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The fight with the demons was the quickest fight Annika had ever been a part of. She tensed her body when the demon ran for her, ready to defend herself and counter its attack when the demon missed her entirely. She relaxed her stance as she watched him fly over the tower. Curious, Annika walked to the edge and watched the demon plummet to its death.
”Huh.” She shrugged and moved away from the edge, back to Madelyn’s side. Once Jack rejoined them, the rest of the demons seemed to run off, aside from the little girl named Ananym. Annika was intrigued by her. Her father was the ruler here, but as Madelyn asked, Annika was unsure if they should trust him. What she was sure of was they needed cover, much like Jack suggested. Exposure to the elements was never a wise decision when in unfamiliar territory.

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Wind rushed past his face as Max held on for dear life. His teeth were grit as he held on silently, full glad he had goggles and a mouth guard on. He didn't want to know what kind of insects flew about in Limbo. The only sound he could hear was the flap of his cloak within the wind, watching as Klara…did something with the horses. Honestly it was difficult to tell with everything that was going on, after all what did a magical Asgardian child do when faced with this dilemma? As he glided on through, Carolina’s words rang throughout his head. Then you joined the X-Men. He hadn’t told anyone about that thought yet, hell he’d hardly had a chance to think on it in the last month. But it seemed that this version of Carolina existed further into his future. Interesting. Clearly this meant that Ben would be more receptive to the idea of him joining and having Dorian school there in his formative years until they could find out if he did or didn’t have the X-gene. Max had always been worried that Ben would object to it. After all no one in the household had any love for the X-men, nor did they have any for Charles himself. They saw how he treated his own son, yet Max knew this would be the best place to give his kid exposure to mutants while also getting top grade schooling. And if and when he presented with the gene then it’d be in a safe environment free from flatscans that could overreact.

There was a brief ease inside of Max, knowing that things would play out smoothly in the end. Until then gravity was to take effect. The ground quickly closed its distance towards Max as he face planted for the second time today inside of Limbo. The dry red dirt scraped against the metallic spikes of his mask as dust kicked up and coated the lens of his goggles and hair. He laid there for a moment, tired of all of this already before finally deciding to get up and dust himself off while he looked at Klara and the two horses before him. Max hadn’t noticed the trail vanishing around him, nor had he realized how in trouble Carolina was, all he knew was that for now Klara was safe. Or at least as safe as a child could be inside of Limbo. ”Oh you know, just checking the gravity is all. Yup still works.” he said with a bit of a chuckle towards Klara before letting out a small amount of magic to help heal some of the scratches he’d gotten from the fall. ”We should really try and find Carolina now though…I don't like the idea of any of us getting separated inside of this place.” Max placed his hands on his hips, taking a look around the maze they were in as an odd feeling began to sink into him. Even here he felt so…alone.

He looked behind himself, towards the direction that he had just come from to see if he could spy Carolina in the distance. Maybe she was a slow runner? After all, he knew she held no real magic, or at the very least none that she displayed while over in Wanda’s reality. That was when he had noticed the changes in scenery. The horse's tracks had vanished, same with the chariot's wheel marks and even the small dig he’d made when he landed. All gone and reset anew. How was she supposed to find them now? Panic welled up inside him for a moment, though he didn’t show it. After all, the parenting book he’d read said that kids will mimic the parents' emotional state and while he wasn’t Klara’s father, he didn’t want for her to begin to panic only because he was. Before he could say anything, both because he wasn’t sure how to phrase it while also stalling for time, Max noticed a figure above head. It was Carolina, and he’d let out a small sigh of relief as he watched her descend towards them. Sure she seemed mad and was giving Max a look that said she would feed him to the hedges herself if he left her again, but he was glad all the same to see she had managed it out. ”Wouldn’t recommend it, no. Separating in Limbo is like asking to have a bad time. It’s why it was important I caught up with Klara. Swords however…” Max snapped his fingers and cosmic energy swirled in the palms of all three of them, shaping into a dark double edged sword with a gothic handguard. It looked like something out of a Sailor Moon episode that the villains of the week might use, and honestly? He wasn’t mad about it.

