POV: Third Person.
Kamar-Taj, Nepal, 2010.
At the same moment Baldur arrived in Australia.
The routine at Kamar-Taj was as constant and rigid as ever. The students and masters woke up early to have breakfast, then they began their physical training, only stopping in the afternoon for a quick meal. After that, the students were free to start their academic studies, all excited to conduct their research on magic.
This entire routine was overseen by the teachers, who were always vigilant in case something unexpected happened. Magic is unpredictable, so attention is always necessary. The routine continued unchanged, the monastery being well hidden in the mountains and protected by various layers of magical defenses. Only a few people had authorization to enter without being members of the order, and one of those people was the Queen of Genosha, Amora.
Amora often visited to conduct research using the magical books and tomes, or simply to converse about magic with the Ancient One. Amora had grown up surrounded by magic, but she lost that when she came to Earth. Having someone to converse with who had much more magical knowledge gave her great joy. Of course, the Ancient One also benefited greatly from these visits, she had had no contact with Asgardian magic until Amora appeared, and she was thankful to have another immortal being with her to help alleviate her loneliness.
Unfortunately, this peace would be shattered today. If anyone had looked to the sky, they would have seen a small black dot approaching the monastery rapidly. The black dot was a humanoid figure surrounded by a black light, emitting the same black light and leaving a trail of darkness wherever it passed, painting the sky.
In a simple room at the center of the monastery, two people sat on the floor drinking tea. The Ancient One interrupted their conversation with Amora and looked up at the ceiling.
"Something is coming!"
"BOOM!"
The entire monastery shook as if struck by a bomb. The two women immediately understood what was happening and went to the courtyard, where the sound of the explosion had come from.
"One of mine? Or one of yours?"
Amora asked as she reached for her staff made from one of the branches of Yggdrasil.
"The monastery is protected by ancestral magics that precede even my birth. No mage or dimensional demon other than Dormammu can enter here so easily. I doubt it's one of your old enemies, but it's likely one of mine."
The two women arrived at the monastery courtyard, a large open space used for the physical training of the students. At its center, the hole from the collision was covered in dust. The students and teachers were all gathered around the area, some summoning weapons made of energy and others wielding magical weapons, ready to defend themselves.
The smoke cleared, revealing a figure wearing a cloak covering its entire body, giving the impression that it was made of darkness itself, with only its pale blue face visible.
"He's still hiding..."
His voice was cold and sharp, indicating he was after prey.
"Haa..."
The individual, who wasn't paying attention to anyone around him, looked directly at Amora, who stood beside the Ancient One.
"It seems I mistook you for him... doesn't matter... the result is the same."
"Do you know him?" The Ancient One asked, analyzing their guest.
"I've never seen him before, and I don't think he's from the Nine Realms either. How did he get so close to us? Can't you see the future?"
Amora assumed a combat stance, ready to use her magic.
"I've told you before, I can't see events in which your husband is involved. Unfortunately, this event involves me as well. It must be the first time in centuries I've been caught off guard. I thought you'd enjoy the sensation, but apparently not."
"He's started!"
The shadowy figure finally made his move. He shot forward like a rocket toward Amora, flying over the apprentices' perimeter. When he was just a few meters away from them, Amora moved. Her staff glowed with a green light, and the enemy collided with what seemed to be an invisible wall, forcing him back to his initial position. Asgardian sorcerers were at a disadvantage in close combat compared to Earth's mages, and Amora would be foolish to let the dark being get too close to her.
"Attack!"
With the Ancient One's command, all her students and teachers attacked the dark being with their conjured weapons and magical arms. Seeing that he would be struck, the dark entity extends his hand, and from it, a sword made of pure darkness appears. He swings it, cutting down all those near him, splitting them in half and staining the temple red.
Others, more intelligent and skilled, conjure whips, bows, and energy arrows, attacking from afar. None of the blows even came close to the dark entity, the darkness covering his body defended him as if it had a will of its own. Seeing her students easily being slaughtered, the Ancient One, with a hand gesture, creates a portal that teleports her directly behind the dark being. She conjures a fan full of ancient symbols and attacks the enemy's back, but it's as if she were trying to cut a diamond.
The dark entity turns and attacks her with his sword. The Ancient One manages to dodge easily and attacks several times, trying to wound her enemy, but with no success. The dark entity seems to have lost patience and punches at an unbelievable speed. Realizing it's impossible to dodge, she dispels her weapon and with a twist of her hands, creates a shield full of runes in front of her.
"BOOM!"
The shield shatters easily, and the blow hits the Ancient One in the chest, sending her across the courtyard until she crashes into a wall, piercing through it.
Her students and masters become furious when they see what happened to their master and attack with rage, not caring how many of them die. Amora, seeing that this attack is senseless, releases a wave of energy that makes everyone move away from the being, who is now holding two swords, surrounded by the bodies of those who came near him.
"All of you retreat now! Those who can conjure portals, take everyone out of here."
