---

---

---

I'd kill to fit in, now there's blood on my hands
'Cause I only like my rubies red

My name is Doctor Stephen Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts, World Class Neurosurgeon, and Sorcerer Supreme of Earth-666 in the year 2021. This message is to my successor who has now inherited my mantle. The fate of this universe and its protection from otherworldly incursions is in your hands now. It is critical that you renew the veil, a complex spell that prevents other realities and spaces from bleeding into and colliding with our own.

DO THIS NOW.

The spell will have expired with my passing. You will have only received this message in the event of my death.

Good luck.

Stephen

P.S. Wong will have the ledger with other spells that need to be renewed. See to these within twenty four hours of my passing.

---

It is Hallow's Eve in the universe designated as Earth-666. The veil separating our world and the next is precariously thin, held together by my will. The Genoshan mutants resurrect the dead en masse; our universe, 666, already finds itself more susceptible to devilry; and on Halloween, the veil comes to its thinnest point as the dead walk the land. I am less than a ghost. I can do nothing more than watch as my life's work is undone.

But where are you?

Perhaps you are at a party like I was, celebrating this magical evening. Perhaps you wander the woods alone, pining after all you have lost. Perhaps you were safely tucked away in bed, dreaming of wonders you might not live to see. It doesn't really matter where you were - only the when.

A blinding light strikes you. A cloak finds itself on your shoulders, and jewelry on your neck. These were mine. The Cloak of Levitation. The Eye of Agamotto (no, it does not contain the Time Stone - nice try). These are now yours. I am no longer the Sorcerer Supreme, but you are. The magic of the most powerful wizard in our universe is now yours.

But your celebration - or mourning, I might hope - will be cut short. As soon as this light hits you, so does another. A strange yellow disc. You fall through it, falling down, down, and down. Until you hit the ground. You find yourself alone - without another soul in sight. The area is mountainous and rocky. What appear to be vultures circle above you in the crimson sky. The air tastes of pain and suffering - a taste you might be all too familiar with. It is heavy in your lungs.

You are in Limbo. A realm that exists outside of space-time. A realm that twists and turns upon itself. A realm that fractures the soul. Perhaps you are familiar. Perhaps you are not. In the pocket of the cloak, you will find my letter. I wish I had written what you needed to know.

---

---

---

Runa the Grey was alone.

She had done this for quite some time. Little life remained on this plane of existence. None of it sentient - besides her. The last creatures who could speak her tongue had died long ago by her own hand. She found it odd at first that some animals had survived the wrath of Surtur - and then her own. But now, she was glad. She could run with the wolves. She hunted small game.

Her knife made quick work of the rabbit. She carved out the part that would provide her sustenance - and tossed aside the rest to the wolves. It must have been a trick her mind played on her, but she could still feel the rabbit's heart beating. She devoured the organ all the same. Her chest throbbed painfully, a ghost tremor, as her heart had long since been sacrificed. But she felt the strength return to her weak body and a sense of calm settled over her.

They had long since abandoned keeping a calendar, but the changing of seasons and the weakening of the veil told them all the same. It was Álfablót. The time to sacrifice to the elves and other dark spirits, in order to assure a return to the light in the new year. "Kanskje det er du som bør ofre til meg,"₁ they said, staring off into the trees even though they could not see. The wolves had finished devouring the remains of the rabbit. "Kom, bli med meg ved bålet. Jeg blir lei av denne karaden."₂

Twitching their finger, a fire roared into being in front of them. There was no wood for it to burn. No source of life. Only their power. And that was enough.

Runa the Grey sat in silence for a while more. No one came to join them. The sky darkened, heralding the night. The air grew cold. The wolves howled, eyeing the sorceress for a moment, before dashing off. They did not pursue them. They knew that the wolves would return. For eons, it had always been like this. And for many more, it would continue to be, even as Runa felt the twilight of their life drawing in.

She did not see the light that engulfed her, but she felt it - she felt its intense heat pressing in on her skin. She felt the weight of a cloak on her shoulders and a necklace around her withered neck. And the next thing they sensed, they were falling. Perhaps someone else would have screamed. If she had a heart to beat, it would have been pounding in excitement. This was something new. They could smell the thick magic wrapping around them, such that had not been in their realm since the ascension.

Their back hit the ground and they groaned. Feeling with their hands, it was some sort of rocky surface. The air was thick and heavy, settling uncomfortably in their lungs. It was a place that they did not recognize. That was different. They had traveled the remains of the realms a thousand times or more. It almost reminded them of Surtur's realm, yet there was something different.

There was a tugging at her back. She found herself standing, propelled up by the cloak. This was not unusual. Runa had had a cloak like this once, when she first became ruler of her realm. She felt the necklace she bore. It was as she suspected. "Oh, Stephen... To come to me, you must truly be a fool," they said.

---

---

All Hallow's Eve. A curious time. Banned by the Puritans due to its Catholic nature but shunned by those religious for its devilish incarnations. Almost like those who celebrate it lose their inhibitions and take in the darkness that is in every human being. Sure, some would claim they hide nothing, but they know the truth. It could be your husband claims to be out working when he is sleeping with the woman next door. Or your child says they don't know where the family dog went despite them knowing it is buried in your field feeding your crops.

Today is also Prudence's birthday.

It is a staunch reminder of who she was and where she has been. Prudence sits alone in her home, one built by her own hands. A carved-out paradise amongst the forest. Those in the nearby village have whispers amongst them of the shrew who lives in the woods, kidnapping children for her own savage pleasure. How she dances in the moonlight with nothing but the skin God bestowed upon her. And what beautiful skin it was.

The very skin that took her mother and father from her.

The very same skin that Prudence carves into to allow the flow of lifeblood into the pot in front of her. It is that time she sacrifices something of herself to continue her powers. Powers she asked for and has relished ever since. No one had ever explained to her how power felt. After all, she was a woman of color in Salem. If she had any power, it was minimal at best. Now, she had unlimited potential. She is feared, lauded, praised, scolded. All accumulating into a mixture that fueled her.

