Soul and Seeking Within

Room of Requirement, Avery and Alex were still struggling with the mannequin.

I've been training for almost a month, and the results are quite noticeable.

Now the two can withstand an attack by dummies for fifteen minutes, whereas a month ago, they would have been down in three minutes.

The price was that after each training session, I would lie on the ground unable to get up, as if I were dead, my chest still heaving, and my limbs no longer obeying my commands.

But the young wizards recovered quickly; they trained for two hours every night, enough to lie down three or four times.

After lying down, get up and continue practicing, then lie down again after practicing.

Hermes practiced alone on the other side; he didn't train with the other two because his skill level was far superior, and there was no point in training with them.

He heeded Regulus's advice from last time and no longer pursues killing someone with a single spell.

How to combine powerful Dark Arts with minor spells to create a combo that catches the opponent completely off guard?

He weaved through the pile of dummies, a Blood Boil forced three dummies back, then Silencio sealed two others, followed by the Tarantallegra to make the remaining ones jump, and finally finished with Disarming Charm.

The combo was executed so smoothly that the dummy couldn't react at all.

Regulus ignored them. They were adults; they should be self-disciplined. He couldn't keep urging them on all the time.

It's good that he's willing to practice; he won't say anything if he's not willing to practice, but at least for now, things are going well.

In a small room at the other end of the Training Ground, Regulus sat cross-legged on the floor.

The walls closed, isolating him from sound. He closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into the depths.

Spiritual World unfolded before him, with six stars suspended in the void, slowly rotating.

Betelgeuse burned in the farthest distance, its orange-red light intense yet steady.

That was an outburst, a power, an impulse to tear everything apart, but that impulse was contained within the Star Orbit and would not get out of control.

Bellatrix Protection the center, its silvery-white light gentle yet resolute.

That is the boundary, the bottom line, the unshakable me. It stands there, and the light of other stars must flow past it.

The Belt Stars are aligned in a line and rotate in the middle.

That is order, connection, and the rules that allow all the stars to return to their proper places. Without them, the conflict between Betelgeuse and Bellatrix would tear the entire system apart.

Saiph is in the lower right corner, still looking the same, faint and weak, just glowing.

Regulus looked at it, feeling nothing.

It's normal for there to be no change in less than a week. The competition for the Chief needs time to develop and for the impact to take time to unfold.

Regulus withdrew his gaze from Saiph and turned his attention to the glowing little man.

Ever since it became clearly visible, Regulus couldn't stop thinking about it.

It was there, glowing, motionless, like a delicate ornament.

But now that it's appeared, we can't just let it stay there forever; we have to do something about it.

But before you do anything, you need to figure out what you can and cannot do.

The things he couldn't do were very clear: he couldn't touch any of the things Voldemort had done.

Regulus thought of this, his thoughts naturally drifted to that name.

Tom Marvolo Riddle, based on the timeline, Voldemort should have already created five Horcruxes by now.

The diary, Marvolo's Ring, Slytherin's Locket, Hufflepuff's Cup, Ravenclaw's Diadem.

To maintain human form after five Soul Splitting is already Magic miracle.

Of course, it's also possible that it's no longer in human form.

Having been immersed in Dark Arts for a long time, he actively abandoned the human characteristics brought about by his Muggle bloodline.

To completely break free from Tom Riddle's shadow in appearance and become the ultimate form of Pureblood Wizards in his mind, it would be best to also resemble Salazar Slytherin's snake totem.

Regulus guessed that Voldemort was probably no longer much of a human being.

The skin may begin to appear unnaturally pale, or even develop a scaly sheen.

The nose may become flatter, tending towards the snout of a snake.

The hair is probably still there, but the pupils may become vertical slits.

Even if they haven't reached that completely inhuman state in the later stages, they're probably not far off.

It is common knowledge in the Wizarding World that a flawed soul can affect the physical body.

In his pursuit of Eternal Life, Voldemort tore his soul into pieces and stuffed them into various containers, resulting in a continuous decline in the stability of his physical body.

This path was crooked from the start.

Bloody Baron once said, Complete Soul is the best defense.

Even without those words, Regulus could not have put himself in that state.

An incomplete soul is like a house missing a load-bearing wall; no matter how magnificent the exterior, it can collapse in a storm.

Voldemort's choices were never even on his radar.

As for the pursuit of transcending death...

Regulus felt a strange mix of emotions welling up inside him as he thought about this.

Voldemort was terrified of death, so much so that he went mad and was willing to tear his own soul apart to escape.

He could understand that fear, but he couldn't empathize with it.

Regarding death, Regulus's current thought is simple: just don't get killed.

He's still young, only twelve years old. Death is far away from him, far enough away that it's not worth worrying about it now.

What does a twelve-year-old think about that transcends death?

That's something people who have lived for hundreds of years should be pondering.

Nicolas Flamel lived to be over six hundred years old before he finally decided he didn't want to live anymore. He was nothing compared to that.

It's not too late to think about it when you're 120.

When that day comes, there will naturally be a way. The Magic world is so vast, there must be ways to prolong life.

