Chapter 120
Soren let out a cry of surprise as he woke up from the nightmare.
He opened his eyes, his forehead and back damp with sweat.
It was a scene of apocalypse.
The sky was replaced by the color of blood, dotted with dark gray clouds.
The air was filled with a rotting smell, and even the wind that blew was salty.
The earth was desolate, with large patches of black flames raging everywhere, burning everything visible.
In the sky, an enormous black dragon flew recklessly, roaring loudly while spewing black flames.
On the ground, in front of Soren, a wizard with black fur all over, hair like thick steel needles, exuding a shiny metallic luster, tall and muscular like a hybrid giant, was roaring and howling, followed by hordes of grotesque and horrifying monsters.
Behind Soren, a noseless ugly man let out a long, unpleasant, terrifying laugh, with a group of masked figures behind him, along with soul-sucking creatures, werewolves, giants, and a seemingly army-like horde of undead.
Soren stood there all alone, both frightened and confused.
He lowered his head.
At his feet, Daphne, Astoria, Moray, Lucius, and Narcissa lay peacefully on the ground, completely still, but the blood covering them indicated the fact that they were already dead.
"No—!!!" Soren's eyes turned crimson as he looked up to the sky and howled, "This isn't real!"
The scene suddenly shattered into pieces.
The black dragon, the half-giant wizard, and the noseless wizard disappeared.
Before him appeared a hazy black shadow, indistinct and unclear.
Suddenly, Dumbledore appeared, covered in blood, and said painfully, "Soren, why is this happening... what have you done... what have you changed... it shouldn't be like this…"
Before Soren could respond, Dumbledore's face morphed into that of Meredith, tears streaming down her cheeks: "Soren, have you forgotten me... do you know that I've been waiting for you, waiting for you to save me... but where are you…"
"No, that's not it!" Soren could only manage to say this before Meredith's face suddenly turned into Draco's, whose face was filled with fear, "Soren, run! Run away! Don't mind me! It's all my fault! Everything is my doing... don't worry about me anymore, just run…"
"What are you talking about?" Soren hadn't understood yet when Draco suddenly glared with malice, shouting, "Die! Astoria was supposed to belong to me!"
Soren looked at his abdomen, where Draco had stabbed him deeply, blood gushing out, the wound painful, but his heart hurt even more. Tears streamed down Soren's face, "No, it's not like this... brother, listen to me…"
A wave of weakness washed over him, and Soren pressed his hand against the wound, crouching down on the ground, "You all…"
"Why!!!" Unwillingness and anger filled his heart. He felt the magic within him stirring, as if urging him to unleash it, to explode, to release all his power!
Soren looked at his hands, which began to be enveloped in black mist. He felt dark magic gradually eroding his sanity, "You forced me!"
"Avada Kedavra!" Soren shouted with all his strength, pointing his wand at the shadow.
With a bang, the shadow's face suddenly transformed into Hermione's, her eyes wide open, filled with bitterness and despair, "Soren... we really... can we never be friends?"
She collapsed in Soren's arms, her gaze flickering with an inexplicable light. She struggled to raise her hand to touch Soren's face, whispering, "Soren, I don't blame you. I just hope you know my feelings... to die by your hand is enough for me…" After saying this, she closed her eyes, her arm dropping weakly.
Unease, despair, fear, helplessness, powerlessness, it's all over... a myriad of negative emotions crushed Soren.
A familiar voice echoed in his ear, "Tsk tsk, did you gain unparalleled power by killing your beloved? How does it feel, my child…"
Soren suddenly looked up, wanting to see who was speaking.
Then, he woke up.
It was a dream.
What kind of dream was this!
Soren had the impulse to throw the pillow out with great force.
Feeling his sweat-soaked body, he decided to take a shower in the bathroom.
Although the cleaning spell was quicker and more convenient, taking a warm shower could help him relax, clear his mind, and organize his thoughts.
As he scrubbed himself with foam, Soren hummed a tune, but suddenly an indescribable feeling of frustration arose in his heart.
He knew it had to do with that dream.
Was he really unable to let go? It was no wonder; everything in the dream felt too real, and those negative emotions were as if he had experienced them himself.
