Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1637 Kamar-Taj: The Ball of Thread

"Do your best, Doctor, but I request that this soldier's vital signs be strictly monitored after the emergency treatment, and that he be placed under high-risk observation pending interrogation. I know what you're thinking, Doctor, he's my brother too, but we must be vigilant against witchcraft, even if it's cold-blooded. Even if the Emperor himself helps us, we must be prepared for this."

Wanda Maximov was clearly unaware that her small act of assistance had deeply unsettled the sergeants of the First Secret Regiment. To her, it was merely a fleeting moment; similar incidents played out repeatedly before her eyes. Initially, she offered assistance with great interest, such as refilling water bags for travelers in the desert and bringing peace to farmers struggling with hardship and poverty. Compared to the glamorous lives of the middle class or hereditary wealthy in big cities, she was more concerned with the lives of ordinary people struggling to make ends meet.

Her own experiences and the compassion instilled in her by the emperor's teachings led her to always focus on the suffering of humanity. However, as more and more suffering and sorrow unfolded before her, even with her intellect, she felt weary. Compared to joy and happiness, this pain was simply too much, suffocating her. She began to doubt how her teacher could possibly enable these people to live a life free from worries about food, warmth, and family. Was that grand ideal merely a colorful film called "ideal" floating on the surface of this painful world, incompatible with the waters called "reality"?

Imagine. She thought to herself, imagining in that familiar, calm voice.

Imagine a boundless sea, sometimes calm, sometimes wild, with endless, ever-changing islands and reefs rising and falling on its surface, symbolizing the collective unconscious of every individual's mind on this vast ocean. Countless deadly predators lurk beneath the surface, roaming the waves, trying to bite her ankle and drag her into the dark trench. Imagine, she thought, in that familiar, calm voice. She glimpsed a grand palace standing on the largest island, and she imagined herself stepping onto solid rocks, letting the lush, dew-kissed soft grass reach her ankles, the greyish-white cliffs bearing the pounding of the waves.

A sense of security arises from order.

"The most important function of a planetary defense system is not to resist attacks on a material level. The First Sorcerer Supreme already knew that the true terror of the outer dimensions was not attacks visible to the naked eye, but the corruption of the human mind. Even ordinary people without talent can be corrupted by that filthy energy, leading to mental distortion and madness."

As Master Daniel chanted incantations, orange-red sparks bursting from his fingertips drew an extremely complex geometric shape in front of him. A ring, also composed of orange-red sparks, slowly rotated on his wrist. Characters from ancient Earth civilizations flickered frequently, leaving behind the ozone smell of psychic static electricity.

"If you want to manipulate this system, you must confront the beings protected by the planetary defense system. Kamar-Taj will not ask for human gratitude, because what we do is not aimed at blocking, but at a future that ordinary people cannot comprehend. I believe you have heard the saying that when we become sorcerers, we are destined not to view all this through the lens of ordinary people shaped by a specific historical period. Skin color, race, cultural identity, wealth class—all of these should be discarded. The only thing that should remain is the objective fact of being human and dedicating everything to the continuation of the human race. This is Kamar-Taj's only ideology, and it is also the only truth that the Sorcerer Supreme first taught him, taught us, and taught countless Kamar-Taj sorcerers over the millennia. Because this is an unbreakable and undeniable fact."

The sorcerer Daniel did not know whether Wanda Maximoff could hear him; he could only see crimson lightning piercing the air between her fingertips and the Eye of Agamotto, a tiny distance apart.

"No, don't attack them. They've surrendered," Wanda Maximov said.

Tatiana frowned, her raised hand remaining fixed on the ground. An intuition told her that ordering an attack on the psionicists descending the stairs would be a mistake, yet she couldn't pinpoint the source of this intuition. The conflict between her belligerent instincts and reason left her deeply troubled.

"Lock on them, stay alert." Tatiana blinked. The tactical data panel clearly showed that Baron Mordo, a dangerous target, was among the psionicists descending the stairs. Battlefield feedback briefings indicated that Baron Mordo hadn't displayed particularly great power, but Tatiana knew that was because the Emperor and the Royal Guard were leading the attack; many psionic battles weren't visible to ordinary people like them. Moreover, Baron Mordo hadn't surrendered yet, so this target remained dangerous. She felt her combat sisters behind her casting questioning glances, but Tatiana decided to trust her inexplicable intuition, even if it was wrong. She would tell her sisters and accept the punishment.

"Prepare the shackles and psionic suppressors. We only have the right to kill Baron Mordo if he resists law enforcement."

