boyutpedia Chapter 229 The Pointer of Resonance
Chapter 229 The Pointer of Resonance
Chapter 229 The Pointer of Resonance
The research progressed for several more days amidst tension and breakthroughs. Cullen's "retrieval" of the Horcrux memory fragments remained difficult and risky. Most of the images he glimpsed were fragmented and distorted, accompanied by the impact of strong negative emotions: a smug chuckle in a dark corridor, a deep-seated hatred for a blurry figure (perhaps Dumbledore?) and a hint of filial piety that might be Cullen's illusion, extreme contempt for "Mudbloods" and "pure-blood traitors," and an almost pathological thirst for immortality and absolute power. Although these fragments could not piece together a complete event, they were like a piece of a puzzle, giving Nicolas and Castor a more comprehensive understanding of Voldemort's psychological state during the creation of the Horcruxes.
Meanwhile, Nico and Castor did not stop another crucial research project—upgrading the "Resonance Compass." The "soul frequency" data on Voldemort's soul fragments provided by Cullen's observations, as well as the "encapsulation" and "amplification" effect of the Horcrux containers on this frequency, became the key breakthrough.
On this day, a brand-new alchemy device replaced the previous rudimentary prototype on the central workbench of the workshop. Its core was no longer a single crystal, but a small array composed of three specially cut mithril-dragonblood alloy sheets, each etched with intricate spiral runes. The array floated on a platform made of a stable obsidian base and finely crafted Niven circuits. Inlaid in the center of the platform was a tiny magical particle taken from the outer protective layer of the Crown Horcrux, used as experimental material.
Nico was carefully embedding the last, rice-grain-sized, faintly glowing rune crystal into an energy node of the array. "The key lies in optimizing the 'Echo Focus' array," Nico explained to Karen and Castor, who were observing intently, as he worked. "The soul frequency data Karen provided is invaluable; it's like a unique 'noise.' Our previous arrays tried to find it in the vast soul 'spectrum,' like searching for a needle in a haystack—inefficient and susceptible to interference."
He embedded the crystal and lightly tapped an activation rune on the edge of the platform with his wand. Suddenly, the three mithril plates lit up simultaneously, emitting a soft, resonant sound. An extremely fine beam of energy, almost invisible to the naked eye, shot out from the particle in the center of the platform, was precisely captured and absorbed by the mithril array, and then resonated and amplified at a specific frequency.
“Now,” Nico’s eyes gleamed with the confidence of an alchemist, “we’ve reverse-engineered the characteristics of Voldemort’s soul into identification points for the guiding array. The array is no longer passively receiving, but actively emitting ‘inquiry harmonics’ that are highly compatible with the target’s frequency.” He pointed to a tiny point of light appearing at the center of the mithril array, “Look, this is the basic positioning point. When the harmonics encounter a soul fluctuation of the same origin in space—whether it’s a fragment in a Horcrux or, theoretically, Voldemort’s main soul—it will produce a ‘resonance echo.’ The intensity, direction, and even the slightest frequency deviation of the echo will be captured, analyzed, and converted into the pointer’s direction.”
Karen's "Eye of Truth" clearly saw that the invisible harmonics emitted by the mithril array swept across the workshop space like precise sonar pulses. When it swept across the particles in the center of the platform, the particles immediately emitted strong, synchronous resonant echoes, which were precisely absorbed by the light spot at the center of the array, making the light spot instantly brighter and more stable.
"Theoretical verification passed," Castor commented succinctly.
"Next is the field testing." Nico carefully removed the new compass from the workbench. "We'll move away from the stone chamber where the Horcruxes are stored and go to the outskirts of the manor. Karen, you take it. Castor, you take the secondary seal container of the crown as a mobile beacon source; we'll test its tracking range, pointing accuracy, and interference resistance."
The three left the workshop, passed through the lush magical garden of the Tranquil Abode, and headed towards the edge of the manor, near the Forbidden Forest. Along the way, Nico continuously cast spells, simulating magical disturbances in the natural environment—elemental ripples stirred by a gentle breeze, the faint pulsation of the earth's veins, and even the brief magical trails left by a few magical birds flying by.
