another great adventure.