He has seen a broader worldview, knows that life has many forms, and knows that existence itself has meaning.

Voldemort's obsessive fear, in his view, was more like a kind of paranoia, a kind of madness trapped in a narrow perspective.

Regulus shook his head, banishing Voldemort from his mind, and looked back at the glowing little man.

It remained the same, standing quietly, radiating light.

Its very existence is valuable; Regulus could see it, and knew what a soul should be like: complete, solid, and radiant.

It's like having a standard mental image; no matter what happens in the future, he can refer to this image to see if his soul has been Transfiguration, damaged, or polluted.

Knowing the standards helps prevent deviations.

But it seems to have no other function besides existing and reflecting.

Regulus stared at it, another thought popping into his mind.

What if it could grow up?

The growth from the level of the soul makes its light brighter, its form more solid, and its inner power greater.

He didn't know exactly what a stronger soul would bring, but there must be some benefits.

Greater Spellcasting skills? Deeper understanding of Magic? Better mental defense? More acute Magic Perception? More stable Magic Power control?

The book mentions it somewhat, but those statements are too broad.

The strength of a wizard's soul determines their potential; a powerful soul can carry more complex Magic.

It sounds reasonable, but upon closer inspection, it's too vague.

Just how strong is considered strong? And what is the principle behind bearing Magic?

These can be verified after the soul has grown stronger. The question now is, how do we make it grow stronger?

When Magic Power flows towards it, will it absorb it?

Regulus tried to channel a wisp of Magic Power towards the little figure.

The Magic Power drew closer, but the little figure didn't react. They continued to approach, but still no reaction.

Upon touching the edge of the little man, the Magic Power passed through him like passing through a ball of light, leaving nothing behind.

Regulus reclaimed his Magic Power; this wasn't the way. What about his spirit?

Could we give it those things honed through Star Orbit Meditation?

He tried to send a wisp of his spirit towards the little man, but with the same result, it passed right through.

It seems to exist in a different dimension; neither Magic Power nor spirit can reach it.

Regulus frowned.

So how does it grow?

Will it gradually become stronger on its own?

Just as his Magic Power, spirit, and will increased with each rotation of the Star Orbit Meditation, was this little figure also growing in sync?

It's possible, but it hasn't changed now.

Regulus continued to let his thoughts wander, and he thought of his Arcturus Black.

The ancestor who lived to be 137 years old, but ultimately went mad, left this warning at the end of his notebook. "The container is too sturdy; what's inside can't get out. I've trapped myself."

Regulus still believes his theory is correct.

Arcturus over-strengthened his physical body, making the vessel so solid that it imprisoned his inner soul, preventing it from escaping or interacting with the outside world, ultimately leading to mental derangement.

He didn't know exactly what method Arcturus used; it could have been some kind of Magic experiment, a special Potions, or a spell to enhance the body.

He didn't know how strong the body had to be to trap the soul, or where that critical point was.

But following this line of thought, the soul only leaves the body at the moment of death to travel to that intermediate station between life and death, a hazy, Limbo.

Is it possible for a wizard to leave their body while they are still alive?

Voldemort doesn't count.

He tore his soul into pieces, stripped them off, and stuffed them into Horcruxes; that wasn't a complete departure.

Regulus desired a complete and whole soul, temporarily leaving his still-living body.

If possible, what can I do after leaving?

Can it travel through space like Patronus?

Can it penetrate matter like a ghost?

If it could leave the body, what state would the body be in?

Like falling asleep, is consciousness temporarily blank?

Or is he completely lost in thought, showing no response to his surroundings?

Can the soul truly transcend the body?

Can something act upon the objective world in an external form?

Regulus had no answer.

These questions are too profound, possibly touching upon the most fundamental aspects of Magic, and perhaps even Dumbledore and Voldemort didn't fully understand them.

But he couldn't help thinking about it; he thought of Voldemort and the Horcruxes.

Voldemort used souls as tools, tearing them apart and hiding them in objects in order to escape death.

But that path grew weaker and weaker with each step, and more and more fragmented with each division.

Horcruxes are objects that carry souls, but what about the reverse?

Can the soul carry an object?

If possible, can the soul bear the weight of an object?

Once an object enters the soul's body, can it, in turn, influence the soul?

Thinking deeper, could we nurture an object within our soul, allowing it to grow alongside the soul?

As the soul grows stronger, the tools also become more powerful, forming a symbiotic relationship between the two?

Regulus didn't know, but one thing was certain: even if it were feasible, it would require a soul strong enough to bear it.

These thoughts raced through his mind, and then he realized—

Whether it's feeding the soul to make it grow, imagining the possibility of the soul leaving the body, or considering the feasibility of the soul carrying an object.

These are all examples of seeking solutions within oneself.

It is about exploring oneself, strengthening oneself, and making one's inner essence more solid, brighter, and more powerful.

But it's too early to think about these things now. Let's try to raise it first. As for how to raise it, we still need to figure that out.

There's always a story behind Cola, waiting for you to uncover it.