85 Book of Vishanti, Elder Gods Oshtur and Chthon

[NOAH'S POV]

***

Kamar-Taj.

The humble residence of the sorcerers and sorceresses where they practice mystical arts and spells.

It was a place where broken souls go to heal their spirituality, mental psyche, or even problems in the physical body.

This place was the starting point of the story of our boy surgeon Dr. Stephen Strange and his fated meeting with the Ancient One.

'The bald old existence of Kamar-Taj... I bet she's alive somewhere,' I mused inwardly as my eyes scanned the ancient buildings of the Sanctum.

The Ancient One couldn't have been killed off that easily by Kaecilius, right?

Even if she was being corroded by dark energies from Dormammu's Dimension, magicians were beings who couldn't be taken down so easily.

That was my honest speculation since I couldn't be bothered to calculate her fate.

You couldn't blame me though.

You wanna know why?

Because I was in Marvel where characters have the tendency to fake their own deaths or even not truly perishing in a real sense.

The Ancient One could be very well cooped up in some Astral Dimension or even a benevolent Elder God like Oshtur would have taken pity on her poor astral soul.

Hehe, even Mephisto, the lord of Hell Dimension, may have taken a liking to her soul!

Anyway, Kamar-Taj had a peaceful and serene ambiance that could calm your inner demons.

It was comparable to a monastery centered around bald monks.

"Wow, this place looks kind of old and... awesome!" America exclaimed with a carefree smile on her face.

She was walking behind me.

The portal closed itself as Wong and Strange were the last to exit it.

Wong slightly did a courtesy bow. "Welcome to Kamar-Taj. Treat this place as your home."

I nodded nonchalantly at him as we entered the Main Hall.

People dressed in mystical robes were spotted here and there.

They were probably the disciples learning mystic arts for various reasons.

I felt many pairs of eyes on me as I walked lazily together with the crew.

Well, I looked good and people like to admire beautiful things in general, for example, beautiful scenery.

And another reason was that America and I were new, unfamiliar faces at the Tibetian Sanctum.

"By the way, you didn't introduce yourself, right? I don't think I can call you handsome... whoops, well it is not like I am admitting it or anything. Just tell me your name or do you want me to use a random shitty nickname on you?" America awkwardly spoke with a shade of red on her cheeks when she realized what her words meant.

She wasn't even looking at me, her eyes shyly cast sideways.

She looked cute, acting all shy and coy.

"Hoho, I am so handsome that I didn't know. Can you call me handsome one last time?" I teased her with a foxy grin on my lips.

She turned to look back at me and when she saw my shitty grin, all the shyness on her face evaporated like steam.

"Butt face, can you stop being cringey even for a moment?" America retorted with a satisfied smile on her face.

I think her calling me "butt face" boosted the levels of dopamine in her system.

I raised my hands in what seemed like a surrendering pose. "Okay, mamí."

"You know Spanish?" America fluently asked in Spanish.

Her accent was exact and strong.

"Well, duh! I had previously said I am a cosmic being for a reason," I spoke fluently in Spanish just like a native speaker.

My accent was so on point that I could have been mistaken for an original Hispanic.

I knew about America's Spanish origin.

Her last name "Chavez" spoke volumes about her ancestry and also in the Multiverse of Madness movie, she spoke with Wong in Spanish.

I didn't know many things about America Chavez as a person and most of the information about her, I got from the WIKI, for example, her affiliation with the Young Avengers and She-Hulk.

"Tch, you truly like bragging," America scoffed and then grinned, "I choose to believe you."

I winked at her with a cool smile. "That's good for you. Just call me, Noah."

"Haha, Noah huh? I was expecting a rather aloof name from you," America chuckled lightly as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

We were now amidst towering shelves filled with countless books, reeking of antiquity.

This was a true haven of immense knowledge about magic and mystic arts in general.

The knowledge to be found in the library wasn't only limited to mysticism but also the various hidden secrets of the universe.

It couldn't be underestimated, and if by bad luck I had been brought into a fictional world without any power-ups and typical wish-granting sessions, this place would have been a major place to stop by, that is if it was Marvel.

The air in the library smelled of old wood laced with a fragrant burning incense that increased a reader's concentration abilities.

