"Failed again."
Cyrus watched the potion in the cauldron gradually decay from bright red to black, unable to keep his frustration at bay.
He had lost count of how many times he had failed to create the Philosopher's Stone. That did not even include the failures he had simulated in his memories beforehand.
He had strictly followed Nicolas's notes and the twenty-two procedures he had compiled from other people's experiences, yet the result was still failure.
"What secrets does The Book of the Jew Abraham still hold? What variables were present when Nicolas Flamel created the Philosopher's Stone that even he never knew about? And what exactly is this so-called essence?"
He felt countless mysteries springing up in his mind, one after another. His head felt ready to burst!
Cyrus knew that even if he kept thinking now, he probably would not find an answer. He would only be wasting time. With a wave of his hand, he made everything inside the Room of Requirement disappear.
Since he was making no progress with alchemy for the moment, he might as well practice his spells first.
He took out forbidden books such as The Book of the Red Dragon, The Book of Solomon, The Book of Raziel, and the Complete Book of Dark Curses...
These books were forbidden partly because they contained powerful, terrifying magic, but the designation also reflected how obscure and difficult they were to understand. Fortunately, Cyrus's talent in this area was considerably stronger than his talent for alchemy.
The Book of the Red Dragon described a method for resurrecting the dead, but after analyzing it, Cyrus discovered that it was actually just a means of creating Inferi. The dead it "resurrected" could not be considered truly alive again.
Voldemort's memories already contained the method for creating Inferi.