As the sigil went on, Prudence felt a tug. It wasn't physical, per se. Mental. Emotional. Whatever it was, it was evocative. She opened her eyes and saw a dark figure run at her. Before she could fight back, it wrapped itself around her. A moment passed before she realized it was a cloak. One she had not seen before. It certainly wasn't hers. Yet, despite this, it felt comfortable. Like it was handcrafted for her. Another thing whipped itself to her; this time a necklace. It's beauty was caught in the firelight.

Prudence stood up, glancing around. "My Lord, tis your doing? Perchance you can make yourself seen so I may thank you for precious gifts?" There was naught but silence.

Until a yellow portal opened and Prudence felt herself falling backward, quickly enveloped until there was nothing else.

---

She landed with a thud. Prudence took a moment, laying there, to gaze at her surroundings. It was a land unlike any she had seen. It welt alive. She could use all of her senses here and would come up with the same thing. Pain. Pleasure. Each equal yet alone.

She stood up and brushed herself off. The cloak that moved to her seemed to be able to move her when attached. "Tis uncertain, yet I feel...called here? What does my Lord wish of me?" she called to no one. Instead, the silence resounded back, stronger.

Prudence looked around one last time before stepping forward. There had to be someone here who could explain why she was here.

---

---

Three in the morning, relative to the Pass' outgoing rift.

Jack checked the magic watch he always carried with him. It always told the time in California's time zone perfectly. And yet, time still always got the better of him in the Everdark. He stared out the window of his kitchen, into the ethereal kaleidoscope of dark rocks and onyx-colored grass that bled into greenery. It was like the entrance to a cave, rough and irregular in shape, but the precipice between two different worlds. The Twilight Pass was an area of this constantly-shifting realm that spilled into Earth-666, just one of trillions to be found and folded outwards like paper to become a proper gateway. Moss crept up shards of black, glassy crystals that grew out of geological structures beneath grass. Patches of soil, which felt like ash from a furnace and smelled of ink, sprouted colorful flowers that thrived off of the faint trails of mist and sunlight that leaked in. They curled up and out the sides of pale stones in a walkway, stretching towards the rift like they yearned for home.

Beautiful, cognitive dissonance made manifest.

There was no sunrise in the Everdark, no moon to watch creep up and over the ominous mountains surrounding this home of his. The sky simply didn't even exist, in the same way a color one could only see in dreams didn't exist. Even still, Jack knew how to tell when it was past midnight. The sun rose over California roughly 15 hours ago, at 6am. At that point the rift was dark. When the sun set through the rift, it was actually a few hours from morning. If Jack went through an hour or two after that point, it would be mid-day. Of course, he had his watch for that exact purpose, but spending as long as he had in here burned that fact into his head years ago.

The strange thing about living in the middle of two time dilations, though, was that one's body often compensated for both. To Jack, dinner was the same as breakfast. And breakfast was right about now. Jack closed the window and turned back to the magically powered stovetop he bargained for at an alien appliance store meant for wizardly customers. It wasn't a very fancy breakfast... Or dinner. It was chopped peppers of three different kinds seared in oil and paired with leftover chicken marsala from two nights (days?) ago. In one hand, he grabbed a wine glass from a cupboard and a bottle of wine he received as a gift from a lich on an artificial planet in Earth-7895's galaxy.

Dinnertime. Breakfast time.

---

He sat down in the living room of his dark and dramatic home. This was a place he built out of magic, extradimensional materials foreign to earth, and sheer aesthetic intrigue. In one hand he ate, with another he flipped through pages of a book as he drummed up thoughts on a magic-related theory. Oh, how he loved chasing theories. He had so many.

Jack reached for the wine bottle, and was just about to crack open the seal when he felt something drop over his shoulders. He instantly jumped to his feet, half expecting another wraith to have broken into through the closet again when he recognized the tacky red design of the Cloak of Levitation. It was at this moment when Jack knew exactly what was happening. He could hear something rattling in the quiet of his home as the sound of a door suddenly flinging open disturbed him. Something flew through the hallway and straight at him like a baseball, and he caught it with a hand made of darkness. When he looked, Jack saw the Eye of Agamotto glaring up at him, vibrating between his voidy fingers.

"Isn't it a little early to be knocking on doors, Doctor?" He asked, knowing the Eye wouldn't actually relay his voice. In response, the infernal amulet's neckband reached for him as if he were a magnet, rattling lightly.

"Well excuse me for being a touch occupied with dinner. Oh, just hold on for a minute already."

Holding the eye away from his face, Jack fished around in the cloak's pockets for a note, awkwardly unfolding it with one hand and reading-

"His what?" Oh boy. This was going to be a long evening. Jack slipped his book into the cloak's pocket, and grabbed the wine he had yet to open. "Nochalla, don't touch my dinner!" He called out, to seemingly no one in particular as he let go of the Eye, which wrapped itself around his neck at long last. He then grabbed the empty glass and considered the implications of this note.

"Now just how exactly does that third string hedge wizard expect me to-" A vibrant yellow light exploded into existence from underneath Jack's feet, and he fell out of the Everdark.

After he vanished, a black cat with three eyes jumped onto the table, and proceeded to lick at the chicken Jack was eating.

---

Down into a pit of fiery hell and damnation came Jack with the grace and somber majesty of an angel. Perhaps it was the Cloak's doing, or perhaps it was simply the fact that Jack was used to falling through extradimensional holes at this point, but he landed like a cloud, even with the knee-high combat boots he wore. He floated to the ground entirely unbothered by the sudden teleportation, and then took in his surroundings. Limbo. A place he had been to a few times. The smell of agony on the wind was an acquired taste, but one Jack was accustomed to already. Surely Belasco didn't realize he was cheated out of his money during that poker match years ago... Or perhaps this was Strange's doing.

Looking around, Jack couldn't see anyone. He was suddenly really grateful that he brought a stiff drink.

"Stevie, just what in the name of Arishem have you gotten yourself into this time?"

---

---

The girls hadn't been easy to put to bed. It had taken coaxing—a promise of the return of their candy in the morning. At least two teeth brushing, and three bedtime stories. Ed had enjoyed every moment of it. He had savored it. His own daughter had fallen asleep first. She was not even a toddler yet. The older girl, Mads, a daughter in his heart even if not by blood, had finally fallen asleep during the last part of Velveteen Rabit.

