"Come out, Tom Riddle. Or, as you call yourself now: Elijah?"
Voldemort's voice was hoarse. He spoke softly, yet his words echoed into every corner of the vault as if he were whispering.
There was no movement in the flames. This displeased him slightly.
But Voldemort did not get angry. Anger was for his lowly servants and dirty Mudbloods. For someone who might be his own, he was far more tolerant.
His fingers intertwined with flexible grace as he leaned against the exit of the vault. A wealth of emotion showed on his face.
It was as if he had come to meet an old friend he had not seen in years.
"Tom Riddle is the culprit who created terror at Hogwarts throughout this school year. He opened the legendary Chamber of Secrets…" Voldemort softly recited an article from the newspaper.
"When I saw this news, do you know how surprised I was?
I was clearly in the dark jungles of Albania, miserably possessing those lowly snakes and rats. Yet at the same time, another person bearing my name was stirring up trouble at Hogwarts and gaining freedom.
I am very curious, and eager to know, exactly who you are."
The young wizard's facial features changed, turning into a gray, snake-like face. Of course, unlike the resurrected Voldemort in the original events, the current version of him still had a nose.
"Come on, let me see who you are. Come to me. Don't be shy."
His tone was very tolerant, like a professor with ample patience who could tolerate children making mistakes.
At this moment, the flames burning in the secret vault suddenly changed color. They were no longer the fiery red of dragon fire, but turned a ghostly blue.
They looked like an endless field of bluebells in the wilderness, swaying like waves in the howling wind.
The flames seemed to come alive. They actively cleared a path, revealing a flat open space. There stood Elijah with a cold expression, looking at the man whose name could not be mentioned through the fire.
The two looked at each other, and Voldemort was immediately stunned.
He had almost forgotten how handsome he used to be.
After a moment, he spoke slowly:
"I have to say, a bit of gold in your hair really suits you. If I had done that back then, it would have been easier to get the goblet and the pendant."
"I'm not going to talk to you about these old stories. Neither of us is the type to dwell on the past, are we?" Elijah replied, very calm at this moment.
He had not expected to meet Voldemort here, but he felt no fear.
A Voldemort inhabiting someone else's body was clearly not in his complete state.
Of course, Elijah himself had only recently been resurrected, and his magic level at this moment was far from Voldemort's peak. Otherwise, he would not have been so eager to seek the power of Ancient Magic.
If he were to clash with Voldemort right now, the outcome might be hard to tell.
What's more, the other party was currently using a body that could be replaced at any time, while his own body had been resurrected with great difficulty.
Elijah had no need to fight Voldemort to the death. Even if he won, there would be no benefit.
But if the other party actively sought him out, that was another matter.
"You're wrong about that. In some aspects, I care very much about some old objects. For example, I want to know what happened to the diary I left behind back then?" Voldemort's face grew cold, and his voice became even more ruthless.
"Very interesting question," Elijah mimicked Voldemort's tone of voice.
This was not difficult. Voldemort's essence was calm madness. Calmness was merely his outward disguise, while madness was his true inner self.
The moment Elijah appeared before Voldemort, he had already thought about what he wanted to say.
He held the exquisite wand in his right hand, constantly vigilant for a possible battle. On the surface, however, he merely made an elegant gesture in front of him, as if showing himself off.
"Right before your eyes!"
At this moment, it seemed as if even time stood still.
For a long time, neither of them spoke or moved. They stood stiffly like wooden figures.
Although their wands were not pointed at each other, the tension in the air was thick.
No one could tell whether it would be a conversation or a battle.
Elijah was, of course, apprehensive deep down, because he was facing the most powerful Dark Wizard, who stood on the same level as Dumbledore. But he was not afraid.
And he quickly realized that Voldemort, like him, was not entirely confident. The other party also had reservations.
Whether Voldemort was worried about his current strength, or unsure whether Elijah still possessed the characteristics of a Horcrux and thus dared not act rashly, this was good news for Elijah.
'I should be able to take the initiative?' Elijah couldn't help but think.
He didn't like being led by the nose.
"I didn't expect you to dare to appear before me."
Having made up his mind, he immediately launched a verbal offensive. This move was called pre-emption, primarily aimed at making Voldemort fall into confusion.
Voldemort was indeed stunned.
"What do you mean by that?"
"What do I mean? You lost to a child, twice!" Elijah looked at him coldly, his gaze as if Voldemort had brought some disgrace upon him.
"Twelve years ago that night, the arrogant Dark Lord lost to a one-year-old infant. How absurd, don't you think?" Elijah asked softly.
He always kept his distance from Voldemort. The two looked at each other from afar, and he saw Voldemort's distorted face in the firelight.
"And you've been living in this state ever since? You're simply a pathetic worm."
"That's false!" Voldemort retorted angrily. "It has nothing to do with Harry Potter at all. I lost to Lily Potter's Ancient Magic. If it weren't for that magic, I wouldn't have fallen to this state!"
"We all thought you were probably dead," Elijah continued. The "we" in his words referred to the Horcruxes. "After that night, I couldn't sense your existence. That is why I painstakingly tried to resurrect myself, to continue our great cause. Fortunately, Lucius was still obedient."
Elijah's words were meant to exonerate Malfoy. Ultimately, his current resurrection also owed much to Lucius's help, and he was not the kind of person to abandon someone once he no longer needed them.
"Lucius, ah, yes, he is a good servant," Voldemort remarked with emotion.
Although truly loyal Death Eaters were all in Azkaban, in reality many people like Lucius had excused themselves. At least Lucius Malfoy did not escape punishment by betraying other Death Eaters like Karkaroff.
"But now, you see, I am not dead. I think you know best that no one has gone further than us on the path to immortality!" Every time Voldemort mentioned this, he couldn't help but feel proud and triumphant.
He had unprecedentedly created so many Horcruxes, all so that he could make a comeback at any time. Although the Horcrux before him seemed to be somewhat out of his control, in his opinion it was harmless. He believed he would be the person who understood himself best. If he could join forces with himself, then he would no longer have to fear Dumbledore.
So Voldemort's tone shifted, revealing a snake-like greed in his words:
"It's different now, isn't it? Now we can join forces and kill that Dum—"
"Indeed, it's different. You're weaker than before," Elijah sneered.
"..."