"...The Dark Lord's behavior is bizarre, his emotions are abnormal, and he is no longer as sharp as he once was..."
Victor Wick put down the Communication Stone. He had already finished reading Regulus's 'Daily Observation Journal of the Dark Lord.'
Every day, Regulus would quietly transmit information to him through the Communication Stone, making it even more discreet than Fleur's notebook.
A pleasant smile played across Victor Wick's face.
The collars seized during the sweep of the Ashwinders, originally used to forcibly enslave magical beasts, had a function that could amplify feelings of dependency toward a master. That function had been integrated into those soul power fragments.
Since dependency could be amplified, it stood to reason that other emotions could be as well!
Experiments proved that after absorbing the soul power, the Dark Lord indeed began to experience emotions he had never felt before—and these emotions were being continuously magnified.
As the dosage was gradually increased, the Dark Lord became unable to even perceive the changes within himself.
Even if he eventually noticed the shift, it would be far too late. Once he touched this soul power, it was like drinking spiked tea... no matter how much his mouth said no, his body would gradually become very honest, until he was completely unable to extricate himself.
"What fun is there in a dead Dark Lord? A Dark Lord like this is far more delightful..."
At that moment, another Communication Stone in Victor's pocket began to vibrate slightly.
"The equipment repair is complete. We can proceed with the second experiment."
This message came from the Knights Templar. It seemed that the equipment damaged during Lily's previous summoning had finally been repaired.
In other words, he could continue by summoning the second soul.
"Excellent! I have nothing else to do, so I might as well get this settled now. However, I won't be bringing Severus along this time." Victor prepared enough food for his dog and quickly left Hogwarts.
The Headmaster's Office.
After being busy for several days, Dumbledore had finally found a moment of leisure.
He stood by the wall, staring silently at the portrait of Ariana Dumbledore that Victor Wick had given him, lost in thought.
In the portrait, the girl held flowers and smiled at Dumbledore; the smile on her face was more beautiful than the blossoms in her hands.
Dumbledore also let out a faint smile. Whenever his mind was cluttered with complex thoughts, seeing his sister's smile always helped him regain his inner peace.
"Don't be afraid, Ariana... The person who can take my place has appeared. Once everything is resolved, I'll be able to go see everyone with a clear conscience. I can foresee that the day isn't too far off. Wait for me..."
After an unknown amount of time, Dumbledore finally left the portrait's side and sat at his desk, flipping through a large stack of documents.
Although Victor Wick said he was looking for the Horcruxes, Dumbledore knew he couldn't afford to relax on his end either.
In case things didn't go smoothly for Victor, he needed to be fully prepared to handle the situation himself.
The summoning ritual could only bring back one soul at a time because the equipment had to be repaired after each attempt, which required a significant amount of time.
Inside the laboratory.
Victor Wick waited until everyone had left before taking out the mirror.
This time, he was performing the summoning ritual alone, without even bringing Lily.
This was because he didn't intend to summon James this time...
The reason was simple: summoning James now would make Lily and Harry happy, but it would certainly not please Severus Snape.
If James came back to cause trouble and Snape became unhappy, his research progress would slow down.
It was better to let Lily continue to motivate him until he finished the formula.
Taking everything into account, summoning James would only have a negative impact on Victor's current experiments.
Victor Wick was no saint. Since summoning James offered more disadvantages than benefits, he would not do something so unnecessary for the time being.
As soon as the mirror connected, Merlin's face appeared on the surface.
"Who do you plan to summon this time?" Merlin guessed what he was up to as soon as he saw the surroundings.
Victor Wick was about to say a name when a different thought suddenly struck him.
"Mr. Merlin, can a living person visit the world of the dead?"
"They can." Merlin nodded.
"Truly?" A flash of surprise crossed Victor's face. He had only asked on a whim; he hadn't expected it to actually be possible.
"Of course."
"Then what must a living person do to visit the world of the dead?"
"Die."
Victor: ...
"Mr. Merlin, that joke is not funny."
Seeing Victor's face darken, Merlin laughed. "You asked how a living person goes to the world of the dead. My answer was perfectly accurate, wasn't it?"
"Oh?" Victor caught the underlying meaning. "Then what about me?"
"You can, naturally."
"Do I have to die once too?"
"You don't. Because you were already an 'extra' person to begin with," Merlin replied.
He wasn't insulting Victor; as far as this world was concerned, he really was an intruder who had suddenly appeared.
To this world, Victor Wick was essentially like an external program.
For an independent program to access another program after gaining proper permissions was a perfectly normal thing.
As for others, they were local residents of this world, inherent parts of the program itself. Naturally, they had to follow certain rules to achieve this—for instance, death.
All Merlin was doing now was opening up the permissions for him to access the other side of the world's program.
"What do I need to do?"
"Close your eyes and press your hand against the mirror's surface. I'll take you there," Merlin said softly.