Ed had then joined Amara in the study. She had worked through the hours of thining. Her magic was the sort that took to that. He watched her for a moment from his chair. He thought of the future. His great-grandfather was dying—the last of the old guard. Everyone else had perished. The family had fallen. But there were cousins. Ed could rebuild it. When the man who lay in Cardiff passed and the family mantle passed to him. Ed knew exactly what he would do. The female cousins would be called up. It was too late for many of them to do the rite, but some of them had children. Lucy had been proof that the female children could do the rite. While Nora was too young Ed knew when her tenth birthday came he would perform the rite for her. If she survived she would emerge with the magic power of the family.

If Amara would come with him... if she was willing to move to Cardiff. It was a conversation they needed to have. As he considered how to ask her a brilliant bright light fills the room and the weight of the cloak and Eye settled on him. Ed knows the symbols of the Sorcerer Supreme's station. Why him? He doesn't have time to consider that thought anymore before the world squeezes around him.

"Amara-" He does not finish his thought. Ed's experience with inter-dimensional travel was thankfully limited, but he knew this was not his world. It felt thick. Warning bells in his mind went off. This was not a place he should be.

The planet's surface was approaching, and quickly. Ed pressed his hand to his chest, pushing the shield medallion into his skin. Orange light burst around him and his fall was cushioned. The bubble of light bounced once, twice, and then stopped. He released it, landing on his feet.

Ed looked around trying to gather his bearings. Trying to identify where he was. He also guarded his mind, ready for intrusion. He did not want someone else, another version of himself or otherwise, making their way into his mind.

---

---

It was the night of Halloween, Max’s birthday. Months prior he had received a gift, an Acheron that was mystically locked behind a complex spellwork puzzle. Inside was a simple letter, an invitation to Dr. Stephen Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum for a small gathering of the magical community. Max had assumed it to be some form of party for him at best, or an introduction into the magical society that lived amongst the world at worst. The last mystic circle he’d join didn’t exactly pan out, but then again Stephen Strange was nothing like the would-be goddess Selene.

Max had brought along Ben with him, as well as their newly acquired son Dorian. It was nice to show them one of the locations he’d been staying at for so long, to show his family not only where he was training, but who he was training with. With the amount of times he’d mentioned Strange to his family, they’d practically know all about him, or at the very least all the pieces Stephen was willing to share with Max. He’d swore that all the drinks were enchanted so that none he touched would have an ounce of alcohol, after all it was only his twentieth birthday party, he still had another full year before he would be allowed to legally drink. As Strange excused himself stating only that he would return soon, Max took that time to check in with Ben and Dorian, to see how they were doing. His son was practically asleep in Ben’s arms, and Ben looked just as tired. He figured they’d only held up as long as they had due to the time difference between New Orleans and New York, but it was clear that it was time for them to go.

”I’m going to go ahead and make my rounds saying goodbye to the community. That, and I should probably wait for Strange to come back before I leave. Lucky for you I can take you guys home no problem thanks to all I’ve been learning here.” Max had opened up a portal, a rift between his two worlds of home and study, watching as Ben stepped through into their son's room to be put to bed. He could see Ben was about to make some remark but before he could make out the words a blinding light washed over him. Max closed his eyes instinctively before a new weight was pressed against his shoulders, feeling a familiar fabric wrap around him as he felt the necklace appear around his neck. The light faded and the last thing Max saw was the look of horror on Ben’s face across the portal as a new one opened up beneath him and Max fell. The last act he could do was close his own portal to keep his family safe from harm before he was surrounded by nothing but void.

---

There was nothing graceful about the way Max landed. Having fully forgotten he had a spell for just such an occasion, one he’d acquired after being tossed outside a building…the irony. He felt the air escape his lungs, the only other sound was his gasp for air as he struggled to right himself just to sit down. There was still some daze from the light before, and as Max’s eyes tried to adjust to his new surroundings, he felt the air in his lungs change. He didn’t know how, but the air had a familiar taste, one he’d been accompanied by for many years now. It felt almost impossible to describe, but in the world of magic anything was possible. Max sat there for a moment before finally standing up, taking it all in, and noticing he wasn’t on earth anymore. The skies were crimson red as winged creatures circled above him. He heard the ground crunch beneath his feet as he adjusted his weight, seeing the mountainous landscape in which he landed. His hand slowly went up towards the Eye of Agamotto, feeling the necklace he’d coveted for so long now. Why did Strange send it to him? Why send his cloak?

He felt a slight nudge against his leg as he noticed a note sticking out of a pocket in the inner lining of the cloak. As he began to read it, his eyes burned hot with fury and disbelief. Tears dripped down on the page as the taste of the air became his companion once more. I can fix this. They had a circuit, a way to bring back those who had fallen, and who else was more deserving than the Sorcerer Supreme that kept the cosmic scales in balance? This must’ve been why he chose Max because he knew he could pull it off. But then…”Why’d you drag me all the way out here…wherever here even is.” His voice was hoarse as he continued to choke back the need to ugly cry at his master's death. It had been a lifetime ago that Strange had asked him which master he served, and now he could finally give an answer to that question. ”Tch. Look at me, now I'm talking to myself as if Stephen was even here to answer me. Heh…he’d give me such a stern look if he heard me call him that…”

---

---

---

---

Carolina was sitting in her room at Xavier's Mansion, it had been pretty quiet for the most part nothing big happened which was probably a good sign. All of the other kids at the school were all out celebrating Halloween and were dressed up in different costumes as well to, feeling her stomach rumbling slightly Carolina decided to go and make herself something to eat. The other members of the team were all most likely out doing their own thing right now anyway. Carolina stopped for a moment as a young kid dressed up as a fairy had ran past her nearly bumping into her and going down the stairs.

Carolina smiled and shook her head slightly as she thought about texting her sister Cass to see how things were with her, Cass was now happily married to her former teammate Matt who she had met more than a few times before and was happy for the two of them. Carolina made it into the kitchen which luckily hadn't been raided by any of the younger kids attending school at the mansion. Carolina reached up and grabbed some bread in one of the cupboards.

