Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1717 A Gaze Across Time

This was a winding, dark tunnel, carved out by humans wielding steel tools. The rough rock walls were as cold as the blizzard raging outside. The Himalayan night was exceptionally frigid; icy claws gripped the air, slowly seeping into the cave with each breath. Agamotto led the way, torch in hand, boulders rubbing against each other and tumbling beneath his feet, sliding deeper into the tunnel. The resinous torch, embedded in the rock crevices, released the acrid smell of burning resin. Thin, pale gray smoke rose lightly, gathering on the overhead rock walls, swaying and drifting towards the cave entrance before disappearing into the dense, pure white snowflakes.

As the firelight gradually spread forward, thousands of skeletons adorned with crude gems and precious metals came into view on both sides of the tunnel. Rust remaining on the rock walls flaked off in the air currents created by the visitors, adding a subtle, almost imperceptible, pungent stench of blood to the already foul air. Inanna insisted the stench originated from the skeletons laid out along the tunnel's sides, even though they were remarkably clean—these skeletons once belonged to the workers who carved this tunnel, their descendants being indigenous people from a lower-altitude region hundreds of kilometers away. The temperature here was too low for the corpses to decompose. In lower-altitude areas, the bodies could be given to eagles and wolves, reintegrating into the ecological cycle—but here, Agamotto could only soak the corpses in boiling snow water, skin them, coat them with grease, and inlay them with gems, creating relics resembling those of future Catholicism, to commemorate the contributions these people made to the planet, even though they knew nothing of it, unaware of what was sealed here.

The descendants of these pioneers have long lost the knowledge that Agamotto once bestowed upon their people. They no longer know how to smelt metals or mine veins, but they know how to survive in this place of only ice, snow and rocks. The power that their masters once showed them has become myth and legend, which will form a kind of religious culture and ethnic customs in the future, until the final truth disappears.

The Sorcerer Supreme did not follow Agamotto here, for she already knew its secrets. The Emperor knew as well; he had followed in the Sorcerer Supreme's footsteps to explore this place. The deepest part of the dungeon held the reason Agamotto interrupted his hundreds of thousands of years of cosmic wandering and remained on Earth. In the future, this place will become the dungeon of Kamar-Taj, guarded by blinded and tongue-cuttered sinners, imprisoning many enemies beyond the comprehension and resistance of intelligent beings.

He once stood in the deepest part of the dungeon, facing a vast, empty, dark cavern and a colossal obelisk erected within it. The three most powerful extradimensional spiritual entities that had appeared in the physical universe within the last million years, belonging to different mad gods, were bound to this obelisk. Each of these entities possessed ten million names, each name symbolizing a civilization whose universe they had destroyed, leaving only ruins.

Even though the marble obelisk is engraved with countless psionic runes, standing before it one can still feel the indistinct, frenzied whispers seeping from the rock itself. An unclean fanaticism rubs against the very edge of thought, and the air reeks of decay and burnt flesh. Every heartbeat approaching this place is a test; only the most rational, the most foolish, and the most stubborn can remain calm before such mad, twisted intellect.

He hadn't wanted to come here; there was no secret for him here, but Agamotto insisted.

"For us, death is not the cessation of heartbeat, but the cessation of thought. Your teacher gained true freedom from death, a treasure I can never obtain," Agamotto said, his voice tinged with envy. "I am destined to become a Vishanti, attempting to confront the ultimate enemy of intelligent life from the very beginning of the universe. Becoming a Vishanti means losing oneself; the individual named Agamotto no longer possesses the freedom of soul and thought. Compared to your teacher, I am closer to death. This is not to gain your sympathy; you are merely my product, an act of desperation. I do not ask for your forgiveness."

