Chapter 64: Life for a life

The black energy disappeared, and the soul with Voldemort's face returned to the crown.

Cyrus knew that his plan had succeeded, that he had almost deceived Voldemort himself.

Of course, this is actually very easy. After all, his existence means that he himself is a Horcrux.

No matter how cautious Voldemort was, he probably wouldn't have thought that his Horcrux would be taken away from him.

As for Cyrus, he didn't have to go to so much trouble, but he didn't intend to use a good thing like the crown just once. Naturally, one must be cautious when accompanying Voldemort. At least while the crown is still on his head, he must be "Riddle".

Fortunately, Tom Riddle's Occlumency is still very powerful. Even Dumbledore couldn't see through his mind back then. Cyrus has absorbed all of Riddle's magical knowledge, and he will naturally not slack off when it comes to useful magic like Occlumency.

Cyrus didn't go anywhere and opened the "Jewish Book of Abraham" directly on the spot.

This is a copper book with only twenty-one pages in total. Only every seventh page is marked with a page number, and the page numbers are also distributed "seven" page no. three times.

In alchemy, three and seven are both very special numbers.

Among them, three may represent "triple greatness", that is, repeating greatness three times.

"Perhaps this means that a certain element needs to be sublimated three times."

There is no doubt that this element is mercury.

But that alone is obviously not enough. Cyrus previously tried to reach the perfect world with three pillars, ten essences, four worlds and twenty-two paths, but ultimately failed.

"Is there something missing?"

"What ever it is, it's a very crucial point!"

He looked at several pictures imprinted on the book. Two intertwined snakes, one being swallowed by the other, represented the fusion of matter; the second picture, a snake nailed to a cross; the third picture, a desert. The snakes gushing out of the spring in the middle...

What does the snake mean?

Is it mystery, taboo, or immortality itself?

The shed snake skin symbolizes the decayed body. Is what is born from it a new life?

This constant alternation, over and over again, leads to eternal life. Like a basilisk, it has existed for nearly a thousand years, but is still far away from death.

Maybe he should add something snake-related to the potion, such as the basilisk's snake slough?

On the road leading to the secret room, there is a huge basilisk's snake slough. The basilisk itself is a product of magic. Its snake slough also has many effects. It has extremely powerful magic resistance and can be used to make armor. However, The most important thing is that the snake slough has always been a symbol of immortality and rebirth. What if the snake slough of the basilisk is added to the process of making the Philosepher's stone?

"Add snake slough? Do you really think that you can refine a unique magic stone?" The soul in the crown laughed, "I don't know when you were so naive. If I hadn't watched you being made with my own eyes, I'm afraid I'll have to wonder if you are actually me."

"What do you mean?" Cyrus felt a sudden thought and asked in a deep voice.

But Voldemort didn't actually have any suspicion, he just thought it was a bit funny.

To actually interpret the contents of those pictures as snake shedding is simply an insult to the Dark Lord's reputation.

Or is it because I was too young when I made the Horcrux of the diary, so the other person's soul was too naive?

"You actually ask me what I mean? The snakes devouring each other, the snakes nailed to the cross, the man who raised an iron ax to chop at the feet of Hermes, the Holy Grail carrying countless blood, the slaughtered babies..."

Voldemort recited the bloody pictures word for word, especially the last picture, where a king holding a broadsword was ordering soldiers to kill many babies. The mothers of the babies knelt in front of them and begged. Next to them were some similar figures. Containers of barrels and cauldrons in which the blood of infants was collected, in which the sun and moon bathed.

"Tell me! If you want eternal life, what's the price?"

"On the scale of life, what can be measured against it?"

Voldemort's voice was like the terrifying ghost king in hell, asking the deepest questions about Cyrus' soul.

It was as if he was holding a hammer and driving the sharpest nails into the place where Cyrus had never dared to look directly, causing blood to drip from his eyes.

And there is only one answer——

"Only life!"

The price of life can only be life.

This is actually something Cyrus has already understood. If he wants to be resurrected, he must absorb a person's life force. Only when the life of the person possessed by him is completely drained, can he have the ability to affect reality.

In fact, the same is true for the production of Horcruxes.

Kill an innocent soul and forge a Horcrux.

This is the true equivalent exchange. If alchemy is a scale, then if "life" is placed on one end of the scale, the other end must also be measured with "life".

Voldemort was already familiar with this. In order to make Horcruxes, he killed too many people.

"Life is an exchange. It has been like this since ancient times. Eagles kill rabbits, snakes hunt mice, ligers hunt cattle and sheep... Only when others die can you live!"

But for Cyrus, he was trying his best to avoid killing any innocent life during his resurrection, so he sought other methods to try to recreate the Philosopher's Stone. However, the more he studied, the more he found that life was not an acceptable price. 

If this is the case, then everything he does will lose its meaning, so subconsciously he is not willing to think about it in this aspect.

However, Voldemort eventually pierced this layer of window paper ruthlessly.

At the same time, it also made Cyrus face the real truth.

Magic itself is an idealistic power. Sometimes if you want to achieve something, you don't care about spells, wands, or complicated rituals. You just need spiritual desire.

On the other hand, if you are deceiving yourself, how can you succeed in refining the magic stone?

"If you want to refine the magic stone, you must pour it with the blood of something, otherwise you will never succeed."

"But Nicolas Flamel, do you really think he is a person who can do such a bloody thing?" Cyrus asked.

"People of his time -" Voldemort just snorted. It was obvious that he did not understand all the "goodness" in this world. He might think that all kindness and justice are false, and the truth hidden underlies and deception will always be dripping with blood!

Voldemort's views are naturally paranoid, but that also means he's not entirely wrong.

Yes!

Nicolas Flamel lived for more than six hundred years. Who knows what his time was like at that time?

The further time goes forward, the more bloody and cruel civilization becomes, and this is the same even in the magical world. Six hundred years ago, even black magic was probably just ordinary magic in the eyes of people at that time.

What's more, judging from the fact that Nico has not been able to carve the Philosopher's Stone for so many years, perhaps this exchange of lives was something he himself did not notice.

"You think so?" Voldemort asked.

"I would prefer that he knew, but when it came time to try again, the prophecy was lost."

Voldemort did not think that Nicolas Flamel was an innocent person. How could a master of alchemy fail to notice such an obvious exchange of equivalents? Besides, refining the magic stone requires more than a little blood.

It is said that at a certain period, Nicolas Flamel hunted a large number of dark wizards. It is unknown whether this is true or not.

But if it is true, then he is probably preparing to refine the magic stone.

"The Jewish Book of Abraham once revealed part of its secrets to Nicolas Flamel, but after Nico successfully refined the Philosopher's Stone, that revelation disappeared."

"If so, how do we find this revelation?"

"Looking for it? No! When this book is in our hands, the revelation will be completed!" said the soul in the crown.

_____

Read 12 chapters ahead 

Patreon.com/HornyFBI