8 Chapter 07 - The Young Heir of House Black
May 30, 1990
Black House Mansion.
One month. That was the time Asterion spent in this magnificent mansion, and honestly, it was a pleasant experience he never expected to end.
The entire mansion was divided into nine parts: the Entrance Hall, Living Room, Dining Hall, Guest Rooms, Main Bedrooms, Forbidden Library, Ballroom, Room of Animated Portraits, and finally, the Enchanted Gardens.
Asterion spent most of his hours in the Forbidden Library, as the name itself suggests, the library was a treasure trove of forbidden knowledge, with ebony shelves filled with volumes bound in black leather. The soft light from magical lanterns highlighted ancient scrolls, while leather armchairs invited readers to unravel the hidden secrets within the forbidden pages. Ancient masks and magical artifacts adorned the shelves, creating an atmosphere of reverence for the lost and archaic knowledge from a thousand years ago.
He threw himself with open arms into the sea of knowledge, finding himself fascinated by magic and the epics of human history in the face of adversities imposed by destiny itself. A destiny where humans triumphed in the face of the impossible, regardless of what they sacrificed. And magic, a whisper of chaos and entropy, where sorcerers imposed their own will on reality.
…
Seated in the soft and comfortable leather armchair, Asterion was reading a book that held great importance to him. This book compiled the experiences of all the bearers of the Black House's Inherent Technique, where they openly shared their life experiences, struggles, passions, and the complete insanity that pervaded their minds, without any distinction between good and evil.
In the pages bordering on madness, the knowledge of his nine predecessors in the [Creation and Manipulation of Cursed Spirits] was recorded. Being he, Asterion Regulus Black, the tenth to possess this powerful Inherent Technique. The grandeur of these predecessors was indescribable, each one a genius in their own measure, transcending the limits of the prodigious, and often, the insane.
Yes, geniuses. That was the only adjective Asterion could use to explain the brilliance of his predecessors; there was no other word to describe them. Each more prodigious than the other, geniuses among geniuses, as well as mad among the mad. Among them, Corvinus Black stood out—the notorious ancestor of Asterion and the founder of the Black House – Corvinus Black, a Dark Lord who ruled during the years 800 to 1000 AD, leaving an extraordinary legacy in the annals of wizarding history.
Faced with the tens of thousands of pages detailing the experiments conducted with his Inherent Technique, Asterion couldn't help but feel a mixture of admiration and apprehension. He realized he was a mere novice in the presence of these extraordinary men and women, a pure and innocent white rabbit compared to the insane complexity of their minds.
These individuals had crossed the boundaries between sanity and insanity, revealing themselves as true visionaries or, in some cases, complete lunatics. Asterion glimpsed the possibility of also following the same fate in the face of the tempting whispers in the form of writing on those pages with forbidden knowledge.
They conducted tests on humans, cursed spirits, and any species they deemed intriguing. All of this for a single purpose, a goal speculated by Corvinus Black before his death, and one that all nine predecessors of Asterion embraced without hesitation or fear.
So, the second bearer of the Black House's Inherent Technique, Aries Black, devised the most insane, mad, and dirty plan a human could conceive.
[The Plan for Creating Gods]
Just by its blasphemous name, you could imagine the madness and megalomaniacal arrogance of the man.
Asterion finally understood why there were such a vast number of books and scrolls explaining the anatomy of various species, the vast majority extinct in the face of the relentless power that was time.
Allowing his body to fall weakly into the armchair, Asterion closed the book and held it tightly in his arms. In the end, he felt that perhaps he wasn't so different from those who came before him.
His attempt to create a cursed spirit capable of devouring all magical energy, wasn't it a budget version of the [Plan for Creating Gods] that Corvinus and Aries proposed?
It seemed like destiny was playing with him, like a puppeteer pushing him toward the abyss of insanity. The lingering question remained, one that everyone wanted to know, including Asterion himself.
Would he be cruel enough to walk this path?
Grindelwald pursued and still pursues this path, a path where his ambition surpasses all that is moral and human, regardless of how many people would die in the process.
Asterion didn't know, and he didn't want to think about it at this moment. He closed his eyes and murmured to himself:
Perhaps it was a recurring question throughout the millennia, where geniuses asked the same question, where the ends justify the means.
"How many have died for my ambition."
He reflected on this phrase countless times in his mind.
…
Observing his great-grandson distracted while eating, Arcturus elegantly wiped his mouth with a white handkerchief. "You seem distracted, Asterion. Is something bothering you?" The man's black eyes looked at the child with concern.
"Grandfather, you read that book," Asterion asked, raising his head and looking directly into his grandfather's eyes.
"You mean the book that every bearer of the family's Inherent Technique must read?" Arcturus furrowed his brow, asking somewhat uncertainly. He remembered seeing Asterion reading the book earlier in the library but hadn't paid much attention at the time. It seems he gave something he shouldn't have to his great-grandson.
"Yes," Asterion replied.
Arcturus looked at his great-grandson's pale face and responded honestly, "Only those who have inherited the true Inherent Technique of the family can read that book. I tried when I was your age, but it didn't open to me."
"You read something that bothered you." Arcturus quickly connected the dots and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
Asterion lowered his head, keeping his gaze downcast. "Although I cannot speak about it, as I am bound by the eternal vow..., but what they want me to do... it's simply... insane."
"How insane are we talking about?" Arcturus furrowed his brows deeply. He did not expect this to happen when he gave the book to Asterion.
"So insane that it makes Voldemort seem like a pure and adorable little bunny in front of our ancestors," Asterion replied with a wry smile, hiding the bitterness beneath.
Arcturus widened his eyes in shock but quickly composed himself. "I don't know what you read in that book, but you are a Black, Asterion. I can advise you, but only you will carry the weight of your actions." He looked at his great-grandson and continued, "No matter what our ancestors desire, what truly matters is what you want. But for now, don't think too much about it. You're only nine years old; you still have plenty of time."
As he finished speaking, silence dominated the atmosphere, a thoughtful yet comfortable silence.
Translated by AI.
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Autor's Thoughts: Asterion's ancestors were crazy! Which honestly is not surprising, given how the Creation and Manipulation of Cursed Spirits works.
In the next episode, we'll see a new character entering Asterion's life!
Comment and let me know what you think so far! Preferably with good things, it inflates my ego, hahahaha!
Until morning!