Inanna blinked rapidly, turning to look at the Emperor, her eyes revealing her dissatisfaction with his attitude. She seemed to agree that the Emperor's indifference towards Agamotto was excessive—the Emperor rolled his eyes at her, completely unprepared for Inanna's soft heart. When they first arrived in the Himalayas, she had been terrified by Agamotto's power, but now this emotionally charged goddess was trying to persuade the Emperor to accept this "familial bond"—this was certainly not because she was easily deceived, at least not entirely. As a demigod of the wilderness who had transitioned to a deity of human civilization, Inanna understood very well what accepting prayers and changing herself meant. She had once used stags and birds as symbols; now she wore a lion's skin, wielded a spear and a venomous snake, drawing power from human civilization, war, and reproduction.

She became powerful as a result, but also lost much of the power she once possessed. If the timing of her transmigration into flesh had not been right, her fate would have been the same as that of the other gods of the wilderness: either she would have become the purest form of psychic energy and vanished completely, or she would have returned to the side of the great consciousness of this planet and lost herself entirely.

What price will the powerful demigod Agamotto pay to become the Vishanti?

"I have only one question," the emperor said, his face still expressionless, "What are the selection criteria for a mother to receive a soul for conception?"

“Completely random. I don’t even know which era your soul will appear in; I can only rely on Vishanti’s hints. This is also the purpose of the Heavenly Ring I designed.” Agamotto smiled meaningfully. “Do you have feelings for your mortal mother who gave birth to your body? I assure you, I have already paid her. Her soul is affected by your power, and the Sea of ​​Souls cannot disturb her peace. She has entered the natural cycle of the Sea of ​​Souls.”

The emperor knew that Agamotto was lying, or at least concealing part of the truth.

Agamotto gazed into his eyes and sighed. The Emperor was too clever; he had gleaned part of the truth from his slightest hesitation—it wasn't Agamotto who chose the gestational vessel, but the Emperor's soul. Jezebel was chosen because of her fanaticism; she had sacrificed her soul to the outer dimensions, and the Emperor's soul, Agamotto's offspring, accepted this offering. Jezebel thus became the bridge between the Emperor's soul and the material universe. However, mortals are fragile; she could not withstand such power.

"This isn't your fault," Agamotto said. "You had no choice."

"I'm not as fragile as you think, Agamotto." The Emperor waved his hand impatiently; Inanna had never seen him so emotional. The Emperor took a deep breath, then looked up at the black obelisk before him, putting aside the information he had just learned—since the destined sacrifice could not be changed, he would do better—at least he should be worthy of Jezebel's sacrifice.

Inanna quietly breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at the obelisk and abruptly changed the subject, "What is this?"

"Magic." Agamotto glanced at the emperor one last time. "Not the power of the gods, but magic."

In an era when superstition and gods still roamed the earth, there was no distinction between so-called magic and divine power. Inanna could fly without incantations or rituals, incite love and lust between two individuals, and ensure a safe delivery for a pregnant woman, but she didn't know how to teach others to possess her powers. Inanna didn't know what magic was; to her, it was instinct, something she was born with, as simple as a human bending their finger. For Agamotto, magic was the same; what was unimaginable for humans was simply instinct for Agamotto.

Magic is not science; it is not a power that can be understood rationally. The logic by which humans perceive things cannot be used to understand the sea of ​​the soul. The priestesses of the temple could only clumsily imitate her power with aphrodisiacs, copper forceps, and rituals, and called this imitation magic. This was humanity's (especially those without the innate talent) initial attempt to master magic, and this idea even influenced the etymology of the word "magic."

Kamar-Taj is built upon a system of psychic knowledge that gifted mortals can learn. Much of this knowledge comes from the psionic races that Agamotto, Oshtu, and Horgos gathered during their cosmic journeys. Some of this knowledge, concerning protection and restraint, is inscribed on this obelisk, intended to eternally imprison extradimensional spiritual entities they have captured. However, both Inanna's clumsy imitations and Kamar-Taj's ascetic practices, which are understandable to humans, are like dipping a drop of water from the vast ocean of souls. While this method is relatively safe, even with the restrained use of the ocean's power, corruption and madness are still omnipresent—a single drop of seawater can never quench thirst; instead, its bitterness poisons the drinker. Kamar-Taj's history is replete with fallen individuals who have madly pursued power, making self-control, not knowledge, Kamar-Taj's first lesson always paramount.

