Unbreakable Vow

In the Headmaster's office, the atmosphere was heavy. Fawkes quietly preened its feathers on its perch, and the portraits of past Headmasters on the wall pretended to sleep, though their ears were perked high. Dumbledore sat behind his desk, fingertips pressed together, his gaze calm behind his half-moon spectacles as he watched Silas stand before him. Professor Snape stood like a black statue, silent in the shadows.

Silas racked his brain, trying to diffuse the crisis with his usual wit and deflection.

"Professor! You have to believe me!" Silas said with utter sincerity, even a hint of indignation. "I'm really not possessed by Voldemort! I swear! Think about it, I'm so sunny, cheerful, and positive (?) – how could I possibly be connected to that noseless guy? It was Professor Quirrell who was possessed! Really! That noseless old pervert, he forced Quirrell to rub garlic on his scarf every day, saying it was good for his skin! Can you believe that?"

Dumbledore listened to his rambling, a slight twitch seeming to appear at the corner of his mouth, but he didn't interrupt, merely listening quietly.

Seeing Dumbledore's lack of reaction, Silas thought he wasn't believed and quickly added, "Oh, right, right! Actually, I think Voldemort, though evil, is very opinionated! Because he's never led around by the nose! After all... he doesn't have a nose to lead! Hahaha!"

By the end, he felt the joke was a bit lame and let out a couple of dry chuckles.

Unexpectedly, Dumbledore, upon hearing this cold joke about Voldemort's nose, didn't get angry. Instead, he let out a low, pleased chuckle. He shook his head, looked at Silas, and said with a hint of helplessness and indulgence, "Child, you are very humorous."

Seeing a glimmer of hope, Silas immediately seized the opportunity, patting his chest and guaranteeing, "See! I told you! Someone as humorous, witty, and kind-hearted as me, how could I possibly turn evil? You really don't need to worry about me going down the wrong path! I'm such a good person!"

Dumbledore looked at his eagerness to prove himself and remained silent for a moment. His blue eyes seemed to pierce through Silas's hidden secrets and latent power, the ones even Silas himself might not fully realize. Finally, he spoke slowly, his tone becoming a bit more serious:

"Alright, Silas. I believe your intentions are good at this moment. However, the Unforgivable Curses... their power is too dangerous and dark. To allow me, and your other professors, to truly rest easy, I need you to make me a promise."

Silas's heart tightened. "What promise?"

Dumbledore leaned forward slightly, his gaze sharp. "I need you to make an Unbreakable Vow."

Silas froze. "Huh? An Unbreakable Vow?" He knew the magic well; the price of breaking it was death!

Dumbledore clearly stated the vow's content: "The content is – 'You may only use the Unforgivable Curses against a target that intends to harm you or others, and that you cannot effectively stop by any other means.'"

The content of this vow actually gave Silas a lot of leeway; it wasn't a complete prohibition.

Silas thought quickly. He felt that although the vow sounded terrifying, the conditions were quite lenient, and he didn't think he would harm innocents anyway. To get through this quickly, he nodded. "Okay! I agree!"

Dumbledore seemed somewhat surprised by his promptness but quickly nodded. "Very well. Severus," he turned to Snape in the shadows, "you will be the witness."

Snape walked forward expressionlessly and took out his wand. Silas extended his right hand, Dumbledore took it, and Snape touched his wand to their clasped hands.

However, there were no legendary fiery chains wrapping around their arms. Snape's wand merely glowed slightly, and then everything returned to normal.

"That's it," Dumbledore released Silas's hand.

Silas looked at his hand blankly, then at the two professors. "Is that... it?" Where were the magical special effects he had imagined?

"Yes," Dumbledore said gently, "the vow has been made. You may go back now, and remember your promise."

Although Silas found it a bit strange, he didn't overthink it. Relieved, he quickly said goodbye and slipped out of the Headmaster's office.

After the office door closed, only Dumbledore and Snape remained in the room.

Snape walked to the desk and asked in his characteristic deep, smooth voice, "That vow... it wasn't actually established, was it? I didn't feel any magical link."