The students loyal to their master don't move.
"Obey..."
From the destroyed wall, the Ancient One emerges, her clothes all torn, a more serious look on her face now. Her students then quickly retreat, but the dark being doesn't care about them and attacks Amora.
"Ancient One, take us to the mirrored world now!"
The Ancient One spins her arms, and reality distorts, leaving only Amora, her, and the dark being in this twisted reality.
"Cheap tricks."
The dark being doesn't care about the change of environment and attacks Amora with his swords. The blow seems to split her in two, but the image disappears. Amora appears beside the Ancient One, pointing her staff at the dark being, engulfing his body in a hurricane of flames. In the distorted dimension, she can cast any spell without worrying about damage to the physical world.
"By the Vapors of Valtorr!"
A black mist emanates from the Ancient One's fingers and merges with Amora's flames, making them shine in black, but their attacks disperse, revealing their enemy without even a scratch.
"The Vapors of Valtorr can kill anything mortal, our enemy reveals himself to be more frightening than we thought," the Ancient One speaks, frightened.
Then the dark man points his hand at them and releases a blast of pure darkness.
"Don't let it touch you!"
The Ancient One stands in front of Amora and speaks.
"By the Ruby Rings of Raggadorr!"
Red energy rings appear around the two, and when the black power reaches them, the magical rings change the direction of the attack, saving them.
"I need him to stay still for a second," Amora then requests.
The Ancient One extends both hands towards the dark being, and the space around him distorts into the shape of a square, trapping him.
"By the Chains of Krakkan!"
Gigantic chains emerge from the ground and wrap around the man in less than a second. Not wanting to miss the chance, Amora conjures her most powerful attack magic. Several green roots sprout from the feet of the dark being, enveloping him. The roots grow, and in a few seconds, a gigantic tree appears in the mirrored world.
"Beautiful spell," the Ancient One admires.
"The tree absorbs and grows by sucking the life energy from the target, consuming it. It is as powerful as the life force it devours. I don't know who he was, but he's dead now."
"I don't think it will be that easy."
The two turn their gaze back to the enormous tree. The massive green tree is now withering and dying, its trunk splitting open to reveal the dark being, who once again remains unharmed.
"No more games, you can die now!"
At an unimaginable speed, he appears in front of Amora and brandishes his sword. Amora, with no time to conjure any magic, tries to defend herself using her staff. When the weapons clash, they create a wave of energy around them. The staff manages to stop the black sword.
The Ancient One creates a magical whip that wraps around the being's abdomen. She spins it, pushing him away from Amora, who falls to her knees. She managed to defend herself, but she suffered internal injuries from the great force of the blow. Now, at the center of her staff, black roots can be seen spreading as if consuming it.
"Get us out of here!"
Seeing that her magic cannot harm the enemy and that they can be easily killed by his abilities, Amora sees no other option but to flee. The Ancient One stands by her side and takes her back to Earth.
"Where are we?"
Amora asks, looking around at the vast expanse of sand.
"In the desert of Egypt."
"Do you think he can escape?"
"Our mysterious enemy has proven to be full of surprises."
"CRACK!"
They turn to see that a few meters away, the space is cracking. From the crack, a completely black hand emerges, followed by another. The two hands grab hold of both sides of the space and force it open, and out comes the dark being, looking at the two women with a crazed smile.
"No matter where you run, I never let my prey escape!"
Amora unleashes a burst of energy with all the power she can muster, hoping to gain a few seconds, but she feels her staff protest loudly, at most, she can conjure one more spell with it. She then looks at the Ancient One, whom she considers her only friend on this small planet.
"Find him!"
She doesn't expect a response from her friend and teleports her to her husband's location. At the moment the spell is completed, her staff explodes, breaking into two halves. Now, Amora's firepower is significantly reduced.
She turns to face her enemy but is struck by a punch directly to her face, creating a hole in a sand dune. Without time to feel the pain, she feels a hand gripping her by the neck and lifting her into the air. Amora now has a large bloody bruise covering half her face, the dark being gazes at her with cold eyes, relishing the moment. The moment to take a life.
"My love... why don't you put me down?"
Knowing that magical attacks are useless against the being holding her, she tries mental attacks, one of the categories of magic she has the most knowledge of is the magic of seduction, she can make any man or woman with a weak mind do anything she asks.
"Why don't you put me down so we can talk some more?"
Her voice was like a vice, making anyone who heard it immediately want to obey her orders, but the dark being is not just anyone. He merely smiles even more at Amora's words.
"Your charms don't work on me, Goddess. I have already killed hundreds of love goddesses who have tried the same trick."
In his free hand, a black dagger appears.
"Die!"
The only thing that crossed Amora's mind at that moment was her husband's face.
"DON'T YOU DARE!!!!"
The scream carried a powerful voice that made the desert tremble, but it was not enough to prevent the black dagger from piercing Amora's belly.
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