Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 401 Bastet and the Brass Frog (Second Update)

Apart from Asgard residing in the Material Plane, the other Earth pantheons have long since left Earth and entered their respective divine kingdoms, which are established in outer dimensions and, like demiplanes, lie on the Material Plane.

For example, the Olympian pantheon resides in an outer dimension called Mount Olympus, and can enter and exit through Mount Olympus in Greece, located on Earth.

The Aztec gods resided in an outer dimension called Topán, their world floating in the endless void.

The Danu inhabit the magical kingdom of Avalon, created by Gaia. The current Sorcerer Supreme has a close relationship with Avalon, as does Salomon.

The Slavic gods lived in an outer dimension called Svarga (meaning divine kingdom or heaven), and after Vladimir I, the King of Russia, converted to Orthodox Christianity, they deliberately severed all ties with Earth.

The outer dimension inhabited by the nine Egyptian Ennead gods was called the City of the Sun, and its entrance to the outer dimension was located within present-day Egypt.

This knowledge was imparted to Salomon by the Sorcerer Supreme. He knew the entrances to all the outer dimensions inhabited by the Earth pantheons and their environments. He knew how to enter and leave those outer dimensions. This esoteric knowledge was Salomon's extracurricular reading material when he was a child.

But just like Athena who resides on Earth, most pantheons send several gods to live on Earth to observe its development. This is one of the agreements reached between Kamar-Taj and the gods; while the gods cannot influence humanity again, observing without interfering is permissible.

The Venerable One did not want to break ties with the gods, so he agreed to the terms.

Bastet, who sent the invitation to Salomon, was somewhat special. While gods have different identities in different civilizations (such as Greek and Roman gods), Bastet's case was unique—the Egyptian gods actually originated in other parts of Africa first, and only became Egyptian gods after the spread of their faith. When the Ennead left the Prime Material Plane, this Egyptian god, who was not one of the Ennead, naturally remained as an observer, continuing to rule her own country.

This small African country is very special and lucky.

Over ten thousand years ago, a meteorite containing a special metal crashed into the homelands of several tribes. The radiation from the meteorite caused mutations in the warriors who went to investigate the meteorite, known as the "Gift of the Gods." The strongest warrior from one of the tribes then prayed to the "Leopard God" for help. Bastet agreed, and she instructed the warrior to drink a herbal remedy produced by the mutation caused by the meteorite. Using her divine power, she helped the warrior survive the side effects of the medicine and bestowed upon him knowledge far beyond his time.

Thus, the warrior gained superhuman strength and wisdom, and he also acquired a title—Black Panther.

After defeating the radiation-induced mutants, the Black Panther warrior named Bashanga united several tribes, and a small African nation called Wakanda was established. The special herb, the heart-shaped herb, became a unique medicine exclusive to the Black Panthers. The first Black Panther established a systematic religion for Bastet and permanently closed Wakanda's borders to prevent outsiders from coveting the special metal known as vibranium.

The invitation Salomon received was made by the Wakanda royal family and sent by Prince T'Challa of Wakanda, who was also Salomon's Oxford classmate. Presumably, it was the address Salomon filled in that allowed him to find the location. As for the little black kitten that was stuffed into the mailbox along with the invitation, Salomon believed it was a declaration from Bastet.

But the little black kitten standing on the table, meowing loudly at Salomon and the Sorcerer Supreme, was definitely not conveying Bastet's announcement. Salomon felt the cat was simply hungry. This feeling reached its peak, especially when it nipped at Salomon's finger.

Perhaps the reason it was put in the mailbox was because it was very loud and could be used to remind Salomon to check his mail?

"Your Excellency, this scene seems somewhat familiar," Salomon sighed. He didn't understand why the gods always liked to use animals to declare their identities. Athena liked to use owls and snakes, Odin liked to use ravens, and Bastet used a little black kitten that had just opened its eyes.

"I always felt that Bastet's invitation came a little too late, perhaps because she isn't as powerful as Athena." The Venerable One stretched out his finger and poked the little black kitten, making it tumble over. But the silly kitten didn't seem to care at all. After tumbling over, it excitedly stood up again and continued meowing at Salomon and the Sorcerer Supreme.

"Next time, you can decide for yourself," the Venerable One said. "You are already capable of negotiating with Odin, so you don't need to worry too much when facing Bastet."

"Teacher, are you angry because I contacted the Father of Gods without permission?"

"How could that be!" The Venerable One glanced at Salomon, then lowered his head again, poking the cat with obvious delight. "The future of this world belongs to you. There's nothing wrong with you getting to know the Allfathers ahead of time. Have faith, Salomon. You are my disciple, my successor, so do whatever you believe is right."

"So what should we do with this cat?"

"You're getting another pet, child," the Sorcerer Supreme said with a laugh. "Hopefully, the witch's apartment won't turn into a zoo. That's the trouble with being favored by the gods."

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"You must be wondering why we're making you come to school a week before the official start of term. As someone who has studied at Oxford, I can tell you that this is Oxford's unique 'Zero' Week. You have a lot of people to meet and a lot of activities to attend during this time, even if you're at Merton, that nerdy college."

Outside Sheldon Theatre, T'Challa, dressed in a suit, spoke eloquently to Salomon. Not long before, Salomon, dressed in Sub-Fusc attire (including a dark suit or coat, white shirt, black shoes, student cap, and black robe) and wearing a white bow tie, had listened to the Vice-Chancellor's lecture inside the theatre with other freshmen from his college, beneath the enormous dome fresco by Robert Street. That fresco, created in 1688 and titled "Truth Comes in the Arts and Sciences," had been transported to Oxford University by barge after its completion at Whitehall.

If it weren't for T'Challa's explanation, Salomon would have been completely unaware of this history.

"Your Latin is fluent, T'Challa. How are you going to pretend Wakanda is still a poor country in front of others?"

T'Challa laughed heartily.

"I am a prince," he said with a smile. "Princes are always special, even African princes. Your Latin is also quite good. I only recently found out that you study at Eton College. If I had known sooner, we would have met sooner, and that thing could have been returned to you sooner."

"So what exactly are these things?" Salomon gestured, indicating that T'Challa should explain what those two strange things he had put in his pocket were.

“I don’t know either, but this thing belonged to my grandfather, the wise Azuri. My grandfather kept it in the treasury of Wakanda, under the strictest protection,” T’Challa said. “My father, the current King of Wakanda, T’Chaka, dreamed of the Black Panther God several years ago. The Black Panther God asked my father to return these two bronze frogs to you and invited you to visit Wakanda, saying that they were your treasures. But my father only found your birth record in New York, and after that, all traces of you disappeared. When you reappeared, it was during the Battle of New York—when my father saw the reports of the Battle of New York, the Black Panther God told him that the knight in silver armor was the person he had been searching for for many years.”

"So what is your Black Panther God's purpose?" Salomon asked, somewhat puzzled as to why T'Challa didn't call the Black Panther God Bastet. But he didn't press the matter, waiting for an answer.

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(End of this chapter)