Chapter 109 Grindelwald's Eye
In the Headmaster's Office, Dumbledore retrieved a box from a bookshelf cabinet. It was bronze, covered in strange, grayish-silver patterns, square, and about the size of a human head.
He looked at it with a hint of nostalgia, gently wiping the dust off before placing it on his desk.
With a light tap of his wand, a magical light flickered, and the box unfolded on its own, revealing an eyeball inside.
An eyeball the size of a basketball.
"Grindelwald's Eye, this is..."
Before Dumbledore could finish, Anton cried out in alarm, "You gouged out his eye?"
"!!!!"
Dumbledore, in a rare show of agitation, raised his voice, "This is an alchemical object!"
"Oh." Anton breathed a sigh of relief.
Good grief~
In the wizarding world, many things couldn't be explained by common sense. Gouging out an eye didn't seem like such an unacceptable thing.
This eyeball looked like a crystal ball, with thick black mist churning inside, and flashes of azure lightning flickering from time to time.
Old Dumbledore caressed the eyeball and said with a smile, "Grindelwald was a seer. He could always see glimpses of the future. To grant me this wonderful ability, he created this eye."
He winked, a childishly mocking expression on his face. "But he failed."
"This eye cannot see the future, it can only seek the truth." Old Dumbledore raised a finger, speaking with some pride, "The truth deep within the soul."
He pointed to the chair opposite his desk, motioning for Anton to sit down.
Then, his long, slender hands, adorned with strange rings, held the eye and turned it, aiming the pupil in the center directly at Anton.
"Look at it. This thing isn't that effective. You need to completely open your heart, just like looking in a mirror to find a pimple on your face, and desire to glimpse the truth of your own soul."
"Just like looking in a mirror."
"I know you can do it. Your desire for exploration, as a child, is so pure."
Old Dumbledore murmured in a very subtle tone, but Anton could only see his own reflection in the eye's pupil, and nothing else.
His skin was fair and tender, moist and radiant, super handsome.
"This eye doesn't seem to work."
"Stop focusing on the eye itself, look at yourself in the pupil..."
Boom!
A silent explosion, as if the entire world had suddenly detonated. Anton's vision tunneled rapidly, and all he could see was a dense, multicolored fog.
Until he reached the very depths.
A bizarre image appeared before Anton.
A soul that looked translucent and black. Anton recognized it as his current form.
Countless black threads connected it to another soul, a soul so twisted it was almost unrecognizable as a human form.
But that soul was covered in countless cracks, from which innumerable bolts of lightning extended. This caused the soul to twist and wail in agony—it looked as if it could be torn into a cloud of dense fog at any moment.
"Eh, you have two souls in your body." Dumbledore's figure appeared beside him, looking at the image with curiosity. "They look like twins. Unfortunately, your connection was never completely severed. It shares a body with you."
Anton pursed his lips, not answering, just looking at the twisted soul with an inscrutable expression.
Dumbledore marveled, "Your twin brother resides within you, and it seems he never developed consciousness. The wonders of this world are truly endless. All sorts of coincidences can shape an individual's talents."
"Because of this unconscious soul, you have an extra shield against soul-targeting curses. Your achievements in Transfiguration also stem from its instability."
Anton looked at the soul in silence, finally letting out a sigh.
"Is there a way to sever the connection between us, to let him pass completely into the world of the dead?"
Dumbledore looked at him in surprise. "If you do that, you will completely lose these talents, the talent for Transfiguration, and the talent for resisting soul attacks."
Anton shook his head. "I owe him, don't I? I stole his body, I used him as a shield, and I even exploited his fractured state to achieve my talent in Transfiguration."
"He looks like he's in too much pain. I don't like it."
"I don't want to owe him like this. I'd rather become an ordinary person than see him in so much pain."
Dumbledore smiled and patted Anton's shoulder gently. "You possess a quality that most people lack."
"No regrets?"
"No regrets!"
"Really no regrets?"