”Well if making our way through quickly is the goal, then I might be able to help. I haven’t tried this spell on a demonic man eating plants before but…here’s hoping.” Max typically used his own conjured flames when in battle, having not had the teachings of Strange under his belt until now. He’d heard of a spell with more powerful flames, mystic ones conjured from a dimension of fire that were said to burn hotter to the point of being capable of breaking enchantments or even ridding others of illness or poisons. Max had never used the spell for those purposes, but it always helped to read the erratas and see the full capabilities of anything you learned, especially when the warnings came after the spellwork. He held his hand out, scorching flames flowing out of his palm and towards the nearest hedge, holding it there for a moment as he hoped to burn straight towards the center of the maze. But after about a minute of flames, when he’d finally let go of the spell nothing had happened. The hedges showed no sign the fire had ever even been present. ”By the Flames of the Faltine! These hedges won't even burn! Suppose we need to take the chariot then and just hack anything that tries to get us on the way.”

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Ed did not like vision playing in his head. At the sound of the infant crying his fatherly protectiveness itched to help the child. An odd contradiction. One he didn't like. It also smelled of a trap. Turning his back on the shadow (or even Prudence), was a bad idea. Even deeper subconscious though was this older Runa was also not trustworthy. Ed, however, did not want to allow that seed to take root.

Ed did not miss Prudence's pointed look. Up to that point she had barely looked at him. An idea of Prudence's personality formed. There would have been no hope for her to be on good terms with him. He recognized this. He also had grown a lot since his 'need to be liked' days. As such he gave it only the barest of nods. A recognition of the comment being directed at him.

"There is nothing good to be used here or found here. Gullveig, would you like to leave as well?" He was still tense, still expecting an attack.

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Klara couldn't help but giggle a bit with what Max said with regards to why he had decided to faceplant on the ground. "Well why did you want to test out gravity? Sounds kind of painful," she said with a shrug as her attention shifted to the two now talking skeletal horses, "My name is Klara, and no Mercymorn you can't eat him, but it is very nice to meet you and Butter Rum, and sorry for scaring you before... I didn't mean to I just thought the two of you were so cool!" she said with a smile towards them, before she heard Carolina's voice, and she sounded pissed and Klara sort of leaned away a bit more towards the back of the chariot now because of how her voice sounded.

At the mention of swords, her head perked up, "Wait you two don't carry around swords? That's lame, I always have one," she said, before unsheathing the sword that she had with her, sort of setting down the one that Max had conjured. "I prefer this one, plus I'm used to the size and weight of it. Plus it's Asgardian made. As for getting out of here, hop onto the chariot. And no Mercymorn you can't eat her either! Can you two take us through the maze though? Just don't take off until all three of us are on board if so, okay?" She said, turning her attention now back to the horses, leaning towards the front of the chariot talking to the horses.

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Prudence listened as the old woman recalled her meeting with the man. It was indeed an uninteresting tale. But it provided Prudence some much-needed insight into her unwilling allies. "Thank you for sharing. Tis most fascinating," she lied. Prudence had yet to meet a man who did not want something he felt entitled to. Be it flesh or more.

The shadow did not seem to stir as they conversed around the goblet. Prudence herself saw the vision of her drinking from it, feeling the liquid down her throat, warm and fulfilling. She resolved herself though. If she were home, it would be a different matter. Her Lord promised her more power. Here, she was certain it was a warning.

"I suggest we leave as well. Though, if that vision and that shadow are any indication, we should steel ourselves. I doubt all here are friends." Prudence glanced quickly at Edus. She would prefer him to lead the charge, in case the shadow attacked—the perfect bait.

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Ananym blew a highly dignified raspberry. "Magik kicked that stinky old man to the curb ages ago," she explained to Jack. I do not believe any of you have had the privilege to meet Miss Rasputina - a Russian child stolen from her family, she was raised in Limbo while her brother served on the X-Men. She is a powerful sorceress in her own right, but I worry about the stain on her soul. The longer one remains in Limbo, the more powerful its corruption can become. Something I am afraid you all may be doomed to find out.

"And of course they hurt me, we're demons," Ananym added with a shrug. "But if you want to go somewhere safe, c'mon - I've made Dad's library into a really cool fort! And I have knives we can snack on. They're nice and crunchy." She then started to run down the never-ending spiral staircase, not bothering to see if the others were following her. She knew that they would.



