Marvel Magic Case Files.

Chapter 98 Awakening

Salomon felt his plan didn't need many changes. He believed Jack Danny's brewing barrels would be enough to appease a naive and romantic like Thor. If possible, he also wanted to steal a bottle of mead from the party; the poor blond baby would likely need some comfort from home, and the thought of the big guy looking so pathetic made him chuckle.

"Don't be too gloating," said the Sorcerer Supreme. "Asgard is our partner."

“If Thor remains the same, he won’t be our ally, but our enemy. Besides, I don’t think my personality would be compatible with Thor’s,” Salomon said. “Anyway, there are still candidates for the throne of Asgard, aren’t there?”

The Sorcerer Supreme glanced at his disciple, sensing a hidden meaning in Salomon's words. The Sorcerer Supreme believed Salomon was referring to Loki, but in reality, he was referring to Hela, the goddess of death. If Odin's plan to raise a child failed, he would rather ally with Hela, provided he could fight her to a draw. Hela, raised on blood, symbolized Odin's most brutal side, just as Salomon would represent the Sorcerer Supreme's most ruthless and merciless side.

"The other heir's attitude is even worse." The Venerable turned his head, watching the heroic soldiers evacuate the civilians. "Only iron and blood can make the other heir accept you, just as I did when I faced Odin. If you think you can handle it, then it's worth a try, because the challenges we face in the future are very difficult, and we need a powerful ally, and that ally doesn't necessarily have to be Thor."

"We should still have time, teacher." Salomon rubbed his right thumb against the blue gemstone on his index finger ring. "I've already thought about how to deal with the future. Although it's not something many people want to see, our future is always accompanied by the passing of life, whether it's our own or someone else's. But only those who are prepared can carve out a bright path forward in the dark wilderness. Perhaps in the worst-case scenario, my life will also end, but isn't our responsibility to pave a path that should lead to a bright future for humanity?"

This isn't just empty talk; it's a side effect of the Stigmata's memories. The loss of countless lives has caused Salomon to become indifferent to his own and others' lives, a side effect that intensifies with age. While the latter is still somewhat restrained by the Kamar-Taj Commandments, Salomon hasn't yet shed the blood of innocents, but this won't last long, as he'll eventually be forced to do something. As for the former, he won't cherish his life like a typical transmigrator. When the time comes to sacrifice himself, he won't hesitate—a mindset that is undeniably insane for the extremely selfish "Fourth Calamity."

Although the Sorcerer Supreme intended for Salomon to bear the darkest and bloodiest aspects when he adopted him, his calm expression was still clouded when he heard these words spoken by Salomon. This was not only because Salomon's thoughts were too precocious, but also because the Sorcerer Supreme did not want Salomon to ascend to the Seventh Throne of Hell so early. Phoenix in Kamar-Taj constantly reminded the Sorcerer Supreme that Salomon still carried the burden of twelve hundred years of reincarnation.

"I want you to be happy, but I also want you to bear the worst of things, to carry the burdens I have carried. I know this is a contradiction," His Holiness said. "I'm sorry, Salomon, you are only fifteen years old. You shouldn't have such thoughts at such an age, and you haven't inherited my title yet. This is not something you should be responsible for right now. I thought that full-time school would give you the way of thinking of your peers, but now it seems I was wrong."

"I know what I should do now, and I understand what I should do in the future, teacher. You don't need to feel sorry," Salomon said with a smile. "Everyone should bear responsibility. I am your disciple, and this is my responsibility as well. I know this Stigmata is not some kind of blessing, and I don't care about some bullshit Heaven, but Kamar-Taj is my home. Although this home has no heating, is always cold at night, and snows every day, it is still my home. Besides, there are people I love and people who love me in this world, and that's enough. There are always things more important than life."

"I am satisfied, Salomon, I am truly satisfied," said the Sorcerer Supreme. "Now, there is no need for us to continue watching. Odin has already arranged what is to come, and if things go well, Thor will grow. And I will also offer you an opportunity; at the right time, you will face another heir to Asgard, and you will bear the risks yourself."

"I will, teacher," Salomon said, bowing his head. "I am prepared to bear all of this."

When Queen Frigga finished commanding the Holy Spirits to guard Asgard and looked back, the Sorcerer Supreme and Salomon had vanished. The Queen took a deep breath and turned to instruct her handmaidens to prepare for Odin's return from the vaults. The Sorcerer Supreme had done all she could; now it was up to Odin's decision.

------------

In the small town of Puente Antigol, New Mexico, at night, a motorhome is parked in the desert, the engine running and the headlights still on.

A woman sat amidst a pile of instruments, pen in hand, calculating parameters. She turned and patted the seat; Daisy Louise, in the driver's seat, pursed her lips and turned off the headlights. Astrophysicist Jane Foster, holding an unidentified instrument, climbed out of the sunroof and set it up on the roof. Her teacher, Eric Scharvig, followed, watching his student bustling about.

After a while, the timer in Jane Foster's hand read zero. The New Mexico night sky remained clear, and anyone could clearly see every star. What should have been a welcome sight for astronomy enthusiasts instead annoyed Jane Foster, as it wasn't the view she had expected.

"Let's wait and see," she said, still full of anticipation.