She then went into the fridge grabbing some turkey, she had been craving a turkey sandwich as she grabbed some cheese to put onto it. As Carolina started to put together her dinner and took a bite out of it, a bright flash of light caught her attention in the corner of her eye. Carolina stumbled forward slightly when she felt a weight wrapped around her shoulders, and then something landing around her neck, she stared at the red Cloak of Levitation and the Eye of Agamoto in the reflection of the mirror. She felt something in one of the pockets inside of the cloak and quickly pulled it out and red through it. Dr. Strange for some odd reason decided to pass the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme to her. Carolina felt very underqualified for the role, she didn't even know a bit of magic at all unlike Max, Ed or even Neil who had some magic experience. "Why me?" Carolina said to no one in particular.

When a new portal suddenly opened right under her feet, and she instantly fell through the portal, and continued to fall for what seemed like forever, until she landed on the ground with a rather heavy thud. Carolina groaned as she slowly started to stand up and looked around at the hellish landscape in front of her. The sky looked blood red and the air around her felt extremely hot to her, even the ground looked rather dead and barren to as she wondered where she was now.

---

---

---

---

Madalyne sat in her bedroom back at her family home she decided to visit her family back home for Halloween, her half sister Nora was out at some halloween party or something. Her mother Amara was setting up some candy for the trick or treaters that would inevitably come that night. The rest of her family were elsewhere in the house as well to, her family home in Salem was extremely large having various family living in there since the early days of the town. Madalyne started to head back down and made her way into the living room, she thought about inviting members of her team back in her Avenger's Academy days. But they probably were pretty bust themselves as she saw her mother Amara doing some final touches setting up some last minute decorations.

Part of her decided to come to visit her mother because she knew that her mother took the disappearance of her boyfriend pretty hard. She had tried hard to try and track Ed down where he had disappeared to but nothing came of it. "Hey Maddie, mind watching the house while I get a few things real quick?" Madalyne smiled and nodded towards her. "Sure thing mom." Madalyne said giving her mother a smile. "After all the trick or treaters are gone we can pick out some horror movies to watch later sound good?" Amara asked, it had been a thing that the three of them did every Halloween once the kids stopped coming to the house for candy. "Sounds good to me, see you when you get back." Madalyne said to her mother as she gave her a hug and kiss as her mother headed out.

Madalyne made her way over towards the tv and started to grab some of the movies to pick for the night when there was a flash of light, and she quickly turned around to see a cloak and necklace come flying right at her. As they wrapped around her body she looked herself in the nearby mirror seeing that it was Dr. Strange's cloak the Cloack of Levitation, and the Eye of Agamoto. She quickly felt something else in the pocket of the cloak and pulled it out. Seeing that it was a letter she opened it, and read through the letter pretty quickly, when another flash of light appeared under her feet, and she fell through the portal.

She continued to fall through the portal until she landed feeling the wind getting knocked out of her as she hit the ground with a thud, she would let out a slight groan as Madalyne slowly started to stand up and dusted herself off. She looked around feeling the all to familiar feeling of Limbo. She had been sent to Limbo once before and met her bio father N'astirh, she wondered if he was the one to summon her here the moment Strange passed the mantle to her.

---

---

Time had no meaning to Annika when she was in the middle of a fight. All that registered were the sounds of her people’s war cries mingled with the sounds of death. The smell of wet earth and burning flesh was a peculiar combination but oddly reassuring. That smell brought her back to her human form and the searing pain in her shoulder.
Annika scrambled back, feeling the pain intensify with the shifting, but she was still fighting. A gunshot went off, causing Annika to flinch. The smell of gunpowder quickly filled the air. Annika glared at her assailant, snapped the arrow shaft off, and retrieved her knife.
The white man charged her, screaming his own battle cry as he pinned her to the ground, digging his thumb into the wound at her shoulder. Annika screamed and thrashed, but the man was strong.

Suddenly, Annika is yanked back. Her hands went to her throat, dropping her knife in the process. She kicked and thrashed, trying to get her attacker to let go. A brilliant white light fills the room before Annika is thrown into darkness.



There are no screams here. No gunshots or the sound of arrows slicing through the air. She only recognizes the scent of blood in the air, thick enough to taste. Annika looks down. With her hands trembling, she assesses her body. She had seen women taken by white men and feared the worst. Blessedly, her hands are clean; Annika lets out a deep sigh of gratitude and prays to the Creator. Her hands then move to her damaged shoulder. A strange cloak now covers the wound and is accompanied by a new necklace that clashes horribly with her mothers. She shifts back onto her knees to examine the new items more properly when she feels the tugging again. Annika scrambles to her feet; hands lose by her sides as she turns in a tight circle. She has no weapon to fight with but her hands and the ability to shift form. A gift from her Creator to help combat the changes occurring in her homeland.

The cloak tightens around her, seemingly of its own free will, and Annika is stunned. She feels a shift of something within the cloak and pulls out a white paper. It reminds her of her journal, a small thing from her father that she carries with her always, even into battle.
The words on the paper reveal themselves to her but hold little meaning. She can read English well, but the name and titles are unrecognizable. Is this a friend of her father’s? The words she understands, no matter the context, are spells, protection, and death. Before Annika can process, yellow light circles around her, sparking strangely, and then she falls. And falls. And falls. Annika’s mouth is open in a silent scream until she lands on feet that instantly give out on her. She drops to her knees and hands with the letter still gripped in her hand. The cloak pulls her to her feet, but she barely registers it as she looks up and around. Birds call out to her. Vultures. She recognizes the death omen instantly and backs up. There is nothing around her — mountains in the far distance and a blood-red sky, but nothing within reach.

”Skeon?” She calls out. Annika takes a step forward and another until she is walking in an unknown direction to an unknown destination.

---

---

---

---

Klara was currently doing some craft projects on Asgard, happily there ensuring that her artwork and creations had a whole bunch of pink glitter all over it. Some people tended to complain a bit about the glitter, but personally she didn't care. After all, in her mind glitter made everything way better, though her father did get annoyed at times when she'd hit him in the head with a glitter bomb, but usually that never really was much of a problem. Their home and quite a few of the walkways around the place were all covered in glitter, much to the annoyance of some others.

