Reborn as the God-Emperor in Marvel

"Teacher?" Solomon gently knocked on the intricately carved wooden door that had stood for centuries. After receiving permission from the Grandmaster, he pushed the door open. Before coming to meet the Grandmaster, Solomon had already sent the two wizards from the Merlin school back to New York. He couldn't allow wizards from other schools to wander around Kamar-Taj freely.

Balthazar's peculiar choice of words piqued Solomon's curiosity. No one referred to the Supreme Sorcerer as a king anymore. But he didn't ask further, as the records in the sanctum indicated that Balthazar was a direct disciple of Merlin, a Celt from the same era as the Supreme Sorcerer. His archaic speech was understandable.

According to Balthazar himself, Kamar-Taj seemed to have some unclear ties with the Merlin school. Some spells appeared to be adaptations of the Merlin school's magic, such as the Mirror Dimension spell commonly used by the sorcerers. Currently, the only known spells capable of entering this illusionary dimension were Kamar-Taj's Mirror Dimension spell and a Merlin school spell called Mirror Trap. Balthazar wasn't exaggerating when he said he helped modify Kamar-Taj's spells.

Solomon also asked an arcane sorcerer to pass a message to Masters Hamir and Wu Guiyue, letting them know not to wait for him. Since the Supreme Sorcerer wanted to see him immediately after meeting an old friend, it was clear something important needed to be discussed. Eating could wait.

"You must be very curious about the connection between the Merlin school and Kamar-Taj. The curiosity is written all over your face." The Supreme Sorcerer remained seated behind the low table, with nothing but a cup of tea in front of them. Perhaps in a rare moment of humor, having just seen an old friend, the Sorcerer teased, "You got here faster than a cat hearing a can of tuna being opened."

"Not quite, I don't have orange fur," Solomon shrugged as he sat across from the Supreme Sorcerer. He poured himself a cup of hot tea and took a sip. "I assume you have something interesting to tell me."

"You guessed right, Solomon." The Sorcerer added a spoonful of honey to Solomon's tea. "This is a big secret. Aside from me, very few people in the world know about it—Balthazar is one of them."

"About what?" Solomon took a sip of the overly sweet tea. It tasted pretty good; the expensive Elvish honey was worth the cost.

"The legacy of the Supreme Sorcerer. It's something you need to know." The Sorcerer began. "To most people, the legacy of the Supreme Sorcerer is passed from Agamotto to me. I'm considered the second Supreme Sorcerer. While this is somewhat correct, it's not the whole truth. Yes, I'm the only one recognized by the Vishanti and the Great Eternal, but did you notice there's a long gap between Agamotto's time and when I became the Supreme Sorcerer?"

"Do you mean... Merlin?" Solomon quickly pieced it together. Since the Merlin school had been mentioned, this must involve Merlin.

"Exactly." The Sorcerer nodded. "Merlin was the second Supreme Sorcerer, and I am the third. Merlin only temporarily held the position until I was ready to take on the responsibility. The reason this wasn't recorded is that Merlin never gained the Great Eternal's recognition. You might have heard the legends—Merlin is said to be half-human, half-nightmare, and capable of taking on many forms. That's true. His heritage connected him closely to the Earth Mother Gaia and the faeries.

For this reason, the Eye of Agamotto was never passed to Merlin, and his role as Supreme Sorcerer was never officially confirmed. To Kamar-Taj, he was not truly the Supreme Sorcerer. Over the centuries, Merlin's origins have been shrouded in mystery and misinformation, much of it spread by Merlin himself. He enjoyed creating such confusion. There's no denying he was a wizard with a wicked sense of humor. For instance, he left the Merlin school with one ultimate challenge: to find a Supreme Merlin."

"But according to the Merlin school's records, Merlin was slain by Morgan le Fay..." 

The Supreme Sorcerer dismissed that with a scoff.

"That was just one of Merlin's tricks," the Sorcerer said. "Perhaps he grew tired of his disciples at the time, and with the fall of Camelot, he found an excuse to disappear. No one knows what he was thinking. He even granted Balthazar near-immortal life, ensuring Balthazar wouldn't die until he found a successor. Merlin's sense of humor never changed—anyone who spent enough time with him would want to punch him. If Balthazar knew Merlin's true intention, he'd feel the same."

"Let's hope Balthazar never finds out, then. So, what legends are true?" Solomon asked, intrigued. "If even the Merlin school's records aren't reliable, is there anything more credible? The Merlin school also claims Morgan le Fay was sealed, but if that's false..."

"Some legends are true. Merlin is indeed sealed in Avalon, though it's more of a self-imposed exile than a true imprisonment. If he wanted to leave, Avalon couldn't hold him, not even Oberon could." When Solomon mentioned Morgan le Fay, the Sorcerer's expression grew more solemn. The Supreme Sorcerer sighed and continued, "As for Morgan le Fay... She wasn't sealed by Balthazar's inferior wizards. At best, they sealed one of her avatars."

