Chapter 56 Who Stole My Name!

"You... what did you just ask me?"
The senior student's voice changed abruptly, and Vider could even detect a trace of tremor in it.
Though somewhat puzzled, Vider repeated his question.
"I just asked: 'Senior, could you please tell me your name?'"
"Name... My name... That's right, I must have a name! But... where is my name? Forgotten? No! It's not that I forgot! I... I feel like I never had a name at all! But... how is that possible?! Yet, why didn't I ever think before that I actually had a name? How can this be? How could this happen? Who... who stole my name?"
The senior's voice grew increasingly agitated and louder, and the black mist surrounding her violently shuddered along with it.
Frowning, Vider stood before her, feeling as though his dreamscape was about to collapse.
And the cause of the collapse was none other than the senior student, who was going crazy over forgetting her name!
Her Nightmare Magic was countless times more powerful than that of Vider, a mere beginner. Consequently, even the slightest emotional fluctuation of hers could inflict catastrophic impacts on Vider's dream.
Vider could not comprehend why simply asking for a name would provoke such a massive reaction.
"Is it because of the ancient magic that you've forgotten your name?" Vider could not help asking.
"No... it's not! This isn't a matter of memory!" The senior raised her head, her eyes gleaming blood-red through the concealing black mist.
"Before you asked me that question, I couldn't remember at all that I should have a name... Even when you asked me earlier how to summon me in dreams, my subconscious first reaction was to make up a title to tell you, rather than telling you my own name... It was as if, deep in my subconscious, my name never existed to begin with..."
"Yet, who on earth did this? And what could be the point of such a thing..."
"Whoosh!"
Shrouded in black Qi, the senior instantly teleported right in front of Vider, grabbing his arms tightly with both hands, and asked in a hurried tone: "When that professor you mentioned earlier was telling you about my deeds, did he ever say what my name was?"
Vider recalled his previous conversation with Dumbledore and suddenly realized with a shock that when Dumbledore recounted her deeds, he had always referred to her simply as "that senior." As for her name...
Dumbledore had never mentioned it at all, and during the conversation, Vider himself had never thought to ask.
"No, he didn't mention your name," Vider replied.
"He didn't... Then did you ask?"
"I... I didn't ask either..."
"He didn't say, and it didn't occur to you to ask... Do you think that makes any sense?" The senior released her grip on Vider's arms and staggered back several steps in defeat.
At this moment, Vider also awakened to the crux of the problem.
Normally, when recounting the exploits of a figure with extraordinary contributions, shouldn't her name be introduced first?
Even if Dumbledore had forgotten to mention it, how could he himself not have felt even a shred of curiosity regarding the senior's name...
In other words, throughout Vider's long conversation with Dumbledore, neither Dumbledore nor Vider had found anything remotely improper about omitting the senior's name...
He hadn't thought much of it before, but now that it was brought to light, Vider realized just how utterly unreasonable this matter was!
"Vider... could you do me a favor?" the senior asked in a trembling voice.
"If it's within my power, of course." Vider could sense an unspeakable terror underlying the senior's tone.
"Help me ask that professor... ask him if he remembers what my name is..."
...
When Vider opened his eyes, it was already past ten o'clock in the morning.
Yet last night's dream remained vividly imprinted in his mind.
Originally, he had intended to seek out the senior to discuss ancient magic.
He had never expected that a simple inquiry about a name would unearth yet another mystery...
If the senior had merely forgotten her name of her own accord, it wouldn't be particularly surprising, given how many years she had been trapped.
However... according to the senior's own assertion, she felt as though her name simply no longer existed!
This statement gave much food for thought.
Non-existence and forgetting were two entirely different matters!
For instance, if you forgot a person, your memory could not alter that person's objective reality; meaning the person you forgot still existed objectively.
However, if it was non-existence... it meant that not only had such a person vanished from your memory, but their objective existence had completely vanished as well!
Right now, the quickest way to uncover the truth was to go and ask Dumbledore.
Logically speaking, having grown up hearing the senior's legendary exploits since entering the school, Dumbledore ought to know her name.
At the very least, Hogwarts should have some records concerning the senior, and her name would undoubtedly be inscribed there!
If... Dumbledore could not recall her name, or if there were no records of her in the school at all...
A sudden sense of creeping dread washed over Vider.
"Master Vider, you're awake. Let's wash up first. Toby will fetch your breakfast right away."
Toby, who constantly monitored Vider's condition, materialized in the room holding washing utensils.
"Toby, where is Professor Dumbledore?"
"Professor Dumbledore left last night, seemingly to go on a rather far journey."
Toby placed the washing utensils on Vider's bedside table.
Vider pondered for a moment, knowing that Dumbledore must have taken Nagini to find a place for her.
Given Dumbledore's character, even if Nagini had completely transformed into a mindless beast, he could never bring himself to kill her.
This meant he might not return for a short while.
Vider picked up a piece of parchment from the bedside table, took up his quill, and penned a letter.
"Toby, help me send this letter to Professor Dumbledore."
Toby took the letter. "Toby will head straight to the owl post office."
Watching Toby's retreating figure, Vider felt a twinge of helplessness.
Though he desperately wanted to know the answer right now, he hadn't told Dumbledore about encountering the senior, so he couldn't afford to appear overly anxious...
He had no choice but to send a letter via owl, craftily dropping a hint that he wished to look up some materials regarding the senior, and casually appending a question about the senior's name at the end of the letter.
After last night's conversation with Dumbledore, expressing a desire to look up documents about the senior was entirely plausible.
Presumably, Dumbledore wouldn't harbor any suspicion about that.
At that moment, Tom on the opposite bed finally stirred awake.
He rubbed his head vigorously, struggling to sit up, his eyes bloodshot.
"Ugh, my head hurts so much... What?! It's already past ten o'clock?! Hiss... Why do I feel like I've been hit with a Stunner?!"
Silently turning away, Vider picked up the towel and basin from the table, pretending not to notice Tom's awakening.
Tom's gaze instantly locked onto Vider, and he asked with a suspicious scowl, "Did you use a Stunner on me again?"
"Whatever gave you such a strange idea?" Vider asked, feigning utter innocence.
"I never wake up later than eight o'clock in the morning. And... when I fall asleep normally, I never wake up with a headache! You should know very well when the last time was that I woke up with a headache!" Tom stared intently at Vider.
"Tom, old chap, we've been through thick and thin together a few times now. Isn't that enough to earn even a single ounce of your trust? It's truly heartbreaking..."
"You scoundrel! It was definitely you! I'm going to fight you to the death!"