A Gift for Death

Vatican

Confidential Archives

Located in a corner of the Borgia Courtyard.

As a forbidden area rarely visited by outsiders, the archives have 84 kilometers of bookshelves and 35,000 volumes of catalogs available for reference only.

While it may not be as numerous as the United States Library of Congress, most of the books in its archives are out of print.

It can be said that this place houses the world's largest collection of ancient books and rare artifacts.

Besides state documents, correspondence, papal ledgers, and documents accumulated by the church over hundreds of years, there are also many... banned books!

For example, Galileo's original manuscript of "Dialogue," which was banned at the time, and Copernicus's "Revolutions."

Many rare and out-of-print scientific masterpieces have handwritten copies here.

Of course, as two opposing sides in the Middle Ages, the archives also contain a large number of books about wizards and magic.

This is arguably the Muggle library with the most magical books.

But these things are unlikely to see the light of day again.

Because the Vatican Secret Archives are off-limits to outsiders.

Although you can submit an application to view the documents, the archives will only provide photocopies.

The most important things are no longer in the publicly available catalog.

However, a sixteen-year-old boy appeared outside this Restricted Section.

Tom was carrying a handwritten copy of the Karaba Mysticism text, the Book of Splendour, and was wearing a small round cap, a traditional Catholicism purple robe, and a white tunic.

He stepped onto the deserted Via della Fondamenta leading to the archives and easily entered the building.

The archives were forbidden territory for others, but for him, they became the perfect refuge.

Not only can it avoid wizards and Muggle, but it can also evade the old man who calls himself "Slytherin".

That old man probably never dreamed he'd be hiding in the Vatican Secret Archives— the lair of the wizards' enemies!

Tom walked through the dimly lit doorway and into the inner room through the arched entrance.

He took a deep breath.

To preserve the precious books, the sealed archive room has a very low oxygen level, almost like a vacuum.

Just over ten minutes earlier, he had already taken control of the Muggle guards and turned on the oxygen supply system.

Tom walked toward the transparent storage room, where each bookshelf had a red indicator label at one end.

Finally, in the Judaism ghetto, he put the Kabbalah back on their original shelves.

Kabbalah is a branch of Judaism that requires its followers to adhere to rigorous meditation processes and a strict ascetic lifestyle.

The most famous of these is the Kabbalistic Tree of Life.

According to Slytherin, Prehistoric Mysteries were scattered throughout these religious texts.

The Kabbalah's Book of Creation and Book of Light contain some of this knowledge.

After returning from the Underworld, Tom didn't want to go back to Constantinople for a while; he needed to find another place to study.

The Vatican's secret archives are a hidden treasure trove for Tom.

After sorting the books, Tom sat down in a chair and took out a strangely shaped Soul-Gathering Coffin.

Inside the coffin flowed ghost water, from which eight souls swam.

The largest piece was larger than all the other soul fragments combined.

In the neighboring Rome Wizarding News, Tom saw the news that Stark and Dumbledore had killed Voldemort.

He then used the Soul-Gathering Coffin to summon his original soul.

The remaining five pieces are of varying sizes, but the differences are not significant, placing them in the second tier.

This is a fragment of the soul from one of the five Horcrux.

There are also two smaller fragments, almost imperceptible... which are the two pieces of soul that appeared one after the other on Harry's forehead.

At this moment, Tom has collected all of his souls.

What he needs to do is to return to oneness and regain his complete soul.

The process of creating Horcrux is evil, but that doesn't mean it's reversible or irreversible.

Wizards can create Horcrux, and they can also remove Horcrux.

The key to both processes lies in "repentance".

To create Horcrux, the wizard must first intentionally commit murder.

Killing in self-defense or to protect others is not enough; one must commit murder intentionally and deliberately, without feeling any remorse for it.

To remove the Horcrux and restore the soul, one must truly reflect on one's actions and then... repent.

However, the pain of repentance can destroy the Horcrux maker.

In Tom's opinion, it wasn't that difficult.