We are cool Butter Rum agreed, letting out a whiny as it raised its front legs up slightly.

Mercymorn rolled her eyes at the other horse. You are so cool - NOT!!

Butter Rum let out a wet huff.

The three of you were reunited at least, and while the horses weren't huge fans of the gothic swords, they had not started to run off again. There was an uneasy tension in the air. Max's spell, while somewhat well executed (I would never say such a thing to him), had not burned the maze. But the plants seemed to have sensed something different was at play.

The next thing you all realized, strange flowers were drifting through the air. The scent was sweet and calming. It made you all fell like lying down and closing your eyes, of painlessly drifting off to sleep. Even Mercymorn seemed to let out a yawn.

Sure, we can take you through the maze... But to leave it, you have to pay the toll Butter Rum explained.

What have you all got on you that you can trade with the Green Eyed One? Mercymorn asked. Human souls? Rights to the firstborn child? They got crazy for that sort of stuff. Maybe we can talk about it after a nice long nap...



The shadow on the wall makes no designs on you still - none that you can perceive, at least. In Limbo, not all tests are ones of physical might. Some of them are mental. Some of them are the simple planting of an idea, one that has now been suggested to you all - that by slaying another, you may gain more power for yourself. It may not tempt you now.

But can you say that it never will?

Should you wish to leave the mausoleum, no force will stop you. But as Runa asked, you must decide - on what path do you walk? What are your intentions? Will you do as I asked of you?

Or is the world doomed to fall due to a child's folly?

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Runa smiled slightly at Edus' question. It was very sweet of him to ask. She was moderately surprised as well that neither of them moved to drink from the cup. Perhaps they were both more heroically inclined than they had anticipated. But that was fine. Runa had no real urge for heroism here - they knew that Strange likely had left contingencies behind, in the case of his death. He was probably arrogant enough to have left a copy of himself in some dusty vault, hoping that Runa - or one of the other would-be sorcerers supreme - would kindly wake him up and bestow upon him the mantle.

And while at first Runa would have been quite glad to hand this responsibility up to another sorcerer... They had missed having access to this much magic. The magic in her time was dead and dying, something she could not properly complain about, as they had been the one responsible. Here, though, magic was alive and well. They felt alive and well in a way they had not in years. Perhaps they might stay awhile.

"I would be very much surprised to find a single friend in such a place - and yet, it seems I have collected two," Runa surmised. "I have no interest in enacting this cursed ritual. We may leave. Yet I would ask you two to consider what path upon which you walk... I realize that seems vague. I ask you quite literally - where do you wish to go?"

"We may seek out that which has brought us here - or we may ignore the call and cross the realms. I know of such things and could cast such a spell. We could search for poor Stephen's killer. We could attempt the return to Midgard, in order to construct the Veil. Without its protection, the realm will fall. Such is the way of things. I know of this spell, and I may teach it to you both, for I have had to cast it in my own time. I am sorceress supreme of a dying world. Perhaps I will be sorceress supreme of two."

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Carolina looked at Max for a moment as he started to summon up some swords for the two of them, feeling the weight of the sword in her hand she smiled slightly. "Thank you Max." Carolina said as she stared at the horses, for a moment as they spoke which was really weird but then again the three of them were in a really strange realm after all. Max suddenly used his magic and summoned up some fire and tried to burn the hedges to the ground she shielded her eyes for a few seconds before they finally died down. Only to see that the hedges were still there when something else started to happen.

Strange flowers started to gently float down from the sky and she started to feel herself getting tried, letting out a slight yawn. Knowing that the plants were most likely hungry and these strange flowers were making her sleepy it would try and make them to tired to fight. "We need to get out of here now." Carolina said as she quickly got onto the chariot looking over at Klara for a moment gently resting a hand on her shoulder. "Sorry if I seemed mad at you just now." Carolina said letting out another loud yawn, hopefully Max would get on and they would be able to move on quickly.

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Madalyne turned her attention back towards Ananym as the little demon girl spoke mentioning Magik, she wasn't really familiar with her maybe her mother had bumped into her or something she wasn't really sure. The other demons were gone now which was good then, Ananym quickly started to head towards the entrance of the tower. She looked over at Jack and Annika giving them a slight shrug, the little girl was a bit weird but they didn't have anything else to go on really either. "Lets go." Madalyne said as she started to head down into the tower.

