Chapter 100 The Rose and the Snake 40
Dust drifted down from the ruins of the ward like gray snow. Voldemort's hand froze in mid-air, resting on that cold cheek.
The faint sneer in the depths of Abraxas's gray-blue pupils was like a stone thrown into a deep pool, spreading ripples of confusion and manipulation in Voldemort's scarlet eyes.
The weight of half life... the pain of eternal death...
Kindness? Or a carefully designed cage?
A slight "beep" broke the silence.
Above Abu's head, a dim silver-blue ball of light (the system's afterimage) flickered happily.
[Ding! 'Life Sharing' concluded! Voldemort's favorability is locked to 100% (dependent)]
[Main Quest 'Experience True Love': Exceeded Target! (Process Distorted, Many Workers' Injuries)]
[Energy exhausted…unload…3…2…]
The electronic sound carried a murmur of relief.
[Final Easter Egg: Abu's first accelerated heartbeat (being hugged by the waist at the Ministry of Magic): 120+! Voldemort's first non-killing emotion (dagger awakening): body temperature rises 0.5℃! Definition: Extreme shock and desire for exploration!]
[Two-way strategy achievement! Congratulations! KPI exceeded! Time to go home!]
The light ball flickered violently, projecting crooked fluorescent words:
“Congratulations to HE (Hardcore Edition)!”
“Never fall in love!”
[1…Puff!] The light ball collapsed and annihilated! No trace of the system remained.
Only dead silence and the invisible chain of contract remained, binding the two souls.
The system was uninstalled, taking away the noise but leaving behind an invisible heavy cage.
Voldemort withdrew his hand, leaving behind a cold touch on his fingertips and a heavy burden deep in his soul.
He tried to mobilize his magic power. The dark power that had once been violent and out of control was now like a tamed beast, flowing majestically in the new widened circuit (the golden flow had been widened), with unprecedented power, as if it had touched a higher threshold.
Yet, deep within his bones, a heavy weight weighed on him, as if the entire world was bearing down on his shoulders! Every breath he took was tugged at by invisible chains—the weight of half of Abu's life, deeply imprinted in the very essence of his being.
What made him even more frightened was that he could clearly "sense" Abu's presence at the soul level! The faint heartbeat was actually trembling in sync with his own heart cavity - suffocating!
The vitality was like an icy stream, flowing out of his body continuously and pouring into the other person's body, filling the shared contract, but it also made his soul increasingly weak and cold!
How could this be "eternal death pain"? It was clearly a slow and cold assimilation! The welding of fate!
"Ugh..." A dying groan escaped Abu's mouth. His gray-blue pupils were already out of focus (blindness caused by blood loss), and his cracked lips moved slightly.
Voldemort leaned closer almost instinctively.
“…It hurts…” A broken breath, as fragile and confused as a child.
The moment the word "pain" comes out!
"Buzz!" A soul-tearing pain suddenly pierced Voldemort's chest (the very place where the dagger had penetrated) without any warning! It was like an invisible ice cone piercing his heart and stirring it!
"Ouch!" Voldemort groaned, staggering and clutching his chest! Cold sweat instantly soaked his back, and veins bulged! The pain was far greater than any he had ever experienced before! The power of the contract amplified Abu's pain a hundredfold, inflicting it upon him simultaneously!
The pain receded like a tide, leaving only the cold and throbbing that penetrated deep into his bones. Voldemort covered his heart and stared at the dying Abu, his eyes as if he was looking at the source of a curse.
Kindness? Cage?
The answer was cruel and clear: This was no gift! This was an eternal bond he'd paid for with half his life! A vicious curse that bound him to the dying Malfoy forever! An eternal prison!
The raging rage of being fooled, tricked, and forcibly shackled, along with the fear of the excruciating pain, instantly overwhelmed all the complex emotions within him! The violent murderous intent surged once again in his crimson eyes! What harm could there be in dying together?!
He would never be anyone's prisoner! Especially not Malfoy's!
Kill! End this damned contract! Smash this cage!
Poison ivy grew wildly in his heart! Voldemort's right hand suddenly reached for his waist! The yew wand was cold and solid in his hand, and the murderous intent almost solidified!
"Abraxas Malfoy..." His voice was like the cold wind from hell, "Your tricks... must end!"
The scarlet eyes were fixed on Abu's pale neck, and the tip of the wand condensed with all his hatred and violent magic power, a dark green death light, the light was so dazzling that it seemed to swallow up all the light!
"Avada..."
The moment when the killing curse is about to be uttered!
A cold, trembling hand, yet filled with strange power, suddenly grabbed Voldemort's right wrist that was holding his wand!
It was Abraxas! He sensed the murderous intent through the soul link and used his bony left hand, covered in dark purple blood scabs, to tightly grasp Voldemort's wrist, preventing the wand from swinging!
Voldemort froze! His scarlet eyes were filled with disbelief as he stared at the terrifying bony hand! How could it dare?!
Abu's gray-blue pupils were unfocused, yet he stared intently at Voldemort. There was no trace of fear on his face, only a kind of all-seeing calmness and morbid persistence.
The cracked lips moved, and the weak voice was like a whisper, but it struck Voldemort's soul directly:
"Do you feel it...? Your Excellency..."
"This... is... the cage..."
The moment the words fell, a faint but clear tingling sensation came rapidly from the bony fingertips → Voldemort's skin → magic circuit → heart!
"Ugh!" Voldemort groaned again! His heart felt as if it had been pierced by a fine needle! The power of the contract simultaneously amplified the slight pain when Abu grabbed his wrist!
Abu felt the stiffness and pain in Voldemort's body, and a faint sneer appeared in his gray-blue eyes. That smile was cruel and certain:
"look…"
"It...can't hold...my...life..."
"but…"
"Locked...your..."
The bony finger slowly closed as if in a declaration.
"Ahhh!" The stinging pain suddenly intensified! It was like a red-hot wire tightening around my heart.
Voldemort's hand holding the wand trembled violently! The dark green light that was taking his life instantly dissipated!
The murderous intent in the scarlet eyes was shattered by the pain brought by the contract! Only a cold and deep feeling of powerlessness and resigned rage remained!
He stared intently at the bony hand gripping his wrist, feeling the cold touch and the stinging pain brought by the contract. A cold, desperate realization seared itself into his soul like a steel stamp:
yes.
Cage.
Triggered by his own hand that detonated the shackles, bound by a twisted contract, forged by Abu at the cost of half his life, and impossible to break even in death...
Eternal cage.
In the shadows of the ruins, a dusty fragment of the Dippet Academy protective rune slab trembled slightly. The dim snake-shaped symbol on its back greedily absorbed the remaining mixed breath of dark magic, icy blue magic, and the essence of life released by Voldemort and Abu in the air.
That snake-shaped mark...seemed a little clearer.
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