novelhk Chapter 202 A Weak Soul and the End of Everyday Life
Chapter 202 A Weak Soul and the End of Everyday Life
Chapter 202 A Weak Soul and the Return to Ordinary Life
The celebrations at the castle, like a receding tide, gradually subsided after several days of jubilation, leaving behind a more stable peace and a return to normalcy. The alert was lifted, the curfew returned to normal, and students no longer needed to walk cautiously in groups; the corridors were filled with relaxed laughter and the sound of footsteps rushing to classrooms.
Karen's life returned to its familiar rhythm: classes, the library, the Eagle's Nest, the common room. Only now, in the Eagle's Nest's portable workshop, a new "research project" had been added.
The workshop was brightly lit and softly lit. Karen sat before a large alchemy workbench, on which lay Nico's rune notes and Lucian's experimental log. But his attention was entirely focused on the Soul Prism, which sat quietly in the center of the workbench.
The prism hovered slightly on its specially designed support, soft light penetrating its warm, silvery-gray crystal, clearly illuminating the swirling black energy within. Karen activated her "Eye of Truth" with complete focus. Deep within her grey-blue eyes, subtle vortices seemed to swirl.
In his magical vision, the prism itself emanated a stable and powerful forbidden field, like a finely operating silver cage.
The fragment of soul imprisoned within it exhibited an extremely unstable state.
It no longer violently rammed against the barrier as it had when it was first captured, but instead appeared to be in a near-dormant state. The black mist itself had thinned considerably, with tiny, dust-like black specks of light constantly escaping from its edges, only to be worn away and annihilated by the prism's force field. At the core of the fragment, that deepest darkness, was like a slowly beating, dying black heart, each faint "beat" radiating outwards a powerful, purely malevolent wave.
Karen's brow furrowed slightly. He carefully tried to gently touch the edge of the black mist through the observation channel pre-set in the prism that Nico had specially left behind, using an extremely fine magical probe.
喻—
A slight tremor returned from the prism. The wisp of black energy seemed startled by this faint stimulus, contracting sharply inward before erupting with an even more intense, chaotic malice, like a startled hedgehog bristling with all its quills. But this malice was aimless, lacking any clear guiding will; it was purely instinctive, indiscriminate aggression. It couldn't even effectively "sense" Karen's presence, merely futilely churning and crashing within the prism's cage.
Karen withdrew the magic probe and fell into deep thought.
"Too weak," he murmured to himself. "Even weaker than when it was inside the basilisk. Did the separation process cause it devastating damage? Or was it simply unable to sustain itself without the basilisk's vast magical energy source?"
"And this consciousness—" Karen carefully recalled the previous events. When it was Quirrell, he could clearly feel Voldemort's cunning, ruthlessness, and powerful desire for control. And then there was the Basilisk's actions, the malicious spying from Voldemort during that baiting operation. But now, this fragment before him contained only the most primal, most violent instincts. It was like a bundle of nerves stripped of its brain, leaving only the impulse of pain and destruction. Had its consciousness fallen into a deep slumber?
This thought stirred within him, and his previous association with Horcruxes resurfaced. Could it be that he had created another Horcrux? However, he had taken the time to check on everyone at the school these past few days, and there was definitely no one possessed by Voldemort anymore. Of course, it was also possible that this was indeed a Horcrux, and Voldemort's main soul had escaped. But the evidence before him seemed to support another conclusion: this was Voldemort's main soul, or at least his most core and largest fragment of soul, which had completely collapsed after experiencing Quirrell's death, being forcibly possessed by the Basilisk, and being stripped away again, causing his consciousness to fall into silence.
"Logically, it makes sense." Cullen tried to convince herself. "If a more powerful, more lucid Horcrux existed, wouldn't it try to contact or influence this fragment? Or, with my Eye of Truth, wouldn't there be other unusual signs of soul connections in Hogwarts? But there was none. The ancient Helpo Curse marks on Professor Castor were clearly visible, completely different from the magical characteristics of this fragment. The magic in the scars of other professors and students at the school, including Harry, while peculiar, was stable, showing no signs of external parasitism or control."
He turned his gaze back to the prism. The black mist seemed to have exhausted the power it had just unleashed, returning to a slow, churning, and dissipating state, radiating a suffocating despair and chaos.
"Forget it, let's leave it to Mr. Nico and the others for now! As for Voldemort, even if it's a different story, he should have already escaped Hogwarts."
Karen let out a soft breath and carefully removed the Soul Prism from its stand. The cold touch on her fingertips remained, but the heaviness seemed to have lessened somewhat. Continuing to observe would likely yield little further discovery in the short term. It was best to leave the professional work to the professionals.
He took out parchment and a quill, quickly wrote a short letter, and attached his observations of the fragment's current state. Then, he carefully sealed the letter and the Soul Prism together in a lead box using specially made magical chains and protective runes.
"Phobos," he called softly.
The snow-white owl silently glided down from its perch in the corner and landed on the worktable, its sharp eyes fixed on its owner.
"Take this to Headmaster Dumbledore. He knows who to give it to." Cullen strapped the lead box to Phoebus's strong leg and fed it a small piece of special owl food. Phoebus affectionately nuzzled his palm with its beak, then flapped its wings and silently glided out through the special feather passageway in the eagle's nest, disappearing into the clear sky outside the castle.
Having done all this, Karen leaned back in her chair, a sense of relief washing over her. The Eagle's Nest door was pushed open, and Wesley burst in, brandishing two brand-new broom brushes.
"Callen! Hurry! Quidditch practice this afternoon! The captain said we're testing a new double 'Wandering Ball' interference tactic today, those Slytherin guys will never expect that! Ernesto is already warming up on the pitch, Fabian went to the greenhouse to water his precious darlings, said he'll be right there!"
"We've been waiting for you!" His face was filled with pure joy, as if the shadows of the basilisk and the fragments of the soul had never existed.
Karen smiled at her roommate's energetic demeanor, temporarily setting aside her last remaining doubts about the soul fragments. "Here they come. Let me see just how effective your double-roaming ball strategy really is; it'll also enrich the works of our Spell Club."
Stepping out of the Eagle's Nest, the castle corridors were bathed in sunlight. The Quidditch schedule had been reposted prominently on the bulletin board, with the Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor match date highlighted in a striking red circle. Groups of students, engrossed in books or Quidditch magazines, chatted animatedly, discussing broom models, Chaser techniques, and Seeker odds. Peeves, humming a tuneless tune, flew across the ceiling, only to be startled by a stern glare from Professor McGonagall and shrank back behind her armor.
Hogwarts has fully returned to its former glory: peaceful, busy, and vibrant. It's as if the harrowing Battle of the Forbidden Forest and the Dark Shard imprisoned in the bottle were merely a distant nightmare. A pervasive sense of optimism permeates the school: the greatest threat has been eliminated, and all that remains is to enjoy this rare period of peace and tranquility on campus.
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