章節 68: Ya Zhao
A/N: Pat-reon: HelloDarkness07
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Five days after his departure from the Sanctum, Adrian the Grim returns, his new sword still on his hip. He told me that he won, that his wife and unborn child are both safe, and that he had her hold the sword for a while to cleanse her of any remaining Dark Magic.
But, it wasn't exactly needed. The Orb I gave him, one made from the remnant Asgardian Steel, was charged with the Light Dimension's Magic, filled to the brim. When Adrian had activated it, by saying the phrase Hakuna Matata (because why not?), all the energy stored within the Orb had been released in an explosion of Light Magic that would have gone on for miles and miles.
That explosion had already cleansed all the Dark Magic within every person there save for Morgause herself. And that was only because she was connected to the Darkhold. Just an explosion of Magic wasn't enough to cleanse her, no. She needed to be stabbed.
And that Adrian did, he stabbed her in her heart, which caused her to disintegrate. She was just too full of Dark Magic at that point.
Adrian gave me the Darkhold, since he didn't want the book anywhere near his pregnant wife, and the temptation to use it would have been too much for him. And since us Sorcerers have experience in dealing with stuff like that, he gave it to me.
I'd buried it deep inside the grounds of Australia, since I already had one Darkhold in Africa. Until I figure out a way to destroy them, they'll have to stay there. Chthon's Magic is not easy to defeat, you know.
A year goes by without any issues, other than the minor demons that keep popping up. They're so minor that even a 13 year old me would have been able to deal with it.
And now, I stand in the Portal Room, awaiting someone I've looked forward to for so long. And there she is.
Tatiana comes through the transparent Portal, causing a ripple to go through it. She has changed, and not for the bad. Her hair is still short, since she prefers it this way, but her body has gotten a bit.. muscly. Damn, I love this.
There was something new though, something I hadn't seen in her possession before. A cloak, brown in colour, that had a hood hiding behind her.
"I.. honestly did not expect that Relic to choose you." I mumble, as I catch Tatiana in a hug.
She was here, to stay. At least for a few months or so, I think. Because Tatiana is not one to settle down in one place. She had finally finished her training, and became a Master Sorcerer.
Smirking, as she gets out of the hug, Tatiana says, "Well, Master Arthur did say it suited me. He said it would allow me to get in and out of trouble easily."
The Cloak of Intangibility. A cloak designed to make someone intangible at will, allowing all the attacks, be they Magical or physical, to simply pass through. Well, almost all. As it is with all kinds of Magic, there is always a counter. There are countless spells that the cloak cannot protect you from, one of them being the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak. But, since barely 10% of the Sorcerers can actually use this spell, Tatiana doesn't have to worry about that.
Other than that, there were spells targeted towards Souls, none of which the Cloak of Intangibility can protect against. Then there were the spells actually created to fight Intangible enemies, because some demons have a spell to do that, it turns out.
When the hood is up, however, the Cloak works well enough for even Light to pass through, allowing for complete invisibility. But, I doubt it will work well enough to compete with the future Deathly Hallow, the Cloak of Invisibility belonging to Ignotus Peverell.
Huh, the Deathly Hallows. They don't even exist yet, since they were given to the three brothers in the 12th Century or something. And even still, I have one single Deathly Hallow with me. I really hope this doesn't mean that I'll have to hand my only Wand to Antioch Peverell or something.
I chuckle at her words, because while Tatiana doesn't go looking for trouble, it usually finds her. Just an example, the only two times that a Horcrux has appeared in recent history, (because I can't delude myself on the belief that such Magic didn't exist before now), Tatiana was there to fight both such Mages.
She won, thanks to some help from Master Ayesha, but this is certainly some luck she has.
"Now, would you show me where I can put my stuff, so I can show you how much I missed your presence?" Tatiana asks, batting her eyes at me in faux innocence.
I snort, and say, "We met last week, Tatiana. Don't tell me you've gotten used to sleeping next to me so much."
"Hah! As if! I just missed the sex, not you." Tatiana says, as she starts pulling me towards my room.
