That old man Dumbledore had been bossing him around for years; their grievances ran deep.
Victor certainly wouldn't allow the old man to just cast everything aside so easily and come here to enjoy himself so soon.
As long as he was around, that old codger would have to wait until he was at least three hundred to retire!
"You... you know my brother?" Ariana blinked, looking at Victor with a mix of joy and anticipation.
"Oh... of course I do. To be precise, he's my boss. The reason I ended up here at such a young age is because I had to work overtime for him day and night until I dropped dead from exhaustion. I've had such a hard life..."
"Ah?" Ariana's eyes were filled with shock and apology. She immediately began to apologize to Victor. "I'm so sorry... I apologize on my brother's behalf! I... I'll do everything in my power to make it up to you..."
"Uh..."
Ariana's intense reaction caught Victor somewhat off guard.
"Ahem, I was actually just joking. While your brother does make me work overtime often, I haven't reached the point of dying from overwork yet. I actually came here for another reason."
"Oh? Is that so? Just a joke? But... you really do look very young." Ariana studied Victor, a flicker of sorrow and confusion in her eyes. "To have come here so young... why do you seem so happy?"
Even if it wasn't from overwork, this young man was definitely dead. She had truly never seen anyone newly arrived who looked as nonchalant as him.
"Because I know what death is like now. When death's mysterious veil is lifted, people no longer feel fear or sorrow toward it," Victor replied softly.
Ariana bowed her head in thought for a moment before slowly nodding. "You're right. If everyone knew that death is just moving to a different place to live... then they certainly wouldn't be so afraid of the death that awaits them."
Victor pulled over a large rock and sat down beside Ariana. "Want to hear about your brothers over these past years?"
"Yes, please!" At those words, a spark of light flashed in Ariana's eyes, and she nodded repeatedly.
Seeing this, Merlin didn't say anything. He simply smiled and walked over to sit on the ground under a large tree nearby, waiting quietly.
Victor raised his hand, and as he flipped his palm over, a mass of soul power was transformed into the shape of a candy.
The Lost Mist was also a form of soul power. Since that was the case, soul power could naturally be manifested as candy, allowing the dead to taste flavors they had experienced while alive.
With just a bit of effort, Victor turned the soul power into the likeness of candies he had eaten before, perfectly replicating even the taste.
Of course, he found it somewhat strange. Why was it that nothing else had been brought in, yet the soul power he had prepared for Voldemort had followed him into the world of the dead?
"Little girl, want some candy? We can chat while we eat," Victor said with a chuckle.
Ariana froze when she saw the handful of candy. She hadn't seen candy for many years... because the dead had no need for food.
"What 'little girl'... I'm much older than you."
Despite her words, she snatched the candy from Victor's hand.
As a sweet candy entered her mouth, her beautiful eyes squinted in delight.
A smile played on Victor's face.
'Mmm... the Dumbledores really do love their sweets.' Moreover, Ariana wasn't as withdrawn or fearful as he had previously understood. Perhaps it was because she was dead; in this peaceful world of the departed, her reclusive nature had improved considerably.
"Actually, over these years, I've heard some things about my brothers from others," Ariana said suddenly.
Victor nodded. This was only natural. Ariana had been dead for many years, and during that time, whenever she met wizards newly arrived in the world of the dead, she would inevitably ask about things.
"But what they knew wasn't very clear. I only know that the relationship between my two brothers seems to be poor, and... Albus even became enemies with that friend of his," Ariana continued.
Then, Ariana recounted some of what she had heard from others.
"You actually know quite a bit," Victor nodded. "In fact, everyone should say thank you to you."
"Hmm? Why?"
"It was because of your early passing that Albus Dumbledore fully realized his errors. He transformed from the initiator and supporter of a radical revolution into its opponent, eventually defeating Grindelwald and restoring peace to the world."
"And is the poor relationship between him and Aberforth also because of... me?"
"As far as I know, yes. Moreover... your brother, Albus Dumbledore, is still consumed by guilt over your death to this day, never able to let go. He believes he is the one who caused your death," Victor added.
"It's not like that! He doesn't need to feel guilty!" Ariana's expression turned urgent.
Victor shook his head. "He can't figure it out or let go on his own. Such a massive regret will surely accompany him for the rest of his life."
Ariana frowned deeply, her eyes full of heartache.
Victor smiled suddenly. "Unless... you could explain it to him in person. So... are you willing to come with me to see him?"
"But... how could I do that? We are all dead; the departed cannot return to the world of the living."
Before Victor could speak, a voice suddenly drifted from the yard. "He can indeed do it, because he is not one of the dead, but merely a tourist here on a temporary visit..."
Victor turned toward the entrance of the courtyard and saw a tall, thin figure walking out from the house.
It was a wizard who looked to be in his forties or fifties. At a glance, one might have mistaken him for a younger version of Dumbledore.
Thus, it was easy to guess the wizard's identity.
Percival Dumbledore—Albus Dumbledore's father.
