Chapter 254: Old Friend
Chapter 254: Old Friend
Earth-125, China, Hebei Province:
Snow could be seen everywhere, plunging the world into a calm whiteness and serenity. Footprints could be seen leading in every direction. People wore their winter coats and head protective gear to defend themselves from the cold.
And amongst these people was Edward. He had a bundle of white flowers in his hand as he walked to an area full of headstones. He took a minute to locate a particular one, bend down, and used his gloved hand to remove the snow.
He sighed as he read the words on the stone:
“In Loving memory of Zi Yuan; a great mother, wife, and warrior. (1890-1983).”
Although the birth date was wrong, the death was correct. Zi Yuan died in 1983, and Edward’s clone along with Hermione went to see her before she went on her next adventure.
Even in the end, she had a smile on her face, truly looking forward to experiencing death, and finally reunited with her husband. Edward placed the flower in the grave while muttering:
“I have a feeling that you are truly enjoying yourself.”
He stood there for a few hours in a daze. Then, before leaving, he placed two little enchantments on the grave. One was to always keep it clean and remove any weeds growing on it.
The other was to transmute flowers every year on the anniversary of her death. Once he was done, Edward teleported to England. This time, he was also visiting a few graves.
The graves of Frank and Lilith, the graves of Rick, Evelyn, and Jonathan. Close to the end of these people’s lives, he offered them immortality or even eternal youth.
However, all of them refused. Frank had lived enough and had no desire to continue, Lilith wanted to follow him in death. The O’Connells were satisfied with one life–even Jonathan was not tempted by the concept of immortality.
And Edward was a little surprised when the latter refused. His precise words were: “That seems like a lonely life, mate.”
Edward had a deep conversation with these people regarding death. And the conclusion he came up with is that they all believed that life was precious because it is brief, and we only get one chance.
And he could understand their sentiment, after all, he died once. However, Edward remembered vividly how it felt when he died on Earth: regret. So many things he wished he had accomplished.
So, after realizing that he had reincarnated in another world, he decided to live his life to the fullest, with no regrets. And when he learned that he was in the Harry Potter Universe, he became fascinated with magic.
He wanted to uncover all its mystery, he wanted to find its essence. Then, his interest in magic led to a desire to uncover many truths and secrets of the universe itself.
Unfortunately, tragedy soon befell him as his parents were killed in the First Wizarding World. He became saddened, depressed, and full of regrets. However, his aunt Amelia reminded them that death can be conquered.
So, Edward placed his talent and focus on finding ways to conquer death, not only for himself but also for the people close to him. To ensure that no more tragedy occurs to him, to ensure that he can be with his friends and loved ones for a very long time, to ensure that he has enough time to see all the wonders of the vast universe and discover its secrets.
So, Edward would never willingly give up his immortality or accept his death. He planned to live longer than the universe itself if possible. Because to him, there will always be some mystery to unravel, some secrets to learn.
After visiting these old friends, he had one last place to visit. He teleported to a small village on the outskirt of Britain. He directly went to one of the small houses where an old man was dozing off on his front porch.
After sensing the shadow covering his sunlight, the old man slowly opened his muddy eyes to look at the young man in front of him. He squinted his eyes before muttering:
“It’s you.”
“Yes. It’s me. How have you been, Alex?”
The more than 80-year-old old man in front of him was Alex O’Connell, Rick and Evey’s son. Of all the people that Edward got acquainted with, Alex was the only one still alive.
“Same old, same old,” replied the old man with a smile on his face, unfortunately, a few of his teeth were missing.
‘Time is truly a wonder. Only a short period has passed for me, yet, an entire lifetime passed for him.’
Thinking about how he essentially watched Alex grow from a baby to an old man in his twilight years, for some reason, Edward suddenly felt old. Factually speaking, he is more than 250 years old now. Compare to some entities, his age is nothing but a toddler.
However, compared to ordinary people, he has lived a very long time. Edward shook his head to remove these thoughts from his mind. To him, age was nothing but the mindset. Since he felt young, he was young and full of vigor.
Maybe one day after experiencing more things his mindset will change and he will think that he is old. Now, this time has not arrived.
“I want to see her,” said Edward, and Alex just nodded his head. He took out his cane and slowly walked to a place not far from the house. He walked slowly and Edward followed behind him patiently.
Soon, they reached another grave. This time, it was Lin’s–Zi Yuan’s daughter. Fate is a truly wonderful thing. Even though Edward’s group basically destroyed the Mummy 3’s plot, Lin still met Alex and fell in love just like in the movie.
‘I guess some people are destined,’ thought Edward, despite knowing that this was the result of the [Correction of Fate] of most movie worlds.
“She always told me not to be sad about her passing, that death was just another adventure,” said Alex as he caressed the tombstone. “I hope she is right. And I cannot wait to join her in that adventure.”
“Then, I wish you good luck.”
A month later, Alex passed away peacefully in his sleep. In his final moment, Edward came to see him and even watched as his soul enter the underworld. Since Alex and Lin did not believe in any gods, their souls would be sent to a neutral dimension that took care of their afterlife.
Edward then took care of his funeral since he and Lin did not have any children. After Alex’s death, he felt that all his emotional tethers to this world were severed.
Then, the feeling that it was time to leave suddenly intensified. So, Edward prepared a few little things before returning home.