novelraw Chapter 1002: An Unending Search For Happiness - Kai’s Patronus! (III)
Chapter 1002: An Unending Search For Happiness - Kai’s Patronus! (III)
Harry looked at the redness that had spilled out of Black, taking the form of a giant serpent.
Calling it a giant serpent was a mistake, though.
Harry still remembered fighting the Basilisk only half a year ago. Now that had been a true giant serpent, towering dozens of feet in size like a monster from dreadful myths.
This red serpent with yellow, slitted eyes... made the Basilisk look like a worm.
It was so big, in fact, that despite the classroom already being a huge one, it barely fit the red serpent’s head.
But its size wasn’t the most striking characteristic about it.
It was the intention that this serpent carried.
Harry felt small, inconsequential, and unwanted... It was as if he were looking at a God who cared not whether he even existed. There was a primal urge within Harry, he realized. An urge, which kept telling him this was the time to let his knees fall and put his head down.
As if that wasn’t enough, then there was this distinct feeling...
Harry was a Parselmouth and had always had a special connection with serpents.
In this moment, he could also feel that special connection toward the red serpent.
And that, in itself, was the most ridiculous feeling because the red serpent formed of red, magical mist was supposed to be a Patronus!
Harry was horrified.
For himself and for his friend.
The red glow of the mist was so blinding and thick that he couldn’t even see Black anymore.
And yet, despite using a Spell named Brave Heart, Harry couldn’t step forward to approach Black at all.
Because every time he even thought of it, the Spell showed him a future.
A future that he had already seen happening to the fake Dementor!
...
Lord Black Phoenix stared at the bloody Patronus, the Despair he kept buried in his heart stirring up involuntarily.
Others might not be able to tell, but he had seen it happening right in front of his eyes.
The Patronus was a projection of one’s positive emotions.
Where other wizards focused on the positive emotions’ part, he had gone a step further, focusing on the projection part, too.
There was a reason that a Patronus was called a Projection, as you needed a medium to project it.
No wizard, no matter how magnificent or ancient one was, had succeeded in casting a Patronus with such a medium, be it using a Wand, a Scepter, etc.
He had tried it as well, many times.
Yet, even after gaining these... powers, he had failed.
But Black?
The boy had not used a Wand...
Lord Black Phoenix had clearly smelled blood when the boy had cast the Patronus Charm.
The projection hadn’t left the boy’s wand, but his entire body — from every pore — from his blood.
[A memory so strong that...] The Half-Deep One from Avalon cried in His chosen’s mind. [... it... briefly turned the boy into a...]
"What?" Lord Black Phoenix asked. "Turned into what?"
But the Phoenix didn’t reply. [You must not know... Convince the boy to not use this kind of Patronus again...]
Dumbledore tried to look at the boy hidden under the thick, bloody mist.
Suddenly, just as he was about to act on that intention, those large, yellow-slitted eyes turned toward him, and a shiver ran down his spine.
...
[How dare you, Death?!] Timeline screamed. [How dare you?! Have you lost all your sanity for revenge? Has your ego turned you blind?! You! The Artificer! How could you have ignored the warnings of the Great Old Contract?!]
Death kept quiet.
They had come to witness Nyarlathotep make a mockery of himself.
It was especially so for Death, who had been itching to make His scion remember his place after the last time the youngster had dared to raise his voice against Him.
No matter how special an Outer One His scion was, one could not just insult a Deep One and get away with it.
That’s why He hadn’t warned the Item that his little tricks to earn a Patronus wouldn’t work. Not this time. Not how he intended it. Let him suffer, Death had decided. Let him remember all his life the consequences of not knowing his place.
Now...
Death regretted it.
It would have been better if He had written the entire procedure to obtain a Patronus for His scion, like a Potion’s recipe. Perhaps then he wouldn’t have... ended up doing something like this.
[SPEAK!] Timeline demanded.
Death could understand Timeline’s wrathful demand.
Because of what happened with His scion just now, the Timeline stood the greatest chance of suffering its consequences as it happened under Her authority.
He? Well... He would merely lose a chunk of His authority when this unusual Timeline ceased to exist.
But He didn’t want to lose it. Not this Timeline.
This Timeline was His only means to step beyond a Deep One’s restrictions.
This Timeline was destined to be part of another Bubble — a Nyarlathotep’s Bubble — and thus it would be His connection to a vast hold of powers; powers that a Deep One of an ordinary Bubble like Him couldn’t reach normally... no matter the passing of time.
[Did you tell him about it?] Timeline asked. The sharpness in Her voice had abated, sensing Death’s unusual silence. [You... didn’t. Then... Then how?!]
[I think...] Death suggested, staring at the crying boy. [... we best ignore it.]
[WHAT?!]
[I mean it,] Death said, now more firmly. [Let’s stop intervening with Nyarlathotep’s fate anymore. In manipulating fate... We might be getting manipulated, too.]
[...] Timeline gasped.
Death vanished, leaving behind a warning. [Consider yourself lucky,] The words rang for Timeline and Timeline alone. [At least you are on his side...]
...
Black let his tears fall.
The Ad Infinitum had shut down totally.
The Calm had retreated, giving way to other emotions.
He stared at Red’s big, yellow eyes... looking back at him... with that same gaze.
There was no Notification regarding a Milestone. Nothing about a Patronus Charm. Not even something about an extraordinary feat.
Other than his Master Selfless Breathing’s Proficiency rising from 20% to 25%, which had nothing to do with Magic, there was absolutely no reaction.
But that didn’t matter.
All Black wanted to do in this moment was to look in those eyes... and remember the past.
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