Dark Magic

It was no wonder that Hogwarts's later textbooks had stripped out the content on alchemy.

Primitive alchemy was simply too cruel and bloody; it truly was not suitable for underage wizards to study.

Its brutality was identical to the methods in the Necronomicon, perhaps even worse.

Because according to the theory of magic's three dimensions, the soul was the finest material of the Spiritual Dimension.

However, the Necronomicon's method of extracting pure spiritual entities was not to purify and separate magical creatures.

It was to directly capture creatures of the pure Spiritual Dimension.

Or, by an even more drastic method, directly ask the Outer Gods of higher dimensions for a gift.

Merlin's successful Philosopher's Stone had been created as a result of receiving a gift from the Outer Gods.

Although Merlin understood the principles and proper method behind creating a Philosopher's Stone, constrained by his era and medieval mindset, he had been unable to achieve the perfect fusion of the spiritual, material, and mental dimensions through delicate experiments and flawless design when he made it.

Thus, when his lifespan was nearing old age, he had no choice but to seek help from the Outer Gods.

That had cost him another finger.

Fortunately, Tierra did not need to worry about such troublesome matters. He already had a Philosopher's Stone in his possession.

Besides studying the alchemical techniques for creating Magical Items, Tierra read Introduction to Alchemy in the hopes of finding the recipe for the Elixir of Life.

Then, during his reading, Tierra noticed a discrepancy.

According to the Necronomicon and Merlin's Notes, alchemy was a discipline that relied heavily on the theory of magic's three dimensions. For an alchemist to create a perfect "Three-Dimensional Origin"—that was, a Philosopher's Stone—they had to devise different spells and reaction formulas according to the characteristics of their own magic and the materials involved.

It was absolutely not as Introduction to Alchemy described: relying on vast numbers of experiments to find the optimal formula.

Because while that Three-Dimensional Origin remained eternally unchanged, we three-dimensional beings were constantly changing and moving.

Therefore, if we three-dimensional beings wished to find that sole unchanging Three-Dimensional Origin, we had to rely on ingenious design and perfect calculations.

Not blindly rely on luck, like a blind cat catching a dead mouse.

And during the refining process, it was all too easy to accidentally create extremely dangerous Dark Magic Items or creatures.

The initial fusion of matter, spirituality, and spirit could be considered an alchemical item. The correct sequence was for pure spirit to first combine with pure matter, before pure Spiritual Dimension energy was introduced at the end.

But people always got the order wrong, or introduced impure Spiritual Dimension energy. That was how Dark Magic Items came into being.

According to Merlin's Notes and the Dark Magic section of the Necronomicon.

So-called Dark Magic was a special power produced by the fusion of the Spiritual Dimension and the mental dimension.

As for how exactly they fused, the Dark Magic section of the Necronomicon explained it... More accurately, the Necronomicon devoted enormous sections to detailing the principles and mechanisms of Dark Magic.

It even included several Dark Magic spells afterward, and Voldemort's Horcruxes were among them.

It was just that the Necronomicon called them Dark Magic Anchors.

According to the Necronomicon, the strength of Dark Magic primarily came from two aspects: the strength of one's own Spiritual Dimension, and the output of the mental dimension.

Put simply, it was magical power plus emotional output.

Put even more simply, it was an explosive burst.

That was why many spells, such as the Killing Curse and the Cruciatus Curse, required extremely vile emotions to take effect.

Though Dark Magic was powerful, it harmed both others and oneself.

No wizard, not even the most evil among them, could keep their magic in a Dark Magic state for long. At best, their emotions would be affected; at worst, the power of Dark Magic would seep into the Material Dimension, causing all three dimensions to collapse and turning them into something like an Obscurus.

So battles between dark wizards often consisted of a few basic attacks as the weak pecked at each other, then when genuine fury flared, "Bang—" an explosion, followed by a few more basic attacks, and when true fury flared again, "Bang—" another explosion.

According to the chapter on Dark Magic Principles in the Necronomicon, any magical power formed from the union of emotion and magic was Dark Magic, and all possessed the trait of enduring for a long time and being difficult to destroy.

In other words, Voldemort's Horcruxes and Lily Potter's Blood Protection Charm were both Dark Magic when classified according to magical principles.

That was why Lily's Blood Protection Charm could continue protecting Harry even after her death, while the magical goldfish she had given Professor Slughorn immediately turned back into petals on the afternoon she died.

That was also why Voldemort's Horcruxes were so difficult to destroy. Only a more powerful Dark Magic force—Fiendfyre—or a special item capable of killing spiritual entities—the Basilisk's venomous fangs—could destroy them.

The difference between the two was that one was the power of love, while the other was a pure spirit of killing.

The principle behind the Patronus Charm was similar.

A Patronus's form was a wizard's form in the Spiritual Dimension, and it could also be called a spiritual entity.

Our bodies were material entities of the Material Dimension, souls were spiritual entities of the mental dimension, and Patronuses were spiritual entities.

The Patronus Charm used the power of positive emotions to empower a spiritual entity, making it semi-material or, in other words, manifest, allowing it to block Dementors, creatures of both the spiritual and mental dimensions.

This Patronus Charm could only be considered a superficial application of Dark Magic theory. It did not involve the fusion of spiritual and mental entities, and thus would not cause mutations in either the Spiritual Dimension or the mental dimension.

Thus, the Patronuses of wizards who frequently used Dark Magic did not disappear; instead, they mutated into indistinct forms.

A Dark Magic Anchor was one of the spells recorded in the Dark Magic Principles section of the Necronomicon that could allow a wizard's magic to remain in a Dark Magic state over the long term.

It involved using the power of killing to sever one's own spiritual entity, then using alchemical principles to introduce that spiritual entity into a Magical Item where the spiritual and material entities had already fused perfectly, creating a Dark Magic Anchor.

A wizard with a Dark Magic Anchor not only possessed their own spiritual entity, but could also draw upon the spiritual entity of the Dark Magic Item, as though they had gained an external high-capacity magical battery.

Besides continuously supplying the main body with Dark Magic power, this Dark Magic battery could also serve as a spiritual anchor when the main body suffered a fatal injury.

Although the main body's soul was severed from the soul within the Dark Magic Anchor, the two would establish a special connection through a Dark Magic curse.

As long as the Dark Magic Anchor existed, the main body would not truly die. So long as the spiritual entity was unharmed, the main body would remain eternally on the verge of death rather than truly dying.

Those Dark Magic Anchors were like ropes tied to the edge of a cliff. Even if he fell off the cliff, so long as the ropes remained, the main body would have a chance to rise again.

There was no limit to the number of Dark Magic Anchors. The bolder a person was, the more anchors they could have.

But someone making seven at once like Voldemort was truly rare.

Splitting off a small portion of the soul did not cause much harm, because at that point the main body's soul was still powerful and relatively whole, and was less affected by the Dark Magic Anchors.

However, as the soul was further divided, the main body's will weakened and gradually came under the influence of the Dark Magic Anchors.

Its personality would become increasingly extreme and brutal.