Dumbledore sighed softly, his gaze drifting out the window into the dark night. "An Unbreakable Vow is an extremely extreme form of magic that requires a life-ending price. I am unwilling to impose such a cruel restraint on a child."

He turned back to Snape, his eyes gleaming with wisdom. "However, I have achieved a similar goal. That child... he believes the vow has been established. Given his personality, he will actively abide by it because he internally accepts this 'rule' and believes himself bound by it. This is more effective than any forced magic. I believe it will help him avoid straying down the path of power."

Snape remained silent, complex emotions swirling in his dark eyes. He had to admit that Dumbledore's grasp of human hearts was always so precise.

As for Silas, he left with the relief of having "passed the test" and a promise of "self-restraint." He didn't know that Dumbledore, with a well-intentioned "lie," had placed upon him a shackle even more secure than any magical contract – one born from within his own heart. This seemingly perilous crisis, under Dumbledore's masterful planning, was quietly resolved, planting a seed to guide Silas towards the light.

After returning "safely" from the Headmaster's office, Silas once again slipped into the empty classroom he often used. Closing the door, he let out a long sigh and plopped onto the floor.

"Whew... that scared me. I thought I was really going to be kicked out this time," he patted his chest, still shaken. "The old bee is indeed hard to fool, good thing I was smart."

He recalled Dumbledore's "Unbreakable Vow." Although the process was a bit strange, he had indeed taken the promise to heart.

"Alright, alright," he muttered to himself, "since I promised not to casually show off with Unforgivable Curses, I'll have to rely on my real skills. Looks like I need to speed up practicing my 'legitimate' offensive methods."

He brought up his skill tree interface and looked at Balzaha Lightning (LV2) on the third tier, rubbing his hands together:

"I need to level up Balzaha Lightning as quickly as possible, reach LV5 early, and then I can unlock those two more powerful-looking offensive spells on the fourth tier." He imagined Sekern Red Belt binding enemies and Borsat's Thunder bombarding them, feeling incredibly motivated.

But then, his gaze involuntarily drifted to the other side of the skill tree, a branch that had just been activated with a hint of ominous purple-black light – Dark Magic.

In his consciousness, the scroll titled "Darkhold (Fragmented Page · Chapter One)" floated quietly, exuding a tempting yet dangerous aura.

Silas licked his lips, a flicker of excitement and curiosity in his eyes. "Besides... Dumbledore only said not to misuse Unforgivable Curses, he didn't say I couldn't study Dark Magic, right? Heh heh... since I'm here, how can I not take a look?"

He decided to start delving into this unknown realm of forbidden power.

[The host has decided to begin exploring the power of the Dark Dimension, a wise (or perhaps bold) choice.] The System's voice chimed in at the opportune moment, with a hint of encouragement. [The first tier of the Dark Magic skill tree is now unlocked: Dark Dimension Summon.]

As the System introduced it, an icon lit up at the very bottom of the gray branch representing Dark Magic on the skill tree. The pattern resembled a twisted spatial rift, from which faint, grotesque claws seemed to be reaching out.

[Dark Dimension Summon,] the System explained, [allows you to tear open a small rift in reality and summon low-level dark creatures from the Dark Dimension to fight for you. They are mindless, pain-immune, and perfect cannon fodder and harassment tools. Of course, controlling them requires a firm will, otherwise, it's easy to suffer a backlash of dark energy affecting your mind.]

Silas looked at the icon, stroking his chin. "Summon minions? Sounds good! Much more civilized than me going up there to throw punches. So what are we waiting for? Let's try and see what I can summon!"

He was eager to begin his first practice of Dark Magic. The light spells of Vishanti needed to be practiced, and the forbidden powers of the Dark Dimension also needed to be explored! For Silas Cyril, power was power, regardless of whether it came from light or darkness! If it could be used, and was useful, it was good power!

Of course, he selectively ignored the System's warning about "mental backlash." In his opinion, as long as he was strong enough, there was no power he couldn't control!