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Chapter 40 - Chapter 37: The Chamber of Sacrifice

They thought the second guardian would awaken on its own.

They were wrong.

The chamber had to be called — opened by spell, blood, and will.

Blaise knew that.He had read the scroll in fire.

So just past midnight, armed with nothing but silence and a stolen cipher,he descended into the foundations beneath the Herbology greenhouses.

There, in the ruins of what once was a forgotten House vault,he whispered the words:

"Vitas. Pando. Redimio."

The stone cracked.

And a staircase unfolded — downward, deep, alive.

The Chamber Appears

It was not made of walls.

It was made of roots.

Thick black vines curled into archways, holding up a ceiling that wept molten silver.

The floor was etched with runes, not in ink — but in teeth.

And at the center:A pillar.A basin.And a flame that burned upside down.

Blaise stepped forward.

"I call the Second.""I bring memory. I bring choice. And now…""I bring sacrifice."

The Offering

He drew a small dagger.Not cursed. Not dark.

But meaningful.

He cut into his palm and let the blood drop into the inverted flame.

It sizzled, then vanished.

The vines shuddered. The basin filled with red smoke.

And a voice whispered:

"One for one.""Memory was free. But sacrifice demands price."

From the vines, a figure unfolded.

This Guardian was smaller than the first — cloaked, faceless, bound in iron rings.

But it spoke clearer.

"Who do you give?"

Blaise didn't hesitate.

"My name."

Blaise's Transformation

His full name burned from his skin.

The Guardian reached out, touched his chest, and whispered:

"Then you shall not be known by blood again.""Only by flame."

A second mark appeared beside his seal — a red ring, closed but cracked.

The Mark of Sacrifice.

The Guardian bowed.

And stepped aside.

"The Second walks."

Final Scene – The Two Marks Glow

Across the castle, Harry fell forward mid-dream.

His wrist burned — not from pain, but from recognition.

A second light now pulsed in rhythm with his own.

Rowan rushed to him.

"It's him again, isn't it?"

Harry didn't answer at first.

Then:

"No.

It's them.

Two now. Two walking.

And I don't know which one I'm becoming."

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