[Draul St. Cross POV]
The days went by with me continuing my study into runes, since time magic practices were strictly forbidden in Kamar-Taj, I avoided it completely. I have watched too many time related movies to know that fucking with time was never a good idea.
With time magic completely out of the window, I focused on the other aspect of the continuum – space.
It was just a passing study but I thought that maybe having a sufficient understanding of space runes would allow me to inscribe my 'come' rune on my axe. I had visited Kamar-Taj a few times for some books on rune research and with the Ancient One helping me I believed that I was getting close to it.
Runes were harder than spells by a large margin but were also easier when you got the hang of it just like computer programming. It was a multitude of arrays and directives packed into a few words and symbols, using it in different combinations to form something entirely new and powerful. That was the reason why, according to the Ancient One, most books on rune study were kept private, not in Kamar-Taj though.
Runes were like an encyclopedia of information stored in a drive, as heavy as it was small.
I was deep in my research when I sensed a subtle wave of spatial magic. The only one who could directly sneak up on me without me knowing was the Ancient One. I had been able to learn how to use magic to confuse someone's sense away from my presence which was what the Masters of Kamar-Taj were all doing when I first arrived.
I didn't know who had snuck up on me but I didn't do anything and continued my research as if nothing was happening. It wasn't Mordo or Wong, nor was it Strange as those were the only people apart from the Ancient One that I conversed with.
The moment my instinct rose, lasers shot out from my eyes before bending backwards only for it to be blocked by the eldritch shield of my assailant. She had wanted to escape the moment she saw that her assassination failed but I had already broken though her shield with ease and caught her throat.
"Kaecilius' disciples huh? What does he want with me?" I asked her.
"Master will have what he wants one way or the other a- arghhhh!" She screamed before she had the chance to finish her sentence as one of her legs was on fire.
"What does he want with me?" I asked her again and decreased the intensity of the flames to only microwave scalding hot.
"He thinks you are a key to the dark dimension! He wants to use your connection to it to gain access to the dark god!?!" I snapped her neck the moment I got what I wanted and opened a portal to a volcano and dropped her there.
'It looks like I need to upgrade security to the magical variety. I don't want to move so soon.'
I left a note on the fridge, informing whoever read it of what had happened and that I was going to be busy.
'Even me leaving Kamar-Taj for Kaecilius and Strange was not enough.'
I had wanted to open a portal to Kamar-Taj but I stopped when I felt a wave blow past me. Unlike most sorcerers, I could sense when magic was used in my surroundings and I immediately picked up some magic activity and without wasting my time, I opened a portal and stepped through it to land at the top of a building, the place I had sensed magic being used.
I could feel that there was something going on given how wobbly the surroundings felt before I knew what was happening – the mirror dimension.
With the open connection to it still available, I conjured up a spell and sent myself into the mirror dimension.
Upon landing, I saw Strange, Mordo and Wong fighting some of whom I assumed were Kaecilius' disciples who dreamed of an eternal life with him.
One of them was running towards an occupied Wong and a wave of my hands split apart the already split building he was running on and then he was skewered by ice spears.
I wrapped a rope around one of their necks and drew him towards a clock-like rotating building and watched him get crushed.
"Thank you." I helped Wong up and then slaughtered the rest of the disciples who were fighting him. The ones remaining in the mirror dimension were Kaecilius and a few of his acolytes who were fighting against Strange and Mordo.
They stopped when they noticed that their other accomplices were dead. "Cross. Just who I wanted to see."
"I can't really lie and say the feeling is mutual, Kaecilius." The guy had balls to say something like that after arranging an assassination attempt on my life.
He looked around for a second before he turned to me. "I take it she's dead?"
"For someone so spry, you are quite slow on the uptake." I didn't wait for the monologues to have an effect before I appeared in front of him with a hand intending to rip through his heart.
My hand pierced through his heart but what I didn't expect was a member of his motley crew to suddenly have his chest torn open, it took less than a second for me to realize that he had linked his life to his disciples, using each one alive as an extra ticket away from death.
Strange, Mordo and Wong were still in shocked states but not me. Beams shot out from my eye and pierced through two of the sorcerers' heads only for it to clash for a second against an erected shield before it broke through and killed the guy.
Kaecilius immediately understood what I wanted to do and tried to free my hands from his bloody ripped-through chest but I already held his heart and bones.
Showing his intellect as a Master of the Arts, he came to a decision and immediately opened a portal that swallowed him, forcing me to remove my hand to prevent it from being sliced off by the folding of space.
With Kaecilius gone, I turned to the trio that were with me. "What happened?"
Strange looked like he was going to puke while Wong and Mordo had on their natural expressions. "Kaecilius betrayed Kamar-Taj." Was all Mordo said with a biting tone as we left the mirror dimension.
"I can see that."
"He took the book of Cagliostro from the library and escaped with his acolytes. We don't know what they intend to do with it." Wong said as we made our way to the Ancient One.
"I've read that. There are some rather…exotic spells in there. It would be more apt to call it a personal diary rather than a spell book though."
"Why are you here Cross?" Mordo asked.
