This realization left Kyle’s hands and feet cold.
The integrity of the soul was paramount; no one except the most unhinged Dark wizard would ever dare tamper with their own soul.
Even liches in the fiction of his past life only transferred their souls into phylacteries rather than severing them.
Furthermore, regardless of their living moral stance or alignment, once transformed into a lich, they inevitably fell under the influence of negative energy, gradually becoming cold and cruel, their view of life slowly twisting—with only a precious few escaping that fate.
Suppressing his inner unease, Kyle cast a dozen colorful diagnostic spells on himself to conduct a thorough check.
Oddly enough, although a fragment of Kyle’s soul had been torn off and fused into the Patronus Charm, his personal state was remarkably fine.
None of the diagnostic charms returned any negative feedback.
However, Kyle did not lower his guard because of this.
Because this bizarre condition reminded him of an evil magical artifact: a Horcrux.
Legend had it that Herpo the Foul, a Dark wizard from Ancient Greece, invented this sinister ritual.
By ending a life, one could split their soul and deposit the severed fragment into an object enchanted with countless spells.
Herpo had hoped to evade Death through this method, yet he was never seen again in recorded history.
Some rumors claimed Herpo became insanely erratic in his later years, while others said he suffered a backlash from his own evil magic, the trauma to his soul causing his immediate demise.
In short, it never ended well.
Yet, with the diagnostic spells revealing no negative feedback whatsoever, Kyle was left at a bit of a loss.
In the time that followed, Kyle created a log to record his daily state, behaviors, and thoughts.
If his thinking ever became affected—whether he began going mad or experienced subtle shifts in personality—he could promptly spot the issue by comparing past entries.
At the same time, Kyle began spending his time at the library focusing heavily on books related to the soul, scouring everything from diagnostic methods and related magic to theoretical hypotheses, as well as historical records and rumors of soul alterations.
Regrettably, every historical account involving soul damage ended poorly— ranging from a decline in spellcasting ability and cognitive dulling, to becoming a Squib, or even falling into gradual insanity.
The more he researched, the more Kyle felt that the former Dark Lord had also dabbled in the magic of the soul, incurring severe trauma.
Considering that the name Voldemort translated to “flight from death,” Kyle had good reason to suspect the Dark Lord had created Horcruxes for himself.
During the early days of his rise, he had undoubtedly been elegant and powerful.
Kyle could not fathom how he could have rallied so many pure-blood families without immense personal charm and leadership capabilities.
After all, the title of “Heir of Slytherin” alone was hardly enough to bow the heads of proud pure-blood aristocrats.
Yet looking at the Dark Lord in his later years, the man had become unhinged and extreme.
The Death Eaters under his command transformed from a political faction with clear goals into a terrorist organization centered on pure-blood supremacy, calling for the purge of half-bloods and Muggle-born wizards while seeking total dominion over the wizarding world.
In their later stages, the Death Eaters closely resembled certain real-world terror groups from his past life—spreading fear, glorifying death, and provoking utter revulsion.
Although such extremist organizations had also reared their heads in his homeland in his past life, unlike the feeble Ministry of Magic, his motherland had been powerful and united as one.
A handful of rogue extremists could neither withstand the iron fist of the state nor stem the tide of the people, failing to stir up even a ripple in the end.
With the Dark Lord’s fate serving as a cautionary tale, Kyle exercised even greater caution regarding his current situation.
It was only after nearly a month of detailed, rigorous observation and analysis that Kyle finally reached a conclusion about his condition.
First, the soul division Kyle experienced was fundamentally different from the violent severing recorded in literature.
The soul extraction caused by the Patronus Charm was more akin to drawing out renewable soul elements from his soul.
It then absorbed Kyle’s soul power to nourish itself, ultimately forming an admittedly frail soul seed.
This soul seed possessed all the basic elements of a complete soul and retained a degree of sentience.
Based on Kyle’s observations, because it contained so little soul material and power, it exhibited only rudimentary consciousness—less than that of a mouse or other small mammals.
Second, Kyle’s soul had not become incomplete or damaged due to shedding this soul seed; it had merely been rendered extremely weak from the temporary loss of soul elements and energy.
Fortunately, these elements and soul power could slowly regenerate over time.
What ultimately put his mind at ease was that he could re-integrate this soul seed back into his own soul at any time, merging seamlessly without leaving any hidden trauma or dissonance.
In fact, Kyle realized that this mutated Patronus Charm was far more important to him than he had initially imagined—its significance was no less than that of the cheat he carried within him!