"I've heard you've improved my knowledge." Agamotto planted a torch in the rock face. Under his power, the obelisk fell completely silent. He gestured to several rocks with straw mats, indicating for the Emperor and Inanna to sit down. "Protection and prophecy—I'm very pleased with your knowledge of protective magic, and what about prophecy?"

"What do you mean?"

"I heard that before you made the time jump, you started a war at the edge of the solar system."

"For surprise attacks, I must get the army used to fighting outside of ground."

The Emperor was not surprised that Agamotto knew this information. Although Agamotto, after becoming Vishanti, could no longer interfere with reality, he was one of the few spiritual entities in the Sea of ​​Souls capable of omniscience. Before becoming Vishanti, he had already written down all his knowledge of prophecy for people to study.

"In my time, the scale of psionic events was manageable; humanity's enemies were mostly alien creatures."

"Just like the army you're building is doing now. You can control the army of this era, but what about the future? Do you want to know about the army sent to attack the space station on the edge of the solar system?" Agamotto crumpled the dried herbs into a ball, placed it in the ceramic bowl in front of him, and then lit a fire. Thick, choking smoke immediately rose, and a drowsy, sweet aroma enveloped the entire cave. "This medicine can slightly loosen the mortal body's grip on our soul, bringing us closer to the Sea of ​​Souls. I don't need this medicine, but I can't use too much power right now, otherwise Vishanti will get closer and closer, and I'll have less and less time to carry out my plans."

The emperor suspected that this was some kind of hallucinogenic herb.

"I will guide your gaze across the Sea of ​​Souls, focusing it on the right moment. I will guide you to witness a battle you should not have witnessed, even actively intervening across time and space. But I need you to remember, when you immerse your mind in the Sea of ​​Souls, the most important thing is—"

"—Distinguish lies."

"The Sea of ​​Souls is a collection of all possibilities, where even the most absurd things can happen. You must protect your mind from being deceived by an endless stream of lies, and I believe you have had similar experiences before. But this time, you will go a step further; you will discern these possibilities yourself, rather than relying on the cauldron of the universe to sift through them."

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"Take cover!" Tita roared, dropping her cratered shield. The electromagnetic deflection shield generator behind it was completely destroyed. In the dark, powerless passage, the only sounds besides the emergency lights were the intense electric flashes from the weapon force fields.

It is now the 76th minute since the start of the attack.

As the advantage gained from the surprise attack gradually diminished, the aliens on the space station began to organize effective defenses. Many alien defense teams attempted to recapture important logistical routes, especially in the core area of ​​the space station, where no defensive measures were deployed, but almost all of the alien alliance's forces were concentrated.

To stop the boarding party's advance, the alien army spared no effort, unleashing an unprecedented barrage of lasers, plasma, and physical munitions. They were so frenzied that they resorted to man-portable anti-vehicle heavy firepower, showing no regard for the damage to the space station. The space station's artificial gravity field could barely be maintained, but damaged pipes and protective layers were causing a rapid drop in temperature, and survival gases were leaking. Warnings broadcast in an alien language were sharp and piercing.

Dita saw a blue-skinned Kree in a magnificent robe standing behind the man-made bunker, shouting and yelling.

That was a Kree nobleman, who might be the owner of this space station!

As her tactical advantage dwindled with time, her casualties mounted, and worse, she faced a humiliating defeat. She couldn't imagine facing the Emperor's disappointed gaze; death was far more palpable. Now, with the hope of a swift victory within reach, she couldn't suppress her urge to end the battle quickly—without hesitation, she fired in that direction. But a shield shimmering with an intangible, oily sheen suddenly appeared, engulfing the explosives. The flashing light also drew the attention of the Kree nobleman—the alien creature gave her a mocking smile. It spoke to its guard, who knelt down and swallowed a jar of black, oily liquid. The Kree nobleman patted the guard on the shoulder and ordered the other guards to retreat and close the airtight door.

