Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

Inside the House of Requirement, Avery and Alex were still struggling with the mannequin.

I've been training for almost a month, and the results are quite noticeable.

Now the two can withstand the attack of the dummies for fifteen minutes, whereas a month ago, they would have been down in three minutes.

The price was that after each training session, I would lie on the ground and couldn't get up, as if I were dead, my chest would still be rising and falling, and my limbs would no longer obey my commands.

But the young wizards recover quickly; they train for two hours every night, enough to lie down three or four times.

After lying down, get up and continue practicing, then lie down again after practicing.

Hermes practiced on his own on the other side. He didn't practice with the other two because his skill level was far superior, and there was no point in practicing with them.

He heeded Regulus's advice from last time and no longer pursues killing someone with a single spell.

How to combine powerful black magic with minor spells, how to coordinate them, and how to make them impossible for the opponent to defend against?

He weaved through the pile of dummies, a bone-stripping technique forced three dummies back, then silently sealed two others, followed by the Tarantella Dance to make the remaining ones jump, and finally finished with a disarming spell.

The combo was executed so smoothly that the dummy couldn't react at all.

Regulus ignored them. They were adults; they should be self-disciplined. He couldn't keep urging them on all the time.

It's good that he's willing to practice; he won't say anything if he's not willing to practice, but at least for now, he's doing pretty well.

In a small room at the other end of the training field, Regulus sat cross-legged on the floor.

The walls closed, blocking out the sound. He closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into the depths.

A spiritual world unfolded before him, with six stars suspended in the void, slowly rotating.

Betelgeuse burned in the farthest distance, its orange-red light intense yet stable.

That was an outburst, a power, an impulse to tear everything apart, but that impulse was contained within the orbit of stars and would not get out of control.

Betelgeuse guards the center, its silvery-white light gentle yet unwavering.

That is the boundary, the bottom line, the unshakable me. It stands there, and the light of other stars must flow past it.

The three stars of the belt are aligned in a line and rotate in the middle.

That is order, connection, and the rules that allow all the stars to return to their proper places. Without them, the conflict between Betelgeuse and Rigel would tear the entire system apart.

Betelgeuse is in the lower right corner, still looking the same, faint and weak, just glowing.

Regulus looked at it, feeling nothing.

It's normal for there to be no change in less than a week. The competition for the top spot needs time to develop and for the impact to take time to unfold.

Regulus withdrew his gaze from Betelgeuse and turned his attention to the glowing little man.

Ever since it became clearly visible, Regulus couldn't help but think about it.

It was there, glowing, motionless, like an exquisite ornament.

But now that it's here, we can't just let it stay there forever; we have to do something about it.

Before doing anything, you need to figure out what you can and cannot do.

The things he couldn't do were very clear: he couldn't touch any of the things Voldemort had done.

As Regulus thought of this, his thoughts naturally drifted to that name.

Tom Marvolo Riddle, based on the timeline, Voldemort should have already created five Horcruxes by now.

The diary, Marvolo's ring, Slytherin's locket, Hufflepuff's cup, and Ravenclaw's tiara.

It's already a magical miracle that one can maintain a human form after five soul splits.

Of course, it's also possible that it's no longer in human form.

Having been immersed in dark magic for a long time, he actively abandoned the human characteristics brought about by his Muggle bloodline.

To completely break free from Tom Riddle's shadow in appearance and become the ultimate form of a pure-blood wizard in his mind, it would be best to also resemble Salazar Slytherin's snake totem.

Regulus guessed that Voldemort was probably no longer very human.

The skin may begin to appear unnaturally pale, or even develop a scaly sheen.

The nose may become flatter, tending towards the snout of a snake.

The hair is probably still there, but the pupils may become vertical slits.

Even if it hasn't reached that completely inhuman state in the later stages, it's probably not far off.

It is common knowledge in the magical world that a flawed soul can affect the physical body.

In his pursuit of immortality, Voldemort tore his soul into pieces and stuffed them into various containers, resulting in a continuous decline in the stability of his physical body.

This road was crooked from the very beginning.

As Barrow the Blood Man once said, a complete soul is the best defense.

Even without those words, Regulus could not have put himself in that state.

An incomplete soul is like a house missing a load-bearing wall; no matter how magnificent the exterior, it can collapse in a storm.

Voldemort's choices were never even in his considerations, not even remotely.

As for the pursuit of transcending death...

Regulus felt a strange mix of emotions as he thought about this.

Voldemort was terrified of death, so much so that he went mad and was willing to tear his soul apart to escape.

He could understand that fear, but he couldn't empathize with it.

Regarding death, Regulus's current thought is simple: just don't get killed.

He is still young, only twelve years old. Death is far away from him, far enough that it is not worth worrying about it now.

What does a twelve-year-old think about beyond death?

That's something people who have lived for hundreds of years should be pondering.

Nicolas Flamel lived to be over six hundred years old before he finally decided he didn't want to live anymore. He was nothing compared to Flamel.