The demons from earlier could jump out at them though which she started to think about as she followed behind Ananym. "Is there anyone else in this tower?" Madalyne asked her she wasn't sure if there were traps or not in here as she looked at the others. "Stay alert and be careful." Madalyne suggested as she continued to move forward.

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Belasco… Was dead.

Illyana fucking Rasputina, his “apprentice,” finally killed the bastard. Jack could not stop himself from laughing in a downright haunting, demented manner. Ordinarily, Jack didn’t laugh at anything. Even things that were funny just got a mellow grin out of him. But this is hysterical. It was like the chuckle of a malicious, final villain of one’s story that confirms someone’s demise. Perhaps to another, it was twisted to find amusement in the death of Belasco. But Ananym certainly understood and that was enough.

”Well, that is surprising news, but I’m glad to hear that woman got her retribution.” It may not have been appropriate to discuss the… Finer details of what that was right now. Certainly not with Annika and Madalyne, it wasn’t his story to tell. Magik was powerful in her own right, or was only natural someone like her became the Sorcerer Supreme of Limbo. He just hoped the power didn’t go to her head. But then again… Limbo does that to people.

Ananym led them down the tower, and Jack followed, pondering the fort she made out of Belasco’s tower once they got far enough. ”I see you’ve been busy. How did those demons infiltrate this fort of yours? Did they sneak in? They could’ve have flown to the top, given their fear of gravity. It may be wise to patch the hole in your defense.” At heart, Jack knew she was still a kid. This could’ve been a game for her, but it also was something of a home for her now that the Old Man wasn’t around.

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Max shrugged at Klaras question. "Never really had to. I can make my own weapons on the spot. That…and half the time the law was after us so having a weapon on me would've been bad." he said as he gave his sword a practiced swing. It wasn't exactly his weapon of choice, but when fending off demonic plants he figured that it was probably the better weapon to go by. That or a massive battle axe which would look cool as hell. He tried to focus on that thought, and ignore the uneasy feeling that covered him from head to toe. It was as if his body was sinking in tar but he couldn't see it. That is, until the plants began to flower. Flowers were the last thing Max had expected to find in Limbo. Not unless they looked as though they could maim you with one wrong touch. These however looked harmless, floating above their heads as they each got onto the Chariot one by one. The horses began talking about some old legend, one Max hadn't considered in a long time now.

He let out a big yawn, one arm stretching to the heavens as the other one covered his mouth, his sword placed onto the floor of the chariot for the time being. "The Green Eyed One? I thought they were just an urban legend. A story to tell your kids to keep them in shape. Besides if they were real, what could we even offer to a God of Death?" He let out another large yawn as he began to slump onto the Chariot. "I think…yawn...I think these plants are putting us to sleep. We gotta…gotta…" The words left him for a moment as he began to doze, just before Stranges words reached his ears and jolted him awake for a moment more. "I summon…I…the winding Wimbs of Watoomb" The grogginess didn't help with Max's attempt to cast the Winds of Watoomb for the first time. He'd heard of the Conjuration spell that worked wonders to banish creatures and spell effects, but never once attempted to practice it. His words slurred and hand gestures fumbled the minute intricacies that were the somatic components to the spell. Instead of a gush of wind that wore off the effect, a mass amount of glitter exploded with a foul sulfurous smell accompanying it.

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"Don't listen to them Butter Rum, I still think you both are great," Klara said, giggling a bit at the two horses, her attention shifting towards the secondary part that they had said about some weird green thing or person or whatever. She personally didn't have a clue as to who was even mentioned, and Max's vague explanation or mention wasn't really helping. "...That doesn't exactly explain much," she pointed out to him with a shrug, but she looked at Carolina when she made her comment, "That wasn't really sounding mad, you should hear my grandpa when he gets mad, that's actually someone getting mad."