I shake my head, smiling, as I walk with her. I missed her, and I'm glad she's here.
---
A few months later, Tatiana and I.. got bored. We had spent this entire time in the Sanctum, either reading through the books, or doing something else. While Tatiana was busy practicing some Dimensional spells that she found hard to cast, I was busy with two things in particular.
First was the Occlumency Earrings that I'd taken from the hopeful arsonists that wanted to burn the Library of Alexandria down(and boy, it feels like it happened a lifetime ago), and the second was studying my Prati Kavach. Other than that, I would frequently spend my nights in the Library, reading books, and just passing the time.
The Prati Kavach was still a long way from being mastered by me. I could control where it goes, how much it covers, but I was far from mastering all its secrets. I still had no idea how Nagarjuna actually created it, or how it actually works.
One thing to know about Sorcerer's enchantments, they don't show themselves. I'd been thankful for it when crafting the Ljosverd for Adrian, my ancestor, but now, I find it really annoying.
As for the Earrings, I spent a few days wearing a pair, to find out how they worked, from the inside. And now, I can safely say that even Occlumency Earrings will not be able to stop my magnificent Mind from penetrating them.
… I guess that was a bad place to use penetrating.
But, anyway. My Mind, once it got used to being inside the Occlumency Earrings' Protection spells, could safely navigate from the inside to out, and then, the opposite direction.
It's not easy, and Gods it is definitely not something I can do repeatedly. The drain on my Mental Energy is just too much, fifteen times the usual to be accurate. Most of that drain is because I'm simultaneously hiding my intrusion from the Mage, as well as the multiple enchantments, while also pushing through the viscous feeling that the Spells give me.
So, yeah, one person per day is my current limit, but if I'm not trying to be subtle, that number increases to three.
As for my book collection, the copy of the Alexandria Library is yet to be unlocked to me, since the Alchemical Spell I used to copy the original Library made the entire Library Tower inaccessible for a decade. But, I did have the books I'd taken from Tatiana's room, as well as the Royal Mage Library, both of which I'd already finished reading.
Which means, I was completely and utterly bored. There were lots of goals to accomplish, lots of Rituals to plan, but nothing was urgent.
The Sanctuary was running smoothly with the 15 Elves that currently found a life there, and I was beginning to think that I wouldn't even need to cure them. The Island itself was accommodating, changing them bit by bit, so they become more.. alive. But, unfortunately enough, they still needed some external Magic to survive(or at least they still believed that).
Which is a bummer, to be honest. I had hoped that Sanctuary would heal them of that, just by sheer Power of Belief, but nope. I'm going to have to do it on my own.
Anyway, the creatures there were living happily, and the Herbology Greenhouses were running smoothly under Holar's lead. Which means there's almost no work for me there either.
And so, Tatiana and I decided to go on a holiday.
I called Master Murgiel to substitute for me for a while, handing the Master Ward over to her temporarily, and surprisingly enough, she agreed. But, to be fair, us Sanctum Masters rarely ever take part in battles.
When we do, the battles are magnificent, but we rarely do.
Kamar Taj itself might battle demons almost monthly, but the Sanctums only get to see action once every five years or so.
The first spot we went to was Stonehenge, because I wanted to see how it looks in the past.
"Huh.. interesting." I muse, as soon as we walk through the portal in front of the Rocky monument.
"What is?" Tatiana asks, curiously looking at the vertical stones stacked in three concentric circles, with more stones stacked horizontally on top of those stones.
I tilt my head, and say, "I've visited this place before.. back in my own time.. and there are just two circles like this, and many of the stones will go missing."
There were literally twice the amount of stones I'd seen in the future now.
"What even is this place?" Tatiana asks, as we start walking forward. I know she was itching to ask more questions about the future, but she didn't want to sound nosey.
Smiling at her, I say, "I know nothing about this place, to be honest. There are theories that a great Mage/Sorcerer like us built this place 600 years from now, but since it is standing now, that theory proves false." Yeah, the Wizarding world loves the Merlin Theory.
