The news of Poimandres's awakening and Eleonora's transformation into the Queen of Eternal Night reached Umbria like a thunderclap on a clear night. Fear spread like wildfire, but Merlin, with his imperturbable calm, called an urgent meeting of the Council and the Ancient Magi.
"We knew this day would come," Merlin said, his voice deep but serene. "The darkness has awakened, and we must be ready to face it."
Aria, despite the terror she felt, stood firm. "Eleonora… Nyx… is powerful," she said. "And with Poimandres at her side, she will be almost invincible."
"Almost," Merlin corrected. "But not invincible. There is a way to defeat her. A way that requires knowledge even more ancient, even more forbidden than that of the Emerald Tablet."
Merlin headed to a hidden section of the library, a place that even Aria, with her new rank on the Council, was unfamiliar with. There, behind a stone wall that responded only to Merlin's touch, lay a secret chamber.
In the center of the chamber, on a marble pedestal, rested a book. It was not a large or ostentatious book, but a small volume, bound in black leather, bearing a silver seal in the shape of an inverted pentagram.
"This," said Merlin, "is Clavicula Salomonis Regis, the Keys of Solomon. A grimoire containing the secrets of ceremonial magic, the summoning of angels and demons, and the control over elemental forces."
A murmur of surprise and concern ran through the room. The Keys of Solomon were legendary, considered by many to be the most dangerous magical text ever written. It was said that King Solomon himself had used its power to build his temple, to subdue demons, and to achieve unparalleled wisdom.
"But this book…" Professor Minerva said, her voice trembling, "…is forbidden. It is said to corrupt its user."
"That is true," Merlin replied. "The power of the Keys is immense, and their use carries great risk. But in desperate times, desperate measures are required."
Merlin explained that the Keys of Solomon held the key to defeating Poimandres and Eleonora. Within their pages were described rituals to summon powerful entities, capable of countering Chaos magic. They spoke of seals and pentagrams that could imprison demons and dragons. They detailed spells that could banish darkness and restore balance.
But most importantly, and most disturbingly, was the revelation of a secret hidden for millennia.
"The Keys," Merlin said, "reveal that Poimandres was not always a creature of Chaos. In the beginning, he was an entity of light, a being of pure creative energy, known as… Jehovah."
A deathly silence fell over the room. The name of Jehovah, the god of the Hebrews, the creator of the universe according to their scriptures, spoken in that context was blasphemous.
"Jehovah, in his eagerness to create a perfect world, split himself in two," Merlin continued. "One part of himself became the architect, the ordainer, the enforcer of laws. The other part became the raw material, the chaotic energy, the enabler of creation and destruction."
"Jehovah of Hosts was the creator of heaven and earth, but by separating his light from his shadow, he created his own destruction. His shadow grew and grew until it became his nemesis, Poimandres."
"Over time, the chaotic part, Poimandres, rebelled against the ordered part, Jehovah. A cosmic war ensued, ending with Poimandres's imprisonment and the fragmentation of Jehovah's power."
"The Keys of Solomon," Merlin said, "contain the rituals to reunite Jehovah and Poimandres, to restore the original balance. But to do so, a sacrifice is required… a sacrifice of unimaginable magnitude."
Merlin's revelation sparked a heated debate among those present.
"Are you suggesting we use a book that summons demons?" Kaelen asked incredulously. "That goes against everything we've been taught."
"It's madness," Lyra said. "Playing with forces we don't understand… could unleash an even greater disaster."
"We have no other choice," Aria replied firmly. "Eleonora and Poimandres will not leave us alone. If we don't act, they will destroy everything we hold dear."
"But the price…" Professor Alatar said, his voice trembling. "The sacrifice you mentioned… what does it entail?"
Merlin sighed. "It entails the destruction of duality," he said. "The reunification of Jehovah and Poimandres will erase the distinction between light and dark, between order and chaos. It will create a new reality, one we cannot predict."
"It could mean the end of the world as we know it," Morgana Le Fay said, with her usual pragmatism.
"Or it could mean the beginning of a better world," Merlin replied. "A world without war, without suffering, without the eternal struggle between good and evil."
."
The debate continued for hours. Arguments for and against followed one another, each with its own weight and logic. The fear of the unknown clashed with the desperation of the current situation.
Finally, Aria spoke.
"We have learned much in recent times," she said, looking at her companions, her teachers, the Ancient Magi. "We have learned that magic is neither good nor evil, that it depends on how we use it. We have learned that darkness can be a tool, if properly controlled. And we have learned that, sometimes, to reach the light, we must pass through the shadow."
"I believe," she continued, "that we must trust in Merlin's wisdom. We must study the Keys of Solomon, understand their secrets, and prepare to use them, if the time comes."
"But we must not forget," she added, with a grim look, "that power, even the power to do good, always carries risk. And that the end, however noble, does not always justify the means."
Aria's proposal was put to a vote. And, by a narrow majority, the Council of Umbria decided to follow the path proposed by Merlin.
The study of the Keys of Solomon would begin, a dangerous and forbidden study, but one that represented Umbria's, and perhaps the entire world's, last hope against the threat of the Queen of Eternal Night and her primordial dragon. The decision had been made, and everyone's fate hung in the balance, a thread woven with ancient magic, forbidden knowledge, and a potential sacrifice that could change reality forever.