After a flash of red light, Harry collapsed cleanly into unconsciousness.
"Don't make a sound, and don't move around."
Avada flicked his wand, then turned to Ron, who had just been startled, and said, "There may be some disturbances during the process—like a shrill scream appearing out of nowhere, or something trying to force its way into Harry's body. Don't worry. Those are all expected phenomena. Don't interfere with the magic because of them. If something truly happens that's beyond my control, I'll warn you myself and have you save Harry."
"I'll save Harry?"
Ron froze. "Then what about you?"
"Me?"
Avada glanced at one of the Horcruxes beside him. "Obviously, I'll be responsible for preventing Voldemort from escaping. If there's any possible risk at all, it can only be that. But honestly, I don't think anything unexpected is really going to happen… That would be too much of an insult to myself."
"In about an hour, Harry will leave the Room of Requirement with you completely unharmed—no, not just unharmed. He'll be reborn. All right, from this moment on, stay quiet. I'm starting."
Avada's expression gradually turned solemn. He stopped looking at the still-tense Ron and began his final inspection of every Horcrux's condition, as well as Harry's soul in its current state…
The Cup, the locket, the diary, the Resurrection Stone, the diadem… all Horcruxes are intact, and the soul fragments inside them remain stable.
Voldemort's main soul is still dormant, with no sign of awakening, and it can be confirmed that it isn't feigning dormancy. The magic Dumbledore left behind is functioning properly, and still retains a carrying margin three times greater than the calculated requirement. No additional expansion or reinforcement is necessary…
The two souls and one protective charm inside Harry Potter are completely identical to the earlier simulation results. Nothing has changed. The previous data can be used directly for the starting phase, with real-time adjustments handled personally by me…
And finally, myself…
Avada took a deep breath. At some point, his palms had already become slick with sweat.
To be honest, he might have been the most nervous person in the room right now.
After all, what he was about to do was very likely groundbreaking even by the standards of all magical history, and his subject was a living person—his own friend, no less. Even though he had already run the calculations countless times and had already passed a simulation test that was almost perfectly realistic, now that the moment had truly arrived, he still could not stop himself from feeling tense.
It was somewhat like how a medical student felt the first time they stood as the lead surgeon.
And there was no teacher standing beside him to steady the field. Even if Dumbledore were here, it would not help. In the field of soul research, among the living, there did not seem to be anyone who could guide him. If anything, he was the one qualified to guide others…
…All right, then.
He slowly let out a breath, then closed his eyes.
He recalled all the mental power currently controlling Nathan Clarke over at Leach University back into his main body.
His physical condition was normal. He could guarantee that for the next two hours, he would not suddenly faint, nor be struck by something ridiculous like an urgent need to use the bathroom—anything severe enough to disrupt his concentration.
He placed a curse on his skin to prevent sweating, ensuring that neither his vision nor the steadiness of his wand would be affected.
And then…
He carefully took a thumb-sized glass vial out of his pocket. Inside it swirled a liquid like molten gold, shimmering with a beautiful glow.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, he tipped his head back and drank it in one gulp.
This vial of Felix Felicis had been brewed personally by Dumbledore.
Back when he first heard that Avada might actually have a way to separate souls, Dumbledore had secretly begun the long brewing process for Felix Felicis in private, intending to add one final layer of insurance to Avada's plan. During that whole time, he had not told anyone about it, and only gave Avada the surprise just before they departed.
Avada could understand why. After all, they were in the middle of the Triwizard Tournament. If one of the headmasters suddenly started brewing Felix Felicis, that would naturally arouse suspicion and attract attention for no reason…
And whether from Dumbledore's own explanation or from Avada's personal observations, everything indicated that this expensive potion did not truly bring luck. Rather, it greatly enhanced the user's abilities in every respect, creating a miraculous sensation as though everything were going smoothly.
It was perfectly suited to Avada's present needs.
And the moment he drank it, he truly did feel a mysterious force spreading through his mind and limbs, as though pushing his entire being into a brand-new state he had never experienced before. In that instant, extreme arrogance and extreme calmness coexisted in his mind without the slightest contradiction, making him feel almost omnipotent…
"This dose of Felix Felicis should last about three hours… no time to waste. Let's begin!"
Even his magical senses became sharper under the influence of Felix Felicis, allowing Avada to easily grasp details that would normally require full concentration to notice. In that state, he activated the magical apparatus beside him without hesitation, then steadily pointed his wand at Harry in the middle of it. His entire body became as still as a statue, to the point that even the hem of his robe no longer stirred.
Like the previous apparatus, the rings outside this machine also began to rotate slowly, carrying the Horcruxes mounted upon them around Harry at the center.
Harry, sitting in the very middle and still unconscious, seemed to feel no effect at all. He continued to slump quietly in the chair, looking almost peaceful.
But from Avada's perspective, tiny and wondrous disturbances had already begun to ripple through Harry's soul.
The Horcruxes orbiting around him seemed to possess a kind of gravitational pull, constantly tugging ever so slightly at the portion of Voldemort's soul inside Harry, while leaving Harry's own soul—and the protective charm—completely untouched. With every additional rotation of the Horcruxes, the soul fragment inside Harry moved a little farther away from his own soul, continuously trying to slip free of his body and return to the place where it truly belonged…
Just as he had envisioned all along, the most fundamental principle of this apparatus was still remorse.
After learning the knowledge of the soul's essence, and thus nearly fully comprehending the Elder Wand's structure for "simulating love," the once unreachable idea of "simulating remorse" was naturally no longer especially difficult for Avada. In fact, in his understanding, remorse was itself one component of love, the only emotion that truly originated from the soul. So merely simulating remorse was even simpler than the Elder Wand's simulated love—so simple that he had achieved it with little effort on a machine: namely, this entire ring structure.
The rings carrying the Horcruxes did far more than simply spin them around.
Each one could resonate with the soul fragment just as the Elder Wand did, forcing it into a simulated state of remorse while precisely tugging at the portion of Voldemort's soul inside Harry. And because that fragment had coexisted with Harry for fourteen years, Avada had not dared use any overly violent method right from the start. Instead, he had chosen the gradual approach he was using now—shaking that soul piece little by little until it detached completely without any other side effects…
In other words, this apparatus was essentially a simplified version of the Deathly Hallows.