It didn't matter though to her, she contemplated maybe going out to practice with her sword as she was there, her sword also was covered in a bunch of glitter too, as were her clothes, but she didn't end up getting to fully make that thought or anything. As some weird cloak thing appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around her, "Huh? What's going on?" she said, a bit confused considering the cloak was a little big on her, but she didn't have time to think anymore as she started falling. Klara luckily somehow managed to prevent herself from screaming as she fell, before eventually getting to the ground, though she managed to move slightly so she was able to land on her feet instead of faceplanting.

Glancing around, she was insanely confused as to where she was. "Hello? Anyone there?" she called out, though at the moment it seemed she was alone. Now it crossed her mind the question of how to even get back to Asgard after all of this.

---

---

---

Perhaps you do not know how to read, otherwise you would have followed my instructions.

Dressed in what was once mine, you are now a Sorcerer Supreme of Earth-666 in the year 2021. I do not know why there are nine of you, but I have my suspicions. I was murdered in Limbo. This realm, existing outside of time and space, fractures the soul. One soul is multiplied into many. One Sorcerer Supreme begets nine. For the sake of my native reality, I hope that your powers are equal to mine. Anything less and our universe will fall.

Alone in this mountainous range, perhaps you have called out, searching for another soul. You might have waited for minutes - you might have waited for days. Time moves strangely here. It is impossible to track. Eventually, a red haze sweeps in - tiny particles of sand or dust, obscuring your vision. It buffets your face, and if it gets into your eyes, it will burn like a ghost pepper. The haze grows thicker and thicker, until your lungs are burning and your eyes streaming with a river of bloody tears.

It is then that you will see a crossroads ahead - with two other figures nearing the center.

Madalyne, Jack, and Annika will meet at a crossroads.

Maximilian, Princess Klara, and Carolina will meet at a crossroads.

Queen Runa, Prudence, and Edus will meet at a crossroads.

---

---

Runa sighed wearily. They had expected some sort of a response, some vicious mockery from Stephen's ghost. They were surprised that the (deceased) Sorcerer Supreme had not split off a portion of his soul for such an event. It was reckless. They reached into the pocket of the cloak, intending to see what else Strange had left. Their fingers wrapped around something stiff and scratchy - paper.

It had been eons since they had felt paper under their fingers. Yet they were blind and could not read even braille. Had they eyes to roll, they would have rolled them. Instead, they returned the piece of paper to the pocket. Perhaps later they could think up some way to read it. Seidhr was always an option, but it left the body vulnerable. They did not know where they were, but they could feel the heaviness and pain in the air - this was some sort of hell realm.

And she had no intention of dying here.

She tightened her grip on her staff. Though she did not know, the bones glowed slightly green , even after all this time. It was the last connection she had to someone she had adored more than the moon and the stars. The staff would one day kill her. She bore it all the same. "Åh, ånden min blir trett. Vil ikke noen forbarme seg over en gammel og lede meg mot ly?"₁

She didn't expect it to be that easy. She heard not another living soul. However, her lungs began to burn - and so would have her eyes, had she something more than empty sockets. The burn spread all over her body, a chemical heat that caused only the slightest tinge of panic in her empty chest. Their bony fingers dug through the bag of runes they kept tied to their waist, feeling before recognizing the carving of algiz. A muttered spell shot up a flimsy shield of protection, and the aching chemical burn lessened, but her body continued to scream in protest.

Runa hobbled forward, through the stinging atmosphere. It might have been years of walking before it cleared. But eventually, she heard a new sound. She could hear the ground crunching under feet that were not hers. In the All-Tongue, they cried out, leaning their body weight on the staff. "Oh, kind traveler, won't you spare some time for an elderly soul who has lost their way? What realm pray tell is this?" Their hood fell over their face, obscuring the empty sockets.

---

---

As Prudence waited for word from her Lord, she glanced around, taking in her new environment. The chilling void she now walked in felt oddly comforting, in so much as any place provides comfort. She didn't feel like she was back in Salem, that much was certain.

Before she could step forward, she felt pressure on her back along with pain. She clenched her teeth as she felt the claw of a beast rip into her. A quick burning sensation was met with icy coolness as she felt the scratches. Despite the pain, they did not leave much of a mark. She could feel some blood before she stood up.

Surely it was her Lord attempting to communicate. Somehow, this place was preventing Him from coming. Others would be fearful, but it wasn't like she was out of defenses.

So she walked. Surely there was someone else here.

As quickly as her concern came, she saw a figure before her at some sort of crossroads. The figure before her materialized into a woman's shape. The woman spoke out, stating her age and asking for assistance. Prudence did not move an inch forward. She did not trust easily and this could very well be an enemy, the someone who brought her here.

"I know not of this 'realm' of which you speak," Prudence spoke up, "I also do not converse with strangers and you appear strange indeed. What brought you here and for what purpose?"

---

---

---

---

Carolina looked around there wasn't anyone around her at all but she had to move forward and search for someone or something that could maybe help her out where she was and maybe to help her get back home. She started to move forward, the whole place was just eerie and creepy to her. The whole place looked like hell to her, as Carolina continued to move forward for what seemed like forever she lost count really as she noticed the wind starting to pick up around her. Then the red haze started to pick up rather quickly, as her eyes suddenly started to sting. Her eyes started to bleed and with every single breath it stung she quickly brought the cloak up to her face trying to cover her eyes and mouth as best as she could.

Carolina fell to the ground as her head started to ring badly as a vision suddenly started to hit her, something she had never experienced before until now. The vision started to move forward and saw a church of some kind, and inside she saw October Crypt, her first love standing and wearing a bloodied wedding dress right next to her was what looked like some kind of goat man holding her hand right behind them was a priest as well to then the vision suddenly ended.

When Carolina started to come to the weird hazy dust storm started to lessen and she slowly started to stand up making her way into a clearing of sorts. Her vision was still very obscured due to the bloody tears down her eyes, but she could make out two figures there and she hoped that they were friendly. "Hello, is anyone there?" Carolina called out.

---

---

---

---

Madalyne started to move forward, she needed to find a way to get out of here and quickly this was the last place that she really wanted to be. Then her head started to hurt causing Madalyne to stumble forward, catching herself on a nearby wall as pain started to go through her forehead. She watched in her shadow as a pair of horns started to sprout out of her forehead she touched them slightly she had been used to them before when she had to use her demon form before. Her once normal brown eyes were turned into a pair of yellow cat like eyes, when the pain suddenly stopped this place was forcing her demon side to appear which she hated.