"Old man, are you annoying or what? I do regret it a little, but some things must be done and some must not. If you have the ability, could you please help?"
Dumbledore shrugged. "I do have a way. They all call me the greatest white wizard of this century. I have plenty of ways."
As he spoke, he gave a mischievous wink.
He looked at Anton seriously. "Many times, outstanding people will say that it might be nice if they could be a little more ordinary. But they have no idea about the suffering of the ordinary masses. Those people would be grateful to the heavens if they could be just a tiny bit more outstanding."
Anton looked at Dumbledore calmly. "Believe me, I know what it feels like to be ordinary. If you keep talking so much, I'll really start to regret it."
He took a deep breath. "Do it!"
"As you wish." Dumbledore smiled. "If you become ordinary because of this, I will compensate you. After all, I'll be the one who caused it."
He raised his hand, gently extending a long, slender finger.
"You said it, I won't be polite with you." Anton was halfway through his sentence when his eyes suddenly widened.
He saw a green curse light erupt from the old man's fingertip, shooting toward the black threads connecting the two souls. With a gentle flick, several threads snapped.
He suddenly felt much lighter.
But that wasn't the point.
Anton stared at Dumbledore, dumbfounded. "Wandless magic, a nonverbal spell... for Avada Kedavra?"
You old coot, you restrict me from using Dark Arts with a spell, but you're so slick with it yourself?
Wandless magic and a nonverbal spell, don't you know this is an Unforgivable Curse? Huh?
Dumbledore gave a comical smile. "The Soul Scalpel, your invention. Very useful, isn't it?"
Yes, yes, it is.
You're amazing.
Anton rolled his eyes speechlessly.
"..."
"..."
As the connecting black threads snapped one by one, Anton felt extremely comfortable. It was as if he had been carrying dozens of sandbags on his back, and now they were being removed one by one, making him feel lighter and lighter.
He even had a feeling of complete control over his body.
He raised his hand, looking at it with some surprise.
Anton was certain that if he wanted to, he could easily make several of his fingers simultaneously transform into a werewolf's finger, a viper's tail, and a Fwooper's wing.
So, by cutting away that original, nearly-shattered soul, his talent for Transfiguration had actually grown stronger?
Was the original soul hindering his development?
Dumbledore's movements were swift, clean, precise, and elegant—a perfect surgery.
With a final, gentle flick, the two souls were completely severed.
Then, a magical scene unfolded.
A translucent veil, seemingly both there and not there, appeared in mid-air. It was as if it had been there since time immemorial, only becoming truly visible after experiencing death.
The unconscious soul began to drift toward the veil, a smile spreading across its face, as if to say—Hey, this is great, it's all over.
"Dum... Dumbledore, did you see that?" Anton was stunned.
"Unbelievable!" Dumbledore also had a stunned expression.
"So!" Anton grabbed Dumbledore's arm forcefully, pointing viciously at the soul drifting toward the veil. "The one who was used as a shield was me? I was pushed to the front by this thing to endure countless evil curses, to the point where my entire soul was about to be torn apart?"
Dumbledore looked as if he'd seen a ghost. "It would appear so."
"Quick, undo the restriction, I'm going to hit him with a Killing Curse!" Anton was furious.
Seeing Dumbledore remain unmoved, Anton angrily drew his wand. "Arrow-Shooting Spell!"
Whoosh, an arrow flew toward the soul.
He felt that casting spells was now exceptionally smooth and natural, and their power had clearly increased significantly, but this only made him more annoyed.
Oh, so I was being held back by this thing before?
"Petrificus Totalus!"
"Incarcerous!"
"Fidelius Patronus!"
"Fire Elephant Charm!"
"..."
Dumbledore grabbed him from behind. "Calm down, child, calm down. Weren't you being magnanimous? Don't be like this!"
"Magnanimous my ass, I want him dead!"
Suddenly, Anton's eyes rolled back, and he fainted.
"Oh no!" Dumbledore stared at the soul that was barely human-shaped. "Your soul doesn't look too good!"