The Kree who had swallowed the drug raised his shield and shouted a few words to the dozens of other abandoned Kree soldiers. In response, these Kree soldiers also swallowed similar drugs, unleashing astonishing morale. They all raised their shields and launched an attack on the android squad at the end of the passage.

The Cree noble guards charged toward the furious Tita.

This heavily armored alien was significantly larger than a Kree. Tita believed it had undergone bio-engineering, at least with implanted artificial muscle fibers, as it was at least three times the size of a typical Kree. Its black armor was unarmored, but adorned with some kind of emblem. Wielding an electrified warhammer and a shield, it led the alien nobles' guard through a hail of bullets in the passageway to Tita. Individual lasers, powerful enough to cut through the outer protective metal of a space station, only left red-hot spots on the warrior's shield, and the drag from the explosive charges only briefly halted its advance.

Dita walked toward the Kree guard, raised her longsword, and parted the blade.

A precise shot from behind struck the shield-bearer of the Kree's personal guard. Tita, trying to guess who had fired that crucial shot, assumed her stance, sword tip pointing forward. In true close combat, the outcome could be decided in mere seconds.

On the battlefield, there is only victory.

The idea suddenly popped into my head, like the Emperor's admonition when training the android squad.

"I've killed a hundred disgusting aliens today." She blinked, sweat trickling down her eyelids. The relentless fighting had raised her body temperature, and even the power armor's temperature control system couldn't fully alleviate her exhaustion. Her armor was riddled with bullet holes and scorch marks—the android squads were faster than human assault teams and therefore bore a greater burden of combat duties—even though she was an android created by the Emperor, and even though the alchemical heart continuously provided her with power, she still felt fatigued. "After I kill you, your master's head will be displayed in the Emperor's treasury. That will be the most glorious moment for your pathetic race."

She was quite certain that the Kree understood human language, but it did not react to her provocation.

The silent beast let out a low growl.

Alien creatures have no sense of honor.

Dita took a deep breath, ready to face the challenge.

The enemy swung his warhammer first, the electrically charged heavy metal crashing down less than ten centimeters in front of her. She deftly tiptoed, using superhuman balance and speed to turn half her body, and thrust her sword forward—to others, her movement was swift, as graceful as ballet. But Dita knew her stamina was nearing its limit; she couldn't even maintain her balance after the sideways thrust, relying on the gyroscope of her power armor—an extremely dangerous technique, but equally rewarding. The Emperor-forged longsword easily pierced the alien warrior's thigh armor. The pain seemed to spur the Kree guard captain into a rage; it roared and, stimulated by some kind of combat potion, charged at Dita.

Dita was certain that the longsword had pierced the Kree bodyguard's thighbone, yet it remained balanced, as if the massive, steaming wound that had severed armor and bone posed no problem for it. She immediately withdrew the longsword to avoid the impact, but the ensuing hammer blow was unavoidable; she could only raise the longsword to try and block the attack.

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Agamotto did not speak; his thoughts were expressed through metaphors incomprehensible to ordinary people, like a cloud of intensely burning, high-temperature radiative dust in the universe. The Sea of ​​Souls cannot be expressed in words that any intelligent being can understand. The means of conveying information through sound, words, and images are insufficient to accurately describe this dimension; nothing comprehensible exists here.

The Emperor understood this dimension. More than once, under the guidance of the Sorcerer Supreme, he had immersed his mind in it, digging into all knowledge from the past and future—only here could his immense power be fully unleashed. The power he displayed in the real world was like a projection of a four-dimensional object into a three-dimensional world—a cross-section limited by his physical body. He had witnessed the burning embers after the collapse of the most glorious civilization in the universe, and countless powerful souls suffering torment in the hands of unspeakable gods. But this dimension held many secrets he could not understand unless he was willing to abandon his physical body and deeply integrate with it, like the path Agamotto was about to embark on.

No predator from the Sea of ​​Souls sensed approaching; the souls, radiating scorching spiritual heat like stars, were enough to evaporate any weaker thought within the Sea of ​​Souls. Agamotto floated ahead. Strictly speaking, this description of location wasn't entirely accurate; at this moment, their gaze was fixed on the long, winding river of time, Agamotto's thoughts slightly ahead of the Emperor's.

