"We have to report this situation." Agent Coulson reached up to his earpiece. "Director Fury tasked us with finding him, but he didn't say anything about looking for a ghost. Sir, we..."
"Hold on, Agent Coulson," Natasha Romanoff interrupted, moving her flashlight. The beam traced from Solomon's footprints toward the cave entrance. Surprisingly, what was once only a single set of prints leading inward was now accompanied by a set leading outward. These new prints had the distinctive short-heeled boot pattern unique to Kamar-Taj. Noticing Natasha's observation, Coulson looked closely. Alongside the prints was a faint scraping sound, as if someone were rubbing their leather shoe sole against the granite walls. He widened his eyes, moving his flashlight around as Natasha did, even cautiously extending his hand above the prints—but there was nothing there.
"I've seen him before," he said, taking a breath. "In fact, I tracked him for a while. He's alive, possibly someone with special abilities, but definitely not a ghost. If he were... maybe we'd need a priest."
"If you're only going to Mass on Christmas and Easter, that counts as a pretty devout Catholic," Romanoff remarked. "I like your sense of humor, Agent Coulson. Contact the task force; we need them to follow these footprints. I have a feeling this trail is our clue."
"I think we should call in the scientists from the Quinjet to investigate the cave. Maybe they can figure out the cause of these phenomena," Coulson suggested.
Natasha glanced at him. Now she was sure Coulson had no idea who Solomon was. In truth, Natasha herself was skeptical about things like "magic," but with Fury's trust, she wouldn't question it. Her momentary excitement at finding a lead was quickly interrupted as Coulson repeatedly tried his earpiece, only to get silence from the task force members. After multiple attempts to contact anyone, he informed Natasha. He suspected it wasn't a matter of electromagnetic interference or a weak signal; he hadn't heard any static, which meant they might all have been taken out, leaving unknown enemies lurking in the dense darkness beyond the cave.
When Coulson and Natasha cautiously exited the cave, they found the Quinjet that had been parked nearby missing. They hadn't heard any engine noise, which should have been unmistakable if it had taken off. There were no shell casings, no signs of gunfire, and the radio was completely silent; the entire task force, along with their transport, had simply vanished.
Beyond this, a large forest had mysteriously appeared. "They're gone," Natasha said, shining her flashlight where the Quinjet had been. She lowered her guard and holstered her pistol, realizing the graver conclusion.
"Or… maybe we're the ones who disappeared."
Meanwhile, Solomon was unaware of the situation at the cave or that Nick Fury was currently slamming his desk, cursing over the sudden disappearance of two of his best agents. Ever since stepping into the eerie forest, Solomon had been on high alert. He had tried using the Sling Ring to open a portal and leave, but no matter what incantations or gestures he tried, the portal simply wouldn't open. Only a small swirl of sparks mocked him with each attempt. He hadn't detected anything like a dimensional anchor spell in the area, but the inability to open the portal was real. Gripping his magic missile wand, he slipped a fireball wand into his sleeve, ready to retaliate against anything that might attack him.
As night fell, the light filtering through the forest canopy gradually faded, and the last warmth of the sunset was swiftly swallowed by shadows creeping in from the ridge. Unwilling to conserve spells any longer, Solomon drew out a scroll and cast a spell to help him see in the thickening darkness. The forest was eerily silent, broken only by the sound of dry leaves crunching underfoot. With no guidance from the Eye of Agamotto, Solomon had no clear direction. He roughly headed toward the nearby town, hoping to encounter someone or something. Although he could now see in the darkness, the forest was unnervingly quiet. He felt a deep, familiar discomfort with the atmosphere.
He realized why the place felt so familiar—not due to its physical environment, but because of the pervasive atmosphere. Fear permeated every corner of the forest, as if monstrous figures were lurking in the shadows behind every bush. This familiarity stemmed from the memories of an ancient cultist overlord, memories tied to a power he'd inherited and long avoided.
Out of curiosity, Solomon had once tried to explore these memories, only to forget many things afterward. He knew what he had been seeking in those memories, and the experience was visceral. Without the stabilizing effect of the second-level spell, "Mechanized Mind," he might have remembered more, but the accompanying madness had haunted him for a while, a feeling that took him a long time to shake. He still remembered the name of the lord of those memories—a name that human physiology could scarcely pronounce. The being was...
Solomon forced himself to stop recalling those memories and instead concentrated on visions of yogurt parfaits and roasted lamb. It was challenging, like trying not to think about a pink elephant, but years of meditation training helped him clear his mind and focus.
A faint whispering sound filled the woods, this time with a distinct direction and proximity. Solomon halted, closed his eyes, and focused. The sound was of several young girls singing, their voices clear and innocent, but the words were hard to make out. Following the sound, he slowly walked forward, and the faint voices became more distinct.
"The ash branch is the magic wand.
Knock three times on the ground, three times on the unseen door, and the spirit will appear, bestowing revelation.
The spirit will softly tell us the chance to realize our true wish.
On the other side of the door lies the future we desire."
Solomon slowed his steps, careful not to alert anyone nearby. Everything he had encountered since leaving the cave pointed to one conclusion—he was now in an unstable space and time. The sunset and warm breeze had been subtle indicators of this, and the inability to open a portal confirmed it.
From a higher-dimensional perspective, everything in the universe was predetermined. All events had already occurred, and these realities, layered like membranes across three-dimensional space, shaped the destiny of this world. Since three-dimensional beings couldn't perceive higher dimensions, a simpler analogy would be helpful.
Imagine a stack of sheets of paper, each one representing a two-dimensional space. Humans, as two-dimensional beings, would live on one of those sheets. Each sheet is drawn with a cross-section of a cube. When stacked, these sheets form a cube, but for two-dimensional beings, these are merely cross-sections. As time passes, it seems like they are shifting through time and space—but in reality, the cube itself remains unchanged, as do its dimensions. Only the observed cross-sections change, and these cross-sections represent the observable reality.
The portal spell essentially folds the sheets, allowing a two-dimensional being to travel from one side of the cross-section to the other. Unless Solomon could locate his position within space-time, identify the correct "sheet," he wouldn't know which one to fold, and thus the portal wouldn't open.
There were a few ways to reorient oneself in space-time.
The simplest was to ask someone from this world. He didn't need an exact date, just a general idea of the year. The larger the time difference, the more layers to fold, making the spell more challenging, but a few years' difference would be manageable for Solomon.
Another option was to meditate and contact Vishanti, asking for the time. As an extradimensional being, Vishanti, who lived in a separate stack of "sheets," could tell him which "sheet" he was on, providing Solomon with the precise time. However, the Vishanti measured time based on the birth of Gaia, not Christ.
In practice, many Kamar-Taj mystics used the Gregorian calendar, since they rarely encountered time anomalies. Solomon, to simplify his spell calculations, hadn't bothered to consult Vishanti on this matter—a lapse that now seemed like karma. If he didn't meet a local resident, he would have to consult Vishanti, even if it meant dealing with the complication of explaining the power-harvesting rings.
Finally, he could simply walk to New York. Unless he was in the time of King Arthur, there would surely be a Kamar-Taj sanctuary there, where he could meet the Sorcerer Supreme and explain his predicament to find a way back. Yet, there were doubts. He didn't know if he was in a localized temporal anomaly or if he'd genuinely traveled through time. If it was the former, he might not be able to leave as easily; if it was the latter, he could try heading to New York.
Solomon decided to try the simplest approach first.
Note: (Reference 1) "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." S3E17, regarding Coulson's faith.
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