But for them, Merlin was the answer to all questions, and he was the literal God of Magic, even without the Divinity. For them, not for me.
Merlin was the strongest Mage ever. Merlin was the oldest Mage ever, he helped build Hogwarts! He was sorted into Slytherin when he joined as a student, which means he invented Time Travel! Merlin sunk Atlantis, Merlin predicted Pompeii, Merlin fucked Dragons, Dementors tried to suck Merlin's soul, and he instead ejaculated in their mouths, etc etc.
As I said, the British Wizarding World loves Merlin more than Americans love oil.
I then say, "I do know that this monument, whatever this was supposed to be, was built 3000 years ago, when the Convergence of the Nine Realms occurred."
That at least I believe to be true, somewhat. For all I know, I could be wrong, and Stonehenge could have been built by Apocalypse or something.
As we walk, I take care not to touch it too harshly. It is a historical monument, you know, and I don't want to mess with it. I respect History.
But.. What happened to the other Stones then? There are around 250 stones now, while only 100 or so stones survived till 1940. What happened to the rest?
Knowing the entities active in this time, I can guarantee that at least one of these Stones is in the Collector's collection, while at least one is in Odin's Vault. I snort, knowing that I'm at least true in regards to one of them.
Morons, both of them, have no respect for Art, or History.
"You know what, I'm going to take one home, to Sanctuary. Just to preserve it, you understand." I say, purposefully not looking at Tatiana.
Tatiana snorts, and says, "Yes, that's why. There's no greed there at all."
I note the sarcasm in her voice, and ignore it. Floating up, I place my hand on one of the Stones that I know doesn't exist in the future, and place it in the Nowhere. For preservation, not to satisfy my Hoarding tendencies.
Nope.
I could, theoretically take all of the Stones that went missing, but I have no idea if other people visit here or not. Too many missing stones will cause a panic, and that might bring some attention to me or something.
Soon, however, we get bored just looking at stones, and we move on to the next destination, this time, one Tatiana chose. She selected the Temple of the Olympian Zeus, in Athens. I had hoped to see some obvious signs of his existence there, but other than myths, there was nothing.
Either he didn't exist, or he once did, but decided to get out of mortal matters. Wherever he is, if he exists, is well hidden.
One by one, we go from one destination to the next, just enjoying spending time together. I showed her the Ram Setu, Mt Everest, Mayan Pyramids, the Great Wall of China, and took her flying over Egypt for an entire day. She, meanwhile, showed me the temples of Greek Gods, the original Statue of Athena, and Thebes, which funnily enough, I hadn't been to in either times.
Currently, we were on another one of Tatiana's destinations, a place called Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa.
"I used to come here often, when I first invented my Disappearing spell." Tatiana says, as we sit and watch the sun rise over the horizon. "The Sunrise from here, and the Sunset on the other side is so.. amazing! This place itself is amazing!"
I nod, completely agreeing with her. The sunrise was beautiful from here. Turning her head towards myself, I smile softly, and say, "Not as amazing as you, my Tatiana."
Cheesy? Maybe.. that's the best part.
Tatiana smiles, and leans in, both of our lips meeting in a soft kiss. We stay on top of Kilimanjaro for a while, watching the sun rise completely, and only leave when the sun is completely up.
It was a good holiday, if short. But well, I have my entire life to visit every place, every continent.
Huh, this makes me wonder about Antarctica. I know there's supposed to be some Vibranium there too, of another sort. One that emits vibrations even in the Ground State, instead of absorbing vibrations like the Wakandan Vibranium.
But well, since this is not the Comics Universe, and since a lot of stuff is different from comics here, I doubt I'll find anything there. I'll still put it on my to-do list.
A year more goes by without any excitement, with Tatiana and I living it up in the Britannia Sanctum. The Roman Empire recently went through a change , Julius Caesar's death, while Cleopatra has just begun courting Mark Antony.
