Chapter 1679: Bruce Wayne and the Chamber of Secret (Part Five)

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Previously, Schiller had transformed into the mysterious entity known as the Black Sun, deep within the Stars, listening to the Ancient One’s reflections on the Dream Realm. He had written a book encompassing all the worldviews related to the Ancient Dominator and gifted it to the Ancient One.

The title of this book borrowed from the fictional work "Book of the Dead," written by the mad poet Abdullah in the Cthulhu Mythos.

"Book of the Dead" does not exist in reality, but within the Cthulhu Mythos, it is depicted as containing all knowledge related to the Old Gods, where any investigator could find the forbidden knowledge they seek.

Schiller's version of the "Book of the Dead" was not as magical, but it did contain all the knowledge he was aware of from the Cthulhu Mythos.

In the Marvel Universe, elements of the Cthulhu mythos exist, although not in a strictly orthodox form; it resembles a backdrop infused with the flavor of superhero villains. Nevertheless, there remains a group of blindly foolish mysterious entities waiting to return deep within the Stars.

When Schiller gave the book to the Ancient One, he hoped to assist this Sorcerer Supreme in understanding the power structure of foes like the Beholders, to prevent her from falling into a trap.

However, it became awkward later when Eternity rebooted the Space, causing the Ancient One to lose this part of her memory. Since Eternity did not dare to reset anything related to Schiller at that time, the book remained, and it’s likely that the Ancient One is currently puzzled about the sudden appearance of this book.

But now, Strange was even more puzzled than the Ancient One, realizing that his teacher was secretly studying a book that looked very dangerous, and was caught red-handed by others present from the Space. Did that not turn his previous description of his Space's approach—more fist than thought—into a joke?

The Ancient One had thrown punches her whole life; how could she start studying military strategy now?

Strange desperately wanted to leap through the screen and open the book to see what was written inside, but the pride of the Sorcerer Supreme held him back from leaving the room, especially since he had just told this Space’s sorcerer about the Ancient One’s glorious battle history. He could not rush off; otherwise, it would appear as if he was lying and fled in panic.

“Have you seen it?” Harley asked.

Helen shook her head gently, looking into Harley's eyes as she said, “I have a strong curiosity, but I’m not foolish. Just because the Sorcerer Supreme can see something doesn’t mean I can.”

“Then why did you take it?”

“To prevent the Sorcerer Supreme from continuing to look at it.”

Harley paused, glancing at the eerily strange book before her. She pursed her lips and asked, “Are you so sure it’s harmful?”

“I can sense a kind of vitality… this book has a kind of vitality. It’s not alive, but it isn’t an ordinary inanimate object either. I’m not sure if I could be controlled by it, nor am I sure if the Ancient One has already been influenced by it.”

Strange had no time to debate whether what he said contradicted reality; he recognized the seriousness of the situation and turned to focus intently on the screen.

Meanwhile, Schiller was communicating with the Grey Mist in his mind. “Was it you?”

“Greed left a strand of consciousness on that book. The intention was to prevent the Ancient One from being misled by the Old Gods.” “Will it work?”

“Of course, you can only be a follower of one of the Stars. If the Ancient One carries this book with her, no other Ancient Dominator will be able to drive her insane.”

“Because you are above them?”

“No, because they understand that a human’s fragile mind can only bear one form of madness; anything more is pointless, so they rarely affect the followers of others.”

“So, Greed has marked the Ancient One as his follower with this book, thus shielding her from other Old Gods’ schemes?”

“That’s one way to put it.” The Grey Mist paused slightly but continued, “Greed is very worried that the trajectory of his favorite character may lead to a tragic outcome, so he takes all precautions, including with the Ancient One.”

“Originally, he didn’t need to be so meticulous, but previously, Azathoth’s dream provided a glimpse, indicating that the presence deep within the Stars of the Space may be more dangerous and mysterious than you have ever seen. The Ancient One is also crucial to humanity, so additional protection is justified.”

Pride conveyed an affirmative emotion within him. He had discussed this experience with Greed and concluded that the supreme god of the Cthulhu Mythos, Azathoth, should rank just below the One Above All in the Marvel Universe. After all, one of his dreams had ensnared the Scarlet Witch; one could not deny his power.

However, due to Azathoth’s characterization as Eternity’s slumbering creator of worlds, he had almost no subjectivity and could be regarded as a mere backdrop.

Yet the gods who danced and called around him were not so passive; the dangers they brought were very real.

In the comics, the Ancient One died at the hands of a Beholder, whose origin comes from "The Curse of the Golden Skull" by the same author as Conan the Barbarian, a work also related to the Cthulhu Mythos. Thus, precautions regarding this aspect were necessary.

Grey Mist had been able to split off a part of himself for quite some time, but he wouldn’t produce independent offspring like other symbiotes. When he recognized his true identity, every strand of his thought resonated with the call from deep within the Stars, appearing strange and terrifying to humanity.