Then she started feeling the effects of whatever was going on with the flowers making her sleepy, and she let out a yawn. Klara didn't even pay much attention to what Max had ended up doing and she sat down on the floor of the chariot in the front corner yawning again. "We'll figure something out, so can you guys please get going, thinking I kind of want to take a nap or something right now if we stay here any longer," she said to the horses, hoping that they'd figure out what to do about the other random person they need to deal with when they get there.

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"I have no desire to carry this mantle. I have family obligations. The two would not work well together." Ed said. He knew that Runa knew enough, and there was no reason to tell Prudence anything more than that. "I would, however, like to protect Earth. I'm quite fond of the planet and have invested reasons to want to keep it safe. As such fixing the spells, as long as that doesn't force me into the mantle is fine with me." Ed spoke honestly.

As he left the mausoleum, apparently the shadow didn't care to attack and that was fine with Ed, he looked around for the source of the crying. His heart went out to the infant he spotted. A purple infant with devil horns and wings. He wanted to go to it. To save it from the cold and cruel fate that was bound to fall upon it. He even shifted a little and took a half step toward it. But he paused. Should he? Could he? Taking the child...in this place...there were risks. Leaving it and the it would die, or something else would get it. Who knew? All the possibilities ran through his mind.

In the end, Ed walked away from the infant. All he could see was his own infant, all he could hear were her cries. Ed wanted to return home. He needed to return home. To his children, his daughter, and the daughter of his heart. This broke him a little. A tiny crack in the lawful being he was.

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Annika followed behind when the little girl offered them sanctuary. She perked up when she mentioned knives, not thinking much about the eating them part.
”Ananym, would you consider loaning me one of your knives? For use in battle rather than as a snack? Although, if I get hungry, I suppose that would be a good alternative,” she added. Now that she thought of it, Annika wondered what sort of resources Limbo had. Perhaps this library would shed some light on the inner workings of this red land.
As they began to descend the steps, Annika peered over the side. She kept a hand on the railing to keep from being disoriented. It seemed never-ending. Even as they walked further into the building, it didn’t look like they were gaining any ground.

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It had occurred to her that she was being quite silly.

It wasn't as if she considered the two people she was with as friends. And they were speaking nonsense. Sorceress Supreme? There was only one supreme sorceress and it was her.

So in she glided, further towards the cup that neither of her tentative associates bothered to touch. She picked it up, letting it hold and fit into her palm before she swallowed the liquid whole. As she did, the Shadow vanished. The liquid went down like hot blood, almost boiling. Once it was done, she set the cup down, wiping a little bit off her lip. "Someone had to do it."

She felt this sensation before. It was the time her Lord had come to see her. The first time she got a taste of the power. The feeling is unlike anything else. This was something new. It was the starting point. And she felt strong. She felt her teeth with her tongue and they felt sharp. Was she changing? Perhaps. Perhaps not.

Either way, this was power. The other two were surely fools for letting it slip from their grasp.

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The feeling of drowsiness continued to envelope you, threatening to drag you down into the abyss. Max, you managed to force your eyes to stay awake, but every second is a fight against the sandman. Klara, with your rambunctious source of energy, you'd be pretty alert - even as your body ached for a nice nap. And Carolina, the tired, draining feeling continues to pull on you, but in the way you might feel when heading to the airport for an early flight - exhausted, but awake and alert.

Mercymorn, the more sarcastic and mean of the two horses, let her head droop as she fell asleep. Butter Rum tried nuzzling her, but it wanted to sleep as well. They're coming... The Green Eyed One is coming... Butter Rum warned.

The poppies continued to bring on drowsy sleep. Ropes of bones crawled out of the ground, making their way slowly towards you. They shot up, stopping short of entangling you, before assembling themselves into a person with glowing green eyes.

"Mm, hello there, poppets," they said. "Don't you all look tired? How about a nice rest and a cuppa, eh? I've got just the thing..." They waved their arm, and suddenly, a path cleared in the hedge maze. It led to a magnificent manor, made out of a strange off-white material. Carolina, you would be the first to recognize what it was. It was made of human bone.

I had mentioned before to you, Max, that the Green Eyed One is a deity of death. I should have been more clear. The Green Eyed One deals in death. They trade. A soul for a miracle. A life for a jewel. A death for a dance.


