"I accept," Asterion replied, his red eyes fixed on Salazar moving in the portrait. His voice was firm and indifferent.
Regarding the low survival rate of awakening his second innate technique, Asterion was neither afraid nor worried. Baskerville's purpose was to give his life for him if anything happened; he could transfer all the damage to Baskerville in a critical moment.
Thus, there was no way he would refuse power, especially after seeing Rose's growth rate. All his hard work seemed unworthy compared to her talent.
He needed power, even more power, to achieve his goal: a pure world without monsters, a world where his children with Daphne could be normal kids without the risk of being killed on some stupid mission issued by power-blinded old men.
"Very well, if that is your will, I shall respect it." Salazar showed a cold smile and responded in a calm tone. He waved his right hand, and with his gesture, the entire living room began to change, as if someone were swapping one LEGO piece for another, transforming the entire place.
It took only a few moments to change the entire surroundings. What lay before Asterion was no longer a cozy living room but a cold medieval laboratory filled with tubes, cylinders, and a central examination table.
Asterion couldn't comprehend how an animated portrait could still possess so much power, even if it was merely a set of memories.
"I could anesthetize you and your five predecessors, but believe me when I say it wouldn't help, not when your body, mind, and soul will be operated on simultaneously," Salazar spoke. Three gigantic silver metal claws descended from the ceiling and stopped above the examination table, each claw holding a wand, three in total.
"Take off your clothes and lie on the bed, Noble Son Black. We will begin." Moving all three massive claws, each holding a wand, Salazar spoke, his tone devoid of any emotion, resembling a cold and unfeeling machine.
Asterion unbuttoned his jacket, then, after removing it, he folded it and placed it on a metal bench. The Black heir did the same with all his clothes.
Now unclothed, he lay on the cold examination table and looked up, where the enormous metal claws moved with almost shocking precision.
In Asterion's mind, Salazar's portrait seemed more like an AI than a set of memories placed in a portrait. He supposed there was an energy and control core in the animated portrait, which it could use to control and change things.
But he had no time to think further, as a metal syringe was inserted into his neck, injecting a liquid into his veins, causing extreme discomfort.
Asterion didn't need to ask what was injected into him, as Salazar had already provided the answer in the following moment.
"Phoenix tears with other regenerative medicines." His cold voice reverberated through the laboratory.
At the same time, sturdy straps restrained Asterion, completely immobilizing him, including a gag in his mouth. This measure was to prevent him from thrashing too much during the surgery.
A petrifying spell couldn't be used, as it would alter the body's rigidity, making the operation more difficult.
"Beginning operation," the cold voice echoed again, and then all three gigantic claws approached Asterion.
Salazar spoke to himself while the first of the three claws opened Asterion's skin, revealing the veins beneath the skin and muscles. Each cut was so surgically precise that the veins remained intact, with blood still circulating within them.
While the first claw opened the skin to expose the veins, the second claw opened Asterion's skull, revealing the brain. The third claw was the most mysterious, as it was operating on his very soul. A spiritual body identical in appearance to Asterion's floated beside the physical body.
Like the physical body, the spiritual body had its skin opened and its veins exposed.
"From a very young age, I always asked myself several questions that my incompetent tutors never knew how to answer. What are Innate Techniques and why do they manifest? What is magic and how can our bodies contain this energy capable of altering reality itself? And finally, what are cursed spirits and why are they born solely from human emotions?"
"I spent 254 years studying these three questions. My companions helped me on this long journey for the truth. Rowena, in particular, fascinated me with her thirst for truth. She was the only woman who dared to stand out in a male-dominated world. Having a different reproductive organ never affected her reasoning and judgment; she was terribly cold and calculating. We spent hours together in a laboratory, experimenting with our discoveries on monsters and humans."
"After hundreds of years of studies and experiments, Rowena theorized that there are different overlapping planes, like layers above our world, each representing a different world full of infinite mystery and possibility."
"A fascinating theory that could explain the origin of magic. Naively, many wizards think that magic is in the air, a misconception started by a Greek wizard who concluded that the air we breathe was full of magic. But with Rowena's theory, the question arises of how our bodies can contain this energy and use it effectively, and how this Spiritual Plane, as she called it, is connected to our bodies."
