Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 149 The Ancient Immortals and the Return to Reality (First Update! Please Vote!)

"You mean...fate?" Salomon encountered the word again, and every time he uttered it, he felt a gash in his palate, as if the taste of blood was choking him. The last time he encountered this word was during Thor's descent, when the Sorcerer Supreme, using the Eye of Agamotto, saw in all the possibilities that every Jane Foster would fall in love with Thor. The situation was bizarre, but "fate" was indeed the most accurate interpretation.

Randolph continued, “Your birth was influenced by external forces,” he said. “Therefore, a line in your destiny is already predetermined. You can imagine it as countless rays radiating from the endpoints of a line segment, and you can have other possibilities, but on this straight line, your destiny is fixed. This fixation is something humans cannot understand, because humans receive information from the outside world through logic, while in time, cause and effect are reversed; the future determines the past, and the past is the future.”

Randolph's words left Salomon somewhat confused, but he roughly understood what Randolph meant—because his future self could pass through that door, therefore, from his future self's perspective, his present self was his future self's future. In order to achieve the time loop, one of Salomon's future possibilities had already been determined.

"You can do it," Randolph interrupted Salomon's thoughts, "because you already have. Only after that can you truly take control of your destiny. Until then, maintain your thirst for knowledge and curiosity; that is your only means of passing through the ultimate gate."

Randolph ended the conversation before Titusa returned, bidding Salomon farewell as he had errands to run in town. "You can look for some books on the shelf to read," Randolph said. "Those are books I wrote so I wouldn't have to read the same newspaper every day; the knowledge in them will be of great use to you."

After saying that, he left on his own. "Sir," Titusa said, seemingly a little shy, "is there anything else you need?"

"Is there any more sugar?" Salomon asked. "I always feel like there should be more sugar in the tea. And do you know what Mr. Carter is going to do? And Abigail, do you know where she is?"

"I don't know." Titus shook her head. "I haven't seen Miss Abigail for a day, and I don't know what the master is going to do."

"Alright." The sorcerer narrowed his eyes. "Could you please remind me after Coulson and Natasha wake up? I think they'll definitely have a lot of questions to ask."

"certainly."

The arcane mage spent the entire morning browsing Randolph Carter's bookshelf, finding in a handwritten book the spell Nyarlathotep had used the previous night. The spell was called "Cloak of Flames," and its power originated from Cthugha—a massive mass of burning matter residing near Fomalhaut, one of the Great Old Ones. Rumors suggested a rift between Cthugha and Nyarlathotep, but no one could be certain of the accuracy of these reports; after all, even those who followed such gossip couldn't withstand Cthugha's intense heat.

Randolph didn't return after lunch, but Coulson and Natasha awoke from their slumber. They were indeed full of questions. Coulson had forgotten parts of what happened the night before after witnessing Nyarlathotep's monstrous transformation, while Natasha said she had lost her memory of the attack. Salomon had no choice but to tell them the part of the truth he could.

However, even he himself had many unanswered questions, and the information he could give them was truly limited. After they finished a not-so-good lunch, Coulson and Natasha wanted to borrow Randolph's books, but Salomon stopped them—their souls had just been switched, and Coulson had witnessed the horrific scene firsthand; his sanity was already teetering on the edge of madness, and reading those books now would only drive them completely insane.

Coulson also brought the dog. If it weren't for the stray dog ​​Jones, Salomon might have truly been helpless against Nyarlathotep's avatar last night. He kept his promise and gave the stray dog ​​a bath in the garden. Jones gently nibbled on Salomon's hand, seemingly quite satisfied with the sorcerer's service.

As evening approached, Randolph returned and beckoned the strangers to board his carriage, which he had parked outside his house. He was going to take them to the stone tower in the open fields east of Salem village. Salomon boarded the carriage and saw Abigail wrapped in a blanket, her face pale, as if she were trapped in a nightmare from which she could not awaken.

"This reality is almost obsolete," Randolph said. "She's starting to remember what happened in 1692. We need to act quickly; this is the last reset."

Randolph and Salomon didn't explain what "reset" meant to the agents. The sorcerer quickly pulled them into the carriage, and Randolph drove through the frenzied residents towards the village to the east. The stone tower was one Randolph had used before, later found by Coulson. It was a cylindrical gray stone tower built by the Native Americans, said to have been observatories for observing the positions of the sun and stars. Later, with the colonists' invasion, the Native Americans were forced to abandon the site, and the abandoned tower served as a ritual site.

Agent Coulson did indeed find people to build the altar, and Nyarlathotep, to lend credibility to his story, relayed this information to the sorcerer. Later, when Coulson awoke, he confirmed that the altar was indeed completed. It wasn't until nightfall, when black shadows spread westward from the eastern lands, swallowing all the sunlight, that Randolph Carter led the outsiders to the vicinity of the stone tower.