He put on his bathrobe again, looked at the comfortable big bed, and hesitated for a few seconds.
He sighed, knowing his personality well. He wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully until he figured out the meaning of that inexplicable dream.
He sat on the edge of the bed and took out a luck potion from his suitcase, bringing it to his lips and taking a gentle sip.
Fortunately, Soren had Sister Giordana and the Medieval European Wizarding Association backing him up; otherwise, he wouldn't dare waste such an expensive and rare luck potion. Thinking of this, he felt extremely fortunate for agreeing to the invitation from the Medieval European Wizarding Association.
There was little luck potion left, probably enough for one more use, so it seemed he would need to write to Sister Giordana to ask if he could get another bottle. Hmm, it seemed that Professor SLughorn still owed him a favor; asking him would also be a good option.
As for making it himself? Don't be silly; not only were the materials hard to find, but the process was also particularly time-consuming.
After drinking the luck potion, he closed his eyes, quietly contemplating which crucial details from the dream he had overlooked.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes wide, jumped up, and ran to his private book bag. Sure enough, there was a book in the bag that was behaving unusually; it seemed to have come to life, with a faint glow on the cover, emanating a strong magical aura.
"The Secrets of Advanced Dark Magic."
Soren remembered that this book had been taken from the Black family's secret chamber. It contained the secrets of Horcruxes, and Sirius's brother, Regulus, had also uncovered Voldemort's greatest secret through this book.
Soren had already read this book and learned the "Forbidden Words Spell" from it. What details had he missed?
He inexplicably flipped to the first page, the preface.
The entire page was blank, except for a triangular fold in the lower right corner. Soren unfolded the corner and smoothed it out—written in tiny fly-sized font was the author's name: the Dark Lord Egbert.
Soren showed a thoughtful expression. Was this what the luck potion wanted him to discover?
The effect of the luck potion wasn't really to increase a person's luck, but to enhance one's sensitivity to changes in the surroundings, making it easier to notice important details that had been overlooked.
Soren trusted his intuition; since the luck potion had guided him to discover this, it couldn't be without purpose.
He recalled the current situation.
In his past life, like most readers of Harry Potter, he had believed that Voldemort was the greatest villain of this magical world, the most powerful and evil dark wizard. At worst, looking back a few decades, there was another dark wizard, Grindelwald.
The two generations of dark wizards were almost the most terrifying representatives.
Only after coming to this world did he truly see how deep the waters of the magical realm ran.
The Shadow of the Dragon, the Ghost Society, the Knights of Walpurgis, Black Sin Square, and even the Malfoy family, where he had grown up, seemed to have an extraordinary legacy.
He realized that his thinking had been influenced by the so-called "knowledge" from his past life, leading him into a cognitive trap.
Who said only Voldemort understood how to create Horcruxes?
The method of creating Horcruxes had long been lost to mystery, but it wasn't invented by Voldemort. The fact that Voldemort could research it meant that others could too!
At least the author of this book could!
This was what the luck potion wanted to tell him! The Dark Lord Egbert! He was still alive!
Regardless of past or present, Soren was no stranger to the Dark Lord Egbert.
The so-called "great evil" is just a shorthand; the true meaning is "extraordinary great evil." In fact, according to the magical history well-known to Schelling, the wizards of his time preferred to refer to him as the "battle maniac," indicating that he was an extraordinarily powerful dark wizard.
If we were to discuss his most famous battle, it would certainly be the decisive confrontation with "Emeric the Evil."
At that time, it was around the end of the eleventh century.
The eldest of the Peverell brothers had just got the Elder Wand and could not wait to duel with it. After winning the duel, he went to a pub and got drunk, revealing the full power of the Elder Wand, which led to him being assassinated that very night.
In the following month, the Elder Wand became the center of fierce competition, resulting in a bloody storm, ultimately falling into the hands of a famous dark wizard of the time, Emeric the Evil.
Emeric the Evil was already very powerful, and acquiring the Elder Wand was like adding wings to a tiger. Several dark wizards who came to seize the Elder Wand were eliminated by him one after another.
