Chapter 1154: The Veil of Death - Burden of Choices!

A storm of black fire raged across the skies and descended into the Ministry of Magic like a waterfall.

Hissing and crackling, it reached the depths, burning right through the Department of Mysteries’ protective spells, the main door exploding with a BOOM as a consequence.

The circular chamber instantly began rotating, trying to confuse the intruder.

In return, the black flames condensed, taking the shape of a man in his late thirties.

His long, black beard failed to relate him to the old man he once had been.

Even his dark eyes, though ancient, carried a youthfulness about them.

But the strongest case for his young existence was put forward by his emotions.

Dumbledore had once acted calm even during the harshest periods of his life, taking the saddest news with a deep breath.

Not now.

His teeth were grinding so hard that the noise rang within the blurry, rotating chamber.

There was a fury in his squinted eyes, his brows pressed together as if he could fire a beam of pure destruction through his pupils at any moment.

Even the way he wielded his Elder Wand in his gloved right hand was different.

It was like it was not a wand he carried between his fingers, but a knife.

His left hand, which did shine like a silver dagger, was pulsating as well.

It had nothing to do with Despair — the Concept he burned to get his elevated and enhanced magical prowess.

It was because of the responsibilities.

Dumbledore had fought against Dark Wizards all his life.

Every next one of those wizards had had greater ambitions, mostly to dominate the world.

That had been the case with his old friend, Gellert Grindelwald, who had already redeemed himself.

The same had been the case with Voldemort until he returned with even grander ambitions.

But, even then, despite the world being at stake, those fights had been different.

Even the War he was preparing for against the Dark Alliance was similar, if a touch higher in scale and brutality.

This?

This wasn’t even a struggle between good and evil anymore.

This was an attack on the entire world’s existence!

And the fact it was the Order of the Immortal Lotus who had tacitly agreed to it...

Dumbledore took a step forward, black flames lashing out from the end of his black robes.

In a moment, they covered the entire entrance chamber and turned the ghostly blue flames of the torches utterly black.

Slowly, the rotation came to a halt.

Dumbledore stormed toward the Chamber of Death and blasted it open.

Becoming a streak of black flames, he landed on the stone dais at the bottom of the hole in the Chamber of Death.

The Veil was there, softly undulating in the stone archway, hissing out voices.

Grindelwald. Lupin. Ariana. People that he had lost in his over a century-long cursed life. And... himself. Many, many Dumbledores... who had died over and over under Yellow Warlock’s hand, before resurrecting stronger.

Lord Black Phoenix ignored them.

The pain of the Curse, which had reached up to his elbow, was so great that he couldn’t be entranced by any magic, no matter how powerful it was, even if he wanted to.

But Dumbledore had never allowed himself a grunt while suffering from that pain.

He did let out a grunt of pure rage as he looked at the stone dais... finding no one there.

"Is that the price you paid, Lord Black Phoenix?" A sick voice entered his ears from behind. "I feel flattered."

"Where is he?" Dumbledore asked.

Lord Yellow Warlock walked up the stone dais and stopped a step higher than him.

"They seem to have taken him away along with them..." he said, sounding strangely calm. "... while emptying the Department of Mysteries. The Unspeakables... they have always worked for the Order of the Immortal Lotus. I’d thought you were wise enough to throw them out of the Ministry. Or, better, kill them before they become the spies and traitors they were. Yet... I guess it was your gray hair that held all your wisdom."

That mocking tone.

Lord Black Phoenix could hear the bones of his fingers pop as he tightened his grip on the Elder Wand.

He could do it.

He could kill this outsider right here and now, he believed.

[... No.] The Phoenix’s voice rang in his ears. [Don’t be a fool. As much as you would hate it, you... need him. Now more so than ever.]

Hate it?

He abhorred it!

But Dumbledore hadn’t truly lost his wisdom. Not yet.

As much as he loathed it, he had erred by letting the Unspeakables remain at the Ministry.

Partly, it was because, somewhere in his heart, Dumbledore had still carried hope that the Six of the Order would help him against the Dark Alliance.

But only now did he learn how wrong he had been.

Just because two Half Deep Ones rested at Avalon, and just because one of Them favored him, it didn’t mean the Order would help him out, either.

Once again, Dumbledore found himself standing alone.

Once again, he found himself facing only one path.

"When the Pillars attack," the Yellow Warlock said, turning around to face him, "they will attack with full force with only one aim — to eradicate this world. You don’t want that. I don’t want that. And, I hope you are not too foolish to realize that... Voldemort and Ekrizdis don’t want that, either."

Dumbledore glared at him.

The Yellow Warlock laughed at that. "You think the Half Deep One was helping you by letting you devour a Pillar?" he mocked. "No. They... are ANCIENT. You are but a speck of dust. All that Half Deep One was doing was creating an event down the line that could let It escape. This is the event. This is the consequence of your actions."

Dumbledore didn’t even need to ask the Phoenix if that was true.

He already knew that.

There were no selfless actions in the world. Not anymore.

He had asked for power to defend the people — his people — and that’s exactly what he got in return.

"Tell me..." Dumbledore asked, loosening his grip on the wand. "Do you hear the dead, Lord Yellow Warlock?"

Silence.

"The Veil of Death, across all timelines, leads to the realm where all the souls from this Bubble gather," the Outsider replied. "I have no one..."

As his enemy paused mid-sentence, Dumbledore picked it up for him.

"You have no one you love, cherish, or miss in this world," he said, staring at the yellowish darkness under that hood. "Then... how can you fathom the burden of my choices..."

Lord Black Phoenix looked at the Veil of Death one last time before becoming smoke once again.

"Set up a meeting." Dumbledore’s voice lingered in the Chamber of Death. "Let’s... prepare for War."

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