"Aren't you curious why I want to see the world of the dead?"
"I'm not. Because if I were still alive, I certainly wouldn't pass up an opportunity to explore the unknown. You and I are the same kind of person, aren't we?" Merlin smiled.
"I only asked once and you agreed to take me? No hesitation at all?"
Merlin's quick agreement caught Victor by surprise. He thought he would have to work hard to convince him.
"If I didn't agree, you would just find your own way to peek... Rather than letting you mess around on your own, I'd rather just take you myself."
Merlin's answer left Victor speechless.
Merlin really was like him. He could even guess exactly what Victor was planning...
Because if their roles were reversed, Merlin would have done the exact same thing.
"I think we both should have gone to Ravenclaw," Victor remarked.
"Neither of us could have. While we share Ravenclaw's thirst for knowledge, we possess an ambition that Ravenclaws lack," Merlin chuckled. "We both refuse to be ignored. Slytherin is where we truly belong."
Victor neither agreed nor disagreed, pressing his hand against the cold surface of the mirror.
The mirror rippled like the surface of water, sending out tiny waves...
Then Victor felt his consciousness sink slightly.
When he came to, he found himself back in Limbo.
He was standing on the water again. Merlin stood before him, as serene as the last time they had met.
"Ready to greet the unknown world?" Merlin laughed softly.
"Ready." A look of anticipation flashed in Victor's eyes.
Merlin snapped his fingers.
*Snap!*
In an instant, the mountains and rivers inverted, and the clouds and mists drifted...
Victor's body hadn't moved, but the surrounding scenery underwent an earth-shattering transformation.
The endless white environment of Limbo vanished, and the surroundings seemed to be recolored.
This was a prosperous small town. Occasionally, wizards would leisurely walk through the streets.
Those wizards looked quite solid, not at all like the translucent forms of ghosts. They looked just like living people.
"We've arrived."
"We have?" Victor looked into the distance, then surveyed his surroundings, even squatting down to grab a handful of soil. "But... why does it feel no different from the world of the living?"
"They are essentially two sides of the same world, like a reflection in a mirror. How could there be a difference? Only Limbo truly exists between reality and illusion," Merlin explained.
Victor only then noticed that Merlin, who had previously looked like a ghost, now seemed to have a physical body.
"Even if I am a gentleman, doing that is quite presumptuous," Merlin said helplessly.
Victor let go with a grin. "I was just curious if you had a physical body. I didn't expect that even at your age, your muscles would be so firm."
It was proven that if he hadn't known beforehand that this was the world of the dead, he wouldn't have been able to distinguish it from the world of the living at all.
"Where is this?" Victor continued to ask.
"Godric's Hollow... specifically, the Godric's Hollow of the world of the dead," Merlin answered.
Victor remembered what Lily had said before: the world of the dead was almost identical to the world of the living. Wherever there was a place in the living world, it existed here too.
"Are these buildings identical to the ones in the living world?"
"The locations are the same, but the buildings aren't always identical. As I said, the people here are just living their lives in another world. If a house breaks, they fix it. If a style goes out of fashion, they rebuild it... So, even if a building collapses in the living world, they can still repair it here."
Watching the burning thirst for knowledge in Victor's eyes, Merlin seemed to see his younger self.
He and Victor were truly the same kind of person. It was just a pity that back then, there hadn't been another Merlin to lead him in exploring such fascinating unknowns.
"Godric's Hollow... so you knew who I was looking for, which is why you brought me here?" Victor asked curiously.
"It wasn't me who brought you here; you brought me," Merlin pointed to Victor's heart. "Those who pass through Limbo go to the place they desire to be."
"Then are you going to say it's my turn to lead the way?" Victor said helplessly.
"Exactly. Go on, go where you want to go."
Victor didn't object. He took a large stride into Godric's Hollow.
"Do these people know I'm alive?"
"When you meet a stranger on the road, do you suspect they are dead?"
"Usually no, unless they have the obvious characteristics of a ghost."
"So you want to know if you have obvious ghost-like features that would give you away at a glance?"
"Yes."
"You don't. This is the destination for life and souls, the end. This place will maintain the state you were in while you were still alive."
After entering Godric's Hollow, Victor turned directly to the right.
Ever since he arrived in the world of the dead, he felt a faint intuition guiding him in this direction.
Victor wasn't surprised. As Merlin said, in the world of the dead, everyone eventually finds their way to where they want to be...
In front of a modest two-story house, Victor saw a beautiful girl.
She was sitting quietly on a wooden stump outside the door, lost in thought.
"What are you doing?" Victor walked up to her and asked.
The girl looked up at Victor. She seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, but a flash of disappointment quickly crossed her eyes, creating a look of conflict.
"I'm waiting for my brother," the girl's voice was clear and crisp.
"Then you must be very eager to see him."
"I am eager to see him, but..." The girl paused, then continued, "I hope he lives much, much longer..."
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