HP: Embrace the Darkness

Nico was panting harder and harder.

Asseth looked on and was worried that he would not be able to catch his breath and go directly to the kingdom of death.

Fortunately, Nico knew his body very well. After taking a few hard breaths, he deliberately adjusted his breathing, and his breathing calmed down again.

"Eternal life may be mankind's greatest curse."

Nico said the last sentence solemnly, looked at Asseth deeply, and without asking for an answer, turned and walked towards a room.

Aces stood behind him, looking at his shaky back, and suddenly spoke.

"I'm not looking for eternal life."

Nico's footsteps paused, and Aces' voice was still coming from the corridor.

"Rather than enjoying endless loneliness forever, I would rather live in the present and love what I love."

When Nico lifted his steps again, he felt a little more brisk and relieved.

Aces waited until he walked into the room and closed the door before turning and going downstairs.

The downstairs area was still the same as before. Melos saw Asses coming down and greeted him warmly.

The wooden man Jack had already brought a cup of tea and placed it in front of Asseth's seat. The hot steam rose up, blurring Merloth's expression.

Asseth raised the alarm bell in his heart to the highest level and calmly walked back to his seat and sat down, "What did Mr. Mellors say in the letter before...?"

Mellors was not surprised at all by Arthur's directness, "What answer do you want to know first?"

"What do you know first?"

Aces' voice was inaudible, and then he looked straight at Mellors with calm eyes.

"How about we first confirm the title issue. How should I call you, Mr. Mellorth or...Mr. Merlin?"

When his identity was revealed by one word, a hint of confusion flashed in Melloris's eyes.

Asses, who was always wary of him, naturally did not miss the shock in his eyes.

"It seems I was right, Mr. Merlin."

He smiled politely.

Melos suddenly laughed and said, "You are really smart. Tell me how you guessed it."

As he spoke, white light emerged from his body.

The white light faded, and an old man with a white beard appeared exactly as he remembered it. His clothes had not changed, but he was missing a crutch.

"What's a crutch? It's called a staff! Like your wand, it's a wizard's partner in casting spells."

Very good, you can really bypass the obstruction of alchemy tools and see his deliberately revealed thoughts.

Aces lowered his eyes without any trace and quickly cleared the things in his mind.

"I didn't guess it. It was just a test. I won't suffer any loss whether it is yes or no."

While gathering his thoughts, Asseth didn't forget to answer Merlin's question just now.

"Good boy, your growth over the years has been amazing." The old man was surprised.

The little guy who was so young at the time was now able to test his identity head-on.

"Go on, what else do you want to know?"

Asseth pursed his lips, and his eyes fell on Merlin's face, erratic, and the calm expression just now was unconsciously filled with a hint of unwillingness.

"Why? Why must he die?"

Merlin was silent for a while. He naturally knew who Asses was talking about, but...

"Ugh……"

Merlin let out a long sigh and answered the question incorrectly.

"Don't you realize it yet? Your existence is more important than his, so you can't die."

"...Maybe you have noticed it, but you just don't want to believe this fact."

The old man's wise eyes were accumulated over endless years. In just one look, he could easily see through Asses's eyes and see through the problems he had been avoiding these days.

Arthur's hand, which was casually placed on the sofa, was clenched tightly at some point. Relying on the tingling pain in his palm, he suppressed the illusion and despair that surged in his mind.

However, Merlin's next words directly shattered Ass's hopes these days.

"You can't die, so he has to die."

"There is a certain amount given by fate. You understand the principle of equal exchange better than I do. And if you want to save him, the price you need to pay is too high, and you can't afford it."

"You were able to save Dumbledore because you became a node and directly affected his future. But Snape is not. If you want to save him, you have to die, and you may not even be able to save him."

Can't be saved?

Aces lowered his head as if in despair, his expression blocked by his scattered hair, and no one noticed that the redness in his eyes spread, almost turning into blood red.

Merlin sighed again.

"If you don't believe what I say, something will happen to Cedric at Hogwarts next year. You can try to save him. The cost of saving him will not be more than one-fifth of Snape's at most. You can try. Can you afford it?”

"If you can't, you'd better give up early."

"You don't want anything to happen to me because of Sif? Why? What is your relationship with...?"

Aces' eyes were red, but he calmly raised his head and grabbed the information Merlin inadvertently revealed and asked Merlin.

Merlin was a little surprised that Artes could remain calm and sharp in his thoughts despite such violent mood swings, but he still quickly gave the answer.

"Because you're important, just like me."

"Do you know how wizards cast spells?"

Merlin continued without waiting for Asseth's answer, "What you said is correct or not. To me, a wizard casting a spell is just an input of instructions."

Asseth's mind was spinning wildly, thinking about what Merlin's words meant.

"You mean, there is something that is receiving instructions and giving feedback?"

He struggled to come to his conclusion.

"You are very smart." Merlin gave Asseth an appreciative look.

"I remember that Muggles have a new thing called the Internet. Do you know anything about that?"

"A little bit." Asseth nodded.

"The principle is actually similar. It's like there is a general server in the wizarding world. For each spell, as long as the wizard recites the specified spell and uses the specified gesture to input the command, after the server responds, the spell will be cast from the wand. ." Merlin explained.

"What about the magic riot when the wizard was a child? What about the silent wandless spell?"

"The magic power comes from the wizard's body, but the magic spell does not. As for the silent and wandless spell, do you know the shortcut keys? You are a silent and wandless spellcaster yourself. You should know that in the end, the silent and wandless spell only directly bypasses gestures and spells. Manipulate magic."

Merlin quickly answered.

This statement is both the same and different from the current understanding of magic by wizards.

Aces fell silent, thinking about Merlin's words.

Merlin continued: "A long time ago, every time a wizard cast a spell, he needed to mobilize his magic power, move it according to the effect he wanted, and issue the corresponding magic spell."

"Such a spell is indeed powerful, but it takes time. Not everyone can do it as easily as you, so a wizard created such a server for the wizarding world."