Us Sorcerers, however, were far from the troubles of the Roman Empire. It didn't matter to us who ruled Egypt, or who ruled Rome, Greece, etc. We only cared about serving our purpose of protecting the Universe, no matter how boring it gets at times.
For the third time since I've begun guarding the Sanctum, I feel the Perimeter Ward go off once again, only this time, the results are a bit.. odd.
I snap to attention, and with a flex on my control over the Master Ward, I sound the silent Alarm, informing Kamar Taj and the two Sanctums of this development.
"What is it?" Tatiana asks, as she calls her Cloak towards herself, getting ready for a fight.
I teleport both of us outside the doors of the Sanctum, and say, "Something is approaching us, fast. It's not a person, nor is it anything I've ever felt before."
I lean down to touch the ground, and send my Magic through it to get a feel. The being was underground, digging through fast, and because of that I couldn't even smell it. I could hear it, but my ears were not used to identifying such sounds, let alone finding out how far out it is.
So, Magical Echolocation.
"Whatever it is, it is more connected to the Universe than any of the Sorcerers, even Master Ayesha. Which is weird, because Demonic beings shouldn't be connected to the Universe at all." I muse, as I get a feel for the being now just half a mile out.
Tatiana brings her hands forward, Tao Mandalas forming in preparation, and says, "Is it a threat, or a visitor?"
I open my mouth to answer, but find it unnecessary, since the being takes that moment to dig out of the ground, right in the middle of the town.
ROOOOAAAAR!
The demon roars loudly, sending most of the people scrambling away from it in fear, while some freeze in their spots. The loud roar is a very weird sound when you consider that the demon looks similar to a giant Minotaur.
It sported a colour that looked to be a mix of green and blue, with some shine that I haven't seen in any Demons before.
It roars once again, and swipes its hand, passing them through buildings as if they were made of paper. It picks up one human after another, and tossed them in his mouth, swallowing them in one swoop.
Gross.
It then moves around, to follow after the fleeing people, while destroying anything in the way.
"What is that? Some sort of Elder Spawn that had remained hidden?" Tatiana asks, as we both start running towards the beast. Apparating next to a demon is stupid at best, suicidal at worst.
I frown, and say, "Whatever it is, we need to deal with it. Let's push it into the forest first, away from the people."
Tatiana nods, and points her palms towards the rampaging demon. The ground underneath the demon parts, catching its foot mid run, causing it to stumble forward. Taking the opportunity, I create a portal in front of it, sending it through before the demon can regain its balance.
"Protect the Sanctum in my absence, this can't be the only Demon here." I say, and as Tatiana nods, I apparate into the forest near to the town, right on the river bank, on top of a tree.
I see the Minotaur like demon sniffing its nose, as it slams its huge fists on the ground, sending tremors through. It's probably angry at getting sent somewhere it doesn't want to go.
I take the time to sense its Magic, finding it.. missing. Whatever this is, it's not a traditional Demon, nope. There's no connection to a different Dimension, no intrinsic Demonic Magic. Heck, even its presence was more neutral than dark. It had a connection to the Universe, and that's it. The connection, funnily enough, did not feel the same as normal Magic does.
But it was unlike anything I've ever seen before, and I've seen a lot.
Barely 5 seconds after I land on the tree branch, however, the Minotaur snaps its head towards me, snarls, and runs forward, barrelling through trees as if they aren't even there.
The 20 feet tall Minotaur-like pseudo demon jumps at my position, its muscle bound legs allowing it to reach my height easily, and snaps its hand to catch me in its hands. The Prati Kavach covers my right hand, as I easily evade the giant fist, and I slam it into the Minotaur's chin.
A depulso spell hits the chin at the same time that my fist actually does, but it only causes the demon to snap its head back, and fall back down thanks to its momentum. I see the hand try to still grasp at me, and apparate away.
So, Wizardry is out. That's one hell of a Magic resistant skin, my spell splashed harmlessly on it, while only the punch had some effect.
Luckily for me, I am far from a one trick pony.
As the Minotaur regains its balance, it immediately sniffs me out and runs towards my new tree. This time, I jump down towards the demon, my left hand extended, and whisper, "Crimson Bands of Cyttorak!"
