Bab 13: Chapter 13: The Tree of Life
Solomon had a dream. He dreamed of an incomparably gigantic tree growing in the middle of a calm ocean, with two enormous serpents coiled around it.
At the base of the tree trunk, he saw a massive ring made of crystal, radiating streams of orange, olive, reddish-brown, and black lights.
As his gaze slowly moved upwards, the rings on either side of the trunk began to glow with various colors. However, the higher his eyes went, the blurrier his vision became.
He could barely make out the highest ring, which was made of diamond and surrounded by wings, shining with white light.
Looking down, he saw the tree's reflection deeply buried in mist. Though he couldn't clearly discern the reflection, he vaguely noticed that the rings in the reflection looked very different. Upon closer inspection, the rings and branches in the reflection seemed to form five distinct parts, corresponding to a pentagram formed by the rings and branches of the real tree.
He heard a soft whisper in his ear, as if it wanted to tell him the key to the Kingdom of Spirits.
But before Solomon could listen carefully, he felt himself being pulled away from the ocean.
"You're awake? But you still need to rest," a calm voice reached Solomon's ears. Only then did he realize he had woken up from the dream.
Solomon, exhausted, barely opened his eyes and saw the Grandmaster sitting beside him. The magical flames that had surrounded him were gone, and his lips were no longer dry and cracked.
He only remembered wearing all the rings, unleashing a tremendous amount of magical power, but he had no memory of what happened afterward.
As he looked around, he noticed that he was in his bedroom at the Kamar-Taj headquarters. After all, he was the only recluse in Kamar-Taj, and his room was different from everyone else's, with a game console that no one else had.
He tried to lift his hand but realized he had no strength. He wanted to speak but couldn't open his mouth.
"This time, you were too reckless, but the result wasn't bad. In the end, you managed to tame the Vishanti rings. Don't worry, Wong is fine, and he didn't tell anyone about this. Everyone else thinks you were attacked by a dark wizard." Seeing that Solomon wanted to speak, the Grandmaster tapped his head gently with a fan.
"I originally planned to wait until your soul was stronger before letting you wear the rings, but you beat me to it. Still, it's fine. Now you can practice Vishanti magic properly," the Grandmaster said. "Oh, and I also fed that snake for you, so you can rest easy. Now, get some more sleep."
Solomon blinked quickly, struggling to say something, but the Grandmaster didn't pay him any mind. With a wave of magic, she secured the blanket over him, leaving only his head exposed.
Seeing this, Solomon gave up struggling and resigned himself, closing his eyes in defeat. The blanket was warm enough, after all. Oh well, might as well just sleep some more. The blanket monster's seal was too strong… better rest a bit longer.
Not long after the Sorcerer Supreme left Solomon's room, someone else snuck in, tiptoeing clumsily like a dancing bear.
As he stepped on the creaky wooden floor, his weight betrayed his identity.
"Hey, Solomon! You scared me to death. You've been out for days, not even drinking water," said a chubby figure, appearing before Solomon and pulling him out of his sleep again.
"I just saw the Grandmaster leave, so I knew you were okay. Tell me, what happened? Or is this something the Grandmaster doesn't want you to talk about?"
Solomon opened his eyes and saw Wong, his gaze filled with joy. He blinked twice, and Wong nodded, patting his chest. "I get it. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
What are you talking about? That's not what I meant!
Solomon blinked twice more, trying to speak, but only managed to mumble a few unclear words.
"Let me…"
Wong leaned closer, but instead of listening, he started rambling again. Through Wong's babbling, Solomon finally pieced together what had happened after he put on the rings.
When the storm of magic tore apart the spirits and sent Wong tumbling, the Vishanti trio appeared before Solomon.
They were majestic, three powerful magical beings surrounding Solomon, enveloping him in waves of immense magic like a surging tide.
Then, orange-red flames of magic, like the wrath of the Vishanti, spread outwards.
The asphalt melted, bubbling and blistering, while nearby trees were instantly ignited. The expanding hot air created a gale, carrying dust and burning ash. The overwhelming energy shattered the walls of the abandoned building, melting everything into an unknown sticky substance.
Wong, flattened on the ground, recognized the Vishanti immediately, being a member of Kamar-Taj.
Damn! Damn! What task did the Grandmaster give Solomon? What are those rings? Why are they connected to the Vishanti? Those rings must have desecrated the Vishanti!
Wong cursed internally.
He was sure Solomon was doomed. Without protective magic, the only outcome in such heat was to be burned alive.
Wong expected to see only Solomon's charred remains.
He had always liked Solomon. Unlike the other apprentices at Kamar-Taj, Solomon was never loud. But now Solomon was dead—or so Wong thought, ignoring his grief, just wanting to find a safe place to hide.
Surely Kamar-Taj's planetary defense system would detect the magical surge. All he could do was wait for his fellow disciples to clean up. He had already prepared to take responsibility for the disaster.
But when the sacred shroud on Solomon's body was torn away, the overwhelming magic suddenly subsided.
Wong could hardly describe the scene he witnessed. In the midst of the flames, Solomon's body emitted a blinding light. When Wong saw that light, he felt he glimpsed countless profound and complex truths.
It seemed as though the Vishanti trio were communicating. Wong couldn't understand what they were saying but managed to make out two words: "angel" and "demon." Any other words overwhelmed him with too much information, making his head spin.
"In the end, I didn't remember anything else, just those two words," Wong later said, still shaken. "Next time, if you're doing something crazy like this, tell me first. Don't look at me like that—I'd definitely run away."
"His soul is strong enough," said Agamotto, the first Sorcerer Supreme, treating humans with more kindness than the other two, whose forms and genders were constantly shifting.
When Solomon put on the rings, the former Sorcerer Supreme defended him, "Besides, he's the current Sorcerer Supreme's disciple. You know what that means!"
"But he's a thief!" bellowed Hoggoth, with the head of a tiger. "He wouldn't have found the rings without the Ancient One!"
Agamotto looked at his mother, Oshtur, the source of white magic, but she remained silent. Agamotto said, "Someone needs to use the rings, don't they?"
"Then why doesn't he sign a contract?"
"You know our limitations on contracts. Besides, the moment he takes off the rings, he loses our power. Maybe that's a good thing. We can…"
Suddenly, the immense magical energy disappeared, and the Vishanti trio vanished. Wong, trembling, lifted his head. If it weren't for the scorching air, the burning buildings, and the melted, foul-smelling pavement, he would've thought the whole thing was a dream.
Wiping away his sweat and tears, he cast a protective spell and walked across the softened ground toward Solomon, lying at the center of the disaster.
But as he got closer, he saw that Solomon's charred, withered chest was still faintly rising and falling.
Joy overwhelmed him.
As long as he wasn't dead, the Grandmaster could save him! If not, there was still the Eye of Agamotto! That artifact could reverse time!
"Then the Grandmaster opened a portal and brought us back. No one else saw you at all," Wong whispered. "The Grandmaster used magic to heal your body. Don't worry, tell me, I swear I won't tell anyone."
Solomon blinked, struggling to express himself, managing only a few garbled words. But Wong couldn't understand him.
"Let me… out…"
"Why do you keep blinking?" Wong asked.
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