Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

The image of the starry kite emerges, with silvery-white wings, star-like eyes, and a free and curious demeanor.

"Guardian Angel Spell"

The message sounded again.

"The purest embodiment of positive emotions, composed of joy, hope, and a love for life, symbolizes the softest and brightest part of your heart."

This sounds like praise, but the next sentence isn't.

"But when you summoned it, did you ever consider that you were projecting your emotions onto a magical beast?"

The image of the starry kite was magnified in my consciousness, and every feather and every ray of starlight seemed to be questioned.

"It is beautiful; it is a reflection of a certain aspect of your inner self, but a reflection is ultimately just a reflection, not the essence."

"When danger comes, you summon it and let it fight back. You entrust your responsibility of protection to an 'other' formed from your emotions."

"That's weakness."

The message was devoid of emotion, as if it were making the most objective statement.

"True protection shouldn't be left to a guardian angel; you should become the guardian angel yourself."

"To place your hopes on mythical beasts is a sign of weakness; to become an inviolable absolute darkness or absolute light is the true way to protect."

The image of the starry kite swayed slightly, as if blown by the wind.

"Can you do it? Give up summoning it, and become it yourself?"

Regulus didn't speak. He could sense that the message was about another path, but it wasn't his path.

His starry kite is a reflection of his inner self and an externalization of his emotions.

Its power lies precisely in its externality; it represents him, but it is not him.

It can go where he cannot go, do what he cannot do, and resist what he cannot resist.

Become it?

What does that mean?

Does it mean giving up places you can't go, things you can't do, and things you can't resist?

Or does it mean turning yourself into someone who can only protect others, but not anyone else?

He didn't think about the answer; he only knew that this wasn't right for him.

Moreover, absolute darkness or light?

He has thought about this problem.

After the Astronomy Tower incident and his conversation with Dumbledore, he came to the conclusion that what he wanted was to achieve extreme results through gentle means.

He still thinks that way now.

If he had a choice, he would want absolute power, so that he could be both in darkness and in light.

Regulus had barely stabilized the shockwaves from the impact on his guardian deity, and before he could even catch his breath, the core tentacles reached out into another area.

His spatial magic, which he was very proud of.

"Spatial warp".

The message resurfaced, calm, objective, and devoid of any emotion.

"You observe house-elves and discover that they can disappear and reappear out of thin air. You deduce that it is the principle of spatial folding, and then you imitate it to develop a version that belongs to humans."

Regulus remained silent, but the word "human" stirred something within him.

The voice didn't use the term "wizard"; it was speaking of humans.

"But have you ever considered that house-elves can do this because their magic is different from that of humans?"

That's not a skill learned through study; it's a talent ingrained in our blood. What you're imitating is merely the surface, far from the essence.

The information continued to spread, touching upon the structure of the spell in his consciousness.

"You use magic to forcibly fold space and make two points stick together, which is indeed effective, but inefficient."

With each warp, you're fighting against the elasticity of space, which tries to return to its original state. You're holding it down, so you need a cooldown period, and therefore you can't use it continuously.

You're imitating the talents of house-elves, which is a shortcut through bloodline, not the opening of a path. You've only learned how to do it, but never truly understood why you can.

The spatial anchor spell was also touched.

"This tradition comes from your family. Your ancestors spent a lot of effort to solidify it and leave it to you, their descendants."

You inherited it, used it, and combined it with your spatial warp to achieve spell teleportation.

"But have you asked yourself? If you stripped away the Blake name, if no one left this legacy for you, could you have gotten this far on your own?"

Regulus remained silent.

"You're piecing together two borrowed things to create a new application, which is indeed a form of creation, but it's still a combination, not a fusion."

The core message became more profound, as if guiding him in a certain direction.

"True spatial magic is not about folding space with brute force, nor is it about forcibly fixing it with anchor points. True spatial magic is about making space itself willing to change for you."

You don't need to hold it down; you just need to invite it, and it will fold, unfold, and make way for you on its own.

"Just like when you face a raging fire, you shouldn't try to suppress it, but rather let it be tamed by you."

These words stirred something within Regulus.

"But you can't do that yet. You're on the path of control, not coexistence. Your relationship with space is one of domination and subordination, not cooperation and resonance."

