VILLAINS AREN'T BORN, BUT MADE...

As soon as the barrier was in place, the snakes collided with it. A barrage of poison, fire, wind, and various other snake spits landed on the barrier as Ryan watched them unresponsive. It wasn't long before the barrier was under constant bombardment.

'Tempus Glacius!' Ryan used his charm to stop time for everything but himself and calmly walked to the altar. He stopped before it. The snake murals on the wall and around the altar look as good as real. It was as if they were alive and might burst out anytime. "Now, what do we have here?" He took the book into his left arm and studied it closely.

The book looked ancient with a weird scaly cover like that of a snake, but Ryan sensed powerful magic coming off the book. It was freezing cold and even with his time freeze charm, the cold smoke continued to waft out of the book, chilling the entire place within seconds, enough that the ceiling even developed a few tiny icicles. All the snakes froze up in an instant and now all lay motionless on the floor like ice sculptures.

Ryan released the charm.

The cold tried to enter his body, but compared to what he went through in Azkaban and the chilly air of those Dementors, this was a walk in a park. "I wonder what's inside," Ryan looked excited and opened the first page. "OoW!" He felt a small jolt.

The book crumbled away into snow dust, revealing a glowing, dark green crystal ring, and on top of it were two pieces of rolled parchment paper, an old parchment and one slightly older, floating in the air. He felt a slight pain in his head, but he shook it off and focused on the items before him.

He took the ring and examined it closely. It looked like a simple green crystal ring at first glance, but as soon as Ryan put his necro energy into it, intricate runes appeared on its surface, revealing the true power hidden within it. The knowledge began to pour into his head and the pain intensified.

It's a Storage Ring, capable of storing his army of undeads and any items he wants including living beings. Inside it was a vast space made with space magic. The more powerful he gets, the bigger the space would be, and anything placed within the ring would never rot nor decompose. However, the best part is that he can store any two magic into the ring and set certain parameters for them to activate during certain situations.

"Nice!" Ryan was on one knee, grabbing his forehead due to the immense pain, yet that smile on his face said that the pain was worth it. "All this from a piece of information and what's next?"

He looked at the two rolls of parchment, curious to learn their secrets. The slightly aged one had strange patterns... Snakes, spiders, and various other insects and animals. As soon as Ryan touched it, the rolled scroll vanished, leaving a tattoo on Ryan's right arm. The information once again began to flow into his mind. That was a skill parchment that upon touching grants the ability to speak to almost all non-human creatures. This was no doubt extremely helpful for one such as himself.

With proper practice, Ryan should be able to converse with other animals or insects. The best part is if he is able to find mythical creatures and add them to his army, then over time, he'll have an army of animals, mythical creatures, and undeads. Or maybe hordes of rats or poisonous insects that he can unleash upon his enemies at the opportune moment.

What if there's a basilisk? Or dragon or chimeras. His grin became wider. This is no doubt an excellent skill he has.

"Haha... Getting excited just from this... Finding them is another matter, bending their will is a completely different thing... It seems another training session is coming up soon enough," Ryan mumbled to himself as his focus turned toward the last remaining parchment. "I wonder what kind of weird skill or reward you are hiding." He pulled the parchment toward him using Accio and opened it.

Inside was a parchment describing a ritual to create a new body and put any soul into it. There was a list of items and other things needed, like magical materials and rare potions or a mixture of rare plants, and the amount of knowledge required about how the new body would look. Also, the skills needed to do a proper ritual were not a normal feat to accomplish. He is nowhere near that level. But the thought of creating a perfect body without any flaws was too much enticing for him. Then again, why create only one body when he can create many?

Ryan thought for a moment as he rolled the parchment up again put it into the ring and then he put the ring on his finger. If he could create many bodies with different and more powerful features or even build his own race of life forms, how powerful would his army become?! This is such a dangerous ritual, not to mention extremely risky... But rewarding at that. All he needs to do is gather souls and enslave them to his will.

And who would refuse such an invitation to walk on earth as a living being again?

Even a soul is a greedy being. Given a chance to live again, enjoy the earthly pleasures, and be with their family or lover, how can anyone ever say no to that?

'That's probably why Necromancy is called the Path of Life because once someone takes their first step, there is no turning back and the desire to create their own path can lead them towards becoming a legendary and unique individual. Even his soul, corrupted as it is, would jump at the chance given a fresh, pure, and living vessel without the body's decay.'

Ryan sat there for a moment, resting and recovering from the pain. The snakes and everything around that place began to crumble away. It was as if a burning paper were withering away under the sun. Slowly and surely, whatever was inside this place would become undone until there was only the stone staircase leading up from the depths below and nothing else.