So-called repentance... in the eyes of a shaman who had learned the mysteries of Prehistoric Mysteries, was nothing more than the use of emotional power.

Similar to the power of "love".

The key is the kind of pain that's enough to kill a wizard... Tom can resurrect infinitely, so if he dies, he dies.

He was even somewhat smug, as he planned to visit a Catholicism holy site to repent for his killings.

And here he was resurrected, his soul made whole... Doesn't that have a bit of Jesus vibe?

It's so ceremonial!!

After becoming a high-ranking member of the Scourers in the United States and having some fun, Tom suddenly had another idea and decided to become the Pope.

Finally, in his capacity as Pope, he launched a holy war against the wizarding world, a modern-day "Crusade"!

Isn't that wonderful?!

But Tom underestimated the horror of splitting eight soul fragments.

It was a torment akin to being consumed by karmic fire.

The moment he began to repent, his entire body felt as if it were engulfed in Fiendfyre. From the moment he knelt down to the moment he collapsed to the ground, it was only a matter of a split second.

His magical power abruptly ceased, and this excruciating pain was a hundred times more terrifying than the soul being torn apart when creating Horcrux.

Severing Horcrux is equivalent to a cesarean section.

The restoration of the soul is more like scraping the bone without anesthesia.

It was as if a size 43 foot was being forcibly shoved into a size 30 iron shoe.

And there's the torment of the soul... Tom can feel the resentment of the souls he killed devouring his own.

Tom struggled to lift his head, his internal organs churning as if in a turbulent storm.

He stretched out a hand with a pitiful and difficult effort, grabbed the magic wand tightly, and immediately killed himself.

After he was resurrected, his withered and sickly complexion instantly regained its rosy hue.

Tom lay on the ground, panting heavily.

The first time, it really hurt.

But he was mentally prepared and immediately began his second attempt.

If he doesn't even dare to continue, is he still the Dark Lord?

This time, he held on for three minutes, and Tom killed himself again.

Perhaps some things will hurt the first time, but will become more comfortable after a while... but that definitely doesn't include the restoration of the soul.

Tom died 4,396 times, from morning till night, and under this repeated torment, he finally succeeded.

Tom's dejected expression slowly faded, and he lay on the ground, drenched in sweat, and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

He was finally whole again, resurrected from the diary after five long years, and was no longer that sixteen-year-old fragment of soul.

Most importantly... the memories of all souls were constantly being poured into Tom's mind.

The sudden influx of memories threw his mind into disarray.

While a complete soul cannot directly grant immense power, making one instantly as powerful as the original body, it can grant access to all of the original body's memories.

He will be able to regain control of that magical knowledge, that obscure and powerful Dark Magic, given time.

Tom Riddle slowly stood up from the ground.

At this moment, he possessed a restrained aura, exceptional intelligence, immortality, and all of Voldemort's memories from the past seventy years...

This is the most powerful Tom Riddle, the most perfect Dark Lord!!

Tom's lips curled into a smile, as if he were about to rule the world once again.

He will kill Dumbledore, Stark, Slytherin... one by one.

Tom was dreaming of a bright future when the smile on his lips suddenly froze.

From the depths of the "archives room," applause suddenly rang out, and a tall, elderly man dressed in a cardinal's robe slowly walked out.

"Tom, long time no see. Now that you've returned to this world, why are you hiding here?"

Have you forgotten what you promised me?

The old man looked at Tom as if he were looking at a work of art he had created himself.

Now that the artwork is complete, it is time to offer it to Death as a gift.

(P. S. Horcrux are reversible, allowing the soul to be restored to its original form. This was mentioned by Hermione in the original book, and it's not my own interpretation.)

The Deathly Hallows:

"Is there any way to make myself whole again?" Ron asked.

"Yes," Hermione said with a dry laugh, "But it's extremely painful."

"Why? And how?" Harry asked.

"Repent," Hermione said. "You must truly feel what you've done. There's a footnote in the book that seems to suggest that this kind of pain can destroy you."

During the final battle, Harry also persuaded Voldemort to repent.