Solomon nodded. Creating independent avatars by splitting one's soul was a feasible magical technique. He knew of at least two or three spells capable of achieving this, each with different durations and effects. If Morgan le Fay was as powerful as legend claimed, using such magic would be well within her abilities.

"So, our connection to the Merlin school is simply that Merlin once held the title of Supreme Sorcerer?" Solomon asked. "If Balthazar was correct, some of our spells are influenced by the Merlin school, but I don't think that's a big deal."

"Our connection goes deeper than that, Solomon." The Sorcerer sighed again. "Merlin was once the holder of the Darkhold."

"Oh boy, that's serious." Solomon sighed as well. Any situation involving the Darkhold was never simple.

"The Merlin school's records—the ones about Morgan le Fay and a student of Merlin attempting to steal a spell—those are true. They were both part of the same sorcerer's order back then. What Morgan le Fay was trying to steal was a spell from the Darkhold that Merlin had transcribed into his own book of spells," the Sorcerer explained. "However, I believe it was just a minor move on Morgan le Fay's part. From what I understand, that spell had little to do with her ultimate goal. Still, Kamar-Taj must monitor the situation closely."

"Morgan le Fay's ultimate goal?" Solomon's head began to spin. If a Darkhold spell being leaked was already bad enough, the mysteries surrounding Morgan le Fay were even more daunting. "Why are you telling me this?"

The Supreme Sorcerer looked a little uncomfortable. "Morgan le Fay isn't dead; she can live for a very long time," the Sorcerer said. "And, you're going to inherit my title. That means... you'll likely have to face Morgan le Fay in the future."

"What?" Solomon's eyes widened. "If Morgan le Fay does anything to endanger the world, then I, along with Strange and the other sorcerers—"

"No, my dear disciple," the Sorcerer interrupted, looking even more embarrassed. "What I mean is, this matter will fall on you alone. Because you'll inherit my title, and once Morgan le Fay knows, she will specifically target you..."

Solomon was even more confused now. The Supreme Sorcerer took a deep breath and finally revealed the reason.

"In addition to Morgan le Fay, I was also Merlin's student," the Sorcerer said. "Because of this, I had close ties to the Earth Mother Gaia and the faeries. I even received help from Gaia and the faeries. At least, before I became the Supreme Sorcerer, I was not fighting for humanity."

"What!" Solomon's jaw dropped in surprise. "I always thought you had signed a contract with the Vishanti from the moment you began practicing the arcane arts!"

"Sadly, that's not the case," the Sorcerer nodded. "Before I accepted the Vishanti's contract, the Eye of Agamotto, and the Book of the Vishanti, I had no idea I would become the Supreme Sorcerer. At that time, no one could match Merlin's magical prowess."

"But what does this have to do with Morgan le Fay?"

"Although Morgan le Fay and I studied under Merlin together, our relationship was complicated, and what we learned was vastly different." The Sorcerer sighed again, and Solomon realized he had heard the Sorcerer sigh more today than in the past fifteen years combined. He kept quiet, waiting for the Sorcerer to gather their thoughts. If the Sorcerer was ready to tell him something, he would listen. If something remained hidden, it was because the Sorcerer believed Solomon didn't need to know. Solomon trusted the Supreme Sorcerer wholeheartedly.

"My conflict with Morgan le Fay began when Camelot was founded and lasted until the Battle of Camlann. We were always entangled. Morgan le Fay wanted to kill me, but she also loved me. It was a twisted

 mix of jealousy and hatred because she believed I had taken what was rightfully hers. There was a period of reconciliation between us, after the Battle of Camlann, because... that thing had lost its power." The Sorcerer said, "In the future, I will pass that thing on to you. Strange cannot inherit all of my titles. He can only become the Supreme Sorcerer, not the Master of Kamar-Taj. And he cannot... this part of my title can only be passed to you."

"What title?"

The Supreme Sorcerer didn't answer immediately. After a moment of contemplation, they seemed to come to a major decision. Standing up, they asked Solomon to kneel before them on one knee. Solomon, filled with confusion, complied. The Sorcerer even made him adjust his posture several times to ensure it was perfect.

"Solomon Messiah Damonet," the Sorcerer said lovingly as they touched his long hair. Then, forming their hand into a blade, they gently tapped Solomon's shoulders. "In the name of Arthur Pendragon, King of Britain, I appoint you to the last seat of the Round Table and declare you the heir to the Kingdom of Britain, effective immediately."

"From now on, you are Solomon Messiah Pendragon Damonet, inheritor of the Holy Sword."

___________________

Read Ahead

[email protected]/Mutter

Get 33% off all subscription levels from Jan 10–17! Use code: CF4C2