Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 199 The Meaning of Family (First Update!)

When Salomon awoke again, he was back at Kamar-Taj headquarters, sleeping on his soft bed. A grey shorthair cat nestled beside his ear, purring softly, its pink, barbed tongue still licking the scent in the air. Salomon didn't know if it had been sleeping there all along or had specifically chosen to keep him company after he was brought back, but in any case, this warm little creature always brought him comfort in the cold Himalayas.

"It likes you very much." The Supreme Master sat by his disciple's bedside, the thick blankets covering Salomon being the same ones the Master had placed on him. "After I brought you back, this cat jumped onto your bed. Before that, it was enjoying the canned beef that Kasirius had bought. It likes you very much; there aren't many cats in the world that can resist canned beef."

"What happened?" Salomon asked, full of doubt. It had been a perfect sleep; he hadn't dreamt of anything, and even upon waking, the scent of flowers lingered in his nostrils. He had never felt so refreshed since birth; it seemed even the memories within the Stigmata couldn't overwhelm him. "I only remember a floral scent," he said. "I guess it was Merlin's doing."

"He wants you to enter his dreams. No one in this world understands dreams better than Merlin, because of his lineage. I believe you've heard the legends, and legends are often true. Merlin can enter anyone's dreams," the Venerable One said slowly. "He diagnosed your symptoms. It's not a curse, and no extradimensional being has interfered with your mind. Child, you can rest assured; those dreams don't originate from outside, but from within yourself."

"Myself?" Salomon thought of a possibility.

"Yes." The Venerable One guessed what his disciple was thinking. "From now on, you can do whatever you want. Destiny has changed. Once you obtain this key, you will transcend the script of the gods. You will be the axis of destiny. The silver key will be your gateway to the ultimate mysteries of the universe—or rather, the Root, the Akashic Records, whatever you want to call it. Those who go there will know everything, and their wisdom will even surpass that of Vishanti."

"That sounds like your plan."

"This is my plan, and it can also be your plan," the Venerable One said with a smile. "In this universe, the so-called source is the Eternal God, but the source you can pursue is not limited to this universe. This is something to be envied. Your future is promising, Salomon. Your future is far better than I imagined. The Seventh Throne is not your final choice."

"What about my dreams?"

"That could be something in the future, something that has already happened, or even something that happened in the past—who knows? But it was your dream, and your cat appeared in it too; that's proof. Because this dream originated from yourself, all defenses are useless," said the Sorcerer Supreme. "But don't worry, Merlin has already solved the problem for you; that dream won't bother you again."

"So, does that mean I can't say 'By Vishanti!' anymore, and have to say 'Merlin's Beard!' instead? I think they're pretty much the same." Salomon sat up and tucked the still-sleeping cat into the blankets. "Where's Balthazar? Did he see Merlin?"

“Making witty remarks as soon as you wake up isn’t your style.” The Venerable One also stood up; she still had many things to attend to. “As for Balthazar,” the Sorcerer Supreme shook his head disdainfully, but not out of contempt for Balthazar, but for his teacher, the half-blood nightmare. “He didn’t see Merlin. Merlin ran away before he woke up, leaving only a letter. But I’m sure it wasn’t an apology. Merlin never apologized, and he didn’t have that kind of feeling. He was just worried about getting punched.”

"Now that you mention it, Merlin seems like a really annoying guy."

"Merlin has always been like this. He was the same when he tricked me into pulling the sword from the stone. To him, it was all a farce." The Sorcerer Supreme clenched his fists angrily at the mention of Merlin's deeds, something that rarely caused him to lose control of his emotions. "But he is also unkillable. As long as people are still dreaming, he will live on. However, I haven't let that old man off easy either. He has already tasted my fists, but that's far from enough. The debt for Camelot's fall hasn't been completely settled yet."

"Alright, if I'm lucky enough to get to Avalon, I'll give Merlin a couple of punches for you, if I can." Salomon got off the bed, standing barefoot on the cold stone floor. "Master, does that mean I'm alright now?"

"Yes."

"I can't wait to see what happens when the witches eat cold pizza for days. It's definitely not going to be good." Salomon rubbed his stomach. "I don't know how long I've slept, but I'm starving."

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"You should know you're very beautiful, Salomon Damonette?" Joan of Arc slowly cut a steak on her plate with her knife; this was already her second steak. She tried to feign indifference towards the food, but when she smelled the aroma, she couldn't resist taking a bite. Although her eating posture was very elegant, her eating speed was not much slower than the Cheshire Cat eating a can of beef, so much so that a little bit of meat juice splattered onto her loose, deep red nightgown.

Bayonetta nodded, echoing Joan's words. During the days Salomon stayed in Kamar-Taj, the witches had tried to cook for themselves, but the results were disappointing. Salomon knew the outcome just by looking at the charred remains and pizza boxes in the trash cans; he could even distinguish the beef and potato (presumably) corpses from the charred remains. He simply couldn't understand what the witches had done to treat the beef so cruelly.

Bayonetta's so-called "stay-at-home woman" is merely a self-description.

"I thought you'd been picking on some girls these past few days. Tell me, did they gouge each other's eyes out in a fight over you?" Joan took a sip of red wine, her face full of disdain. "You didn't tell us anything, you didn't tell us what happened to you, you just told us you were going to Kamar-Taj for a few days. Are we just guests passing through your doorstep? Although we might not be of much help, we are..."

"What is it?" Salomon asked.

"Yes...yes..." Joan of Arc blushed suddenly. She put down her knife and fork, stammering, but couldn't bring herself to say the word.

"We're family," Bayonetta said with a teasing laugh, picking up the conversation at the opportune moment. "Boya, you should know we're family. You should tell us what's happened to you. That's what family means. Carrying everything on your own isn't a good habit."

"Cesarea!" Joan of Arc exclaimed, her face flushed with displeasure. "You just spoil him!"

“I just… I wasn’t sure of the source of those dreams at the time, Bayonetta.” Salomon sighed. “I was worried that those dreams were connected to some chaotic universe—in a sense, they were. I was worried that you would confront those indescribable things. I might be able to face those things without going insane, but you wouldn’t be.”

"Why not? Can those gods stop bullets?"

"I don't know about that."

"Next time, Boya, no matter what happens, you must tell me." Bayonetta took a sip of wine. "And your foster mother. I've made a deal with Athena; you should tell her what happened to you, and that the children at the orphanage miss you very much."

"What exactly did you say to Athena? Why has my status in the family suddenly dropped? Who's behind me now, the Cheshire Cat?"

"No, the Cheshire Cat can sleep in bed," Joan of Arc added mercilessly, "but you can't."

"You can do it now if you wish." Bayonetta stretched out her long legs from beneath her loose, glossy, deep black silk nightgown, gently touching Salomon's calf with her toes. This woman was wearing nothing under her nightgown; this was the witch's style of dress.

"Ceresa!"

Please vote for this chapter!! Just a heads-up, the next chapter will feature Captain America.

I've saved up to buy a new computer; the 30-series graphics cards are just too expensive.

(End of this chapter)