"He defied the emperor."

"Sisters Talia, obey orders, or hand over your ammunition to me."

Wanda Maximov pushed open the palace doors and entered the hall.

To her astonishment, she discovered that the palace's interior was almost identical to the hall housing the planetary defense system, from the reliefs on the walls praising Agamotto and his disciples to the jewels inlaid overhead, mimicking the sun, moon, and stars. Just as she began to suspect this was a memory projection, she dismissed the possibility. Her subconscious sensed a significant difference in volume between the hall's interior and exterior, but she had no time to dwell on such details—she instinctively walked along the carpet. At the far end of the cruciform palace hall was a hemispherical hall, in the center of which, on a raised pulpit, sat the golden Eye of Agamotto. Wanda Maximov blinked, seeing several blurry, pencil-scribbled figures flickering in the air near the Eye of Agamotto, emitting sounds. Driven by her subconscious, she stepped forward, overlapping with a blurry red figure and touching the artifact. Lightning crackled between the golden shell of the Eye of Agamotto and her fingertips.

It seemed like an eternity before the Imperial Guard, Amphitryon, finally heard Wanda Maximov breathe.

"I will see, I have already seen."

Wanda Maximov stared blankly into the void. The Royal Guard, Amphitriteon, gripped his halberd tightly, while the mage Daniel also kept a wary eye on the outside of the rotunda. Even the Royal Guard, beings without psionic talents, could sense the cacophony of screams emanating from behind the veil of reality the instant Wanda connected with the Eye of Agamotto and the planetary defense system. Though so close, the source of the sound was impossible to pinpoint. It felt like the pressure shift in one's eardrums, as if countless invisible claws were scratching at the cerebral cortex.

"I see him," Wanda Maximov said. "Come to me!"

"Don't get distracted! Don't talk to any voices behind the veil!" Master Daniel rushed over anxiously. "Behind the veil are only lies!"

"Back off, Mage Daniel!"

The spear of the Guard descended straight down, almost grazing the forehead and bridge of Daniel's nose, before striking his neck. The Royal Guard's Amphitryon's precise control of the fighting distance was astonishing, yet Daniel had no time to admire such masterful skill, for Wanda Maximov had made the biggest mistake of all. Daniel hadn't even bothered to maintain the protective spell meant to safeguard Wanda Maximov's mind.

"Please step back. Wanda Maximov knows what she's doing."

"She is having a conversation with the being behind the veil."

"I believe she knows what she's doing; it's her mission." The Royal Guard, Amphitriteon, remained unmoved, but sheathed his blade. He had only been there to prevent the sorcerer, Daniel, from taking any rash action; now that Daniel had calmed down, there was no need for further threats. "Thank you for your help, Daniel. Regardless of your initial stance in offering assistance, this matter has exceeded your expectations from the beginning, and its impact far surpasses your imagination. Daniel, I now issue you orders on behalf of my lord to prepare for the next phase of our predicament—you must reveal the existence of the Dark Book to all the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj, and then tell them the name of a witch, Morgan le Fay, who will be Kamar-Taj's future enemy. Every sorcerer must know how to deal with her."

"Morgan le Fay is just a legend. She did collect the scrolls and compile the Dark Book, but this witch has been completely trapped in another dimension by the Sorcerer Supreme, forever unable to set foot in the material universe. Unless—"

"—A spatial rift has appeared large enough for her to leave. Yes, Our Lord believes the appearance of a spatial rift is inevitable, and Morgan le Fay, as the Sorcerer Supreme's mortal enemy, may also take this opportunity to escape her prison and set foot in the material universe again. Our Lord has already written the impact of this event into the model, and assigned Morgan le Fay, an immortal being, to solve the problem at Kamar-Taj."

The emperor stood on the vast, boundless sea, the terminator crossing the coastline, the shadows closing in step by step.

He clutched a deep red ball of thread that had appeared out of nowhere, disappearing into the distant horizon. No matter how far he traveled, this thread guided him, like the thread Ariadne gave Theseus in mythology, preventing him from getting lost on the boundless sea. He walked for an unknown amount of time; the distant coastline crumbled under the erosion of the sea, and the reefs formed by underwater volcanic eruptions gradually collapsed. Finally, he saw the location indicated by the thread. The further he went, the more turbulent the waves became, with ever-changing reefs and islands rising and falling on the dark sea. There stood a palace on a solitary island in the sea, the deep red thread disappearing into its gates.

"I heard you, Wanda."

(End of this chapter)