The father who had been imprisoned in Azkaban and died of a broken heart after seeking revenge for his daughter...
Sure enough, as soon as Ariana saw him, she threw herself into his arms. "Father."
Percival reached out to stroke Ariana's hair, his azure eyes, so similar to Dumbledore's, carrying the same wisdom.
"You can tell?" Victor asked in surprise.
"The dead cannot use the Mist so freely," Percival said, glancing at the candies in Victor's hand.
Victor sighed softly. "The Dumbledores really are something else. However, this isn't the Mist..."
"I can probably guess your purpose, young man... So, take Ariana. Take her back to her brothers. She shouldn't have come here so early..." Percival gently patted Ariana's small head.
"You trust me just like that?" Victor asked, astonished.
Percival's gaze fell on Merlin, who was under the tree not far away. His voice was soft. "Why would I worry about a young man personally escorted through the world of the dead by the Archmage Merlin himself?"
In the distance, Merlin looked up and met Percival's eyes, then gave him a friendly nod.
"What about you? Ariana, are you willing to return to the world of the living with me?" Victor turned back to Ariana.
Ariana looked at her father with a hint of reluctance, then nodded firmly. "I must go. I can't let my brothers live the rest of their lives carrying a lifetime of guilt and regret..."
Victor opened his eyes. His hand was still pressed against the mirror's surface, as if he had only just placed it there.
He opened his pocket watch and glanced at it, only to discover that just a minute had passed!
Victor realized that the flow of time in the living world and the world of the dead were clearly completely different.
The time Ariana had spent waiting in the world of the dead... was perhaps far longer than he could imagine.
No wonder her timid and reclusive personality had undergone such a significant change.
Time was sometimes a crude yet effective medicine...
Suddenly, Victor felt a sharp chill run through his body.
He turned his head and saw Ariana standing amidst a swirl of white mist.
She was trying to place her hand on Victor's shoulder.
But her ghostly, pale little hand kept passing right through his body, unable to touch him at all.
"How... how did you get out?" Victor looked at Ariana in shock.
Victor was truly stunned. After all, he had only just emerged and hadn't yet offered any "sacrifice" for the exchange. How could Ariana, who was supposed to be waiting in Limbo, have followed him out just like that?
Ariana blinked her large eyes, looking at Victor in confusion, not understanding why he was so surprised.
Victor wiped the mirror. "Master Merlin? What do you have to say about this?"
Within the mirror, Merlin had also noticed the anomaly.
Ariana had actually vanished right from his side, successfully leaving Limbo to follow Victor out.
"Did you... just use soul power to manifest some food for Percival and the others?" Merlin asked, stroking his beard.
"I think so..." Victor shrugged.
Before leaving with Ariana, he had used soul power to manifest several fragrant steaks for Percival, just like the candies he had created for Ariana...
For Percival and the others, the manifested food was really just for tasting; they wouldn't actually consume it.
"Then that soul power you used for the manifestation... you brought it in from the outside, didn't you?" Merlin continued.
"Yes, that was soul power I refined from the power of human faith. It wasn't the Mist taken from Limbo... Actually, I don't know how that soul power entered the world of the dead with me either." Victor also felt it was a bit strange.
Upon entering the world of the dead, many of his belongings hadn't come with him, including his wand.
However, the soul power on his person had accompanied him and was easily transformed into food by his hand.
Merlin sighed softly. "If you still remember how much soul power you just used, then congratulations... it seems you've discovered another exploitable loophole..."
"In other words, I no longer need to..." Victor glanced at Ariana, who was watching him innocently, and swallowed the rest of his sentence.
Fortunately, Archmage Merlin understood what he meant.
He nodded. "It seems that's the case... though the specific details will require testing on your part. Look... at the wisps of Mist around Ariana. Isn't that exactly the excess soul power from your 'transaction' just now?"
Victor raised his hand and gave a slight beckon. The wisps of Mist surrounding Ariana gathered together as he compared them...
The soul power he had accidentally brought in had been recently refined and intended for Voldemort; he hadn't even had the chance to tamper with it yet.
Its potency far exceeded the soul power contained within a single person.
Now, that soul power had also been brought out with him, but the total amount was significantly less.
He certainly hadn't consumed that much when manifesting the food earlier.
This meant that the portion consumed had successfully filled the vacancy left by Ariana's departure...
"Archmage Merlin, your 'instruction manual' doesn't seem to be entirely comprehensive..."
"Sometimes manuals don't record everything," Merlin said, looking at Victor pensively. "That lord didn't want to tell us this, perhaps hoping we would use this power with caution."
Victor began to understand as well.
Clearly, Death had intentionally kept this loophole from them.
For although he turned a blind eye to Victor's actions, he did not want Victor to abuse this power.
Plainly, the "one soul for another" rule would make Victor more circumspect in his use of this ability.
"He really... has quite a bit of faith in my moral standards," Victor chuckled self-deprecatingly.
"It is you who underestimates your own morality... but then, people are always forced to become the very thing they hate, aren't they?"