At this point, everyone almost believed that Emeric the Evil would become the new master of the Elder Wand.
However, no one expected that the great evil Egbert would make his appearance. He openly challenged Emeric the Evil and, with astonishing power, launched a one-sided "slaughter" against him. This was a world-renowned feat at the time; he was the first person to defeat the holder of the Elder Wand with his own true strength.
This record stood for many years until Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald, successfully replicating the astonishing achievement of defeating the holder of the Elder Wand.
However, Soren also knew that the great evil Egbert did not meet a good end.
He acted too erratically and violently, disregarding the faces of both the light and dark sides. Anyone who dared to block his path would be killed by him.
One day, the justice-filled Gryffindor could no longer hold back, laid down his position at Hogwarts, and traveled a long distance to challenge him.
The two had a fair and square battle. Although Gryffindor was defeated, he left with honor, managing not only to escape unscathed from the power of the Elder Wand but also to give Egbert a sword strike on the shoulder.
The tragedy of the great evil Egbert was just beginning. On his way back, he was ambushed by several powerful wizards, all masked and cleverly disguised to conceal their identities.
However, judging by the magic they used, which included dark magic, light magic, elemental magic, transfiguration, and even druidic magic, it was clear that the attackers included wizards from both sides. Egbert, already injured and heavily drained, fought his way through despite his severe wounds, seeking refuge with his apprentice, Edmund, hoping to rest and find an opportunity for revenge.
What he did not expect was that his most trusted apprentice would betray him.
At that time, Hogwarts had just been established, and the master-apprentice system was still the mainstream in the magical world. The master was like a second parent, and the relationship with the apprentice was very close. Thus, Egbert truly never thought that this beloved apprentice would betray him for the Elder Wand.
The great evil Egbert was "killed" by Edmund. Not only was the Elder Wand taken, but his entire legacy of magical knowledge was also seized and shamelessly claimed as his own, later transformed into Edmund's renowned work, "The Most Poisonous Magic."
Of course, now that Soren knew the identity of the author of "Revealing Advanced Dark Magic," he speculated on one thing.
At that time, the great evil Egbert must have hidden at least one card up his sleeve. He did not tell his apprentice about the Horcruxes and did not let him know that he was immortal.
Although the great evil Egbert lost the Elder Wand, he was not dead.
Moreover, although Edmund had heard of the existence of Horcruxes, he did not record it in "The Most Poisonous Magic," indicating that he did not receive that particular inheritance. In fact, the level of dark magic in "The Most Poisonous Magic" was at most half that of "Revealing Advanced Dark Magic."
From this, it can be seen that the inheritance obtained by Edmund was incomplete.
Now the question arises: if the great evil Egbert is not dead, where could he be?
My goodness, now in addition to Voldemort's seven Horcruxes, is there another Horcrux to deal with?
Ah! I'm afraid it's not just that!
Speaking of soul artifacts, Soren thought of another matter.
In his previous life, during an interview with the author Rowling, she mentioned an ancient Greek wizard named Herpo the foul, who was the first person in history to successfully create a soul artifact! Interestingly, Soren had never seen any book that recorded the process of his soul artifact being destroyed.
So, is that person still alive? If he is alive, where could he be? Why, with his strength, is he so obscure?
That person, the breeder of the basilisk, the first wizard to successfully complete a soul artifact, and the earliest known speaker of snake language in history—just based on these three achievements, his life could not possibly be ordinary. There are no records in history regarding his later life, which is simply unreasonable!
One must know how glorious his earlier life was; he lived in ancient Greece and was known alongside "The Invincible Andros," "The Shape-shifting Goddess Circe," and "The Prophet Mopusus" as one of the four great legends of the time, revered throughout the European wizarding community. It is not an exaggeration to say he is the ancestor of modern dark magic.
Soren felt a twinge of anxiety; he had a premonition that if these old fellows were indeed still alive, they would likely start appearing one by one...
What he feared most was the connection between these two old fellows and the Shadow of the Demon Dragon, or perhaps the Ghost Society, the Walpurgis Knights, and the Black Sin Square...
Ah, thinking of this made Soren's head start to ache a little.