Hoggoth's Gift

[At first, I wanted to show how one small change could have a huge impact, which was why I kept writing about Andrew Garfield Spider-Man. But it feels like he's had a little too much screen time, so I'll skip through his story quickly in this chapter.]

Hurrying as fast as they could, the two Spider-Men finally spotted the flames in the distance!

"Looks like our little brother needs help! I'm faster, so I'll go rescue people in the building. That Goblin Glider hanging in the air should be from your universe. I'll leave it to you!"

"No problem!" Tobey Spider-Man gazed at the glider in the air with mixed feelings. If things went as expected, his dear Uncle Norman was about to launch another sneak attack...

He stretched out both hands and fired webs to either side, then shot backward. Releasing his feet, he used himself as a slingshot and launched himself at the Goblin Glider!

Bang~~

The tremendous force of his kick caved in the Goblin Glider. The impact set its battery on fire, detonating the Pumpkin Bombs inside it as well!

The massive explosion left Tobey Spider-Man with nothing to push off in midair, and he slammed heavily into the ground.

"Oh, my back, my back!!"

Meanwhile, on the first floor of the building, Norman Osborn, who was beating the living daylights out of Spider-Man, stopped.

The smile on his face grew even more vicious. "You have help? No matter. I'll free you from your shackles myself!"

With that, he pulled a Pumpkin Bomb from his pocket and threw it at May, who was trying to get closer!

"No!!!"

Spider-Man heaved with all his might and threw Norman off him, but it was already too late. The bomb was less than two meters from Aunt May. There was no time~

Suddenly, Spider-Man's Spider-Sense began tingling wildly. A strand of web shot out from a corner behind and to his side, a place everyone there had overlooked. In Spider-Man's eyes, it looked like a great hand slowly opening.

The bomb exploded, but May was already in Andrew Garfield Spider-Man's arms. He had moved so fast that she was still a little dizzy.

Before Spider-Man could feel relieved, he saw the other's strangely familiar outfit. "Who are you?"

"Two Spider-Men. Interesting!" Norman was smiling, but his slow retreat gave him away. His Goblin Glider and bombs were gone, and with two Spider-Men against him, he didn't stand a chance.

"Uncle Norman, long time no see!"

Norman: Whoa, three of them!

Spider-Man's brain short-circuited. "Who are you?"

"I'm Spider-Man!" ×2

The three Spider-Men joined forces, and without any equipment, Norman didn't last even a minute.

Soon, the police arrived. Spider-Man took the badly shaken Aunt May with him, Tobey Spider-Man dragged the unconscious Norman away, and Andrew Garfield Spider-Man slipped into the sewers. He was going to find Dr. Connors!

Kamar-Taj

Finally, after learning Astral Projection, Lin Xu couldn't wait to use it on himself. His slightly dim soul separated from his body.

Hamir: "Wait!"

Thud~ Thunk~

"What is it, Master Hamir?" Lin Xu was a little nervous in his soul form.

Hamir stared speechlessly as Lin Xu's body fell stiffly to the ground, his head striking the wooden floor with a sharp thunk.

That's a good head~

"Nothing. You'll find out in a moment."

"Oh."

Freed from the constraints of his body, Lin Xu felt as though he were floating on air. In his purely spiritual state, he could even sense the white magic energy drifting through Kamar-Taj!

"Master Hamir, how's my talent?"

Hamir paused. Lin Xu had spent more than half an hour struggling with Astral Projection alone, going back and forth over it. Tell him one thing and he'd say another; tell him seven and he'd say hook. His six senses were impure and his mind was full of distracting thoughts. What damned talent?

But then he remembered that this same boy, whose mind was full of distractions, had managed to travel through the Multiverse using a medium spell and a teleportation array. If he cleared his mind and studied the mystic arts without distraction, his future accomplishments would surely surpass the current Sorcerer Supreme's, and he might even reach Strange's level.

"Hey, Master Hamir, I'm asking you. How's my talent?"

"If you can cast aside your distracting thoughts, it could be considered unparalleled throughout history!"

Lin Xu automatically forgot the first half of that sentence. "Unparalleled throughout history? Great! How do I compare to that old man Ancient One?"

Old... old man? Isn't the Sorcerer Supreme a woman? He should call her an old hag... ahem, that's not the point.

Hamir was one of the few people who knew about Ancient One's retirement plans. Who knew if that old hag... ahem, was watching them right now?

"Ahem. Master Lin, it's best not to aim too high. Sorcerer Ancient One's talent may have already surpassed that of the gods of white magic!"

Something's wrong. Something's very, very wrong. They say everyone helps carry the flower sedan, but this old fellow won't carry mine. Could it be...

Hmph, so what if Ancient One is watching? Then I'll match soldiers with soldiers and generals with generals!

"Ptooey! No wonder Kamar-Taj still hasn't grown strong after thousands of years. It turns out it's full of sycophants like you! As for Ancient One, the great Agamotto, the wise Oshtur, and the valiant Hoggoth—which of them isn't a thousand, ten thousand times better than Ancient One?!"

Hamir listened to that speech, dumbfounded. Well, well, Lin Xu, with those thick brows and big eyes of yours, who exactly is the sycophant here?

But what none of the three people present expected was that, as soon as Lin Xu finished speaking, the entire library began to shake of its own accord.

What's happening? Are other dimensions invading? That was the young mage's thought.

Is that old geezer Ancient One really so petty? That was Lin Xu's thought!

This aura, this aura—it's Hoggoth! That was Hamir's thought.

Soon, every book of mystic arts on the shelves was shaken to the floor. The bookshelves themselves turned into a beam of white light and, in the blink of an eye, attached themselves to Lin Xu's body lying on the ground, becoming a suit of silver-white armor!

A halo of light flashed, and information about the armor appeared in all three of their minds!

Hoggoth's Rib~

Countless years ago, Oshtur, Earth's goddess of light, was moved by the fragility of living beings in the face of frequent dimensional invasions and shed a tear. That tear became Agamotto!

She traveled the universe and discovered Hoggoth, the sole surviving creature on a barren planet. The god and the tiger began discussing magic with each other. In the end, Hoggoth shed his tiger form and took on a humanoid body with a tiger's head, following Oshtur to Earth.

The three of them built sanctums in New York, London, and Hong Kong to defend against what lay beyond the dimensions. (Who knows what New York looked like thousands of years ago? Maybe Agamotto used time magic to see how prosperous New York would become /doge)

Hoggoth turned his own hide into Kamar-Taj's defenses (destroyed by Wanda in Doctor Strange 2), built its buildings from his skeleton, and turned his ribs into the library bookshelves.

And now the bookshelves were gone!

Hamir: You see, Sorcerer Ancient One? I told you long ago: you ran off with Eternity, and though the Vishanti didn't say anything, they still had complaints!

Maybe I should try it myself someday?