It's not too late to think about it when you're 120.

When that day comes, there will naturally be a way. The magical world is so vast, there must be ways to prolong life.

He has seen a broader worldview, knows that life has many forms, and knows that existence itself has meaning.

Voldemort's obsessive fear, in his view, was more like a kind of paranoia, a kind of madness trapped in a narrow perspective.

Regulus shook his head, banishing Voldemort from his mind, and looked back at the glowing little man.

It remained the same, standing quietly, radiating light.

Its very existence is valuable; Regulus can see it and know what a soul should be like: complete, solid, and radiant.

It's like having a standard diagram in your mind. No matter what you encounter in the future, you can refer to this diagram to see if your soul has been deformed, damaged, or polluted.

Knowing the standards can prevent deviations.

But it seems to have no other function besides existing and reflecting.

Regulus stared at it, another thought popping into his mind.

What if it could grow up?

The growth from the level of the soul makes its light brighter, its form more solid, and its inner power stronger.

He didn't know exactly what a stronger soul would bring, but there must be some benefits.

Greater spellcasting skills? Deeper understanding of magic? Better mental defense? More acute magical perception? More stable magical control?

The book does mention some of that, but those statements are too broad.

The strength of a wizard's soul determines their potential; a powerful soul can carry more complex magic.

It sounds reasonable, but upon closer inspection, it's too vague.

How strong exactly is considered strong? And what is the principle behind bearing magic?

These can be verified after the soul grows stronger. The question now is, how do we make it grow stronger?

When magic flows towards it, will it absorb it?

Regulus tried to channel a wisp of magic towards the little figure.

The magic drew closer, but the little figure didn't react. They continued to approach, but still no reaction.

Upon touching the edge of the little man, the magic passed through him like passing through a ball of light, leaving nothing behind.

Regulus reclaimed his magic; this wasn't the way. What about his spirit?

Could you give it those things that were refined in star trail meditation?

He tried to send a wisp of his spirit towards the little man, but with the same result, it passed right through.

It seems to exist in a different dimension; neither magic nor spirit can reach it.

Regulus frowned.

So how does it grow?

Will it gradually become stronger on its own?

Just as his magic, spirit, and will grow with each rotation of the Star Orbit Meditation, this little figure is also growing in sync.

It's possible, but it hasn't changed now.

Regulus continued to let his thoughts wander, and he thought of his ancestor Arcturus Black.

The ancestor who lived to be 137 years old but eventually went mad left a warning at the end of his notebook: "The container is too sturdy, and what is inside cannot get out. I have trapped myself."

Regulus still believes his speculation is correct.

Arcturus over-strengthened his physical body, making the vessel so solid that it imprisoned his inner soul, preventing it from escaping or interacting with the outside world, ultimately leading to mental derangement.

He didn't know exactly what method Arcturus used; it could be some kind of magical experiment, a special potion, or a spell to strengthen the body.

He didn't know how strong the body had to be to trap the soul, or where that critical point was.

But if we follow this line of thought, the soul leaves the body only upon death, heading to that intermediate station between life and death, a hazy, illusory realm.

Is it possible for a wizard to leave his body while he is still alive?

Voldemort doesn't count.

He tore his soul into pieces, stripped it out, and stuffed it into a Horcrux; that wasn't a complete departure.

Regulus desired a complete and whole soul, temporarily leaving his still-living body.

If possible, what can I do after leaving?

Can it travel through space like a guardian deity?

Can it penetrate matter like a ghost?

If it could leave the body, what state would the body be in?

Like being asleep, with a temporary blankness of consciousness?

Or is he completely lost in thought, showing no reaction to the outside world?

Can the soul truly transcend the body?

Can it act on the objective world in an external form?

Regulus had no answer.

These questions are too profound, possibly touching upon the most fundamental aspects of magic, and perhaps even Dumbledore and Voldemort didn't fully understand them.

But he couldn't help thinking about it; he thought of Voldemort and the Horcruxes.

Voldemort used souls as tools, tearing them apart and hiding them in objects in order to escape death.

But that path grew weaker and weaker with each step, and more and more fragmented and incomplete.

Horcruxes are objects that carry souls, but what about the reverse?

Can the soul carry an object?

If possible, can the soul bear the weight of an object?

Once an object enters the soul, will it in turn affect the soul?

Thinking deeper, is it possible to nurture an object within the soul, allowing it to grow alongside the soul?

As the soul grows stronger, the tools also become more powerful, forming a symbiotic relationship between the two.

Regulus didn't know, but one thing was certain: even if it were feasible, it would require a soul strong enough to bear it.

These thoughts raced through his mind, and then he realized—

Whether it's nourishing the soul to make it grow, imagining the possibility of the soul leaving the body, or considering the feasibility of the soul carrying an object.

These are all about looking inward.

It is about exploring oneself, strengthening oneself, and making one's inner essence more solid, brighter, and more powerful.

But it's too early to think about these things now. Let's try to raise it first. As for how to raise it, we still need to figure that out.

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