You have a good eye, Madalyne. Ananym certainly would not tell you this, but there were no other demons in that tower. There were others trapped within its walls, bound to a cruel and unsuspecting mistress. "No one important!" Ananym told Mads cheerfully. Space-time seemed to contract as you all dashed down the staircase. Within seconds, you were at the bottom of the tower. Annika, you would be hit by a sense of vertigo, as if you had left your stomach at the very top. "I let them in, duh! They came in through the door," Ananym then answered Jack, as if he had said something very stupid.

"Ooo, yeah, you can have all the knives you want! Just not my special knife. That one's for important occasions only," Ananym told Annika cheerfully. You do not want to see her special knife. I have. Trust me.

"We need to go that way to get to the library," Ananym said, pointing her finger towards a red brick path that led into a thick woods, and up to a mountain beyond. On this mountain sat a fierce and sinister castle. Lightning flashed in the sky, illuminating it as if on cue. "We could race! Let's race!" Ananym then took off at a run, a bundle of pure demonic energy, heading for the woods.

Tread lightly, my friends.



Prudence, I am not surprised you did what you did. I will be more interested to see whether or not you regret your actions, but I think that you will not. The quickening of your heart, the tensing of your muscles, the sharpness upon your teeth. Those are the first signs of this new power you have welcomed. As you step out of the mausoleum, a veil seemed to slip away before your eyes.

You are in a space that is pure red. There are no features. The ground appears to be water. In front of you, there is your Lord. Make no mistake - it is not his power that allows him to appear to you now. It is yours.

To you, Edus, you would not see anything amiss with Prudence. Aside from her eyes. They are orbs of pure red, no pupils or other colors in sight.

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Runa chuckled, smiling sharply at Ed's answer. Prudence gave her no response. That was fine. They were quickly likening Prudence to a cat. They did not mind. Although they preferred the company of wolves, they could respect a feline companion. "The mantle has already been thrust upon you, my friend. There is no refusing it now. You may shed it and bestow it upon another - perhaps, if you wished to give your piece to me, I could begin to reunite whatever has fractured the office so. Or perhaps you wish to bestow it to someone else, but choose wisely, as you will be handing them the power of a god."

They made no designs as to whether Edus ought to give the power to themselves or not. They would certainly like for him to do so. They had forgotten the taste of magic in their blood for so long, it felt good to have it flow once more. And now, she wanted more. She craved it. She craved the power she once possessed, back when she had been the Mother, not the Crone.

But those who asked for power from a man were rarely given it. That had been their experience. If they were a quiet, frail old thing, then they would not be distrusted. Or perhaps Edus was wise and would see that even snakes grew old.

They noticed nothing of Prudence's choice. They did not sense that the shadow had retreated. And she did not hear the scraping of the iron gate, as the exit of the cemetery swung open, revealing a red brick road.

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Carolina gave Klara a smile at least she was fine and didn't take it to personally, she would let out another loud yawn she was really tired but awake enough to be alert as she remained standing at least for as long as she could. Her attention turned towards Max as he tried to use a spell to try and get rid of the sleep inducing plants, only for his spell to fail miserably as a bit of glitter and a fart sound going off. She really did feel useless she didn't know any kind of spell to help out, but Carolina then noticed that the chariot was slowing down now as one of the skeletal horses fell asleep.

Carolina would let out another yawn as she leaned slightly forward on the railing of the chariot when she started to hear something coming from the ground before them. And then several bones suddenly sprouted out of the ground, and was leaning over their chariot when the bones shifted into a figure in front of them. A pair of green eyes appeared in front of the face as the bone person finally spoke and she instantly figured that this was the Green Eyed person that the horses had mentioned. Then a path suddenly opened up in the hedge maze and she could see a rather magnificent looking manor made out of some sort of white material, upon closer look Carolina quickly noticed that it was made out of human bones which made her feel worried. "We uh just need a way to get back home is all." Carolina said to the Green Eyed One.

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Madalyne looked around the tower was giving her the creeps as she continued to follow behind Ananym through the tower as they continued to descend it. She was surprised that the little girl decided to let all of the demons in and let them attack her like that but then again this place wasn't normal at all. She decided to keep the comments to herself for now as she at least there weren't anymore demons to deal with which was nice then. Though Madalyne noted the poor souls trapped within the buildings walls as they managed to make it to the bottom of the massive tower and onto the ground floor fairly quickly.