I have never taught Kamar-Taj sorcerers how to do this; for mortal souls, it is suicidal. This is the privilege of demigods and gods; you will learn how to respond to the call from the sea of ​​souls.

It floats on the endless waves of the sea of ​​souls, radiating pure, uncontaminated psychic energy.

[You chose a good anchor point; that girl is very devout.]

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The deafening explosion was right next to her helmet, and the violent impact plunged Tita into blackout.

The power armor's automatic injection of drugs snapped her out of the shock of the impact; the sharp pain in her forehead and shoulder almost made her groan. She blinked hard, wiping away tears that had seeped out due to the physiological reaction, and instinctively tried to straighten herself by holding onto the wall. When she realized what had just happened, the humiliation of her initial defeat fueled her rage. Breathing in the circulating air that smelled of disinfectant, without needing an additional injection of combat stimulants, Tita practically leaped away from the passageway wall she had been leaning against just seconds before. Before she could even switch hands to grip her sword, the warhammer roared back before her; she could almost smell the ozone emanating from the weapon.

That's absolutely impossible!

She was breathing the recirculated air from her power armor, making it impossible for her to smell anything from the outside world! Electricity surged past her, time began to slow, and she even had time to wonder why she could think. She felt herself entering a strange state. She felt no muscle fatigue or soreness; a continuous flow of power from her heart extended to her fingertips, and even her breath became scalding hot.

Kill it, give this beast the death it deserves.

To her astonishment, the acrid, black blood that the Kree guards had spilled onto the passageway floor when she drew her sword was now visibly writhing. She recalled the drugs the Kree guards and other Kree escorts had taken—it was definitely not a simple combat potion! She didn't believe the Kree's inferior bio-techniques could compare to the androids created by the Emperor himself; that speed and power must come from that black, oily drug—the records of the Kree nobles mentioned that if defeat was inevitable, the traditional Kree would take a combat potion called the "Battle Elixir," unleashing astonishing power. The price, however, was that the noble who took the Battle Elixir would die after the battle—Tita didn't know how long the Battle Elixir would last, and she had no intention of wasting time.

"May the Emperor guide my sword," Tita gasped, praying softly.

She saw her sword rise, deflecting the warhammer. The force fields of the two weapons collided and rubbed against each other, sparking blinding arcs of electricity. The longsword pressed down, piercing the Kree warrior's chest, while the warhammer shattered her knee—no, it shouldn't be like this—Tita gasped, blinking. Everything that had just happened seemed like a figment of her imagination, a manifestation of her unwillingness to admit defeat and her fear. The surge of adrenaline temporarily masked the pain, exhaustion, and the unacknowledged fear. The crackling longsword spun in Tita's hand. She hadn't seen the trajectory of the attack at all; it was as if a giant hand was guiding her, directing her body to strike.

She saw the sword tip deftly pierce the top of the warhammer, pressing down slightly, just as she had vaguely seen.

The sword and warhammer rubbed against each other, the blinding arcs of fire that triggered the shutter mode of her helmet visor. The instantaneous flash made it impossible for Tita to see the weapons colliding in front of her clearly; she could only feel her other hand seemingly rising uncontrollably.

Suddenly she was pushed forward.

She realized she had pulled the trigger when the Kree guard's visor exploded.

Her sword had pierced the alien's face, the tip protruding from behind its helmet, steaming blood billowing from the gap in the skull and helmet. The warhammer that had slammed down on her knee was now pressed against her boots, burning through the outermost layer of the armor's ablative coating. Dita instinctively twisted the sword, causing even more damage. The crackling blade could no longer support the weight of the bio-modified body, and the Kree guard's corpse slumped backward, crashing to the ground.

"His Majesty is watching this place!" she relayed the message to the other androids over the communication channel. Tita didn't intend for any team outside of the androids to know; this was a secret belonging to the androids. "I can feel it, He's right beside us!"

I've been a bit crazy lately, constantly writing and deleting, deleting and writing, never satisfied no matter what.