Marvel: I'm a Symbiote-Symbiote 0334: Study Time (3/3)

Back at their highly secure and not-at-all horribly placed safehouse, Doctor Strange continued the duo’s theoretical training, teaching them about the most prominent kind of magic. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

“Arcanum Exo is what defines the gap between an apprentice and a master of the Mystic Arts. Once one is able to tap into the dimensional forces, that is when a mage’s true power can be unleashed. Few can actually reach such a stage in life, which is why we use relics, which serve as both crutches and better mediums to hold cosmic powers. Things like the Staff of the Living Tribunal or the Vaulting Boots of Valtorr —”

“Or your Cloak of Levitation,” Peter interjected.

“Don’t interrupt me,” Doctor Strange said sharply. “Such relics are made by channeling the power of higher beings that reside in other dimensional planes. These beings are considered mystic principalities or simply principalities. As mentioned, the Staff of the Living Tribunal holds the power of the Living Tribunal, a cosmic entity too far up in the scale of this universe. Others like Valtorr, Cyttorak, Dormammu, and more all serve as the principalities for specific sub-schools of magic. For example, when one draws power from Dormammu, their spells are especially attuned toward Dark Magic. Those contracted to the Elder God Chthon are especially attuned toward Chaos Magic. Principalities exist for all forms of magic, and they are what allow Sorcerers to cast the strongest of spells.”

“You’ve only mentioned relics …” Laura said. “What about spells? How do we even communicate with such entities?”

“I’m getting to that,” he said. “You’ve used your spiritual energy directly and manipulated your surrounding natural energy with the medium of your spiritual energy. But to invoke higher beings, we use chants. These chants invoke a connection between us and these higher beings, which can then be fulfilled or rejected by the principality — but usually, they don’t do that.”

“But why?” Laura frowned. “You are telling me that Arcanum Exo magic is essentially established borrowed power. But why do the principalities even agree? How do they benefit from it?”

“We don’t know,” Doctor Strange confessed. “But some of them do ask for your souls or some form of compensation to form contracts that allow the users to create a deeper connection with them. Dormammu is one such principality. He requires you to surrender your soul to him in exchange for a greater affinity toward Dark Magic. It also allows the contractee to shorten or outright skip the chants required for spells that invoke his power. Now, it can take you a lifetime to learn about all of the existing principalities and their related spells. That is only something that can be done with the resources that Kamar Taj’s library provides you. For now, any questions.”

“What about the Cloak of Levitation? It doesn’t seem like it has the name of a principality attached to it,” Peter said.

“Some relics are a different case. They don’t pull their energy from a principality. Not when the being that made it is a cosmic entity themselves.”

“So, you really are a big shot,” Laura said with a hint of admiration.

“At this point, I’m not so sure,” he said. “Forget about all that. For the time being, let me show you what we can do with the support of principalities in our magic.”

Doctor Strange first created a normal shield in front of him, made of his spiritual energy.

“This is my spiritual energy, the Ego,” he said before spreading the spiritual energy further, bringing the winds around him to support the shield as the ground rose from in front of him and melded into his spiritual shield. “This is me augmenting my barrier with natural energy, Eco,” he said. “And now …” he paused as everything turned to normal.

“May the Shields of Seraphim protect.” The chant utilized a minuscule amount of energy from Doctor Strange as a complex weaving of lines slowly formed in front of his palm, moving in a circular shape, with the formation of countless complex runes within it, a golden shield with immense power formed. Compared to this shield, the previous two looked weaker than paper.

“I have called upon the power of the Seraphim here,” Doctor Strange said. “They are closely connected to Oshtur, an Elder God believed to have been a prime source of the Mystic Arts on Earth. That means we, as Sorcerers of Earth, are considered to have a historical connection with her, allowing us to access this power with much greater ease.”

With his words, Doctor Strange created tens of the same complex shields around the room, enveloping the occupants amidst the golden glow.

