"This is the story of your birth, Salomon," said the Ancient One, ruffling five-year-old Salomon's long, wavy hair. the Supreme had always been pleased with Salomon's behavior, as he never exhibited the erratic crying and fussing expected of a child. the Supreme could always see him thinking.
This behavior did not surprise the Supreme. After all, Salomon's birth was a work of heaven. Although the Ancient One had intercepted him, his inherent special qualities still manifested. For example, he possessed some magical power without the need for a pact with Vishanti. This ability manifested at the age of five, around the new millennium, and caused some minor trouble.
There are spellcasters on Earth who use their own magic to cast spells. With the right method, ordinary people can refine magic from their life force. In the West, this power is called mana, and in the East, it is called chi. Regardless of the name, it is the essential energy that drives magic. However, those spellcasters who refined their life force were, without exception, not very powerful. Aside from a few gifted mystics, they were mostly amateur mages.
Spellcasters who generated their own magic were unique, possessing some degree of extradimensional connection. For this reason, many Kamar-Taj mages questioned the Sorcerer Supreme, fearing that this source of magic might affect this delicate child.
"This is because he possesses greater vitality." The Sorcerer Supreme pulled Salomon, who sat dazed beside her, over to her. She spread his palm, revealing the unrevealed stigmata visible only to those with special vision. She explained, "The essence of magic is the energy present in all forms of life. Because he is a natural saint, his body is fortified with positive energy, giving him greater vitality.
This excessive vitality is automatically transformed into magic by the stigmata. His magic draws upon his vitality and has nothing to do with the outer dimensions.
Therefore, even before signing his pact with Vishanti, Salomon possessed the ability to cast spells independently. Furthermore, his body possesses greater strength and senses than ordinary humans."
However, the Sorcerer Supreme kept the other benefits of the stigmata to herself, believing it unnecessary for the other disciples to know.
Salomon's clothing was more conspicuous than that of the other Kamar-Taj disciples. His garments were made of crimson holy cloth by the Sorcerer Supreme to prevent the stigmata on his hands from manifesting. Wearing this clothing, the stigmata were no longer visible to ordinary people.
"Is it Heaven? Or does it originate from Vishanti?" an apprentice asked.
"No, it's just the plane of positive energy—not Heaven, and not from Vishanti," the Sorcerer Supreme said. "The magic we receive is also positive energy, and Mount Heaven is also a plane of positive energy. There's no difference. If his body had been exposed to negative energy, meaning dark magic, then he would not be able to gain weight."
Salomon Damonette puffed his cheeks in dissatisfaction. He always insisted that he had baby fat, which made the female apprentices unable to resist pinching his chubby cheeks.
The Sorcerer Supreme had long been working to eliminate the worship of Vishanti within Kamar-Taj, despite Vishanti being the lord of Kamar-Taj and herself. However, one of the reasons Kamar-Taj was able to draw magic from Vishanti rather than other magical entities was the intervention of the Eternal Gods—one of the five great gods of the universe. It was through the Eternal Gods' instructions that the Ancient One was able to sign a pact with the magical entity Vishanti.
In fact, the Sorcerer Supreme was initially hesitant to accept this apprentice, because even Vishanti had his own thoughts. While the Sorcerer Supreme stood behind the Eternals, Vishanti was the true provider of magical power. Vishanti had already designated the next Sorcerer Supreme. The trinity of Agamotto, Oshtur, and Hoggoth sought to restore control of Kamar-Taj, which had long spiraled out of their control. They sought to select a sufficiently obedient Sorcerer Supreme—but the Ancient One was too powerful, and her ties to the Eternals were too close.
Vishanti could not guarantee that breaking the contract would not push the Ancient One toward Dormammu and make her their enemy. They could not afford the risk, so they could only wait for the Ancient One's natural death.
The birth of Salomon Damonette gave the Sorcerer Supreme new hope—a hope to ensure Earth's independence until a new Sorcerer Supreme emerged, and to ensure Kamar-Taj would no longer be Vishanti's puppet. She also told him the story of Jezebel, attempting to connect Salomon's feelings with the people of Earth, telling him that his existence was a continuation of Jezebel's love.
"How did you do it?" the Supreme asked Salomon after the apprentices left.