“Can you still operate this book, even across a world?” Schiller asked Grey Mist. “Yes, I can when I’m gazing at it.” Schiller speculated that this might be one manifestation of what Bruce referred to as the observer effect. When he looked at that Space from this side, the distance between the two Spaces and their positions became less important; it was more about the understanding derived from their observation.

“Make sure it doesn’t harm the students.” “I will.”

At that moment, Harley, sitting at the desk, began to utilize her inherent Gotham skepticism to speculate about the origins of the book.

“If what you say is true, that the Ancient One was studying this book before you arrived, then that means this book must contain something she wants. This is the only clue we have that allows us to explore her actions without opening the book. What does the most powerful Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One, desire?”

Helen frowned, deep in thought. She felt parts of her mind gradually being developed. Previously, she had never thought about conspiracy theories like this, but now she could slowly capture some subtle signs. Perhaps it was the powerful learning and evolution capabilities brought by that destructive day that led to her mental evolution.

“The Ancient One is not someone who blindly pursues power. You might not believe it, but she never initiates trouble; it’s the demon gods who seek her out to borrow power. The Ancient One has to counter them to balance things out.”

“She doesn’t crave knowledge either; she achieved a state of perfection long ago, desiring nothing more. She no longer struggles for answers to certain questions, having long found answers to all the questions regarding herself and this Space.”

“Then what’s really going on?”

Harley and Helen’s gazes fell simultaneously on the cover of the book. They had to acknowledge that the thought of opening the book was incredibly tempting. After all, they were not experienced practitioners, but rather two girls still naive to the world.

“If I were you, I would choose to go back now and stop her.” Constantine said, frowning and adopting a serious expression. “We all understand that accidents happen. There’s nothing more worth maintaining than the beautiful situation you’ve meticulously crafted.”

Constantine was actually reminding Strange that there was no need to put his Space in danger for the sake of pride. However, Strange seemed to suddenly come to a realization. The furrowed brows relaxed, and he walked around the coffee table back to the sofa, even leisurely picking up a wine glass for a sip.

Bruce, Constantine, and Zatanna all turned to look at him, and Strange shook his head, saying, “If the Ancient One really is being influenced by this book or is seeking some secret within it, then why is she doing this in the Kamar-Taj college library?”

The room fell silent. Strange let out a light sigh and said, “If the desire for possession of mysterious knowledge has eroded her, she would never choose to study such knowledge in a school library. This place lacks the conditions and is not quiet enough. She deliberately left this book behind.”

“To let this little girl get it?” Zatanna said incredulously. “I absolutely do not mean to doubt your teacher’s capabilities, but isn’t that a bit... risky?”

“Helen Stark is special.” When Schiller’s voice sounded, everyone turned to look at him. Schiller’s fingers gently traced the wine glass, as if multitasking. His voice was thin and ethereal as he said, “She is not a native of that Space and has a rather unusual background.”

“Unusual like yours?” Strange asked.

Schiller remained silent, not answering, but Bruce’s gaze suddenly locked onto Strange intently.

In the dormitory, the two girls ultimately did not make a rash decision. They agreed to check the college library for materials related to the name “Book of the Dead” after class tomorrow, at least to understand what they might face before taking any

action.

Soon, the lights in the two dorm rooms were turned off, but Little Bruce and Barry's room remained brightly lit. The reason was that their dormitory was not brand new; the previous owner had left some Chinese books on the bookshelf, and Little Bruce intended to use the few books he had to self-study this ancient and complex language.

"You can't be serious, can you?" Barry said, seeming a bit exasperated. "Before this, you didn’t even know a single Chinese character, yet you plan to learn a language just by reading? Isn’t that a bit absurd?"

"I’ve heard some Chinese before," Little Bruce replied with a slight eye roll. Even sitting cross-legged on the mat, his back was straight. He focused intently on the content of the book, saying, "If you think of it as decoding a cipher, it becomes simple and interesting." "It will never work."

“Knock, knock, knock.” The door was being knocked on.

Little Bruce and Barry looked up together. Barry glanced out the window at the now darkening sky and said with some confusion, “At this late hour, who could it be?”

“Maybe it’s Harley.” Little Bruce gave Barry a look, and Barry reluctantly got up from his bed to open the door.

Standing outside was a girl about their age, with golden hair and brown eyes—not exceptionally beautiful, but possessing a certain childish charm. She widened her eyes and looked at Barry, who was a bit taller than her, and said, “My roommate, Shirila, asked me to bring you something.”

With that, she pulled out a magic wand and pointed it toward the empty space in the room. A trash bin, garbage bag, kettle, toilet paper, and various other trivial daily necessities appeared on the ground.

“Oh, thanks! Are you a first-year too? I’m Barry Allen, and this is Bruce Wayne. What’s your name?”

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

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Next Chapter =>Chapter 1680: Bruce Wayne and the Chamber of Secret (Part 6)