Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1636

The snake's scales reflected a malevolent light under the blazing sun. The cold, dry scales rubbed against the branches of the large tree it clung to. Then, more and more snakes, their scales filthy, emerged from the shadows of the green leaves, their pure black, almost inorganic eyes fixed on the traveler seeking refuge from the sun beneath the tree. These snakes' appearances defied the evolutionary characteristics of creatures in the material universe; their bizarre heads were crowned with colorful scales. They flicked their tongues at the aged traveler, draped in a yellowish-brown cloak and covered in dust, trying to capture the heat emanating from him. The coastline lay not far from the tree, but the churning, shimmering seawater under the scorching sun failed to bring moisture-laden air to this land. Only a few scattered blades of grass grew on the parched earth, and the spring that sustained the tree was reduced to a mere trickle, constantly on the verge of evaporation by the scorching sun.

The traveler beneath the tree had his eyes tightly shut. His withered, gaunt, and aged face was covered in sweat mixed with dust, and his chapped fingers clutched a strangely shaped chess piece. It was a chess piece with a gear carved at its top, and the pure white, composite ivory chess piece had been stained pink by sweat and blood seeping from his fingertips.

Another traveler, clad in a long robe, approached the magnificent tree via a path overgrown with grass and flowers. He wore a golden crown, his snow-white robes were spotless, and he was excessively healthy compared to the first traveler. The venomous snakes in the tree immediately stopped vibrating their scales, staring at the second traveler with malevolent eyes, baring their fangs as if to spit venom, and hissing threateningly. However, the traveler in the white robe waved towards the treetop, and the swarm of snakes fearfully retreated into the shadows among the leaves, but their venomous gazes remained fixed on them.

"I am very happy that my life can be an important parameter in the model."

"The Supreme Master spoke in a hoarse voice, a forced smile appearing on his gaunt face," the Supreme Master said. When he saw the water bag offered by the Emperor, he could smell the distinctive odor of tanned animal leather emanating from it. Night chased the traveler across the land; the Milky Way stretched across the night sky at high speed, the heat bursting forth in a fleeting instant, compressed billions of years into a single moment, was blindingly intense. The blurred terminator roughly divided the coastline, constantly attempting to reach the sea. Everything here was a metaphor—trees and venomous snakes alike, creations of the mortal mind, arising from nothingness, emptiness, and the sea.

This is the final breath of a participant before the war and a survivor after the war.

"Is this from you, or from Attilan?"

"Attilan, I have enough psionicists as supplies."

The Emperor shook the water pouch in his hand; the texture of its leather face was strikingly similar to human skin. The Sorcerer Supreme noticed the simple ornament made of black swan feathers at his waist. This small ornament represented the Emperor's rise to power, a black swan event in this timeless dimension, a result and metaphor of the interaction between the Sea of ​​Fate and the Emperor. It was like those hyperdimensional spiritual entities, the predators of the Aetheric Sea, acting as venomous snakes in the minds of mortals and in many cultural environments, or a symbol of the dangerous creatures encountered by the shared spirits of ten thousand other humankinds over thousands of years of evolution and expansion: fangs, needles, claws, countless eyes, deformed limbs, and repulsive scales.

"You cannot let them catch up, Your Majesty," the Emperor said, pointing to the sea. "We still have a way out, we still have time."

No, I'm tired.

The Venerable One took the water bag and drank a mouthful. The stench of leather filled his mouth, while the sweetness of the blood invigorated him. The Venerable One's complexion improved considerably; his gaunt face quickly regained its rosy hue. Although still thin, his mental state had improved significantly, and his small wounds were healing rapidly.

"I have persevered for over a thousand years. I was originally just an ordinary person, unable to bear this responsibility. Now I am weary, and I will end this duty with my death." The Sorcerer Supreme reached out and waved his hand towards the parched earth. In an instant, the cracked ground became moist, grass and flowers grew luxuriantly, and dried-up springs began to trickle forth. Then, rain fell from the sky, nourishing the land. The brief rain made the world even more abundant, but the shadow of night quickly approached from the other side of the horizon, swallowing up rocks, lawns, and flowers that bloomed at night, reducing everything to nothingness.

"I'm glad you found my hidden personality so quickly, my disciple, but my path has come to an end. The one who truly controls me still poses a threat to the material universe. Go, do what you should do, don't waste your energy here, this is enough. I'm glad you can retain your humanity, but now you should make a decision. I know you've been preparing for this day for many years. My prophetic abilities are inferior to yours, but that doesn't mean I didn't know that when you came to me to discuss your retirement plans, you already knew what the best choice was. From the moment you saw my future, you knew what you had to do. I just want to know, when was that?"