The Sorcerer Supreme deliberately stroked Salomon Damonette's long, soft, black curls. Before the human cub fully matured, this hairstyle made it impossible to tell whether he was a boy or a girl, making him look particularly adorable. Even the Sorcerer Supreme could not help but pinch his chubby, red cheeks.
"I just wanted to heat up some soup. I was reading The Book of Roziel and didn't have time to eat, so I wanted to finish the soup I didn't finish last night." Salomon spread his hands, looking incredibly innocent—and he was not lying.
In fact, Salomon saw the Ancient One the moment he regained consciousness. He quickly realized his location, but due to his low desires, he didn't even bother to be surprised.
Then, Salomon carefully examined his golden finger, well, fingers. The ten stigmata on his hands not only granted him superhuman physical prowess, but also contained the memories of ten deceased archmages, each holding a vast amount of magical knowledge and biographical memories. He could clearly discern the origins of these memories: either Faerûn or Greyhawk, Eberron or Krynn, even the Inner Sea.
But he still wanted to complain: why were there so many necromancy-loving mages among the memories he had received? Were they simply too evil to be hammered to death? Furthermore, why did his golden fingers function similarly to the soul gems of demigod liches? Could this all hint at his future as a lich?
While these golden fingers were a physical feature, they also brought with them some side effects. When unlocking the stigmata to gain knowledge, he would be bombarded with information. These archmages all possessed immense lifespans, while he was a mere otaku; his soul was not strong enough to absorb all their memories.
This was a vicious cycle, so Salomon had to begin learning the magic of Kamar-Taj, elevating his soul essence in order to receive the spells within the stigmata.
After completing his basic education, Salomon was allowed to read some of the library's magic books. The book he read, the Book of Roziel, also known as the Key of Solomon, was not the original, but a deciphered translation. King Solomon had no connection to it; it was written by medieval sorcerers. The book encouraged blood sacrifice, a classic example of dark magic. However, because it contained nothing but gibberish and lacked any useful information, it was relegated to a corner of the library, serving as a terrifying introduction to the dark arts for newcomers. This was how Salomon was able to read it.
The Book of Enoch, the true record of the angel Roziel's knowledge, was now forbidden to Salomon.
This was like a parent threatening a child with the Big Bad Wolf, a witch, Voldemort, or some other strange creature coming to get them if they didn't sleep. It was pure intimidation.
Salomon, however, watched with rapt interest. After all, he had only learned a few tricks and had never yet been exposed to formal mysticism.
His innate personality, coupled with the memories of mages' initial excitement, led him to attempt a magical trick to heat the soup. In a world without spell slots or magical weaving, he could only chant a long incantation, controlling the flow of his magical energy.
However, not only did he fail to heat the cold soup, but a burst of sparks erupted through the door, causing the mages practicing their magic to become particularly worried. This, in turn, led to the scene at the beginning.
The Sorcerer Supreme patted Salomon's head again. She knew of Salomon's illustrious background, but she did not intend to share it with anyone. She did not even use the Eye of Agamotto to see Salomon's future. Although she had received the Eye from the Eternal God, it was a magical artifact of Vishanti, and it was hard to say that Vishanti had not tampered with it.
the Supreme seemed to be pondering something. One type of magic could only support one system of magic, just as Dormammu's cultists could not learn the portals of Kamar-Taj. the Supreme knew that the stigmata brought knowledge, but Salomon's magic seemed to support the operation of those magics...
"You need more practice, Salomon." After a moment, the Ancient One reached out and pulled Salomon toward her. She pulled a glass of juice from a portal. "You can try freezing this drink. Come on, try it. Don't be afraid, I'm here for you."
Salomon was touched. He met the Sorcerer Supreme's encouraging gaze and did as she said... Then the Sorcerer Supreme inserted a straw into the glass, holding the frosted cup and walking away. Salomon rolled his eyes—well, the Sorcerer Supreme was indeed a little different than he had imagined.
He had initially imagined the Sorcerer Supreme to be an extremely majestic and benevolent wizard, like Dumbledore next door. But what mentor would say a bunch of touching words just to trick his apprentice into using a spell to freeze a drink?
The Ancient One did not look like an old man with a crooked nose and a sweet tooth!
-End Chapter-
Visit the Patreon!!
Read 30 chapters ahead, more on the way!
[email protected]/TrashProspector