The room, filled with a radiant green glow, sank into a long-overdue silence. The cool air was laden with an oppressive pressure that was suffocating.
The snake monster in the cage seemed to have regained some courage, slightly lifting its head to detect the direction of its great master's descendant with its keen magical sense. The actions of constantly flicking out and retracting its scarlet tongue revealed its unease, yet the immense magical source just a few steps away from it deterred it from any hasty movements.
Amonstara and Tom Riddle exchanged gazes, both being wizards who could perceive many things through intuition, even without uttering a word, they had already gleaned each other's intentions.
"You needn't be so formal, Professor Breen. We're friends, aren't we?"
Ultimately, it was Riddle who spoke first. Undoubtedly, he was at a disadvantage against Amortara due to his incomplete resurrection. He smiled with restraint, and his gentle and polite voice seemed as if Amortara was really his teacher.
"I've heard some things about you from Harry Potter, Professor Breen. There's no doubt that you're not the common, lazy fool one often encounters. We are the unique elite that Salazar Slytherin saw in us. Now, Hogwarts and the magical world are dominated by phonies and a bunch of fools who only know how to paint over problems. The world is in dire need of change, and it's only us..."
"Mr. Voldemort--"
Amortara interrupted Riddle's speech, tilting his head and piercingly staring at the core of the Horcrux before him with a dissection-like intensity. The wand spun in his fingers, and Amortara spoke in a languid tone,
"Do you think this is the umpteenth time I've faced your Horcrux?"
Riddle fell silent, his expression turning to astonishment. The sparkle of calculation in his eyes quickly turned into the blood-red glow that only a ravenous wolf displays when hunting, and his puckered nostrils made his otherwise refined face look fierce and hideous.
"What do you mean!"
Riddle seems to have given up the pretense, staring at Amortara malevolently and demanding,
"What is a Horcrux? You mean, you've faced my original form before? Then you should know that Voldemort is the greatest wizard of all time, and his power is beyond the comprehension of those fools!"
Amortara pressed his lips together, seeing more in the ethereal form of the boy before him, not the most extreme magic, nor the heart-stopping power, but souls—souls that shimmered with color!
What a wonderful thing that is!
Amortara vividly remembers the soul fragments that were completely drowned in infinite desires and darkness when he destroyed the Crown of Kings. Those were utterly incomprehensible, using hypnotizing magic to lure people into sacrificing their lives.
"--Amortara Brenn, you've dealt with Dumbledore, you should know he's a narrow-minded little man. He is suspicious of all young people with exceptional talent and is determined to destroy their abilities. I dare to assure you, Dumbledore will definitely come after you... Oh, no, hasn't he already?"
Amortara's gaze, which was becoming increasingly oppressive, made Riddle feel as if he had something stuck in his throat. His lips twitched, and he spoke rapidly,
"Black Magic Defense Professor, was it Dumbledore who persuaded you to take this position? Everyone knows that the course has been cursed by the Dark Lord himself, and he wants to use it to eliminate you... Take me away from here, Brenn. Once I regain all my magical powers, I can help you confront Dumbledore together!"
Amortara had no dealings with the Voldemort who had become the second-generation Dark Lord, but the Tom Riddle before him was indeed a very cunning fellow who was skilled at slipping through the cracks.
"It seems, this diary is the first Horcrux you made, isn't it?"
Amortara's soft-spoken words rendered Riddle speechless, as if he realized that no matter what he said, this up-and-coming member of Slytherin College was set on taking him out.
"--Emotions stem from the soul, and Horcruxes, this evil magic, prioritize stripping away the rationality and emotions in a soul, turning people into madmen controlled by desires..."
Ding-dong...
As Amortara took a step forward, the purple in his eyes began to fade at a noticeable speed. Under the powerful magical force that could make dragons tremble, the air around Amortara twisted like space on a hot asphalt road during summer.
A rumbling sound echoed through the vast and empty chamber, causing the snake monster within the cage to emit a fearsome hiss. It tucked its snake head into its coiling body, as if it had already encountered the end of Tom Riddle.
The statue of Salazar Slytherin, which was at the same height as the ceiling, silently gazed down at Amortara Brenn and Tom Riddle below, standing alone for centuries. He was about to witness either the destruction of one of his bloodlines by a Slytherin, or...maintaining the true honor he had always held.
"I see emotions in your soul that only normal people have, Riddle....fear, hatred, loneliness...Oh...and many other interesting little emotions..."
"Wait, wait a moment--"
Tom Riddle's pale and cyan body was slowly pushed back into his ethereal form by the faint silver mist that was being forced back into him. He struggled to speak through clenched teeth,
"You crave power, right..."
We're kindred spirits; there are secrets left in this castle by Slytherin, not just one. Professor Brenn, I am willing to share with you those powerful ancient spells he left behind, as long as you... ah!"
Tom Riddle's next words were completely choked off, as Amortara stepped forward, expressionless, right in front of him.
He watched in horror as the professor's body began to glow faintly after Amortara revealed his existence. He finally regained his power, and he raised his hand slowly towards Amortara, touching the tip of his finger to his forehead.
Eh!
Amortara ignored Riddle's painful whimpers, as his fingertips, palm, arm, and entire body slowly merged into Riddle's body. The journal in Riddle's pocket flew out on its own and hovered in mid-air. Although there was no wind, the pages of the journal seemed to be fluttering like they were being blown by a strong wind. Black smoke puffed out from the pages, creating an eerie and terrifying scene in the empty room!
A burst of radiant light flashed before Amortara's eyes. When he came to, his body was already in a strange space.
This space seemed boundless and endless, like the outer universe. The silent space was filled with tangible, sharp gray hurricanes. Each of these currents that stained the space with gray was imbued with evil and powerful magic. It must be the protective spells that Voldemort had placed on the diary as well as the protective magic inherent in the Horcrux itself.
Huh... thud!
The fluorescence that clung to Amortara suddenly intensified, forming an elliptical magical barrier around him. The hurricanes that fiercely struck his side met the crimson-red barrier head-on, and the bursts of sparks that resulted from the clash of opposing magics made Amortara feel as though he were standing amid a raging inferno!
Amortara swept his gaze around, and not long after, he sensed something unusual in the space to his right front.
It seemed to be the core of the entire gray world. A light group with black and white alternating hues was emitting an ominous magic that radiated in all directions without end.
"Aha, I found you--"
Amortara smiled faintly, took out a glass bottle from his bosom, neatly adjusted his collar, and sauntered away with a leisurely gait...
...
...
Reading Nook
