—The machine in question is called "The Pandora's Key", and it was created by...—Helena commented with a bit more confidence, motivated by how the gaze of the wizards in the room had turned into one of curiosity, abandoning their studious posture.

—Apolo from the...—Murmured Homero, almost whispering to himself with a rather broad smile. Turning the Minister of Magic's face into a bitter smile; however, the expression disappeared as quickly as it appeared, returning his face to its natural state: devoid of any emotion. But it seemed that a change did occur in the minister, as he stopped paying attention to the presentation and instead stared at the stage, more focused on his own thoughts than on what was happening around him.

—... and it was created by Apolo from the Black Forest...—Added Helena.

—What? Did I create that machine?—Apolo asked, stunned, losing the blush on his face.

—Of course not, but it must have been created by a relative who was also named Apolo—Homero quickly replied.

—What a huge coincidence...—Apolo muttered, looking closely at the machine.

Helena continued to explain calmly as she walked around the machine:

—The Pandora's Key was created to solve the mental problems of an individual, allowing the wizard who uses it to enter the subconscious of the other person to modify the thoughts and experiences that traumatized the individual being treated. So that the individual ends up perceiving these problems in a more positive way.

—Yes, correct, that's its original function—said one of the wizards in the balconies, apparently aware of the existence of this magical machine—Now, explain to us, how do you plan to use this machine to solve Minos's curse?

—The machine was modified to destroy a person's subconscious, and so by applying Minos's method, I would only have to transfer my mind to an empty vessel—answered the woman, causing the girl next to her to look at her in astonishment as if she couldn't process what her master had just said.

—But you told me you would give me your body, and with it, I could become a wizard: Not that you would kill me!—The girl exclaimed with concern.

*Clap, clap*...The sorceress clapped twice, causing two guards in silver armor to enter the room and take hold of Helena.

—Master, please don't do this to me, I...—The girl tried to plead, but the guards injected her with a syringe, causing her to be unable to speak no matter how much she moved her mouth.

As the girl cried without making any noise, the guards dragged her and placed her on one of the chairs of the machine, gagging her to make sure she couldn't escape. The wizards in the room watched the entire scene without passing any judgment; it seemed they had seen such a scene too many times to feel any empathy for the poor girl crying so heartbreakingly in the chair.

—What a shame...—Homero said, wiping away the few tears that stained his mask, seeing how the girl begged for help from the other wizards in the room with her eyes only to be ignored.

—Remember never to feel pity for a miserable traitor. All traitors die the same way: Betrayed... it's what they deserve... and what they sought—Apolo replied with a cruelty unbecoming of a child his age, not forgetting the reason he had come to this tower in the first place. Causing Homero to stop crying too abruptly to think that his tears had been sincere.

—Well, now explain: How did you manage to modify the machine?—One of the wizards in the balconies asked. It seemed like all the wizards wanted to ask the same question, so their backs straightened, and their gazes became more attentive upon hearing the important question.

—To destroy the subconscious of my acolyte, I will proceed to corrupt it until she herself wants to self-destruct. To do this, I had to make many modifications to the machine, among them...—The woman responded calmly.

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—How will you corrupt the girl's mind?!—Homero interrupted, shouting loudly, making his voice resonate throughout the stage. This startled the minister, surprised Apolo, and almost all the present wizards. It seemed that no one had even considered the possibility that the minister or one of his guests would interfere in the exposition.

—Answer that question!—Immediately, one of the wizards in the balconies ordered, quelling the obvious murmurs that could be heard throughout the room. It appeared that the council wizards did not tolerate the minister's intrusion into this exposition. For them, this was not a bureaucratic matter; it was purely an academic and protocol matter. The title of Archmage was one of the most prestigious honors a wizard could receive, and the council wizards would not allow a sycophantic bureaucrat to tarnish this noble tradition. But if the question was supported by another council wizard, it had validity and did not hurt their pride as wizards.

Helena obeyed the order and explained proudly:

—To corrupt the mind of my acolyte and destroy her subconscious, I will use my greatest creation, which granted me the very title of the Mage of Greed: The Ring of Greed!

After saying that, the woman approached her crying acolyte, cruelly ignoring her pleading gaze. The mage proceeded to remove the rusty bronze ring from the girl's hand and held it up in the air, displaying it proudly to all present.

—Could you remind us how your ring works?!—Homero shouted with the calmness of a vagabond and the confidence of a dead man, surprising Apolo once again and causing the minister to grab his head with both hands. However, it didn't seem to be out of embarrassment but rather genuine concern. Even his cat had jumped from the comfortable chair where it had been observing the stage to comfort him, climbing onto his lap and rubbing its head against his belly.

—Answer that question and relate it to the machine, young lady—One of the wizards quickly asked, preventing the room from filling with murmurs again and distracting the protagonist of this ceremony.

Far from being intimidated by the interruptions, the mage Helena stood in the middle of the stage and, with pride swelling in her chest, proceeded to explain the ring:

—It will be my pleasure to explain my amazing invention: The Ring of Greed. It is capable of corrupting an individual's mind using the innate greed in every person. To achieve this corrosion, the ring seduces the individual to affect their basic priorities and replace them with the corruption goal in question. For example, if I wanted to kill an individual, the ring could create unusual needs until the corrupted person finally feels an overpowering need to die and commits suicide. Another example, if I wanted an individual's love, the ring could gradually replace the person's goals and objectives with affection for me. In the case of this experiment, I will use the ring to have my acolyte's own subconscious assist me in her self-destruction, while I monitor the process using the machine in the room.

—Hmm...—Homero murmured reflectively as he watched the mage on the stage place the Ring of Greed back on the girl. While this was happening, the chubby boy thought deeply, as if he really had doubts about what he had just heard. So many doubts that the confident smile had completely vanished from his childlike face, and now his eyes anxiously looked at the girl on the couch, questioning more things than he would like to in this moment. All these doubts began when the boy heard that the ring was used to make the acolyte assist in her own destruction. It seemed that the masked boy was doubting and considering that this might be possible. But the masked boy also knew that all these doubts mattered little, as what really happened on this fateful day would be known in the following minutes.

Following that, the mage on the stage saw the silent gaze of all the council wizards, who no longer had questions. They had understood the method superficially, and like all the trials that granted the title of Archmage, the council wizards had accepted that only the future Archmage in question could truly understand the underlying system for achieving longevity. To the council wizards, it would be impossible to use Helena's Ring of Greed without wasting a significant portion of their lives attempting to replicate Helena's research. Moreover, there was a high risk of failure since they could never think exactly like Helena, let alone share her motivations and inspirations for success.

However, the council wizards did not seem disappointed, nor were they excited. Everyone in the room was aware that if there really was a method for near-perfect immortality like Minos's method, it would have been industrialized and mass-produced long ago. In fact, there were already Archmages who had achieved this in the past, but only with products that extended one's life to a certain limit, not much different from the life extension that a good doctor's medicine could provide by preventing diseases. Therefore, no one in the room expected that a method of immortality almost perfect, like Minos's method, could be replicated by everyone. In a way, Helena's exaggerated conditions lent validity to her proposal, even though these conditions were incomprehensible or, rather, inapplicable to the wizards in the room. That validity would last only until the experiment was carried out and the actual results were witnessed by all present.