"He sent one of his acolytes to assassinate me. Tortured her a bit and then found out that they intend to summon some dark god for the blessing of eternal life."
""Dormammu.""
"Bingo." We arrived at the meeting place of the Ancient One to find her looking pensive. I don't know if it was only me but she was looking paler than she usually did but given how no one, especially Mordo, was mentioning it, I shrugged it off for later.
"Kaecilius and his zealots are planning to summon the Dark God Dormammu. If Dormammu gets a link to earth, reality as we know it will cease to exist." Mordo was frantic as he paced around in anxiousness. It would be a lie if I said I wasn't anxious about Dormammu getting to earth.
Strange was here way earlier than he should have been and he also looked a little older than he should have been at this time if we went by MCU timeline so there was no telling if he would be able to pull off the time loop shtick he did with Dormammu in the movie… and the eye of Agamotto wasn't dangling on his neck, not after that time manipulation spell he pulled once in the library.
This was one of the problems with multiverses, there was hardly any such thing as constant. Strange learning the Mystic Arts and becoming Sorcerer Supreme might have been a constant but there was also multitudes of verses where he died due to one fight or some fucked up phenomenon… or due to his spells.
But Dormammu… *sigh*
"Do you think there may be a possibility that they fail to contact Dormammu and just get eaten? No one? Okay then." I just kept to a corner while the Ancient One paced around before turning to Strange.
"You guarded the New York Sanctum in its time of attack, for that I thank you. But the New York Sanctum cannot remain without a master… Master Strange."
"No… It is Doctor Strange. Not Master Strange. Not Mister Strange… Doctor Strange!"
"When I became a doctor, I swore an oath to do no harm and I have just killed three men! I am not doing that again. I became a doctor to save lives, not take them." Strange looked beaten as he said that.
"You became a doctor to save one life above all others… Your own." The Ancient One spoke calmly.
"Still seeing through me aren't you-" I decided to butt in at that point.
"Strange, that's enough. We have a lot on our plate right now than to comfort you, so save the bicker for later."
"Right. I forgot. This isn't anything new to you, is it?"
"No it isn't. I'll kill a hundred more and it still will have no effect on me."
"What about millions? I doubt that too has an effect on you." Strange scowled.
"No it doesn't. Not anymore at least. Get off your high moral compass and realize that the world doesn't revolve around you. You being a doctor or losing your hands means nothing. So for once in your goddamned life, think of something other than yourself." Strange kept quiet which gave me time to look and the Ancient One with a rare surprise look on her face. "We still have a Dark God coming for us so if you are not going to fight, or if it goes against your 'moral values' , then leave. Leave Kamar-Taj." I transfigured my shirt and trousers into my red sorcerer's robe with a thought with my axe-tie under it.
"They will be going for the Hong Kong Sanctum next, we have to get ready. Mr. Cross, I hope you can keep your temper in check."
I laughed at the light tease which also was a veiled reprimand and just shrugged. "Easily."
"Then let's go." Okay, maybe it was me but the Ancient One looked chirpier than usual as she led the way through the Sanctum doors.
We were pretty early given that the apocalyptic scene from the movies was in play here.
Since the Ancient One was with the Time Stine this time around instead of Strange, I had no idea how things would play out.
This was Dormammu for crying out loud. The big Dark Daddy. The only assurance of a chance we had, or that I knew we had, was that Dormammu always found it hard when confronting the Sorcerers Supreme. He had a bone to pick with almost all of them, with Strange being the latest in line for the lotto pick.
"They are starting the spell." The Ancient One spoke.
I propelled myself forward with flames spewing from my legs towards the location of the spell. Some of Kaecilius' zealots were already attacking the Sanctum, but with the Ancient One, Wong, Mordo and a reluctant Strange along with other reinforcements, they would be able to hold out for a while.
I was almost on them when something tackled me to the side of a building.
"I was thinking I wouldn't see your ugly mug again… Doom." I looked at the armored tyrant as he stood at the edge of the building, looking down at me. "You and Kaecilius? Never thought that was possible, well it works in my favor so I'm not complaining." I could see the Ancient One portal to Kaecilius to fight him, only for them to disappear into the mirror dimension.
"He is but a pawn… getting me to my prize." His raspy voice echoed out.
"Dormammu huh? Didn't peg you for the submitting type." I removed my tie and wrapped it over my hand while Doom, still his egotistical self, went into monologue mode.
"It is my prize… With such monumental power, everything dreamt of would be at my fingertips. Your death, a fleeting thought."
"Then your thoughts must be outright delusional since I'm still here. Remind me again who ran the last two times we've fought?" I taunted.
And like every megalomaniac, his ego spurned forth. "… I see. It was my folly… but it will be my last. Your skull shall be used as a chalice to toast my victory."
"Well maybe you are right… or maybe you are not. Who knows, third time's the charm, right?"
My axe materialized in my hand, a bastard axe, almost the same size as me, which was way too big for a human to carry. The bladed end was the most gigantic part, easily bigger than two heads put together.
My axe clashed against his sword… Why the hell did he think he could compete with me in physical strength?
The evidence of that was him on the losing end before his legs gave out and he was flung away.
…
A/N: Doomy is back, people! Yeehoo!