"Ten years ago, a prophetic dream. After years of speculation and investigation, it was determined that this prophetic dream was not influenced by any force."

The Sorcerer Supreme tossed aside the deflated water pouch, which instantly turned to dust upon hitting the ground, settling into the ankle-high grass. Its owner no longer paid attention to the pouch; the vessel that held the spiritual power of the Attilan people had lost its meaning. Undeniably, the Emperor's attack on Attilan Fortress had multiple purposes, and this water, a metaphor for spiritual energy, was one of them. As the sunlight faded, venomous snakes emerged from the shadows among the green leaves, cautiously lowering their bodies, attempting to reach for the travelers beneath the trees with their fangs. They were the most ferocious predators in the world.

The Sorcerer Supreme pushed him toward the bright shoreline. The Sorcerer Supreme looked up and spoke in a voice only he could hear as the monsoon swept in from behind him, passing through him and engulfing the entire sea.

"Let's go, it's time."

He ran forward without looking back, as if that would allow him to escape the unbearable ending.

Golden and silver glittered on the sea's surface as he walked towards the increasingly turbulent waters. The water, transitioning from light blue to deep blue and then to pitch black, revealed a colossal, indescribable shadow that lurked slowly in the lightless depths. The ethereal light from above could only illuminate its massive form visible in the upper layers of water; the emperor could only see the creature's dark shadow stretching across his entire field of vision. Even the largest mammals on Earth paled in comparison. It was an extraordinary colossality, more of a natural phenomenon and landform than a living creature. It was also a metaphor: a terrifying predator had arrived, and the emperor could almost feel the malice piercing through the thick layer of water and settling upon him.

He sat down again at the low table, where a few lonely chess pieces stood on the square black and white checkerboard. The Sorcerer Supreme, who had been sitting on the other side of the table, was nowhere to be seen. The light around the table gradually dimmed, and the monster in the shadows was approaching step by step. The dim light withdrew from the chessboard, the last glimmer fading from the golden chess pieces, shaped like eagles hunting venomous snakes, leaving only a faint afterglow in the darkness. He sniffled, allowing the grief to briefly overwhelm him, but quickly calmed himself. Memories flowed before his eyes, dazzling like the aurora borealis. The smell of a storm rushed towards him, rain, dust, and chess pieces falling from his fingertips. Thunder roared in his ears, and blinding flashes of lightning pierced the darkness. Tens of thousands of solidified lightning bolts tore through the space. The monster in the shadows retreated in panic, disintegrating. The intense psychic static electricity stung these still-forming aggregates of malice, and those that got too close were even torn apart by the blinding solidified lightning.

The emperor gripped the holy sword, which burned with flames and light, and it replaced the lamp as the only source of light in this space.

"We have no way to maintain vital signs..."

"Kill that wizard!"

"Step back, these mutants have serious genetic pollution."

"Submit or die at Kamar-Taj's command."

The moment Wanda Maximov came into contact with the Eye of Agamotto, she heard many voices. These voices were human, that was the only thing she was certain of. She felt herself submerged in lukewarm, lightless water, sinking towards the light source at the bottom. Curious, she opened her eyes and swam towards one of the voices. She then saw a man lying on a bed, his limbs twisted and bloodied, the damaged exoskeleton broken from the violent bending. The whole scene was as blurry as a crayon drawing; she could only barely make out a person in all-encompassing combat gear, with snake and scepter armbands on their arms, stitching up blood vessels with blood-stained gloves. She reached out to the body, and her psychic energy, like a wisp of smoke, burrowed from the medic's fingertips into the wounded man's flesh, then spread outwards, seeping into the broken bones, skin, and muscles.

"What happened to this blood vessel?"

As soon as the medic finished speaking, the others saw the hemostat inexplicably fall off. The arteries, severed by the broken bone fragments, automatically glued themselves back together, and the bone pieces deeply embedded in the flesh wriggled out, along with the accumulated blood. The medic felt a numbness in his fingers, as if some force burst forth from between them, a sensation similar to taking the first sip of carbonated soda, except the medic didn't see any bubbles.

"Hurry up and do it," the sergeant urged him. "Whoever is using magic to help us, we can still save his life. I believe the person helping us means us no harm."

(End of this chapter)