Madalyne sighed as she stood up feeling somewhat better now she decided that she needed to move forward now, maybe it was a few days or a few hours she didn't know. Limbo didn't have a sense of time really but then a red haze started to appear and the wind started to pick up, Madalyne quickly started to try and shield her eyes as the dust hit her eyes and mouth and nose. Which caused a lot of pain to go through, her eyes started to run with bloody tears.

Madalyne tried to look for some kind of shelter but she wasn't able to, she decided to use the cloak to try and cover her mouth and eyes as best as possible. Her legs were extremely sore, walking what felt like forever but the dust started to finally clear somewhat and noticed two figures in the distance she hoped that they weren't any demons working for her father. "Hello, whos there?" Madalyne called out, as she approached the tiny group.

---

---

Max looked around the strange and desolate land that he was thrust into, not knowing which direction to go. He felt an emptiness inside of him, another loss he couldn’t have prevented, another person to resurrect from the grave. It was easier when they had the body, it became more complicated when Max needed to create one from scratch. Even a single hair would help him and James reconstruct the host for Strange’s soul once he reached his home back on Earth. If he reached his home. He took a few small steps, neither forward nor backwards, simply just turning slowly in a circle as he attempted to get some form of bearing while his feet shuffled on the gravelly mountain top of the reddish hellscape. His back now faced the wall as he looked out over the landscape, Strange’s note still in hand as he tried to pour through it once again. He needed to renew The Veil, but how? He had to go back to find Wong, but how? Million’s of questions and not a single answer was given to him. Just like it of Strange. As he gripped the paper tightly in his fingers, he began to feel the wind whip up a bit away. The note rustling between his hands as a small speck of red tainted the parchment it was written on. When he looked up, he saw a red haze off in the distance, sweeping closer and closer towards him like some demonic sandstorm.

Max instinctively began to cast, not knowing how his magic would react in this realm as his hands wove a spell around himself and he conjured up a new set of clothes. He made a full black ensemble for his mourning, complete with a coat and gloves, goggles to protect his eyes, and a mouthpiece to allow him to breathe in this oncoming storm. It was odd however, that although he felt his magic work effortlessly in this new space, it seemed to be warped by the nature of the new realm. Bones seemed to accent everything he’d created. A ribcage lined over his shirt as his own would do, small finger bones seemed to trace the edges of the fabric while an entire spinal column ran down the back of his coat. His belt had two arms, one on either side, coming to meet up where the buckle should be but instead it was two hands clasping one another. The mask meant to cover his mouth had the upper and lower jaw transfixed to it, and the goggles had small spikes coming out from the sides for no real rhyme or reason. Max hid the note amongst his person, not wanting it to get lost during the storm as the red dust began to kick around him, battering him and getting in his hair. He could hardly see through it all, so instead he decided to sit in place, his back against the stoney exterior as he waited for the storm to pass.

While Max waited, he tried to make sense of it all. Strange had left him no instructions, only goals. He gave him his cape and the Eye of Agamotto. Max could scarcely remember seeing Strange do some gestures before, opening the eye to reveal his mind's eye. He thought he could do the same, trying to copy the hand movements as he tried in vain to open it up to him. Nothing happened. Maybe he got the gestures wrong, maybe it didn’t work in this realm, or maybe he just wasn’t strong enough to use the relic yet. Whatever the reason, the Eye imparted no further wisdom or knowledge on how to renew the veil. So he waited, for what felt like hours in this storm, waiting for a moment to pass where it would lighten up and clear a path for him to follow. Finally, just as the dust began to thin out, Max caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye, looking towards the small creature and noticed it was his three eyed cat. He thought he'd lost him when he abandoned the Hellfire Club, but here he was. Just as quickly as he'd seen the creature, it vanished before his eyes. Replacing itself with the sound of someone calling. He couldn’t make out the voice, but the silhouette…the cape flapping in the wind…it appeared to be Doctor Strange. Max jumped up to his feet, dashing straight for the figure until the red dust finally cleared and standing before him was someone else entirely. For a moment he had hope, for a moment he thought his mentor wasn’t dead. His heart tore into pieces once more as a soft sob escaped him before he composed himself. Max waved his hand as magic washed over Carolina, healing her eyes slightly, but whatever damage she had done was going to take a lot of work. ”Hey, my name’s…Warlock. Are you ok?” Max had hesitated in giving his real name, afraid this might be some form or trap. After all, there was a lot of power in someone's real name.

---

---

Ed read the note that he found crinkling in the cloak. He frowned. He had little interaction with Dr. Strange. He wasn't sure why he had been chosen. His family had never particularly interacted with his sect.

Soon (or so Ed assumes) a red haze starts to form. Ed doesn't like the look of it and quickly learns he doesn't like the feel of it either. Quickly Ed casts his shield spell. Bubbling himself and protecting himself from the red haze. When it finally fades he is at a crossroads with two others. The elder speaks asking where they are. The younger is strangely contradictive. Saying she does not converse with strangers and asks questions that further the conversation.

"I do not know where we are either. As far as I can tell, we are not in my Universe." He says as he drops the shield spell. While they could be on an Earth it isn't any he knows. He looks at the other woman. "I am Ed Penior." He introduces himself. The letter has raised some questions. They both wear the same cloak and Eye of Agamotto. That raises different and more questions.

"Do you both know Dr. Strange?"

---

---

Stephen Strange's death meant that Earth 666 was put on a shelf life- It would no longer be Earth 666 if that wasn't fixed. Jack understood this much, it was a Sorcerer Supreme's job to keep that from happening. What he didn't understand was why Stephen didn't have a contingency in plan that didn't have room for this kind of thing. Now the entirety of a universe had to wait with its proverbial driver seat unattended, for what could be seconds or even eons. He could've had anything in place, a Shiar golem imbued with the power necessary, sorcerers trained in maintaining the spells... Anything. That's what Jack would have done. It seemed that was what he would be doing in the near future, in fact.