Her attention turned towards the road and then the forest that Ananym pointed out in the distance and the massive mountain as a bolt of lightening flashed in the distance. The little demon girl demanded a race as she looked at Annika and Jack letting out a sigh they needed to keep up with her. "Lets follow her then just stay close." Madalyne said as she quickly chased after the demon child down the path.

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Of course she let them in. Of course she did. Because knowing her, Ananym probably thought she was going to Reenact Home Alone by springing a quantum infinity number of traps all designed to fuck with, and traumatize her playmates. Or as Jack would’ve called them, her victims. He might’ve said something about not letting them in if Ananym was only going to get cornered like that. But maybe she was planning to scare the shit out of them with some sort of ambush. A teleportation spell to bring them all to a pit of magma, or a decoy perhaps- Was this the real Ananym? Jack certainly wouldn’t put that past her. He’d feel proud in some way if that was the case.

”I wouldn’t eat the knives,” Jack said to Annika. ”They’re rather… Undercooked.” He was absolutely fucking with her- He didn’t know what they tasted like, he just felt like cracking a joke. Today was a humorous type of day by his own standards. Jack often found himself using humor as a way to lessen the burden that these stressful situations had. After all, if one person can set an example by being unbothered, others would surely follow. ”It is rather difficult to add salt to metals, unfortunately. Otherwise, they might be a bit more palatable.”

The thunder of Limbo’s sky cracked in rhythm with Jack’s own heartbeat. It was soothing in an uncanny way. ”I forgot how wondrous the place could be a times,” he said aloud. As intimidating and… Malevolent as the world was, there was beauty in chaos, and majesty in fury. Ananym pointed them in the direction of a castle on the horizon. Frankly, he didn’t recognize it. If she was familiar with it, then Jack assumed it was trustworthy. The only problem was that Ananym wanted to race there, and Jack wasn’t about to run through a forest in Limbo.

”Oh- Absolutely not. Between you and me, Annika, long walks through a forest on Earth are far more pleasant than here. Madalyne! We’ll teleport there!” He honestly wasn’t sure if she even heard him. She was clearly fierce in her own right, surely she’d be fine. Besides, the girl seemed like better company than Kog’Thakan. ”If she’s in a hurry, then so to shall we.” Jack brought his shadow arm up and held it out in front of himself and Annika. Trails of vantablack smoke began to arise from it and coalesce into the shape of a circle of swirling darkness. This was not an instant process, but after a minute or two, Jack’s creation was a churning portal of black and lilac wisps that nothing could be seen through.

”This is what I call a Twilight Doorway. I use these to cross incomprehensibly large distances with only a few footsteps. The exit will take us to the castle that Ananym mentioned. She means well, but her idea of the difference between “safe” and “life-threatening” differs from that of us humans. This will be safer. I believe Madalyne knows what she’s doing, and Ananym is much more dangerous than she lets on- Those two can handle anything Limbo throws at them. Shall we?”

Jack stepped through the portal. Fluid darkness curled around him and seemed to swallow him whole. If Annika followed him through, she’d feel a long chill wash over her. Not the kind that ran down one’s spine, but the kind one felt when they stepped outside on an autumn evening. It was inviting, wrapping over everything and taking it through to a place far away without so much as a rustle of momentum. Only Jack did not arrive where he expected to. No, this was not the craggy, demonic landscape he was just in. This was the opposite.

On the other side of the portal, a more lively sensation took hold. One that could be more readily associated with Limbo, as Jack dropped into a veritable Garden of Eden. Lush, green plants as far as he could see, and serenity abound. A beautiful place that could only be made reality by someone with an equally compassionate heart from which to pour out love. Jack took in the surroundings, and a breath of fresh air. This was… an accident. A pleasant one, but it made sense. Jack must’ve overlapped the portal with a stepping disc native to Limbo, and arrived here.

That meant this could’ve been any place in any possible time. This could a billion years after Strange’s death, or a billion years before it. How would Jack explain that to Annika or Madalyne? He noticed a woman nearby, tending to this garden. White hair… It was Storm. Gently and quietly, Jack stepped closer, ensuring he did not tremble her work with his intrusion. How long had it been, he wondered, since they laid eyes on each other.

