"What Ten Rings?" Salomon asked, bewildered.
"Have you read the story of King Solomon?"
"I've heard a bit about it…"
"It is said that King Solomon commanded the 72 Demon Gods, and the initial construction of the Temple of Israel was his doing. It is speculated that the construction of the Temple very likely had the help of the Demon Gods. And those ten rings were the proof of the wise man acknowledged by God, and also the reliance for commanding Angels and demons," the Sorcerer Supreme explained. "King Solomon performed a miracle only once, and in the end, by his own will, he returned the rings to Heaven."
"What does this have to do with my stigmata?"
Under the Sorcerer Ancient One's disapproving gaze, Salomon turned his head away… He indeed hadn't read any explanations about stigmata.
"Magic originally originated from the theory of idols, which is to obtain the attributes of a subject by imitating the whole or part of that subject. The simplest magic is seeing and hearing." The Sorcerer Supreme tapped Salomon's head with a folding fan, making him turn his head back.
She continued, "And stigmata are the marks of the Son of God during his execution, but the marks on your fingers are not the wounds of the Son of God, but marks similar to those of King Solomon. I don't know what to call these marks, which is why I call them stigmata, and you are also called a Saint by me—this is different from the Saints recognized by the Roman Church.
Based on the theory of idols, you will inevitably possess some of King Solomon's abilities… for example, command or servitude."
"So, Teacher, you're not sure if I can tame this ring?" Salomon said with a face full of resentment. "It's not that I can't accept such experiments, but please inform me in advance next time, Teacher."
"Shush~ shush~ shush~" the Sorcerer Ancient One looked away. "Nothing too big happened anyway, don't mind it, don't mind it."
The Sorcerer Supreme also mentioned the whereabouts of the other two rings to Salomon. The Sorcerer Ancient One always believed that the current Salomon was not yet capable enough to pass the trials brought by the other two rings.
"Why?" Salomon asked.
"Because there's more than just Kamar-Taj as a magic force on Earth, Salomon. Not all magicians on Earth get their magic from Vishanti," the Sorcerer Ancient One said. "Not all mystical sources are Vishanti; some come from Chthon's chaos magic, some from Dormammu's Dark Dimension, or other strange things. Even devils and demons exist.
And our Kamar-Taj, known as the Magicians' Conclave to the outside world, one of our main responsibilities is to clear out these Black Wizards."
"Alright, then, Teacher, can you tell me how Chthon or Dormammu came to be?"
"Very well, this is also a missing part of your basic education. I've always worried that someone, upon learning their names, might hear their call and thus fall to these dangerous Elder Gods. But now it's private lesson time, and no one will disturb us." The Sorcerer Supreme said, "Everything you are about to hear must be deeply hidden in your mind."
"By Vishanti… no, by the source of magic, I swear." Salomon said.
The Sorcerer Supreme nodded and began the ancient tale: "Chthon was a life conceived by the God of Life, one of the earliest life forms on Earth. He was known as the Great Shadow Demon or the God of black magic. Other life forms conceived were Gaia, the Mother Earth, Set, and so on.
Billions of years ago, the natural life force of the Earth's biosphere gave birth to a group of Elder Gods. Afterwards, they began to kill and devour each other, some even transforming into demons. Chthon was one of them.
To end this fate, Gaia, the Mother Earth, and the God of Life gave birth to Atum. Atum continuously destroyed those demonized Elder Gods, but later fell and became an incredibly powerful God-Eater. Chthon and Set, even together, could not contend with him.
Finally, to escape the God-Eater's devouring, Chthon and Set were forced to flee to other dimensions. As for Atum's whereabouts after that, it is said that he combined with the Sun to form the Sun God, but no one can be sure if this is true or false.
And the power left by Atum gave rise to a new generation of Gods, including the Norse pantheon.
God King Odin possessed very powerful Odinforce. He fought everywhere, ruled the Heavenly Palace, created the World Tree, and divided the Universe into Ten Realms. At the same time, various Gods appeared in other parts of Earth, including the Jade Emperor and other Earth pantheons.
And then there's Gaia, the Mother Earth. Gaia and another son, Uranus, gave birth to Kronos, and Kronos's son was Zeus, which is the Greek pantheon you read about in storybooks."
"What happened in between, I'm not entirely clear, why the World Tree's Ten Realms became the current Nine Realms, but in any case, in the very distant past, the Celestials, the managers created by the Eternal Great God, clashed with these New Gods on Earth… In short, these New Gods had more or less left Earth before human civilization appeared."
The Sorcerer Supreme paused, and Salomon quickly poured his teacher a cup of tea, keeping it warm with magic.
The Sorcerer Ancient One nodded contentedly. She continued: "Next, I will talk about the Vishanti Trinity—Agamotto, one of them, was the first Sorcerer Supreme. He specialized in foresight and truth, he comprehended the mysteries of the Universe, and he forged Kamar-Taj's greatest treasures, the Eye of Agamotto, in addition to the Agamotto Amulet, Agamotto Orb, and so on;
Hoggoth is an extremely ancient and powerful magic entity. His true form is said to be incomprehensible to most humans, so Hoggoth usually appears before human magicians in the form of a tiger.
Sometimes he also appears in the form of a human face. His created Paths of Hoggoth and Mists of Hoggoth can help travelers pass through the realm of nightmares, and Hoggoth's spells can cause people to fall asleep and forget;
And the last of the Vishanti is also an Elder God, named Oshtur. She is another 'daughter' of the God of Life. She is associated with the sky, wisdom, and reason, and is the origin of White magic.
When Chthon's existence threatened Earth and even the entire Universe, Oshtur gave birth to Agamotto—yes, the Agamotto who is one of the Vishanti Trinity. However, in reality, she is a genderless being."
"Here's a little secret~ Hmm, very good, Salomon, your magic is progressing very quickly." The Sorcerer Ancient One picked up the teacup, feeling the suitable temperature. At the same time, she lowered her voice and winked, as if gossiping behind someone's back.
"It is said that Hoggoth comes from an ancient and mysterious race, and he is also the last survivor of this race, having existed for millions of years or even longer.
One day, Hoggoth met Oshtur, who was exploring different Universes. He taught Oshtur many things and helped her understand the value of other lives. He later continued to travel with Oshtur.
So Hoggoth is very likely Agamotto's father… Of course, this kind of thing cannot be told to others."
Salomon's mouth dropped open in surprise. Although the behavior of these magic entities couldn't be judged by human ethics, it was already beyond what "the noble circle is truly chaotic" could describe, but…
"Teacher, what does this have to do with my trial?" Salomon asked.
"Of course it does," the Sorcerer Ancient One said. "While Britain enjoys the afterglow of its sunset, it has plundered a large number of artworks from all over the world. These artworks are all collected in the British Museum—but unfortunately, these artworks are all related to those Earth pantheons.
Although these New Gods have left Earth, some power still remains in those things… Even if it's just a little, it's an immensely vast energy for humans."
"And if you want to go there to get a ring, it means you will have to face the Guardian of those powers… This is not an easy task for you right now. I think it's better for you to learn all the magic you can first." The Sorcerer Supreme's tone became serious. "Remember, even if you get another ring, you cannot put it on immediately—find the remaining two, and then put them on at the same time… Your ability will allow you to fully control Vishanti's magic."