“We don’t need to chant for these beings to support us because their support is aligned in our favor. But for other beings, like Balthakk …” He extended his hands out and chanted, “By the Bolts of Balthakk!”

Bolts of blue lightning escaped his fingers and impacted the shields he’d created. Half of them crumbled, and half stood strong.

“The remaining shields are still intact because I channeled more spiritual energy into them, thereby summoning more of the Seraphim’s power,” Doctor Strange explained.

“Is that how all magic works?” Laura asked.

“To an extent, yes. Arcanum Exo is a very broad term. As long as you are utilizing an otherworldly source of energy to cast magic, it is Arcanum Exo. To an extent, Necromancy could also be clubbed under it. The Death energy I told you about isn’t exactly produced by killing people. It is the energy released by Death, an abstract entity, as it leads the souls of the deceased into the afterlife.”

“Are these principalities’ powers also magical in nature?” Laura asked. “Or is it something else?”

“Some of them, yes,” he said. “Beings like Aggomoto, Oshtur, and Earthen Elder Gods have their source in magic through runes that guide the flow of their immense energy. They have transcended existence, allowing their Ego to become all-powerful. There are others, like Dormammu, who rely on their sovereignty over their dimensions to draw their power and let people borrow it. And there are some, like Death, Abstract Entities, who can empower creatures that tap into their specific abstract.”

“There has to be something to gain from all this …” Laura asked. “I can understand the Earthen Elder Gods’ reasons for helping us cast magic. But why the others? Even the Abstract Entities, as you call them, make sense, considering they operate on a defined set of rules according to the abstract concept they represent. But evil entities like the ones you mentioned … they have no reason to allow people to tap into their power without some kind of benefit.”

“While I agree with your thoughts and believe that these entities should have something to gain by positively responding to the invocation of their power by lesser beings,” Doctor Strange nodded. “Ultimately, these are cosmic entities far greater than ourselves. We can’t hope to comprehend what they think and the reasons for their actions. But we do know that for a dark-aligned entity to provide you with their power as a principality, you must form a contract with them, promising them your soul in exchange.”

“That’s why the practice of Dark Magic is not as popular …” Peter shared his thoughts. “Because the user needs to literally sell their soul to Dormammu.”

“Precisely. But those that do … they are a force to be reckoned with. Dormammu is a regular invader of our dimension, and Kamar-Taj is the only thing keeping him from devouring Earth. His heralds, whenever they arise, are a troublesome bunch. They target the sanctums with relentless determination.”

“Sounds like a whacky generational feud,” Laura pointed out. “Does Dormammu even exist anymore? My friend told me recently that the ruler of the Chaos Dimension does not exist anymore. I think he was called Cthon …”

“Chthon is an Elder God,” Doctor Strange said. “He does not rely on any dimensional sovereignty to wield and provide Chaos Magic to others. He himself is the source of all Chaos Magic in the universe, and he is the reason that our entire civilization is dependent on using those Chaos chips as both energy and currency.”

“Huh …” Laura said. “I know completely different things … Probably because of some multiversal bullshit. By the way, those chips. Do the empty ones have any value? Why do the banks collect the chips that are emptied of Chaos energy?”

“We don’t know,” Doctor Strange shook his head. “But the current theory is that those chips collect unnoticeable, minuscule amounts of spiritual energy from the people around them. When they are sent for recycling, that spiritual energy is most likely used for something we don’t know.”

“But you don’t know that they collect Spiritual energy?” Laura asked.

“No,” Doctor Strange shook his head. “I have tried, and while I can sense some intricate weavings of magic within those chips, I cannot sense it actually taking any spiritual energy or storing it.”

Laura didn’t respond, looking like she was deep in thought.

Suddenly, Doctor Strange’s expression contorted into one of horror and terror.

“Dear god …” The man’s eyes glowed with spiritual energy and got unfocused as if he were looking beyond reality. “What could cause such … untold destruction?”