The sorcerer left Coulson and Natasha at the foot of the tower, instructing them not to ascend it under any circumstances. He and Randolph climbed the steps, carrying Abigail wrapped in a blanket, to the top. According to Randolph, this ritual was special because Abigail was both the target and the sacrifice. If Salomon wanted to summon Yog-Sothoth, he had better prepare a sacrifice that would satisfy the One of All Things.

Salomon watched as Randolph performed the ritual. He placed his hands on his head, forming an equilateral triangle with his thumb and forefinger, then flipped the right triangle to create a parallelogram, followed by his left, creating a downward-facing equilateral triangle. Randolph placed this equilateral triangle on his forehead, chanting the incantation "Yog-Sothothon Divine Magic" as he performed these actions.

"Hear my call! Lord of the Endless Void! Starshifter! Solid Foundation! Master of Earthquakes! Conqueror of Terror! Creator of Pain! Destroyer! Victorious One of Glory! Child of Void and Chaos! Guardian of the Abyss! God of Primordial Darkness! Lord of Dimensions! Enigmatic Sage! Guardian of Secrets! Lord of Labyrinths! Master of Angles! God of Night Hawks! Final Tip! Lord of Gates! Pathfinder! Primordial Almighty Immortal Lord! Ummel At Tavel! Iak-Sathath! Yog Sothoth NAFL'FTHAGN!!! Your servant calls upon you!"

Then, a strange sound arose, like a train whistle and a noisy conversation. The sorcerer could clearly hear someone mentioning St. Louis Union Station. Following this noise, the previously dark starry sky brightened, as if everyone had experienced an entire night in an instant. At Salomon's feet, a stubborn weed peeked out from a crack in the stone bricks, then retreated back into the accumulated dust, becoming a seed once more.

Time became fragmented, and the light of day flickered. Caught in this turbulent current, Salomon could only rely on the changes in his surroundings for judgment. He saw many strange creatures seemingly about to leap out of time, only to vanish just as quickly. Everything around the stone tower became chaotic. The arcane mage even saw a Ford sedan drive past him, seemingly within reach of the little boy in the back seat holding his ice cream.

Finally, these phenomena blurred, and Salomon seemed to be observing the world through frosted glass. After Randolph's incantation ended, a faint light, whether breakfast or dusk, appeared on the horizon. Though the light was weak, it shone directly into the eyes, making it difficult to open them. Through the blur, the sorcerer saw a human silhouette that was at least half the height of an ordinary person.

Salomon knew what it was; Randolph Carter had already taught him how to do it. The first thing Yog-Sothoth's avatar did upon arriving was not to take Abigail Williams, but to drag a barking dog—Jones—out of the void. The scene was somewhat comical: the great, all-knowing, all-powerful god holding a struggling dog.

Finally, Jones stopped howling and lowered his head in utter humiliation. Even Salomon, in his utter stupidity, knew at this point that the stray dog ​​Jones was no ordinary dog; it was a dog capable of harming Nyarlathotep's avatar.

"This is just Nyarlathotep's prank, don't worry about it," said the ancient immortal.

The sorcerer lowered his head, avoiding eye contact with the avatar of Yog-Sothoth. Yet a force compelled him to raise his head and look at Tavel At Umur.

"You've paid off your debts." The voice came through the thick, pale gray fabric covering Tavel At Umur's face to Salomon's ears, "But you still have questions."

“Yes, esteemed Primordial Immortal,” Salomon said, “there are many.”

"I know your doubts, but you will not find the answers here." The towering ancient immortal pointed a finger to the sorcerer's chest, where a silver key, accompanied by a delicate chain, hung around the sorcerer's neck. "This is the beginning, and the end. You yearn to wander among the stars, to understand the mysteries of each celestial body; you yearn to delve into the secrets behind each incantation, and memorize them; you yearn to descend upon Satan's throne in Hell, to gaze upon this planet from the endless abyss; you yearn to stroll along the river of time and space, to converse with the most learned in the world. This is your path, your destiny. Once you obtain this key, your destiny will be shattered."

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Coulson clutched his head and stood up. The stone tower behind him was now a pile of rubble, and in front of him stretched a long, gray concrete road, with Salomon standing by the roadside, his back to him. Coulson shook Natasha awake, who was lying beside him.

"Where are we?" he asked the sorcerer.

"Welcome to 2011." Salomon turned around, the silver key on his chest gleaming in the morning light. "We're back."

I have a lot to do today, so I'll be working a little later.

(End of this chapter)