The Darkhold, Earth Without Magic!

As Ren finished speaking, dense rows of twisted characters appeared on the ancient book's cover.

This was the very heart of Chthon's knowledge.

A satisfied smile tugged at Ren's lips.

Just as he'd thought.

The Evil God Codex had developed a consciousness long ago.

And it had the instinct to seek benefit and avoid harm.

Now, at last,

he could properly expand his store of knowledge.

Ren sat in his luxurious suite.

Before him lay the ancient-looking book.

The strange characters flickering across its pages

were all written in the language of the Ancient gods.

In today's universe, people who could read it were vanishingly rare.

Fortunately, Kamar-Taj had a living fossil for a Sorcerer Supreme.

The Ancient One rarely showed herself,

but her knowledge was nothing short of a walking encyclopedia.

From cosmic secrets to ancient languages long since lost, she knew them all.

The Ancient Divine Language was no exception.

As the Sorcerer Supreme's personal disciple,

Ren had mastered the language long ago.

He could read the Darkhold now without the slightest difficulty.

A vast flood of information poured into his mind.

Ren absorbed it all, from the underlying logic of the world's structure to the magical secrets hidden in the universe's darkest corners.

His smile grew wider.

What an unexpected windfall.

That old devil Mephisto had somehow gotten his hands on the Darkhold,

only to hand Ren all the benefits.

With Ren's monstrous strength,

the Darkhold's mental corruption could not affect him in the slightest. He could take its greatest knowledge for free.

The book recorded not only a vast array of Black Magic,

but also the glorious deeds of Chthon's entire life.

Much of it was surely Chthon singing his own praises,

but Ren still glimpsed plenty of secrets from the Ancient era.

For instance,