"Can I listen to the radio?" Daisy Louise asked.

"No way!" Jane Foster rejected the suggestion without hesitation, and Daisy Louise shrunk back into the driver's seat, looking utterly dejected. She was Jane Foster's intern, but not an astrophysics student. Jane Foster, who had been researching this seemingly impossible subject, couldn't find any interns to share her work. All the astrophysics students knew that Jane Foster's research would never yield results, and they privately called her "the madwoman."

But Daisy Louise needed the credits, otherwise she would have to retake the course, and Jane Foster also needed a helpful intern, so the two hit it off immediately. As it turned out, Jane Foster's judgment was correct—although Daisy Louise couldn't help with calculations and couldn't understand her theories, Jane Foster could tell at a glance that Daisy was good at moving things—because Daisy Louise had been carrying things that made her shoulders ache since adolescence.

"Jane, you can't go on like this," Eric Scharvig advised kindly, but this only made Jane Foster feel worse.

"The predictions in the first seventeen trials were accurate to the second!" Jane Foster jumped back into her seat in frustration, flipping through the experimental records of the first seventeen trials, trying to find the reason for her mistake.

“Jane, you’re an astrophysicist, not some storm-chasing lunatic.” Eric Scharvig was referring to a group of people who drove along the American hurricane belt chasing tornadoes. These “storm riders” had always enjoyed chasing hurricanes, and in his view, linking astrophysics with storms on Earth was somewhat impractical. One of his students was one of them. But Jane Foster quickly retorted.

“I told you,” she said. “These atmospheric disturbances are related to my research. Eric, I wouldn’t have sent you all the way from England if I wasn’t 100% sure.”

Eric Shavig sighed.

Daisy Louise couldn't understand a word her mentor was saying; all she knew was that her shoulders ached even more, because she'd carried all the equipment into the car that day, and Jane Foster hadn't been able to help at all. Suddenly, she saw a strange phenomenon in the distance in the RV's rearview mirror. It was a deep blue aurora piercing through the clouds, with a fierce wind whipping across the land, clouds churning like ocean waves, and vast beams of light illuminating the dark desert, casting bright blue pillars through the dust storm. Although this wasn't what she'd expected, Jane Foster quickly urged the intern to drive towards the storm.

They saw a black hurricane descend from the sky, instantly stirring up all the dormant dust, with fine sand slapping against the car windows. Daisy Louise swerved sharply to the side, trying to drive away from the area.

"What are you doing?!" Jane Foster shouted, holding a DV camera.

"I'm not going to die here for six credits!" Daisy's eyes widened. Credits were one thing; she could always retake them. But losing her life was the end of it! Jane Foster, however, gripped the steering wheel, trying to steer the car back. The intern shouted, "That's just a storm, not a man! Why are you in such a hurry to rush into it?!"

Suddenly, the center of the black tornado lit up, and a beam of light accompanied by lightning swirled down and struck the ground. Daisy saw a vague figure in the storm by the faint flash of light, but the vehicle was going too fast. Even though Daisy slammed on the brakes, the car still went out of control, skidded, and crashed into the figure with a scream, spinning several times across the desert before finally coming to a stop.

The scene left the three people in the car speechless and dumbfounded. They quickly got out of the car, grabbed flashlights, and ran towards the unfortunate man. They hadn't come to cause a traffic accident; they were there to observe astronomical phenomena. Who knew this drunkard or drug addict would suddenly appear in front of their car?

"I think from a legal standpoint, this is your fault!" Daisy Louise's voice trembled with tears. She came here to earn credits, not to go to jail! It's all over! Everything is ruined! She shouldn't have followed this unscrupulous tutor…

"Quick, get the first-aid kit!" Jane Foster knelt down in front of the man, shining her flashlight on his face. "Please help me, don't let him die!"

"Wow!" Daisy Louise clicked her tongue. Who knew this guy had such a great physique? "Does he need CPR? I know how to give CPR!"

Thor was still reeling from the shock of his banishment when he was thrown off the Rainbow Bridge. He looked up at the woman before him, then collapsed back onto the ground, utterly exhausted.

"Where did he come from?" Jane Foster noticed his clean face and neatly trimmed beard; he didn't look like a drug addict, nor did she smell alcohol, and he certainly didn't seem drunk. There were no vehicles or other means of transportation nearby. Had this guy walked here? Why would he be wandering the desert at night?

------------

"What are you doing here?" Joan of Arc, returning home from get off work, asked in surprise when she saw Salomon lounging on the sofa. "Shouldn't you be attending some ceremony?"

"I'm waiting for love to blossom." Salomon, holding a cat in his arms and with his eyes half-closed, said, "It's not mine, it's the silly prince's. The Sorcerer Supreme even schemed against the Allfather."

Thank you to Cat, Book and Dog for the 500-point donation.

Thank you Sebastian for the generous 100-point donation.

Thank you for the 500-point reward from "It's so hard to pick a name these days".

Thank you to 睥睨王侯 for the 100-point reward.

Thank you for the 100-point donation from Funeral Under the Moon.

I'm asking for a recommendation vote—I also need a reader who's interested in applying for the operations officer position, because just as I finished writing this chapter, another idiot appeared in the comments section.

(End of this chapter)