Murphy spotted Lucas.
She seemed to have passed out, bound at one corner of the hexagram magic circle.
"Voldemort," Murphy looked at Harry. "What are you trying to do? It can't possibly be to actually resurrect Slytherin, right?"
"Ah, Slytherin." Harry laughed. "I indeed borrowed his ritual."
Saying so, he pointed to the sarcophagus beside him. "He's right here."
Murphy looked towards the sarcophagus, his gaze penetrating the barrier of the clay coffin, revealing the mummy inside.
At that moment, the corpse was rapidly regenerating flesh and blood with the infusion of magic. Simultaneously, a deeply dark pathway opened behind the corpse. When Murphy looked through, it seemed as if he saw endless deserts, silent oceans, and a fortress vaguely visible in the mist. Beyond that, he saw a shadow.
That shadow was creeping along the channel opened by the students' magic and life, crawling from the far-off Spirit World, crossing the distance between life and death, attempting to return to the material world.
"This Chamber is Slytherin's masterpiece. He connected a small part of the Spirit World with the material world and placed his body within this Chamber."
"With sufficient power, one can break the barrier between the present world and the Spirit World, plus a small coordinate, he could locate his position from the Spirit World and use that magic channel to return here."
"Of course, this involves countless complex dark magics, even I can't fully understand, but he's about to succeed."
"When the school was established, they chose a location with the most active magic, and such places are usually closer to the Spirit World. That's why Slytherin built the Chamber here."
"And where better to find enough wizards for a human sacrifice than a school. This place gathers thousands of young wizards, who have almost no power to resist under strong magic."
Murphy looked at him. "But resurrecting Slytherin clearly isn't your goal."
He looked at a spot on the corpse that had the same magical hue as Voldemort. "Did you make this corpse into your Horcrux?"
"You can see?" Voldemort seemed surprised. "You seem to have a very unique observational ability. Harry Potter's memories mentioned a technique for magical observation, is that it?"
Murphy didn't deny but glanced at the room's arrangement. On the corners of the hexagram, besides Lucas, there were two other Voldemorts, one about sixteen, probably resurrected through the ring, and one about eighteen with blood all over his arm, the same one Murphy had encountered earlier.
And another corner held a locket, with one corner empty, and the sarcophagus seemingly moved from its central position to the last corner.
"I guess the last corner is meant for the Basilisk?" Murphy asked.
"Ah, you guessed right." Voldemort laughed. "Indeed, seven is a magical number. To accomplish this, I had to split my soul into seven parts."
"Then, let them gather magic to fill the gaps in the soul and unite them as one."
"In this way, I can break free from the constraints of this world and become the greatest wizard in history... Just like Merlin once did, become a god among wizards."
"And to achieve this, I needed a little deception."
"Merely relying on seven ordinary souls isn't enough to break through what limits our power, unless one of the souls comes from a thousand years ago, before the oath was fully widespread."
"After leaving the school, I researched more about Slytherin and finally discovered the true purpose of the Chamber. He didn't build it to cleanse the school of Muggle-borns but for his own resurrection."
"Even, I'm glad that when I was young, I didn't fully open the Chamber."
"Because, if my guess is correct, as Slytherin's heir, being his blood descendant, I would have played the role of a 'coordinate' and vessel in this ritual. If I had opened the Chamber then, I might have become his puppet."
"But, the me of today has already surpassed my ancestor. I've seen through his arrangements. I attached my soul fragment to his corpse. Slytherin will resurrect in his own body and then become my nourishment."
Murphy frowned, understanding a bit more.
Voldemort was one of the most talented wizards in history, reaching the "ceiling" of wizards early. He wanted to break this ceiling using the power of Horcruxes.
Horcruxes could revive by absorbing others' magic through certain means. Seven soul fragments meant the power of seven Voldemorts. If they could be united, in theory, the total magical power should exceed that "ceiling."
But this method was too crude and violent. To ensure success, he also made Slytherin's corpse into a Horcrux.
Since Slytherin was from a thousand years ago, not subject to that "ceiling," when Voldemort's soul fragment combined with Slytherin's soul returning from the Spirit World, it would also have the power to break through the ceiling.
Then, he would merge this soul fragment with the other fragments into his own body to achieve breakthrough.
The Horcruxes were like a loophole, allowing Voldemort to risk trying many extraordinary methods, but Horcruxes couldn't increase magical power, so he created seven. His first Horcrux, the diary, laid the foundation for magical power absorption, but merely increasing magical power might still not break the ceiling, so he turned his attention to his ancestor.
This act of resurrection through a corpse had shades of Murphy's past use of the Mind Seed on "Albert Runcorn's" corpse, then transforming Tom into Lucas.
Murphy felt it had a fair chance of success.
"Do you still intend to stop me, Professor Murphy?" Harry looked at him.
Murphy hesitated for a moment. On one hand, he was curious to see if Voldemort's operation was feasible and wanted to know if this method could break the "ceiling" as he was also subject to this restriction. Voldemort's actions could provide some reference for his own predicament.
But if he didn't stop him, Lucas and those students might be sacrificed.
After thinking it over, Murphy smiled, "You've always called me professor, are you really just Voldemort now?"
Harry was taken aback.
Just then, a lightning crow landed on Lucas's head, and in the next second, lightning burst forth, burning all the bonds around her, and then with a bang, disappeared with her from the spot.
In the end, Voldemort's actions could only serve as a reference and were not Murphy's own path. Lucas, as a "quasi-general AI," played a crucial role for him.
To risk his own things for the sake of watching a spectacle didn't seem worthwhile.
"Dammit!" Harry roared in anger, raising his wand to attack Murphy.
"Heh——"
Just then, from the sarcophagus, suddenly came a terrifying inhaling sound, followed by a withered, liver-spotted hand stretching out of the coffin.
And at that moment, Murphy sensed something.
He finally felt a hint of the Mother of Shadows' presence.
It was here!
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