"Humf..." Ryan stood up with a grunt and started walking up the stairs. Before him was a gate of light blue glow as if a small waterfall and as soon as Ryan was on the top step and stretched his hand forward to pass through it, he felt a soft barrier pushing him back, and then with a pop sound, he was expelled to the other end.

.

.

Ryan opened his eyes and found himself lying on a bed. He felt something heavy on his chest and as his vision cleared, he saw a naked girl clinging on to him. Her head was on his chest. He could recognize her long curly hair anywhere.

"Uumm... Bellatrix, what are you doing?" He asked.

Bellatrix quickly sat up beside him, "You were so cold, Master. I was warming you up a bit. You have been sweating non-stop and shivering too. Are you feeling well?!"

"Ummm, yes, I'm fine. Thanks for keeping me warm," Ryan's eyes were stuck on Bellatrix's naked and perfect body. Her long curly hair covered her breasts, yet barely hiding those firm mounds as her green eyes, looked at him with surprise upon hearing a thanks from her master.

She couldn't remember the last time someone thanked her for something... She did all kinds of bad things, killed many, and destroyed many, yet, Voldemort never thanked her, nor did he give any appreciation for what she did. In his mind, he was her lord and she, his slave would obey his orders. Now, for the first time in her life, he earned a word of appreciation from her new master and the feeling was so weird and new to her that she felt a tingling sensation from deep inside her soul as that pleasant, little word spread through her ears to her brain, and slowly trickled down to her heart as it tickled her, giving her a sensation she never knew before.

Bellatrix's stone-cold heart cracked a bit.

"Huh!?" She touched her cheek. A drop of tear!

"Haha..." Ryan touched her cheek, "What's the matter? Don't tell me this is the first time someone thanked you. You know, a 'thank you' is not a bad thing. Although many prefer to receive something more than a 'thank you, which leads to a chain of other requests. See, nothing but trouble. But I meant it when I said thanks, just wanted to get that through your pretty, little head of yours," He gave her a bright and gentle smile as his hand caressed her silky smooth cheek.

"How can I shed tears before my master? Tears are signs of weakness. How can a Lestrange let her weak sideshow?" She said while sniffling and closing her eyes to avoid those gentle eyes of Ryan and that heartwarming smile. "Forgive me, Master."

It wasn't Bellatrix's fault that she grew up as a sadistic and homicidal with a psychotic personality. She was taught and encouraged to show cruelty and no emotions while killing and torturing. As time passed, her psyche darkened and turned twisted. This elitism, shared by the Malfoy and Lestrange clans, was instilled in Bellatrix since childhood. The Black family motto, toujours pur (French for "always pure"), reflects this steadfast belief in blood purity. She never shed tears because she believed emotions were a sign of her imperfect mind.

She's always been cold and ruthless.

"Don't hold them back. We all have our feelings. Tears are a sign of healing, don't shy away from them or you might crack on the inside."

Bellatrix paused and her lips formed a slight smile, "Yes, Master!"

"Come here. Lie on my chest," Ryan said as his hands slowly wrapped around her waist. She didn't resist his strong hands as his warm hands brought her closer, their two bodies pressing against each other. He embraced her tighter and she felt her skin warmed by his heat. "There's still time for dawn, let's sleep a bit."

As if it were a compulsion, Bellatrix didn't say anything as she rested her head on Ryan's muscular chest. His sweet smell mixed with sweat filled her, which aroused her feminine hormones a bit. She felt a weird tug in her heart, an unusual heat began to rise in her soul and it traveled from her womb and the way up through her chest, up her neck, and entered her brain. Her cheeks heated up, reddening a little.

She just lay on her master's chest, closing her eyes...

'When was the last time I slept peacefully without any worries? It feels as if, the more time I spend with him, the stronger these emotions are. Emotions that my soul remembers but my mind has forgotten... It's such an unusual and foreign feeling to me but it's a pleasant feeling, unlike anything I ever experienced before...'

Bellatrix fell asleep before she even noticed it.

Her soft breathing was audible now. She had fallen fast asleep, yet her tight grip on him didn't waver, as though the entire world would fall apart the moment she would release her grasp.

'So, the saying... Villains aren't born but are made... Interesting.' He couldn't help but observe her long-pursed eyelids. Her moist lashes twitched under the gleam of the ceiling candlelight. His sharp vision took in every feature of the girl, memorizing her image to memory.

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[17 advance chapters] 

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Next, Ch: 33: Moth flying toward fire

Ch: 34: A nice morning to die

Ch: 35: "Breakfast is important, Bella."

Ch: 36: Torture