"You can continue down this path. It's effective, it can make you stronger, and it can give you an advantage in battle."

But it has an upper limit; you can never reach the level of those who truly understand the essence of space.

"And they..."

The core message paused for a moment, as if hesitating about something, then continued: "They don't need magic."

That's all for now; we won't go any further.

Regulus pondered the word "them" in his mind.

Are you referring to wizards?

Or were they beings who could also use magic in the distant past?

The blurry thing in front of me is undoubtedly ancient.

The information and ideas it conveys are completely contrary to the current mainstream understanding.

It seems to possess a higher, more profound perspective, where magic always seems to have another path to take.

Judging from the information it conveys, those paths have all been proven and have been successfully traversed.

But there is no such figure in the current wizarding world.

A name flashed through Regulus's mind: Grindelwald.

He arranged for himself to come here, so what about Grindelwald himself?

Was he also given these messages?

Have you seen this thing before, or heard its alternative interpretation of magic?

If so, how did he choose?

Before he could think it through, deep within his consciousness, his star trail meditation was triggered.

The fourth and a half stars of Orion shone in his spiritual world; that was his foundation, something he had built up bit by bit.

"Star Trail Meditation"

There seemed to be something indescribable in the voice of that message.

mood?

That doesn't seem right; it's more like something deeper.

"You temper your spirit, body, and magic with the trajectory of the stars. You visualize Orion and let its light illuminate your inner world."

You believe that if you continue along this path, one day the entire starry sky will unfold in your spiritual world.

"This is your creation, your path, and what you cherish most."

Information is continuously output.

"But have you ever considered what you're imitating?"

The star map of Orion unfolded in my mind: Aldebaran, Aldebaran, Aldebaran, Aldebaran, Aldebaran, the position, brightness, and trajectory of each star were marked.

"You are imitating the stars; you let them illuminate you, guide you, and refine you. You see yourself as someone who needs to be illuminated by the stars."

"But true power is not about being illuminated; you must become the source of your own light."

"You don't need to imitate the stars; you can become the stars themselves, no, go even further than the stars and become the abyss that devours light."

Orion's light appeared somewhat dimmed under the illumination of that message.

"Stars will die out, but the abyss will not. Stars need to exist to shine, but the abyss does not need to exist. It only needs to cease to exist to devour everything that exists."

"If you continue down this path of star-track meditation, at most you will become a bright star, but above the star, there is an abyss."

Would you like to take a look at it?

Regulus's mental world fluctuated violently, and he was astonished.

This message describes a completely different way of being.

It does not exist; it devours the light.

He doesn't need to be illuminated; he can be the end of all light.

He couldn't understand it, but he sensed it.

Guided by that message, he saw it—the abyss that the object represented.

It does not belong to darkness, because darkness is merely the absence of light; its essence transcends darkness.

It is the very existence of light, the very absence of light, the very thing that renders light meaningless.

If it continues down this path, star trail meditation will indeed be surpassed and overtaken.

Just as stars are meaningless in the face of an abyss.

Regulus steadied himself.

He recalled his earlier thought: this message was suggesting another path, but that wasn't his path.

His path is to become a bright star, to let himself shine, and to illuminate his own path with his own light.

That path is to become an abyss that devours light, to make oneself cease to exist, and to render all light meaningless before it.

Two roads, heading in completely different directions.

He can choose to glance at it, but he doesn't need to go up to it.

Just then, Betelgeuse, the star he had never been able to fully illuminate, flickered slightly.

It hasn't been lit up yet; it just responded briefly.

It's like saying that you're aware of the existence of another path, but you still choose your own.

This is what it means to protect—to protect the path you choose to take from being shaken by anything external.

Regulus was certain.

He regained his composure and looked at it again.

It is still there, constantly changing, alternating between the deep sea and the stars.

But this time, he no longer passively accepted its deconstruction; he began to actively analyze what it was saying.

Is the Disintegration Curse an enforcement of world rules or its own creation?

The Guardian Charm: Weakness or Wisdom?

Spatial magic: is it a combination or a fusion?

Star trail meditation: is it to imitate the stars or become an abyss?

He needs time to think about these issues.

But at least for now, he knows he won't be swayed by it.

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