Chapter 127: The Ritual Complete

The moment Malekith realized a being of such power had broken in, he abandoned his efforts to gather more energy and began the ritual at once. He knew full well that he and his followers were no match for their opponent. Their only hope was to disturb the laws of space and time and delay the intruder as long as possible.

“...O great Mother of All, supreme Lord of Darkness, from the sources of darkness to the abyss of the stars, from the abyss of the stars to the sources of darkness—hail! Shub-Niggurath! The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young. The endless void resounds with praise of you; the Black Goat of the Woods shall flourish and multiply! Hail! Shub-Niggurath! The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young! Hear the prayers of your humble servants, and breathe new life into this meaningless world!...”

By the time the Ancient One arrived, she immediately sensed that the ritual was complete. The strange dark power lingered in the air, mingling with the Aether’s force to sever this region of space-time from the main universe.

With a sweep of her right hand, the Ancient One transported everyone still alive upon the altar beyond the boundaries of that space-time. Satellites belonging to nations around the world, which had been monitoring the area closely, spotted the sudden appearance of the survivors at once. The Soviet Union immediately organized additional rescue teams to reach the Forest City and evacuate them, while also dispatching KGB specialists to investigate what had happened.

Having transported every survivor she could sense beyond the boundary, the Ancient One focused all her attention on Malekith’s flagship. The ritual had been completed, which meant the arrival of the Great Old One could no longer be prevented. Fortunately, the Ancient One had arrived in time to hear the deity’s name.

Unfortunately, the entity would not be easy to defeat. As one of the Three Pillars, second only to Azathoth, it possessed power on the level of a supreme god. Though the altar was in ruins and the offerings were of poor quality, even an avatar of a supreme god was no easy foe. The Ancient One was on the verge of ascension, a demigod at the height of her power, but without the aid of the Time Stone, confronting such an enemy would be dangerous.

Fortunately, before entering the red mist, the Ancient One had sent a request for aid to Odin in Asgard. The two of them were both demigods at the pinnacle of their power; together, they ought to be able to defeat an avatar of a supreme god.

One should not assume that because Al had once dispatched another supreme god’s avatar with ease, the Ancient One could do the same alone. Al’s true form was already stronger than his opponent, and he had also been empowered by the Infinity Stones. Even then, the victory had not come easily.

Still, the Ancient One did not regret leaving the Time Stone behind. With her ascension so near, any mishap involving the Stone would be unforgivable. She would rather risk her own safety than bring it along.

Besides, the Time Stone would not be especially effective against the Great Old One about to descend. To understand why, one must first take a brief look at how the Time Stone works.

To better understand time, those with some grasp of its laws divide it into two kinds: subjective time and objective time.

Subjective time is time in the narrow sense: the passage of time as perceived by an individual. It can speed up, slow down, or even flow backward for various reasons. Differences in time between the divine realms, the mortal world, and the various star systems all arise from the laws of subjective time.

Objective time, by contrast, is time in the broadest sense—the central thread of the law of time, represented by the river of time. It cannot flow backward or be altered. Not even the Eternal One can change the river of time. To change it would be to change the Eternal One itself, and the price would be to cease being eternal.

The Time Stone, like any technology or magic that affects time, acts upon subjective time. It does not affect objective time. This is what prevents the grandfather paradox.

Consider a concrete example: you eat an apple, then use the Time Stone to restore it. That does not undo the fact that you ate an apple, nor does the apple vanish from your stomach.

For supreme gods, time has been severed from subjective time and bound entirely to objective time. This means that nothing which alters subjective time can affect them. This is also why Doctor Strange could use time reversal to drive Dormammu back.

The Black Mother’s avatar might only be a demigod, but it still possessed the essence of a supreme god. Reversing time and destroying the altar was therefore impossible.

Once the ritual succeeded, the Black Mother transformed part of the altar’s essence, ensuring that it could withstand attacks from beyond time and space.

As the Ancient One pondered this, four Cursed Warriors lunged at her. Malekith knew little about the laws of reality, and even though the altar was complete, he feared that this formidable opponent—one who rivaled Odin—might still disrupt the ritual. He therefore ordered the Cursed Warriors to attack.

Against an attack so crude, the Ancient One, who had yet to unleash her full power, had countless ways to deal with them. She could not freely open portals here, but even so, the speed at which she flew far surpassed anything the Cursed Warriors could match.

Their attacks missed. Their reflexes were swift, but they still could not follow the Ancient One’s movements. Before they could even recover, her holy beams had pierced all four of them through the chest.

The Ancient One showed no mercy to these Cursed Warriors, who had committed unspeakable crimes. The instant they attacked, she sensed the Aether within them.

The Aether Particles had long been sealed away by Asgard in another dimension, but the six Infinity Stones were connected to one another. Having guarded the Time Stone for so many years, the Ancient One could readily detect the presence of the Reality Stone at such close range.

Though she did not know what abilities the Cursed Warriors possessed, she used the weapon she knew best: the Holy Sword. Among the spells of white magic, it was second only to the Sword of the Vishanti in power. Its greatest advantage, however, was that it could be cast instantly, making it ideal for this encounter.

The Cursed Warriors who had been struck through the chest fell to the ground before they could even display their strength. Their formidable vitality kept them from dying immediately, but they were little more than corpses drawing one last breath. Soon, they stopped breathing, and holy fire reduced them to ashes.

Watching his men get obliterated in the very first exchange, Malekith was naturally horrified. But now that he had revealed himself, he could not escape the Ancient One’s notice. If he had not been directing the Cursed Warriors from behind the scenes, then perhaps the dark power and the Aether Particles might have concealed him.