Jack strolled down a rocky path, in no clear hurry to get out of this hell. Hands in his pockets, and the alien wine in the cloak's, he carried himself forward like this was just another day in the park. For a chronic world hopper like him, it was just that. This world didn't bother Jack. It stung, being present in it, but one learned to tolerate it the way one learned to tolerate ghost peppers in their food. Jack wasn't a fan of ghost peppers, in fact, they made him lose his appetite. But the principle of it was the same. Breathe in, let the lungs remember the sting of the wind, breathe out, and accept that this is the air.

He saw the mist in the distance, and didn't falter. Rather, Jack stepped in, knowing he had to keep walking forward. It stung his eyes and felt coarse against his face, but he accepted this. Jack closed his eyes, and when he opened them again they felt… Warm. The last time he was here, his eyes weren’t bleeding. He hadn’t encountered this mist then, so he shut his eyes and had an idea. Jack touched his fingers to his forehead, and opened his senses outward. Light was taken out of the equation of vision. Alas, it worked, but he could only see his own eyelids. Worth a shot, at least.

He opened his eyes, which were now a pair of onyx-black orbs for the next few minutes, and exited the mist. Red blood mixed a strange murky black substance like oil in response to his spell. It made the blood he wiped away look like it had poison in it. In the distance, he saw two figures. From the look of it, he could barely make out the Cloak of Levitation… On both of their shoulders. Odd.

He approached them, wearing the same cloak and magic eye.

”You both have the cloak as well. You must’ve been sent here by Stephen Strange ad well, I take it.”

They looked human. More so than he did with magic altering his eyes currently. Hopefully they wouldn’t be bothered by it, but this was Limbo. Everything was intimidating in Limbo.

---

---

---

---

She still wasn't entirely sure where she was or what was going on, but she looked over to see some weird haze thing heading her way, and she wasn't sure what to do before it swarmed her entirely. Klara couldn't help but let out a small scream of pain as the haze felt like it was burning her, but as soon as it was there, it was over, but the pain was still definitely there. Reaching up, she wiped the blood off of her face that had come from her eyes, and her attention shifted to her water flask that she had with her in order to use it for some spells. Probably when she got older she could conjure it up herself, but as of right now she needed to have a water source for her powers to overly work.

Opening the bottle up, she got some out of it maneuvering it around so it wrapped around her hands as she hovered it over her eyes in an attempt to at least get rid of the pain that she was feeling right now with her magic. Thankfully that seemed to do the trick at least for the pain, and she got the water back into its bottle before putting it away. That's when she finally noticed the voices and saw the figures ahead of her. Not even paying attention to the idea that they might be monsters or evil or something, she went racing forward to see who it was. Running over she slid to be right next to Carolina and Max now.

"Hi there! Who are you two? Do you know where we are? I'm so confused as to what's going on right now or how I got here or where here even is!" she said instantly to the pair. Klara was super happy to find other people, to the point she didn't notice that she was accidentally summoning up three small balls of glitter, one over each of their heads. "My name is Klara, what do you think we should do since obviously being around here wandering around alone or something who knows what might be around here. Also what happened with you was it the red haze thingy? I used my magic to at least get the pain to go away I can try a bit of that if you want, can't fully heal anything though as I'm still learning and all, but I can try something maybe if you want!" the last part of her babble was directed towards Carolina, but before she could say anything else, the little glitter bombs she summoned up burst. Resulting in all three of them having their head and hair with bright hot pink glitter. "Ooooooops. Sorry... Didn't mean to do that. That sometimes happens without me trying to."

---

---

Annika walked for a long time. Truthfully, she had no idea how long she walked for. It didn’t bother her either way, other than she came across no other soul. This place felt empty, void of all life except her own. She wrapped her arms around herself, calling out in her native tongue and her father’s, hoping someone or something would answer her.

Annika paused every half hour or so, walking around in a tight circle or just standing in place as she looked around. The birds in the sky seemed to follow her. Shivering, Annika started forward once more when this red mist covered her. She released her body, looking at her arms. Curiosity filled her, but fear pricked her skin. That was when the burning started. Annika shrieked and stumbled around as her eyes burned. She had nothing on her to wash her eyes out. Not even the tears she cried could stop the burning.

She pulled her tunic up to wipe her eyes, and through blurred vision, she saw blood. Her fingers brushed against her cheeks to wipe the wetness away. When she looked at her fingers, she confirmed they were covered in blood. Annika dropped her hands and shifted, terrified as she looked around.

There was no one to fight, no one to make the pain stop. Annika was used to living obstacles; not mystical ones. She started to cry more until it became hard to breathe. After taking a few more steps, Annika finally felt a reprieve. She sighed in relief as the pain subsided. The only evidence that anything had happened was the bloody tear tracks along her cheek. However, there was a new challenge. Annika saw two people approach the crossroads at the same time she did. She stepped to the side, widening her stance in case she needed to attack or defend. She watched the two strangers closely.

They wore the same cloak and had the strange necklace on, but aside from that, they looked completely different from Annika. They wore weird clothes. Even their hair was unusual. Annika eyed them wearily as they both spoke English but with a strange accent, she had never heard.

”Tánon' ónhka ní:se'?” Annika asked. She looked between the both of them before clarifying in English. ”And who are you?” She spoke English well, with an ingenious accent with a British lit to it due to learning English from her father. The name the man uttered made no impression on Annika.

---

---

---

It is funny, how time can separate and sever a bond. Most of you have known each other - do know each other - or will know each other. It is one of the tricks of Limbo. It seeks to separate and divide, to create strife and chaos, to bring out the darkest parts of your soul.

The young half-demon is proof of this. Horns had sprouted from her head and her eyes turned cat-yellow. Now, a forked tail has grown from the base of her spine, and her teeth morphed into razor sharp fangs, all the better to rip and tear. Her fingernails have lengthened into sharp talons, befitting a predator in her natural environment. Are these changes merely cosmetic? Or is Madalyne Crane becoming something else entirely? What will she hunger for... what forbidden tastes will prove the point of no return, resulting in a further loss of her soul?

I told you all to find your bloodstones.

I died because you did not, Maximilian.

The land seems still, for a moment. Where once only mountains stood, your vision will pick out a new structure. Heed this omen. Or do not. You will simply only end up in hell with me.

Madalyne, Jack, and Annika will see a grim and imposing tower, so tall that it appears to pierce the red sky.

