Ahmost stared blankly for a moment, lost in thought.
Salazar Slytherin left behind a basilisk, and unexpectedly provided significant help in destroying the soul container that had been created by his bloodline millennia later. Is this just a coincidence, or is there some other possibility?
Slytherin was the most value of blood purity and inheritance among the four founders. If he really has a glimpse of some truth about millennia later in some way, he will not be indifferent. The door in the Slytherin chamber is evidence of this.
At the same time, Slytherin would not stand by while someone sullies the family's honor. And Tom Riddle's actions in the magical world are clearly not something that would be approved by his great ancestor.
"Now, we also face a difficult problem --"
The items on Dumbledore's desk were tidied up, and only the remaining pendent that had not been destroyed lay quietly there. With two soul containers destroyed by hand, Ahmost felt no particular feeling about what was about to happen. He said calmly,
"If we use the basilisk venom, we may have to open the pendent box. The snake fangs can't break through the protective spells of the soul jar itself --"
" Indeed, thankfully, I have some preparations for this --"
Dumbledore said calmly,
"I have taught Tom, know his style. When I first met him, he showed me his extraordinary talent, born of Slytherin's blood - the ability to speak to snakes. I believe he would not miss any opportunity to prove his extraordinary talents that come from his bloodline."
Ahmost didn't speak, just quietly watching Dumbledore show off.
At some point, the atmosphere in the office became tense. The portraits of past Headmasters held their breath, their eyes fixed and hopeful on the pendant box on the desk. One old Headmaster from several centuries ago took out an antique eye from his bosom, wiped it vigorously on his robe, and then perched it on his nose. If circumstances allowed, these Headmasters would have jumped out of their frames.
"So --"
Dumbledore nodded at Ahmost and then stretched out his right hand.
A series of crisp snaps echoed, and a deep, hissing voice appeared in the office. Then, with a click, the pendant box popped open under the gaze of everyone present!
Hū!
The windows and doors of the closed room were suddenly swept by a fierce wind, and the bright chandelier with dozens of candles hanging from it dimmed immediately.
As if the River Styx of Hell has contaminated the mortal world!
As soon as the lid was opened, a torrent of thick and bottomless darkness like breaching dykes poured out of the box, and those dark magical forces as solid and menacing as reality took over the dome of the office, flaunting their own fall and evil in the air!
In the void, a tearing and mesmerizing roar echoed, and within the boiling fog, a fearsome face gradually took shape to gaze down upon the world, like a dark ruler.
Dumbledore and Ahmost stood side by side, their actions surprisingly synchronized - their hands overlapped and placed under their stomachs, lifting their heads with solemn faces staring at the soul fragments in the air that could not be despised, the two sets of heterochromatic pupils glittering with unusual light.
"I see your heart."
The cruel voice was like the screams of thousands of souls that had been devastated and tortured, gathering together. Its gaze and Dumbledore's profound eyes intersected in mid-air, and then, the face that revealed a cruel smile froze.
"Is that so, Tom?"
Dumbledore smiled.
"I had always thought that no one could understand me."
As soon as Dumbledore finished speaking, his azure eyes suddenly became sharp. For a moment, his tall figure, which seemed to have suddenly risen, appeared like a golden moon rising from the junction of the sea and the sky. The aura emanating from him was so piercing that it forced the soul container to subconsciously divert its gaze.
"I know all of your desires."
Invisible forces seemed to interfere with the stability of Voldemort's soul shard, causing the fearsome face made of black mist to tremble violently. It eagerly absorbed the darkness of humanity to strengthen itself, and then, it cast its malevolent gaze upon Ahmost Brenn, whispering.
"Fearful weaklings dominated by death"
Ahmost snorted coldly,
"How dare you claim to know what I desire?"
In the next instant, Ahmost's eyes shone brightly, releasing an extraordinary amount of magic power that was on par with Dumbledore's from his thin body, turning the world upside down. Ahmost, Dumbledore, and the escaped soul fragment within the pendant box simultaneously left the office and appeared in a virtual space!
This space was infinite, similar to the high-dimensional space briefly paused during a wizard's Portkey transportation. It was filled with chaotic and indescribable spatial currents. Ahmost and Dumbledore stood on opposite sides, one with a cold expression and the other with a solemn expression.
Boom!
Just as Voldemort's soul piece was agitated and anxious, Dumbledore and Ahmost both took deep breaths, and golden and purple magical energy like flames erupted from their bodies. In the void, they pulled and intertwined to form a towering net that tightly held the screaming soul fragments within a sealed space, preventing them from escaping.
The space around them, like the ebb and flow of sea currents, seemed to be hit by three massive celestial bodies, colliding with the magical grid that sealed the soul container in increasingly chaotic trajectories!
The soul fragment was whipping and struggling within the spherical magical net, every roar as it tried to break through would distort the net, but it could never break through.
Under the magical pressure of Dumbledore and Ahmost, two wizards who can be called the greatest magician in the current magic world, Voldemort's soul piece has remained intact due to its special properties as a soul container.
"Ahmost --"
Dumbledore's hoarse voice echoed through the chaos and precisely entered Ahmost's ear. With a nod, Ahmost reached out with his right hand and summoned a micro-hurricane enveloping Basilisk's venom.
Seeming to sense that the thing capable of destroying itself had finally appeared, the trapped soul fragment was completely driven to madness. The massive face suddenly disintegrated into hundreds or thousands of black clouds like meteors, violently colliding from all directions against the violet-golden magical net.
Ahmost narrowed his eyes, and all the erratic paths of the trailing black clouds left clear reflections in his eyes. After a brief moment of discernment, he locked onto one particular path.
The index finger moved, and Basilisk's fang shook with a resounding hum, followed by a collision with the black cloud that carried the atmosphere of a comet hitting the Earth!
Ding!
In an instant, a clear and melodious sound echoed through the ethereal space, followed by a burst of light that rolled back like the opening of the heavens and the earth, melting everything within sight and erasing the anguished and fearful roars!
Ahmost had left, but before he left, he proposed that he take the Ravenclaw Crest and the Slytherin Pendant that he had found. After a brief pause, Dumbledore agreed to Ahmost's request but only asked for one thing -- do not sell these two items.
"Albus --"
The office, shrouded in an atmosphere of confusion, was silent for a long time. Finally, the newly appointed headmaster of Hogwarts, Armando Dippet, spoke up, gazing at Dumbledore sitting in his own seat, taking off his glasses and gently massaging his forehead, and asked him seriously.
"Have you made up your mind to change your original plan, I mean, letting Ahmost Brenn"
"All along, I have been seeking a safe way to deal with Tom's problem."
Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling, speaking with a face devoid of expression.
"We all know that maybe I can outduel Tom, but that won't solve the problem. The Horcruxes are just one of them. As long as I'm alive, Tom won't let his guard down. He will continue to lurk in the shadows using his expertise in cunning schemes to plunge the magical world into long-term chaos, not to mention Harry's and Tom's soul bond. In short, I am becoming increasingly weak, and time is on Tom's side."
"But Ahmost Brenn..."
"Armando Dippet spoke directly."
"I do not deny that this young man is very powerful, Albus, given time, he may truly reach the heights you once achieved, but you are well aware that if he were to take the helm, the magical world would be plunged into a brutal war."
After a long silence, Dumbledore gave a mysterious sigh.
"It is inevitable."
(End of this chapter)
