Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 902 Bloody Sacrifice (Second Update)

Earthquakes, floods, and a massive total solar eclipse hung in the blood-red sky.

An evil stone altar, engraved with ancient symbols, stood before a naked brown-haired woman wearing a mask adorned with feathers, jewels, and a golden snake. The clamor of shouts and the flickering torchlight failed to illuminate the darkness of the stone steps below. Brownish-red leaves rained down like a storm. A giant, emerald-green serpent, winged and crowned, coiled around the woman's body like vines, its sharp fangs and gaping maw hissing menacingly. A golden halo, like that of a total solar eclipse, surrounded its dark eyes. The serpent did not stop the obsidian dagger, decorated with gold and emeralds, from piercing skin and muscle; blood flowed unimpeded onto the stone altar. The serpent looked at him with sorrowful eyes, then raised its head and let out a agonizing roar audible only in the sea of ​​souls.

Wanda Maximov quickly grabbed Salomon's arm, using all her strength to keep him from falling. She could feel the muffled explosions in Salomon's veins and muscles beneath his thin clothing, fueled by adrenaline. She didn't know what Salomon had seen that caused such a drastic change in his emotions. "I didn't see anything," he said, his face pale, patting Wanda's shoulder to indicate he could stand on his own. "If my plan succeeded, this shouldn't have happened!"

Lady Calamity withdrew her finger, wiped the sweat from Salomon's forehead, and then put it in her mouth to taste.

"You're healthy, you don't need to worry about such things." No one knew where her topic had gone; she seemed to have reverted to her manic state. The Lady of Calamity shouted as she walked towards her room, "No one can see the whole picture! I want to see the 'Antiques Tour,' where there will be no more antiques! Will they be crushed by bullets and treads! Burned by the Golden Tyrant! Warriors with corrupt power flowing in their blood will tread every piece of land! Cannons will replace plowshares, spears and swords will replace scythes! Cherish the present, friends, the future holds only war!"

She wore a mask of blindness, yet skillfully evaded the incense burners and decorations along the way, as if she could still see. However, everyone in the temple was now concerned not with the non-madwoman's condition, but with Salomon—ever since the Lady of Calamity placed her finger on his forehead, something had been amiss with him. The temple's mages possessed considerable arcane skill, but under normal circumstances, they couldn't decipher Salomon's emotions and thoughts from the changes in his aura, because he had extremely strong protective mechanisms over his mind. However, this time, Mage Daniel saw a change in his aura, a rapid shift from blue to red accompanied by lightning. Although it was only for a moment, it proved that what Salomon had seen was so shocking that he was filled with anger and fear, unable to protect his mind.

However, Salomon remained one of the most skilled sorcerers in Kamar-Taj. He adjusted his emotions with incredible speed, rendering the other sorcerers unable to discern his thoughts. Wanda's basic education was provided by Salomon, and she also learned the sorcerers' second vision, allowing her to see Salomon's emotional shifts.

Salomon frowned, carefully recalling the scenes the Lady of Calamity had led him to.

"What did you see?" Wanda asked worriedly. "Was it scary?"

“I can’t say, my dear. Quetzalcoatl is the thread that binds Laura Crawford’s fate, and everything concerning her requires careful consideration.” Salomon shook his head. “But you must understand that prophecy is only a possibility to consider, not a certainty. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Since the Lady of Calamity has given me a hint, I need to find a way to deal with it.” He patted the mage Daniel on the shoulder and looked at the other mages in the temple. “I’m alright, I’m fine, everyone, let’s get back to work.”

Salomon strode toward the temple's fixed portal, and Wanda quickly followed.

"What are you planning to do?" she asked. "Are you going to find Laura Crawford?"

"No, Wanda, you need to learn more about prophetic stories." Salomon rubbed his eyes. "Sometimes our actions are the very motivation that triggers a prophecy. Calm down, this kind of thing happens quite often."

"Common my ass!" Salomon muttered under his breath as he flipped through the book.

The legends of the feathered serpent god are complex and have many versions. There is the Mayan mythical serpent Kukulkan, the Aztec Quetzalcoatl, and further back, there is the Olmec Quetzalcoatl, as well as the Waqsaqrahun Uba Ken worshipped by many other ancient Mesoamerican civilizations. His powers range from wind god to sun god, and spread from the ancient city of Chichen Itza on the Yucatan Peninsula to Guatemala, Uxmal, and Mayapan.

According to legend, the Aztec gods created a new world after the destruction of the old one, and the current world is the fifth world, born from this process. The sun, as the center of this world and representing its protection and prosperity, was considered the sun of the second world, guiding the sun of the fifth. The five suns carved on the Sun Stone in Mexico City represent five worlds, encompassing the past and present, expressing the Mesoamerican worldview—destruction and creation, death and birth—the world constantly repeating this process of destruction and creation. However, regardless of the specific beliefs surrounding the feathered serpent god, blood sacrifices were involved. It wasn't until the appearance of Topilchrist, the demigod-like ruler of the feathered serpent god in Aztec mythology, that the blood sacrifices for the feathered serpent god gradually ceased, with flowers and butterflies replacing blood and hearts.

However, Salomon didn't believe that this matter really had anything to do with Quetzalcoatl. Blood sacrifice was the most effective and direct way to provide power to the gods, and no extradimensional being would give up this way of obtaining faith. Quetzalcoatl's old adversary, who had been trying to restore blood sacrifice, and the brotherly feud between Quetzalcoatl and the dark god Tescatlipoca, might actually be extradimensional beings.

This is malicious speculation, and Salomon doesn't mind speculating about all extradimensional beings with the worst possible ideas.

Salomon was searching for information about the feathered serpent god's self-sacrifice, but all he found was that Topilgen's willpower collapsed after drinking tequila, leading to his affair with his sister, the end of the Golden Age, the return of bloody sacrifices, and the destruction of the beautiful city of Tula. In some myths, Topilgen sacrificed himself, his heart transforming into the morning star and rising into the sky; others say he traveled to the mythical kingdom of Trapalan. Regardless of the version, Topilgen prophesied that one day he would return, destroy his enemies, and rebuild a devout kingdom.

That day was the "Reed Day" on which Quetzalcoatl promised to return.

If Salomon's guess is correct, Laura lying on the stone bed should be representing a human-god (of noble status, not a wretched human sacrifice, which is Salomon's only consolation now) performing the ritual. The sun is called "Iparnimovani," meaning "the thing upon which people depend for survival." In the past, people believed that the sun was the source of all vitality in the world because it gave life to the world, and in return, it should receive life from the world. Since the heart is the foundation and symbol of life, the hearts of humans and animals were offered as sacrifices to the sun to keep it moving energetically in the sky.

Salomon was not at all surprised by the twists and turns in the matter; he just felt that he had not done enough.

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(End of this chapter)