Chapter 287: Resurrection Stone

The two stood in front of the dilapidated Gangte Old House.

After hearing Dumbledore's words, John rubbed his chin and asked.

"So we should be able to get in using the Confundus Curse, right?"

"Of course, theoretically feasible; as long as your Confundus Curse is strong enough to fool Voldemort's bloodline detection, you can, like Voldemort, come and go freely in this old house."

Hearing that, John scratched his head; he really wasn't confident his Confundus Curse could deceive Voldemort's bloodline detection.

After all, he hadn't really practiced that Confundus Curse thing much.

"Then, Headmaster, can you?"

"I can."

"......"

John, speechless, looked at Dumbledore, who blinked at John.

"Then why didn't you say so earlier!"

"You never asked."

Dumbledore smiled and waved his wand, layering invisible barriers over both of them.

John felt nothing special until Dumbledore gently pushed open the crooked oak door.

Only then did he realize the Confundus Curse had taken effect.

Just after stepping into the courtyard, John felt suddenly cut off from the outside; the air grew thick and heavy.

The two exchanged a glance and then walked forward slowly together.

Because of the Confundus Curse, all defensive measures here ignored their intrusion.

When they had just reached the front of the house, another soul inside John suddenly responded.

【Inside, right side】

John instantly raised an eyebrow, then smiled and said to Dumbledore.

"I sensed it; Voldemort really did hide a Horcrux here, located inside, right side."

Dumbledore nodded, said nothing more, and pushed open the house door.

A scene of ruin came into view.

The collapsed ceiling hung with cobwebs and rotten wood; broken bricks jutted into the sunken floor like a row of crooked teeth.

Not even a mouse; thick dust covered everything.

【Below the ruins】

"Below that pile of ruins."

John pointed straight at the right side of the house and said, "under that collapsed ruin."

Dumbledore also timely waved his wand, clearing away the collapsed debris.

Only a single ring emitting an eerie glow lay there, unmoved.

When they saw the ring, both John and Dumbledore's eyes lit up.

Only, unlike John's joy at discovering a Horcrux, Dumbledore stared at the black gem on the ring, dazed.

"That's the fourth one, not a wasted trip then."

John said with a smile..

Dumbledore nodded, then walked to the ring, crouched, and picked it up.

"Gangte family's ring... Resurrection Stone..."

"What stone?"

John, standing nearby, heard Dumbledore's muttering and asked curiously.

"Resurrection Stone, a stone that can bring the dead back to life—one of the Deathly Hallows in legend."

Dumbledore lifted the ring and showed it to John.

The black gem set into the ring.

"Bring the dead back to life? Deathly Hallows?"

Hearing those two terms, John was stunned.

That term seemed familiar; it appeared in the Tales of Beedle the Bard, in the final story—the legend of the three brothers.

When John first went to Diagon Alley, he bought a book out of curiosity about the Wizarding World's fairy tales.

Among them, the legend of the three brothers seemed the most interesting.

But isn't that thing just a fairy tale?

And does it really have a thing that brings the dead back to life?

Seeing John's surprise, Dumbledore shook his head and explained.

"It's not true resurrection; it merely lets the departed's soul return to your side..."

"Huh? Summoning souls?"

Hearing Dumbledore's explanation, the previously astonished John was instantly speechless again.

All that fuss was just soul‑summoning; I thought it could truly revive people...

John instantly lost interest.

But Dumbledore didn't think that way...

"... Even if it's only a soul, that's enough..."

Dumbledore's tone suddenly became heavy and slow, as if each syllable were soaked with years of regret and unhealed burning pain.

It was visible that Dumbledore's finger hovered over the ring's band, as if ready to try putting it on.

【Don't touch!】

At this moment, another soul inside John suddenly let out a sharp alarm.

John froze.

No, I didn't touch it!

Although he really wanted to go over and touch that Horcrux to scare his other soul.

But he hasn't actually done it yet!

【Don't put it on!】

However, before John could retort to the soul inside him, another urgent warning came through.

Only then did John suddenly realize that the other soul inside him seemed not to be speaking about himself.

But was speaking about Dumbledore.

John didn't have time to think further, just as Dumbledore's fingertip was about to slip the ring on.

He suddenly grabbed Dumbledore's wrist with one hand, and with the other hand pressed down on the ring like lightning.

Each time he touched the Horcrux, his other soul would feel a shudder of dread.

But this time, there was no shudder; although he still felt dread, after the dread came a resolve as desperate as breaking the cauldrons and sinking the boats.

John directly pried open Dumbledore's hands, stopping him from putting on the ring.

He also slapped the ring onto the ground.

"Headmaster! Don't put it on!"

John shouted anxiously.

Dumbledore was also startled by John's sudden movement, blinking slightly, and the blue eyes behind his half-moon glasses suddenly became sharp as a knife.

Not anger, but a sudden alertness and scrutiny upon waking up.

"Sorry... John, I made you worry."

Dumbledore finally spoke slowly, his eyes regaining clarity, and said sincerely.

He realized he had just been too impulsive.

Voldemort's Horcrux surely bears a deadly curse, just as the diary bewitches people and the crown alters their thoughts.

This ring surely also bears some kind of curse.

As long as someone like him, who longs to reunite with the dead, cannot resist the temptation and puts it on.

They will be harmed by the curse in the ring.

"It seems bringing you along was indeed the right move; thanks to you, otherwise I wouldn't know whether the curse on this ring would directly take my life."

Dumbledore gave a small smile, picked up the ring again, but did not touch it directly.

Instead, he took out a box and placed the ring inside.

"Yeah, otherwise if the greatest wizard of our century were killed by Voldemort's scheming, that would truly be a joke."

John shrugged and said.

"Actually, it was my other soul inside me that suddenly gave a warning, making me stop you from putting on the ring."

"Oh?"

Hearing this, even Dumbledore blinked slightly.

"Can the soul inside your body sense the curse on the Horcrux?"

"I don't know...."

【Putting it on... will... harm the soul...】

John had barely spoken half his sentence when the voice of the other soul inside him sounded again.

But this time it had become somewhat weak.

"It says, putting it on will harm the soul; perhaps it's because it can sense the soul's harm that it can detect it..."

"I see... thank you, child."

Dumbledore nodded in realization, then gently spoke to John—no, to the other soul inside John...

To be frank, this feeling is quite strange; clearly I'm talking to myself, but the addressee is not me.

But thinking differently, it's like Naruto having the Nine-Tails inside him—he can converse with the Nine-Tails and occasionally even borrow some power.

Others can also talk to the Nine-Tails, then have Naruto act as a mouthpiece to relay the Nine-Tails' meaning.

For now, let's just leave it as that.

After all, he couldn't do anything else.