"The more questions were answered, the more arose—almost as if there was no end to the quest for truth. However, this did not discourage Rowena and me; on the contrary, it fascinated and motivated us to press on."
Asterion listened to everything while his body, mind, and soul seemed to scream in agony—a pain so intense that it made the sensation of being crushed by a truck seem almost insignificant. Yet, he listened to all of Salazar's words with pleasure, for they opened a window of thought he had never considered before.
"After two hundred years, we concluded that Innate Techniques are essentially what we desire deep in our hearts, a physical manifestation of magic imprinted on our body, mind, and soul. A miracle that few possess in this world; about 10% of wizards have an Innate Technique, while 90% do not."
"However, even after more than two hundred years of studies and experiments, I could not solve the enigma of how the Innate Technique is passed from generation to generation. How one person's desires can transfer to their offspring remains a mystery."
"But we discovered that the Innate Technique acts almost like a mystical link, uniquely connecting our physical bodies to the Spiritual Dimension in a much deeper way, which in turn feeds our magical energy reserves. This explains why wizards without an Innate Technique do not possess as much talent as those who do. Those who possess it are more deeply connected to the Spiritual Dimension."
"At the end of my life, I theorized that it was possible to awaken the dormant Innate Technique within a wizard, even to awaken other Innate Techniques within a single body. This was only possible because I met a wizard named Herpo, the creator of the Horcrux; he was still alive after so long. His Innate Technique consists of seeing and manipulating souls. He created the spell to extract the soul from a physical body, the same one I am using now."
Despite the pain he was feeling, Asterion almost immediately thought of the person who was using Mustafa's body, especially after hearing his words while they fought.
"Herpo had an interesting theory. Unlike Rowena and me, he believed that magic had a single origin, a primordial root that connected everything. He wanted to reach the root and become one with magic. An interesting theory, but full of flaws due to his arrogance."
Salazar continued to speak without pause while manipulating the three metal claws with a mastery worthy of one of the most famous wizards of all time.
"Unfortunately, my research was disrupted. Helga and Godric discovered my experiments with human subjects. Both were furious upon discovering such experiments. After a long discussion, I left Hogwarts and all my legacy in the Chamber of Secrets. Naturally, the blame for all the experiments fell on me, something I did on purpose, Rowena should not bear the infamy I had. Not when she represented all the witch women who would be born in the future, where all looked up to her, creating an ideal model for witch women."
Looking at the nearly fully opened and blood-covered body on the operating table, Salazar couldn't help but show a satisfied expression. Despite a pain a thousand times more intense than any other, young Asterion only trembled and emitted occasional groans of pain.
Compared to his son and the other five test subjects, Asterion was faring better. The surgery was going so well that Salazar was surprised; for the first time, he saw a possibility of success.
Salazar wondered why his own children lacked such determination and courage—they were unworthy of carrying his name and legacy. Fortunately, after a thousand years of waiting, he would likely have a worthy heir.
"Let's move to the final stage," Salazar murmured.
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Next Chapter:Chapter 83 - Salazar's Heir Slytherin (4), Chapter 84 - Sequels, Chapter 85 - Civil War (1), 86 - Civil War (2), 87 - Civil War (3), 88 - Civil War (4), 89 - Civil War (5), Chapter 90 - Civil War (6), Chapter 91 - Battlefield (1), Chapter 92 - Battlefield (2), Chapter 93 – Conflicts on the Battlefield (1), Chapter 94 – Conflicts on the Battlefield (2), Chapter 95 - The War Intensifies (1), Chapter 96 - The War Intensifies (2), Chapter 97 - The Death of Voldemort (1), Chapter 98 - The Death of Voldemort (2) And end of the first volume.
Next Chapter Second Volume: Chapter 99 – Decision (1), Chapter 100 – Decision (2), Chapter 101 – Decision (3), Chapter 102 - The Black Sisters (1), Chapter 103 - The Black Sisters (2).