HP X LOTM : Please Call Me Mr. Error.

The vision shattered and Loki was soon back in his body. His shirt was drenched with sweat as he flexed his fingers while trying to keep himself from losing control.

"This…"

"Salazar? Or Rowena?"

"...no that did not feel like them…"

"And why would they even do such a thing?"

Loki quickly looked around himself to try and understand what had just happened, but he was reluctant to delve into understanding something he didn't understand yet.

He had the feeling that as long as the entity that had stopped him wanted to let him know more about the situation, it would have let him know more.

But since it hadn't disclosed any information about itself other than that it was a vast void of darkness, Loki refrained from actively forming theories regarding 'it'.

So he took deep breaths and slowed down his rapidly beating heart before drinking some chilled water to calm down.

Loki's eyes finally stopped trembling before they settled on Helga's crystal.

'I guess I'm freeing 'Her' first?'

'I wonder what pathway she's from.'

'....vault Two hundred and twelve…'

'I wonder whose vault that is.'

'It's got to be the vault of someone close to Voldemort doesn't it?'

'Can I steal it through this connection?' Loki wondered as he extended his hand in an attempt to trace the end of the thread connected to the crystals as he twisted his wrist.

Almost as soon as Loki tried to do so, he felt a small barrier brush against his theft and stopped immediately.

Loki frowned as he opened his eyes and thought for a few seconds.

'A barrier?'

'...'

'It's not like I had expected it to be unprotected, but to keep it protected from my theft means that if I stole it I would be alerting Voldemort about another one of his souls going missing.'

'...should I do it anyway?...I could…but Voldemort might have something nasty planned for me if I try and force myself to steal the item.'

'Either way, I could try and study it.'

Loki activated his spirit vision once again and began to trace the thread connecting the crystal and its key.

And with a flick of his wrist immediately attempted to steal what lay at its end.

Except this time when he felt himself brush against the barrier, Loki focused all his attention on the thing blocking him and tried to understand its nature.

He couldn't exactly look at its runes or the components that construed it, but Loki could feel the rather oddly timed patrols it did around its surroundings to keep whatever it was protecting safe from harm.

And so Loki began to diligently study the way the barrier protected his prized treasure to figure out how he could trick it without setting off any alarms.

'I see…so it's a blood barrier.'

'Only someone with blood from the family can open it…'

'Anyone else touches what's behind it without their presence and it'll snap and send whoever placed it a warning about it having been breached.'

'I could've tricked the barrier if it was close to me by rearranging some of its runes…'

'But from so far away…it's impossible. Even using Sequence 3 Beyonder Characteristics won't help me since it doesn't enhance my perception, it only allows me to manipulate what is already around me. So I'd have to be physically present in front of the barrier to manipulate its structure and trick it into thinking that the item is still being guarded by it.'

'....so the question stands...'

'Do I steal the Horcrux right now? Or spend enough time fooling Voldemort into believing that his Horcrux is safe and well-protected?'

Loki didn't have an immediate answer for his situation so he simply performed a divination.

"It is better for me to steal the Horcrux without tripping the alarm and alerting Voldemort."

Loki repeated the statement seven times and slowly opened his eyes to look at the topaz pendulum in his hands spinning of its own volition.

"Clockwise."

Loki accepted the result without much question and found himself a seat to relax in the Room of Requirements.

In the estranged silence, Loki's thoughts always drifted towards the mysterious entity that had 'helped' his divination earlier, but he was always quick to distract himself from it.

And while he had plenty of foul curses to throw at the mysterious being, Loki was treading cautiously since he didn't want 'it' to retaliate against him.

As such, Loki distracted himself with another important question.

Summoning the Error Card of Blasphemy in his hand, Loki looked at it with a frown.

He filled it with his spirituality and watched with interest as the pages flipped until he landed on a page with an unassuming woman standing while looking at him with a professional smile.

Loki was nearly a hundred per cent sure that the lady on the page could actually see him, especially since her eyes moved around to always look exactly into his.

And it wasn't some sort of trick like the Mona Lisa's perpetual smile.

Loki could actually see it move around the picture as the woman kept her posture and smile while maintaining eye contact with him.

As Loki observed the woman, he could feel himself getting lost in the picture.

It felt as if staring long enough would allow the person in the picture to take over his body without any trouble.

Loki knew this wasn't what was happening at all.

He knew that the picture posed no danger in any real sense.

But it still strongly felt like it did.

"Sequence 3 Mentor of Deceit."

Loki's eyes scanned around the picture and skipped over the potion ingredients, before landing on the advancement ritual that was written neatly like a bold statement from a judge.

"Parasitize a fundamental force that is being observed by several higher level beings. The higher the level of the beings deceived and the greater their number the smoother the advancement."

'So I can drink this potion as soon as I get the ingredients or the Beyonder characteristics after doing what I've got planned…'

'But…for the next ones...'

'Where do I get these from?'

'Is the only place the Abyss?'

Loki felt a little nervous since the closer he got to going to the Abyss, the more real the situation seemed.

'If Laura's husband has only been able to survive in that place because of the Turnsoest Brass Book…will I be able to survive without it?'

'Especially if I have to fight demons while keeping myself away from 'Her' terrible gaze?'

'Will illusory invisibility work?'

'While I'm only going there with the help of an alchemical puppet…'

'What if she has a way to harm me even then?'

Even though Loki had the protection and guarantee of the Flamels, things started to get more and more tense in his mind.

Especially with the appearance of the sudden mystery being that was messing with him.

Loki took a few deep breaths and calmed himself before summoning the key to the start of whatever was going to happen next.

Tom's body appeared in front of Loki after he summoned it from the Sefirah Castle.

Tom's body was still in a deep coma since Loki had practically fractured the boy's mind, forcing his brain to shut itself out to avoid the terrible pain it would feel if he were alive and awake.

With the body in front of him, Loki quickly pulled out various ritualistic items to start the ritual he needed to conduct.

Giving everything one last look, Loki nodded.

"Alright…let's begin."

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