Maximilian, Princess Klara, and Carolina will see a large hedge maze, the shrubbery dead and dying yet still standing tall. A lone chariot rests at the entrance, fastened to two skeletal horses.

Prudence and Edus will see a cemetery, the iron gates open and beckoning. Queen Runa does not, as she cannot see.

---

---

"Aye, I suppose I do seem Strange, dressed in his cloak," Runa answered the voice. They did not choose to use their gifts to take a glimpse at this person. Instead, they let their imagination guide them. Perhaps that was not a wise choice. The fog of this place may have physically obscured vision, but it did the same thing to senses and emotions. She could not tell who this stranger was, be it friend or foe - and their mind was leaning towards the latter. Her eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly. They could not trust this person.

"My business is my own, traveler. For a name, you may use Gullveig - or Seeress, if your tongue cannot form such a shape," Runa the Grey said. "What shall I call you?"

The other voice was obscured to them as well - she would not have known the speaker had they not introduced themselves. Had her hood not been so low, a look of genuine surprise would have appeared on their ancient face. Edus Penior. A name she had not thought of in many ages. There had been a brief moment, a slight drop in the river of her life, where she had known him. He had been a warrior brother to her late husband. Runa clutched her bone staff tighter.

"Edus, son of Catrine. It has been some time," Runa said, lifting up a withered hand and pushing back the hood of the cloak. They had been a young goddess when Edus' life had expired, all those years ago. They looked different now. Their skin had been ravaged by time. Where eyes should have been, there was nothing but empty sockets. But the expressions, those never changed. To those who loved Runa, Baldur's daughter, they would know the Seeress was she. "Will you not aid an old comrade in arms?"

They smiled.

---

---

Ed did not recognize the name the elder had given. Or the voice. So when they spoke his name and his mother's name he was confused. It was not the first time he had met someone out of order. He was getting a sinking feeling it would not be the last. But when their face was revealed, it was the expression. The way they held themself. That is what told Ed who was before him.

He knew if he had his collection of carefully labeled vials he would have the hair of this woman. He was not meeting her out of order. "Comrade and friend. If you still consider me as such. I do consider you as such. It has not been so long for me as it has been for you."

Ed didn't know how much he could possibly aid Runa. She had always been strong in her magic. Her magic, of course, was different than his. Now she was ancient, and an Asgardian looking that old must be older than Ed could fathom.

"I can only provide so much aid at this time. I do not know much of what is going on." He told her honestly. "I have a letter from Doctor Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme, but that does not answer the question of where we are." Considering they both had the cloaks and Eye of Agamotto he suspected they had the same letter.

---

---

---

---

Carolina could feel her eyes being healed somewhat not which was somewhat of a relief, her vision was still slightly blurry due to the strange red dust storm. She got a better look at the voice, it took her a little bit she met someone named Warlock the Technarch back when Galactus tried to consume the Earth once in the past. And the other person named Warlock she knew was Max who had also joined up with the X-Men. "Fancy meeting you here Max." Carolina said when she heard another voice and someone else started to come out of the red haze and approached them introducing herself as Klara someone else that she also knew pretty well actually. Though Klara was definitely a lot younger than the one that she met.

Carolina wasn't sure if it would affect anything if she mentioned she had met her when she was older or not but decided to not think to much about it really. "I'm Carolina it's nice to meet you Klara." Carolina said smiling as she extended a hand towards the young girl, she whipped away some of the blood that luckily had stopped bleeding. "I'm good thank you for the offer though." Carolina said when the little glitter bombs suddenly went off covering her head a little bit in the pink glitter. She knew that it was defintely the Klara she had met now she was obsessed with glitter.

Her attention then turned towards the large dead and decaying hedge maze with a chariot and a pair of skeletal horses nearby, this place was certainly very weird and creepy. "Any idea where we are Max?" Carolina asked looking up at Max since she knew him more for his magical knowledge and skill.

---

---

---

---

Madalyne started to feel more of her demonic traits suddenly taking over as she hunched over slightly as her demonic tail appeared as it swayed side to side. Her nails turned black and started to grow longer into a pair of deadly talons along with her teeth sharpening into deadly fangs. She tried to hide her traits from the two people that approached her, one of them was a man by the looks of it, and another was a woman. She wasn't sure what she said at first until she started to speak english this time, they both had Dr. Strange's cloak and Eye of Agamotto on them. She still wasn't sure who they were really but they weren't demons so that was probably a good thing the woman asked who they were.

"I'm Madalyne Crane it's nice to meet the two of you." She introduced herself to the two of them when Jack mentioned Strange she gave a slight shrug, she had met him a few times in the past. "I guess so though I have no idea why he would send us here." She said with a slight shrug as her attention turned towards the very large and imposing tower in the distance that went past the clouds. "We should maybe see if there are any answers over there." She suggested pointing towards the tower, looking at the two of them.

---

---

Jack wiped the blood away with the edge of his copy of the cloak, and blinked away the blackness in his eyes. They looked normal now, unlike the devilish girl across from him.

"My name is Jack Hawthorne. I knew Stephen before his apparent death, and I also don't know why he'd send us here." Looking between these two before him, one of them seemed like she fit right in, and the other looked ready to kill someone. Entirely understandable, honestly. Jack elected not to comment on her horns and claws, thinking it would be rude. His slightly blood-tinged expression showed no signs of being surprised by it, either. He then spoke to both of them at once. "Strange has apparently sent us all here because his seat as our Earth's sorcerer supreme is now empty, and believes one or perhaps all of us deserve to take his place. It's unlike him, you'd think a man of his power would have something more coherent in place for this sort of thing, but here we are." He pulled the note in question out and gestures to it in case they didn’t get one. This was the first implication that Jack wasn’t entirely normal himself, as the hand he held it with was pitch black, without the slightest trace of a visible surface. It was made of solidified darkness, and looked almost like an illusion.

Looking at the tower in the distance, Jack had a suspicion they were meant to find it. Or it was meant to find them. ”That sounds like a wise decision. But we shouldn’t stray too far from one another. Limbo has a way of haunting people who get lost.” The Devil woman likely knew this, but the other one? Who could say? Not many people knew about Limbo, and fewer had been there.