It felt comforting.

"Haven't you guys flirted for long enough?" Dr.Strange butted in with narrowed eyes, "And America... you now look relaxed and carefree as if moments ago you weren't being chased by some demon monstrosity."

"What do I have to worry about, with Noah here? You are a god or something right?" America playfully nudged my shoulder.

"No, I am not a god. I am just a normal handsome teenager," I nudged her shoulder back.

"He is a cosmic being not a god, America!" Strange reprimanded with a narrowed gaze directed toward America.

"Noah, as far as I know, cosmic beings don't normally interact with the material plane directly. Then it is true to say that this is not your true self, right?" He then directed his attention at me.

I held my chin between my thumb and index finger. "You are right but also wrong, Mr. Sorcerer."

Dr. Strange's lips involuntarily twitched when he heard what I called him. "Just call me Strange. I honestly don't want another Spider-Man scenario where I had to correct him all the time."

"Spider what?" America's interest was perked.

Dr.Strange stressed his words. "Spider-Man! You know he has the powers of a spider."

Wong added. " Hence the name."

"Gross. Does he look like a spider?" America asked, her face twisted strangely.

"No, no. He looks more like a man," Strange hurriedly corrected her.

Wong looked at America and explained, " He can climb walls and shoot webs, you know."

Strange nodded in affirmation. "Yeah. Bingo!"

America looked at them weirdly, " Like out of his butt?"

I was silently listening to their conversations but America's question made me convulse in a burst of mad laughter.

Just imagining Peter shooting webs from "that" place... it was gross, weird, and somehow funny.

It was the same as being asked if the Ant-Man has an ant head or if the molecule man is as small as a molecule!

"No!"

"No!"

Both Strange and Wong denied it exactly at the same time with weird looks on their faces.

"Well, maybe, I don't know," Strange spoke while looking at America who was currently lost, staring at my face.

"I sincerely hope not."

America mumbled absent-mindedly. "Super weird."

"Yeah, and funny," I breathed in softly to calm my lungs.

"Hey, by the way, Noah, you haven't clarified where I was wrong?" Dr.Strange turned to me.

"Oh, that issue. You are wrong because this material body you are currently seeing is not a mere manifestation," I explained calmly.

"In simpler terms... I am not restrained by the cosmic laws like other Cosmic Entities who can't directly interact with the physical reality."

Wong lamented. "Ugh, I don't understand anymore. The concept of the Multiverse is already a headache for me."

"How can we, mere mortals, understand the mysteries surrounding these higher dimensional existences?" Dr.Strange said in a dejected tone while shaking his head.

"Then do you know about those dark creatures?" America asked me.

"Yeah. Those creatures are created from the Darkhold, something that Strange and the current Sorcerer Supreme know very well about," I replied calmly while picking up a random book from the shelf.

"T-The Darkhold!" Wong forcefully sucked in a breath.

"Book of the Damned!" Dr.Strange exclaimed with a serious look on his face.

"Is that supposed to be the counterpart of the Book of Vishanti?" America looked at us with a questioning look.

"Yeah. If the Book of Vishanti is the book of good and light, then the Darkhold is the book of evil and darkness centered around witchcraft and hex magic," Wong explained, his body tensed.

I nodded in affirmation.

Wong was right but I knew more about their respective creators who were the Elder Gods of the primeval Earth, Oshtur, and Chthon.

To him, as the current Sorcerer Supreme, the matter had just become exceedingly difficult.

"If you know about that damnable book, then do you know about its current owner - the person who has been trying to capture America for her powers?" Wong looked at me with a pitiful expression, probably expecting a not-so-troubling answer.

I didn't answer him and smiled mysteriously.

I then returned the unread old book to the shelf.

After a few seconds, I looked back at the three who were currently looking at me in anticipation and worry.

"Hmm, it is a person you all know and she's coming at sundown. Just a few hours from now."

"You may as well know her name...The SCARLET WITCH!"

RUMBLE!

Dr.Strange was shocked beyond comprehension while Wong nearly fell due to disbelief.

As for America, she was just being America.

The atmosphere was heavy with tension.

The situation was dire.

Truly Dire.

Their incoming enemy was a menace!

A walking mental case!

***