Chapter 118 The Will of the Id is Supreme
Anton had an extremely unique experience in the wizarding world.
The old wizard, Snape, Voldemort, Dumbledore—all the people he came into contact with were walking the path of magic, and all of them ultimately delved into the soul.
However, none of them could truly explain what the soul was.
As Dumbledore said, this was the domain of gods, and everyone else had only caught a faint glimpse of a corner.
Even Voldemort, who prided himself on understanding the soul best, showed a noticeable decline in the quality of his lessons.
It was no longer the kind of well-researched, clearly structured, and comprehensive theory.
Many of his words were ambiguous, and many were even based on conjecture.
Having integrated the wisdom of so many powerful wizards, Anton also had his own conjecture.
He felt that the so-called soul was not the essence at all.
Take the old wizard, for example. He existed in a ghostly state, unable to attack or change reality. Is a ghost a soul? If so, why couldn't they be affected by soul-targeting attacks like the Imperius Curse?
Moreover, as Anton observed the differences between the old wizard and normal ghosts, a strange idea always came to his mind.
If the self-awareness, emotions, and other feelings that the old wizard retained were all eliminated, turning him into a true soul, would that mean the soul is just a shell?
Anton called everyone's thoughts, memories, emotions, will, and so on, the "id."
Could it be that the id resides in the soul's shell, and the soul resides in the physical body? A three-layer nesting doll feeling.
Following this understanding, he could easily distinguish the principles behind many spells.
A wizard eroded by lycanthropy becomes a werewolf, so the lycanthropy targets the soul's shell, which is why Lupin's id was not harmed.
And the id, soul, and body are a trinity, influencing each other.
Lycanthropy erodes the soul, affecting the body and causing the transformation into a werewolf.
The Blood Malediction erodes the body, thereby affecting the soul, and ultimately erodes the id, leading to a complete transformation into a viper.
The Cruciatus Curse erodes the body and affects the id. To a certain extent, this influence will extend to the soul.
A gentle breeze fluttered the gauze curtains, and moonlight filled the air.
Anton held a pen and wrote down all his thoughts in a notebook.
First, the Blood Malediction has three stages: eroding the body, eroding the soul, and eroding the id. The best method is to cast a protective charm on the soul before it is eroded, completely blocking the Blood Malediction from reaching the soul. This way, the Maledictus would have the ability to transform into a viper without worrying about their consciousness being devoured.
Second, lycanthropy cannot erode the soul. By studying the principles of the Blood Malediction, one could find the logic behind the transformation between wizard and animal, turning it into a controllable and non-contagious alternative form of Animagus.
Third, Dumbledore's so-called dragon-scale charm to restrict the use of dark magic actually targets the body, not involving the id or soul. It's more akin to the concept of a Confundus Charm.
What was interesting was Anton's conjecture: if he firmly believed in his heart that the Killing Curse was white magic, could he use it without restriction?
Fourth, the old wizard's so-called ghost armor, giving the soul a place to reside...
"This thing is a Horcrux!"
"How did you know?" A voice suddenly sounded beside him, making the hair on Anton's whole body stand on end.
He slowly turned his head and saw the old wizard's ugly face, instantly sighing in relief.
"Didn't you say you weren't coming back for Christmas?"
The old wizard shrugged his headless shoulders, "I thought it would be better to come back to my own home for Christmas."
Home, a wonderful topic.
After the twists and turns of life's journey, not only did Anton have a home, but the old wizard also had one.
His expression was complicated, clearly not wanting to discuss overly sentimental topics. He raised his hand, holding his head to stare at Anton, "How did you know it was a Horcrux?"
Anton smiled smugly, "It's simple. The id resides in the soul's shell, and the id can only directly affect the soul. That house armor of yours, in essence, is an alternative soul shell with actual physical meaning."
"???" The old wizard looked completely bewildered.
"I can no longer think, I don't understand what you're saying, but I know that even when I was alive, I probably wouldn't have understood what you're saying."
This already involved very deep magical theory. Unless Anton could systematically and clearly explain his understanding, others might not be able to comprehend it.
"My foolish teacher, you've done a foolish thing," Anton chuckled.
"You invented the 'Fissure Charm,' an unprecedented feat, to attach your id to your soul's shell. That's truly impressive. Other ghosts have lost their id, becoming something like moving magical portraits, just intelligent programs that operate based on their habits in life."
"But!" Anton raised a finger, "You got one thing wrong!"
The old wizard was clearly a bit lost. He sighed, "I know you're trying your best to explain it to teach me, but I really can't understand anymore."
Anton drew his wand, "Then to put it simply, your id shouldn't be attached to the outside of the soul's shell, but should hide inside the shell. It's like when it's snowing outside, a person should be inside the house, not lying on the roof to dutifully welcome the wind and snow."
"Teacher, let's pray. If my guess is correct, the id's cognition is supreme, and a wizard's will is superior to the soul. If my id believes a certain spell isn't dark magic, I can bypass Dumbledore's restriction on me."
"Let's, flip the turtle over!"
"Animum Inverto!"
A faint light from the spell shone, and Anton smiled slightly, "Looks like I guessed right."
The light of the spell passed through the old wizard's body and into the bookshelf. Anton adjusted the intensity of the spell bit by bit.
At a certain moment, the old wizard suddenly cried out in alarm, "Merlin's smelly feet, I can feel the power of the spell!"
Miraculously, as the spell was successfully cast, the old wizard's body changed from translucent to a milky white. Although he still looked pale, it was as if the color had become a little more vibrant.
"I..."
The old wizard looked at his hand in surprise, "I can feel the cold winter wind, I can actually feel the cold winter wind."
He gently placed his hand on the bookshelf. Although it passed through as usual, he cried out strangely, "I can feel it, the texture of the wood!"
The old wizard excitedly floated around, touching this and that, then floated out the window, flying towards the sky filled with falling snow.
"Hahaha, Anton, I can feel what you meant by welcoming the coldness of the snowflakes from the sky!"
"Wooo, I didn't appreciate it properly when I was alive."
"After I died, I couldn't feel it at all."
"I..."
"I feel like I have a new life!"
After going crazy for a while, he finally returned to the room.
"I've discovered that my will is no longer being eroded by the world's harsh winds. I'm stopping my dissipation!"
The head in the old wizard's hands had a complex expression. He stared at Anton for a long time, "Thank you so much, Anton."
Anton just smiled, looking at the wand in his hand, "It seems I'm on the right path."