”…Ororo? Is that you? It seems I’ve taken a wrong turn. It is good to see you again. I did not think I would cross paths with you again in this way.”

Ananym had 15 seconds to decide to jump through the doorway or continue on after Ananym and Madalyne. It began to shrink before her eyes.

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Max struggled against the toxins that were quickly seeping their way into his body. His blurred vision turned to look at his would-be companions as neither seemed as affected than him. A part him him wondered if this poison or magic or whatever it was considered, reacted quicker to magical blood? After all he hadn't seen Carolina perform any magic neither here nor in the realm of Wanda. And while Klara did possess the ability to perform magic back in Wanda's world, he assumed her Asgardian nature was more equipped to combat this threat. He had to try again. He was Strange's student, and although he wasn't his only successor, he was one of them. He went to cast the spell again, to summon the Winds and clear away this enchantment. But as soon as he opened his mouth, he'd felt the problem.

In his drowsiness he'd seemed to have developed a form of cottonmouth. His tongue dry and swollen as if he'd swallowed mouthfuls of cotton balls just moments ago. His rush to break free of this spell, this effect, was increased as he saw the string of bones hurdle towards them and form into the Green Eyed One right before his sleepy eyes. He'd learned little to nothing about the creature that stood before him, but he did know one thing. Only a fool would make a deal with a devil. But as she spoke of Tea and Respite, the offer began to seem more and more tempting. His parched tongue begging for a swig of refreshment.

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She was more then content sitting on the floor of the chariot to await when they'd come across this random person, whoever they were. Truthfully she had been half paying attention to just who it was that they were going to run into, all she knew was it was someone called green something. It was really confusing to her so she didn't think much of it. Honestly everything was a bit weird still, and the idea of what Limbo was still was a bit foreign to her. So she was rather happy here in the chariot with her new best friends Mercymorn and Butter Rum!

That is until she heard Butter Rum say something about someone approaching, and she instantly jumped up onto her feet to look to see who this person was. "Hi there!" she said happily, seeing the Green Eyed One appear and then a mansion of some sort appear as if out of no where. "Oooooooooh that is so cool! I love your house!" Klara once again didn't seem to pay much attention to what the other two were saying as she hopped off the chariot now and looked at the person as she started walking over, "What are you doing here anyway?" she then asked as a bit of an after thought.

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Annika faltered as she walked down the stairs with the others. Her vision started to become distorted as she continued to move. Her hand gripped the railing tightly as she paused at the bottom of the stairs. They had gotten to the bottom awfully quickly, and it seemed Annika’s body was responding poorly to that awareness. She tried to smile in acknowledgement of Ananya allowing her to take possession of one of her knives.

A strange emptiness filled Annika’s ears, and her head grew heavy as her vision worsened. She looked at Jack, watching him open a portal and suggest they take a shortcut to the library Ananya ran towards. Annika nodded and followed Jack through. She didn’t trust her ability to run in any form. Despite her impairment, Annika was very aware that she wasn’t where she was supposed to be. Instead of Jack on the other side of the portal, there were three new strangers dressed in the same cape as hers. How many people were in Limbo?

”Sekon,” she greeted before putting a hand to her head. Annika had never experienced vertigo before and worried the dizziness would never stop.

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As suddenly as the symptoms appear, they were readily welcomed in her body as she felt something unlike anything she felt before. Soon her vision turned and she was in a red room. Or a red space. Before her stood her Lord. She, at first, felt relief. Her connection to him had been strained, but here he was.

However, the feeling was changing. Shifting. As if the dynamics between the two of them were altering before her eyes and within herself. "My Lord, it is good to see you at last." She began to bow before she stopped herself. A quick assess of herself showed that her Lord, as powerful as he was, was not here on his own volition. After all, she remembered the scratch from before as he tried to come here.

She brought him here.

She had the power.

Which means she had control.

A grin spread across her face. "My Lord, it seems a tide is turning. I know not of where I am or who I am here with. Sorcerer Supreme was mentioned. Does that moniker appear familiar to you?" Gaining information was vital at this stage. Information was power. Power swayed people. Power made kings.

Or Queens.