Bright crimson bands made from the Magic of Cyttorak's Crimson Cosmos fly out of my left hand and slam into the demon, who had jumped at me. They immediately surround the demon in a tight hold, binding legs, arms, and even horns separately while also binding the entire body together.
Still mid-flight, as the now bound demon begins falling down, I summon Durmagol to my right hand, still covered by the Prati Kavach to give me some enhanced strength, and slash towards its head, aiming to split its head.
Unfortunately for me, something else slams into me, throwing me away from the Minotaur while at the same time freeing it from my Crimson Bands.
THUD!
I slam through three trees, and into a rock, and stop. Son of a bitch!
As my body heals from the multiple broken bones and cuts I just suffered, I look up to see what had hit me. It was another similar demon, this one in the shape of a giant panther, around 20 feet tall. Its skin tone being the same as the Minotaur told me that these two beings are related.
Clicking my tongue, I jump up, in time to dodge the attack by the Panther, which is fast as fuck, and land on its back. The Minotaur jumps at me, mouth open wide with the intention of swallowing me whole, and I apparate away at the last moment.
"MYAAAAA!" I hear the Panther-demon howl in pain, as the Minotaur bites into its back.
I point both my hands at each of the demons, and cast, "Crystals of Cyndriar!"
Two white Tao Mandalas form in front of my palms, as white diamond like crystals fly out of their centers, summoned from the Cyndriar Dimension. The crystals have a magnificent property of killing anything with a single touch.
Unfortunately, they can be defended from by the simplest of spells, or the thinnest of obstacles. Even paper can block the Crystals from hitting flesh.
Dozens of crystals fly towards the demons, at speeds similar to that of any of my Magecraft spells. The Minotaur jumps on top of the crystals, while the Panther chooses to speed away, its speed at least twenty times higher than my own.
I wave my hand, sending a burst of flames towards the approaching Minotaur, while apparating to a higher point silently. The Panther, however, must've expected something like this, because it immediately speeds towards my position.
I was ready for it, however, and prepare to create a portal to send it slamming into the Minotaur, the Flames of my Kasha itching to be unleashed. My efforts prove unnecessary, as something else slams into the Panther, sending it flying away from me.
That something proves to be a person, thinner than me, and shorter too, punching the Panther with strength that far surpasses me. The Minotaur rages, and starts stomping towards the person and Panther, but something else slams into it first, sending it flying backwards with the sheer force of it.
A tree made of.. diamond?
What the fuck?
I turn towards where the Diamond tree came from, down inside the forest still, and see four people standing there, most of their faces surprisingly familiar. One had another Diamond tree in his hands, his features strikingly Korean, which just tells me that this one is stronger than normal too. Not the Korean part, but the fact that he's holding a large 20 feet long tree, completely made out of diamond, as easily as it was a small stone.
He then pulls his hand backwards, and throws that tree forward too.
This one had been sharpened, and it slams into the giant Minotaur's shoulder, stabbing through cleanly, and affixing the Minotaur to the ground around 100 meters behind its previous location.
Someone else was already present there, as she suddenly becomes visible to my eye, and slashes a yellow coloured spear, made completely out of weirdly shaped symbols, at the Minotaur's neck.
The Minotaur is not an easy prey, and manages to slap the woman away before she can land a hit.
"THENA!" The Korean man yells, in concern, which I put away in my mind for now. But then, something fast catches the swordswoman named Thena, and speeds right the fuck off before I can even see them properly.
Not willing to let these newcomers do all the work, I drop down from the tree I was on, 50 meters above the ground, and slam down, while slapping my hands on the ground. The ground trembles, as something moves from inside it, and suddenly, a dozen crimson energy bands erupt from around the Minotaur, and bind it with the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak once again.
Turning my head back, I yell, "IT'S COMPLETELY BOUND, DO IT NOW!"
