Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 330 The Supreme Mystery of the Ouroboros (First Update)

"Some matter existed before the formation of the universe, and the matter within her is one of them." The Allfather led Thor, Jane Foster, and Salomon towards a small room. Before they arrived, the guards had already pushed open the heavy, gilded doors, revealing what was inside. Inside was a model of Askr Yggdrasills, the World Tree. It was a tree, a tall, robust tree that commanded respect and was incredibly lush. Nine of its thickest branches supported slowly rotating galaxies of various colors, simulating starlight shining directly through the gaps in the leaves, forming colorful gratings.

When Salomon saw the tree, he understood its purpose—it was a tree created according to the theory of idols, through which anomalies in the Nine Realms would be reflected. At the same time, this tree was also revealing the mysteries of the World Tree, and could be seen as a bridge of communication between the Asgardians and the World Tree.

Many scholars worked here, and even by Asgardian standards, they were quite old. When they saw the Allfather arrive, they silently bowed their heads and stepped aside.

Odin had initially harbored some doubts about the substance within Jane Foster, but with Salomon's corroboration, even the Allfather, however astonished, had no choice but to believe it. No one on this Prime Material Plane was more learned than the Sorcerer Supreme; previously, that title belonged to his old friend Agamotto. Although the current Sorcerer Supreme was volatile and fond of smashing people's heads, this did not diminish her authority.

Aether, a miraculous substance. This deeply troubled the Allfather, and also made him take seriously the role Salomon played here. Perhaps the Sorcerer Supreme had more to plan, but it was unclear at the moment. The Allfather believed that Salomon might not even be fully aware of this matter, as the Sorcerer Supreme's methods of interfering with fate were always unpredictable.

"The Nine Realms did not exist forever; they have experienced the dawn after darkness, and they too will surely experience the twilight after glory." The Father of the Gods instructed the scholar to take a book from the bookshelf and place it on a round table by the window on one side of the room. This book not only had words written in gold ink, but also exquisite illustrations and decorative paintings, and even an extremely expensive enchantment—the pictures in the book could move, and had remained unchanged for an unknown number of years.

Salomon is certain that this book is older than Kamar-Taj.

"But before dawn, the forces of darkness, or rather the dark elves, held absolute dominion over the universe." Odin opened the book. Under the ever-circulating orange-red magic lamp above his head, the gold on the book shone even brighter.

"'Dark elves, born from endless darkness, steal the light of the universe.' My mother told us these stories when I was a child." Saul leaned closer, looking at the illustrations and words in the book. Jane Foster also joined in, pulling Salomon along, trying to get him to translate.

"Their leader Malekith created weapons in the darkness, known as Aether particles. Most other substances are stone-like..." The Allfather glanced at Salomon, then continued pointing to the book, "...only Aether is a constantly changing, fluid form. It can transform matter into dark matter, and it seeks out a host to drain life force."

Upon hearing this, Salomon abandoned his plan to poke Jane Foster. He quietly took a step back, maintaining a distance that gave her ample time to react. His life force was so exaggerated that it was automatically converted into magic. Given that the Philosopher's Stone possessed self-awareness, Salomon and Thor were probably the best targets for parasitism present.

If Thor were parasitized, he'd probably be fine, and Salomon shouldn't experience any problems either. The problem is, he still wants to grow taller!

Furthermore, Salomon disagrees with the description of the Aether. He believes that the Aether, also known as the Philosopher's Stone, functions to disrupt balance. Magic requires equivalent exchange, and the Philosopher's Stone, known as the Reality Stone, is truly infinite, hailed as the ultimate mystery of the Ouroboros. The Aether can transform matter into anything, not limited to dark matter; moreover, it can be said that the Aether can achieve anything without paying any price.

However, he had no intention of showing off his knowledge in front of Odin, nor did he intend to interrupt the Allfather's conversation.

"Malikis wanted to use the power of the aether to return the universe to the rule of darkness. However, after a long and bloody war, my father, Bauer, finally prevailed, bringing thousands of years of peace."

"How did you win?" Jane Foster asked curiously.

"He killed them all, leaving none alive," the Allfather said calmly, seemingly unconcerned about the bloodshed in the words—Odin had killed more enemies than Bauer, and the Dark Elves were not the first race to be wiped out by the Aesir, nor could they be the last.

"Are you sure?" The question coming from his own son prevented Odin from getting angry. Thor said, "Legend says the aether was destroyed along with them, but now it's here."

"The Dark Elves are dead." Odin's tone left no room for argument.

"Does your book mention how to remove it from my body?" Jane Foster remembered the description of the Aether particle perfectly. Clearly, keeping it inside her would kill her sooner or later.

"No. It wasn't mentioned." The Allfather glanced at her. "Perhaps Kamar-Taj has it, but I haven't... I haven't read it."

Jane Foster turned her gaze to Salomon. The arcane mage shrugged. "I've only learned how to use the Eye of Agamotto; manipulating aether particles isn't my forte. However, I wouldn't mind drawing some blood from you; perhaps I can find some magic in my spellbook that can temporarily alleviate your symptoms. But I don't think it'll be of much use; the aether particles' demand for life force is inexhaustible—even though this is the Philosopher's Stone, activating it still requires magic."

"I didn't know you were such a fan of alchemy, Salomon," Jane Foster said. "Did you make those cosmetics for Darcy with alchemy?"

"Magic skincare products, of course."

The Allfather had already gone far away, and Saul came over to comfort Jane Foster. He spoke as casually as possible, as if such deadly strange things happened every day.

Salomon glanced around before deciding to grab the book and hold it to his chest. He didn't disturb Saul and Jane Foster, who were walking further and further away; they seemed inseparable for the time being.

He planned to find a quiet place to read the book. The scholars had already noticed his little scheme, but they hadn't objected; they simply reminded Salomon to remember to return the book, which made the arcane mage blush. Salomon carried the book towards the residential area of ​​Asgard. Volstagg and Fandral seemed to never need sleep; they had received orders early that morning to clean up a small group of rebels—no matter how much they drank, the Asylum always managed to make them set off refreshed.

After they left, the entire Asgard seemed to fall silent. Salomon planned to read the book in his bedroom, and he could also ask the maid to brew some black tea and have the kitchen prepare some cookies and cakes. He had discovered this after figuring out the various functions of Asgard, thanks to Volstagg's help, which allowed him to know the kitchen's menu; in fact, he also had the authority to give orders to the kitchen.

Whenever the chef has a spare moment, he has to cater to the guests' preferences. Salomon, of course, wouldn't overlook the desserts; his dimensional bag is stuffed full of tea leaves.

However, he encountered a somewhat troublesome person while walking down the corridor.

"Good morning, Ms. Sif," Salomon greeted her in a light tone.

"That mortal has arrived, hasn't he?"

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(End of this chapter)