The map I had created only showed me mystical points on Earth, but not with any details on what exactly lay in these points.
The marker colours on the map varied, depending on the strength of the magic signal, with a white marker being the fantastic and red the strongest.
My efforts to master the Scroll of Dimensions bore no fruits, partly because it was my fault. Instead of approaching the problem strategically and analytically as I normally would, I had continuously attempted to brute force the knowledge out of it.
My experience with magic artifacts and relics had taught me that there was always something more beyond the surface of the shimmering exterior.
While I had managed to convince the Axiom to show me the scroll, it seemed that something more was required to master it.
I had read through the whole library in attempts at discerning what it was, but didn't quite find a solution.
I had however been able to interprete some of the symbols that I had seen in the astral plane.
Moreover, I had dedicated some time in the astral plane, looking deep into the collective conscious to find out more, but not so much proved to be helpful.
Now it was time to look within myself and figure out what it was exactly that I was missing, and I did so in the mirror dimension.
(Mirror Dimension)
As I stepped forward into the mirror dimension, my reflection shimmered and shifted, revealing a multitude of versions of myself – each a manifestation of my unfulfilled desires.
The first mirror-self lunged at me with a swift, silvery dagger. My reflexes, honed through training and battles, served me well.
I evaded the attack with a graceful twist of my body and summoned a barrier of shimmering energy to protect myself. The mirror-self's frustrated expression mirrored my own internal conflict.
The second reflection encased itself in darkness. Where was a manifestation of my fear coming from?
I focused my energy, forming a brilliant orb of light in my hand. With a resolute throw, the orb shattered the darkness, revealing the second reflection, dazed and vulnerable.
The third mirror-self conjured illusions of tantalizing knowledge, tempting me to abandon my quest for understanding.
My heart wavered slightly, but I burrowed my face in resolution. I closed my eyes, meditating briefly, and the illusions shattered like fragile glass.
The fourth reflection chanted cryptic incantations, summoning a tempest of chaos and confusion.
My analytical mind kicked into high gear. I chanted counter-incantations with precision, dispersing the chaos and returning order to the Mirror Dimension.
The fifth reflection emerged with the power of the Scroll of Dimensions itself. It wielded the knowledge I sought, the ability to travel through time.
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It opened up portals, and from them came the ghosts from my past; Ancient One, Kaecilius, Dormamu...and more.
Among all those that came, the one that intrigued me the most was my alternate self, wielding a book I knew all too well; the book of the Vishanti, and I wanted it!
I felt a rush of emotions and a thirst to become what I once was as their ominous presence cast a foreboding shadow over the Mirror Dimension.
Ancient One, her wise and weathered countenance framed by the backdrop of mystical energy, took a step forward. "You seek knowledge, but for what?" she asked in her superior tone.
I clenched my fists, determined not to be swayed by the ghosts of my past. "I seek to master the Scroll of Dimensions, to realize my destiny."
"Destiny lacks purpose." She continued. "What shall you do with such power?"
"I will protect the Crossover from those who intend to tamper with it." I said, defiantly.
Kaecilius, his eyes aflame with the zeal of a misguided cause, sneered, "Such noble intentions often lead to folly." He raised his darkened hands, ready to channel dark magic.
Without hesitation, I summoned a barrier of shimmering energy around me, just in time to deflect Kaecilius's dark spells. The Mirror Dimension quivered with the clash of opposing forces.
Dormammu, a colossal and menacing figure, loomed in the distance. "You meddle with powers you cannot comprehend," he bellowed, his voice echoing through the dimension.
I focused my energy and summoned all the knowledge I had. I formed a protective sigil in the air, and, Dormammu's power was repelled, and he roared in frustration.
The other ghosts from my past closed in, each bearing their own grudges and agendas, and, I knew I had to confront them one by one.
The Mirror Dimension became a battleground of memories, as I fought against my fifth mirror-self.
The Ancient One, her wisdom unmatched, approached me with a compassionate expression. "You have come so far, yet the answers you seek are within you all the while."
That gave me something to think about as she joined me in the fight against the foes that kept coming through the portals. Some, I only recognized in comic panels.
And then my gaze focused on my alternate self, with the book of the Vishanti, a burning desire to acquire its infinite knowledge.
I made an attempt to reach for the book. But as I extended my hand to summon it, my alternate self vanished and appeared behind me, as if he wielded the power of the space stone.
He looked at me, a knowing smirk on his face. It was as if the book was just out of my reach, a mirage taunting me with its tantalizing secrets.
The Ancient One, still fighting alongside me, sensed my frustration. "You must understand," she said, her voice calm amidst the chaos. "Knowledge is not something to be acquired through force, especially if it's destined. It must be earned, and it must serve a greater purpose. And, it's connected to it's past."
I paused, considering her words.
All along, I knew about the destiny of the Prime Sorcerer, even if it was just a knowledge hidden in my subconscious.
The Genesis Manuscripts... that's how it had all started - from ancient text.
I calmed my self through meditation. There was no need for any further brute forcing. It was all supposed to come to be naturally.
With my will focused, I opened the book of the Vishanti right from the grip of my alternate self.
His illusions of the ghosts from my past started to disappear one after the other, and gradually, only he remained.
In this powerful book, I was searching for a powerful spell, powerful enough to unlock hidden memories.
For a moment, I felt my power connect to it's origin, the Marvel Multiverse, and I knew I had to act fast before I brought in more trouble into this multiverse.
And then, the spell appeared in my mind.
"By the threads of fate, by the wisdom of time,
Unlock the memories hidden in rhyme.
From the past to the present, let knowledge flow,
Reveal the secrets that I need to know. By the Vishanti, let this be the will."
As the incantation left my lips, my mind seemed to respond, but my subconscious attempted to bar me from finding out what was concealed in my mind.
An internal struggle raged as I amplified the spell as much as I could to succeed. My will was focused on finding out what I needed to master the scroll.
The memories I sought began to surface in bits that I didn't quite understand. The struggle within me was getting fiercer and fiercer as I tried to surface more clear memories.
But my time was running out, and I needed to stop this as quickly as possible, lest I caused another rift in this two universes.
Finally, a clear memory came to surface in the nick of time, as I stopped channeling from the book of the Vishanti...
"With the Sorcerer Supreme, the scroll and the Genesis Manuscripts, one can master it's gift."
...and the flow of energy from the Marvel Multiverse stopped.
I opened a portal from the mirror dimension, and stepped back into the room of the scroll.
There was something in my mind that my subconscious struggled hard enough to keep from me, and I was yet to know what it was.
In the mirror dimension, I had used extraordinary energy to perform the ritual that helped me surface the memories of the missing piece I required to master the scroll of dimensions.
I had convinced the axiom that I was a sorcerer supreme, but I lacked one more thing - the Genesis Manuscripts.
The knowledge of the Prime Sorcerer was written in this ancient text, and it was no accident that it was necessary for my quest.
But I was no longer in the Marvel Multiverse, which meant that the Genesis Manuscripts didn't exist here.
But with all the similarities, there would be something equivalent to it in this multiverse too, and I knew just how to find it, although it wouldn't be the easiest of tasks.
I opened the palm of my hand, and summoned the miniature globe as I contemplated on where I would start looking.