Karen held the new compass. When Nico activated it, the mithril pointer trembled slightly at first, then, like a hound that had smelled blood, it instantly stabilized, pointing precisely in the direction of the manor's main building behind them—the location of the Horcrux core. The pointer remained steady, without the slightest wobbling.
"Basic indication, no problem," Castor confirmed, holding a small lead box engraved with sealing runes, inside which was sealed the Horcrux magic particle that served as a beacon.
They continued walking, getting further and further away from the main building. One hundred meters, three hundred meters, five hundred meters—the compass needle remained firmly pointing behind them. When the distance approached eight hundred meters, the needle remained stable, only the brightness of the central indicator light seemed to have a very slight decreasing trend.
"The signal strength has slightly weakened, but it's within the expected acceptable range." Nico carefully observed the energy flow of the array inside the compass.
At this moment, Nico increased the intensity of the simulated magical disturbance. A powerful, erratic surge of magical energy was conjured out of thin air and swept towards the compass in Karen's hand. Karen felt the device vibrate slightly, and the mithril pointer trembled violently, like a ship struggling in a storm!
"The interference is working!" Karen whispered.
But just a second later, the three mithril plates inside the compass flashed, and the runes etched on their surfaces swirled rapidly, as if performing high-speed calculations. The pointer's tremors decreased quickly, and although it still vibrated slightly, the general direction it pointed to—the core of the manor—remained unchanged!
"The anti-interference function is working!" Nico smiled with satisfaction. "It has successfully filtered out most of the meaningless environmental interference and locked onto the real 'signal source.'"
When the three reached a small hill about a kilometer from the main building, the compass still clearly pointed back the way they had come. Nico had Castor take the beacon box and move laterally about two hundred meters towards the Forbidden Forest.
The compass needle in Karen's hand shifted at an angle almost simultaneously and smoothly, pointing steadily to Castor's new position after his move! Absolutely precise!
"Pointing accuracy, excellent!" Nico exclaimed, clapping his hands in admiration. "At a distance exceeding one kilometer, and under moderate magical interference, the pointing remained clear and stable! This far exceeds our previous expectations!"
Karen looked at the alchemical masterpiece in her hand, a masterpiece that embodied Nico's hard work and her own talent data, and a sense of accomplishment welled up within her. This was no longer a laboratory toy, but a truly valuable tracking tool in actual combat!
"However," Nico's excitement was quickly replaced by rationality. He pointed to the stable but noticeably dimmer spot in the center of the compass compared to when it was closer, "the signal attenuation problem at long distances still exists. Beyond a certain distance, and when encountering extremely powerful magical environments, such as the barrier deep within Gringotts, which combines ancient goblin magic with modern protection, or certain powerful natural magical fields, the signal detected by the compass may become extremely weak or even interrupted."
Castor added, "Another key question: Is it effective against Voldemort's main soul? The fragments in the Horcruxes are 'encapsulated' and 'fixed,' their soul frequencies and states are relatively stable. Voldemort's main soul, however, is currently weak, adrift, and extremely unstable. Is its soul frequency completely consistent with the fragments? Will it drift due to changes in its state? These are all unknowns. This compass can currently only ensure tracking of Horcrux fragments we know, or soul targets whose states are relatively stable and whose frequency characteristics we have captured."
Karen nodded, understanding the limitations. Tracking the main soul remained the greatest challenge. "This is already a huge step forward, Master. At least we have a reliable tool for finding other known Horcruxes." He gripped the compass tightly, the cold metallic feel conveying power. "As for the main soul, as long as we find him, or he reappears and leaves traces, we can capture his frequency and update the compass's identification!"
"Well said!" Nico looked at him approvingly. "This version is practical enough. I'll further optimize the energy supply and signal gain loops to minimize the impact of attenuation. As for the main soul—" He looked at the dark outline of the Forbidden Forest in the distance, "that requires a trigger and more information. Karen, this compass will be one of your most important partners in your future hunts. Keep it safe and familiarize yourself with it."
Karen carefully put away the new version of the Resonance Compass. The afterglow of the setting sun lengthened the shadows of the three of them.