The Korean man nods, and picks the woman named Thena up, with me having no idea when she joined them. And then, he throws the woman at the Minotaur. She conjures a sword in her hands, created from the same energy that made her spear, and stabs it through the Minotaur's neck, landing expertly on its chest.
She then pulls at her weapon, and slides it out of the side, turning the Minotaur into a parody of Nearly Headless Nick. And then, another swipe of her sword does the job completely, beheading the Minotaur.
I let the Crimson Bands dissipate, and stand back up, turning towards the four people that I had seen first appear.
A few more people join them, one of them gently floating down, while another becomes visible suddenly, just like the woman named Thena did, until there are ten people in front of me. They stand to let a single woman be in the forefront, while two people stood on her sides, just a bit back, one of them being the only flier. The others were similarly positioned right behind them, a bit to the side, in a practiced pose.
All of them wore skin tight armour that sported different matted colours. And the group itself was very diverse, which.. yay diversity, but the weirdest part were their faces.
I literally recognise five of their faces, and one of them I remember seeing in person, back in my own time, during the final attack on Nurmengard.
So.. what is Madam Ya Zhao, a woman supposed to be 80 during the 1940s, doing in 45 BC?
The other four that I recognise.. are also a bit of a surprise. Thena, the woman who can create Weapons out of the odd energy(not Magic) that all these people have access to, bore the face of an actress in my previous life. Angelina Jolie.
The Flier, one who had single-handedly defeated the Panther Demon, bore striking resemblance to the actor who played Robb Stark in Game of Thrones. The central woman, the leader, I'm assuming, looked a lot like Salma Hayek. One of them was most distinctively a Comedian I remember seeing in some movies, and skits, Kumail Nanjiani.
And all of them were looking at me as if I was the weird one out.
"Thank you for your help.. Sorcerer." The Salma Hayek look-alike says, nodding in thanks.
I blink at her, a bit surprised at the gentleness with which she spoke, and say, "I had it handled, but I appreciate the help.. and I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage. You know what I am, yet I don't know what you are."
Salma smiles, and I realise that she's going to be the spokesperson here, and says, "Please, no need to feel threatened. We are the Eternals, sworn to protect the Planet from the threat that is the Deviants. My name is Ajak, the Leader of Eternals. What may I ask, is yours?"
Ajak. Eternals. I remember reading something about them once upon a time, in my previous life, which.. now also seems like a really long time ago. I need to go into my mind to recall that particular memory.
Nodding a bit, I look over them once more, and say, "It is nice to meet you, Madam Ajak. My name is Atharva Joshi, I am the Master of the Sanctum that's in that town over there. Would you like to come and rest for a while?"
Salma, or Ajak, I suppose, smiles, and nods in appreciation. She says, "We wouldn't say no to an honest invitation."
Nodding, I say, "Great. Let me just deal with the corpses and I'll be right with you."
In the blink of an eye, I apparate next to the dead Minotaur, and after storing its head in the Nowhere, I point my hand at it. My hand turns white, as flames erupt from it to cover the entire body of the Minotaur.. Deviant.
Guess this answers my question about why I didn't sense any Magic from these Demons, because they aren't Demons.
I then apparate next to the Panther Deviant, and notice the multiple burns the beheaded corpse already sported. Even the point of the cut had burns on them, telling me that whatever beheaded this had some amazing amount of heat behind it.
Doing the same to this Deviant too, the Eternals watching me in curiosity, I once again appear in front of the Eternals. Waving my hand, I create a portal to the door of the Sanctum, and smiling, I ask, "Shall we?"
---
A/N: This chapter could have gone two ways, either with the Eternals coming here, or with the Goddess Bast finally finding Mason. Today morning, I rethought Bast, and decided to do it some other time.
Not all Eternals will make the script, meaning not everyone will have a dialogue. So don't be disappointed. Ajak is the leader, and spokesperson, but Mason will try to talk to the others too.
Well, I hope I didn't spoil anything! I mean, the powers are already known, and so are the characters. I'm not going to go into the plot of Eternals at all, because well, I don't want to Spoil anyone.
Thank you for your support! Tata!
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票