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Prudence felt the heat in her mouth subside and moved her tongue around in her mouth. It hit something sharp and it took her a moment to realize she had grown new teeth. Or rather, her former teeth had transformed to that of a serpent or a vampyr. Fangs in place, she didn't notice any other difference. This was not all-together unnerving. After all, she had drunken from the cup. She made her choice.

"What a unique collective of personas we have here," Prudence uttered, not hiding the chiding nature behind it. A blind, old woman, two hapless men (though she will grant the newcomer had some skill, albeit his gender made him less deserving of praise), and a werewolf woman. But they all had the cloak and the amulet.

"Perchance we can save the introductions for another time. We may move onward as previously intended." In truth, Prudence wanted to move on to getting back home. This place was causing her concern.

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The three Green Eyed Ones encircled you three. Had you not already caught on, three is an important number mystically. Sometimes, it refers to the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone. In this case, you Klara would be the Maiden - young and full of innocence; Carolina, you would be the Mother, reaching the height of your power; and you Jack would be our old wise Crone, your face marred with wrinkles and spots. If I ever felt a calling to plastic surgery, it would be in order to administer the botox that you desperately need, my old friend.

"I think we will keep it," the Green Eyed Ones hissed. The child had been put down, with a broken bone in the process. That was a shame. They preferred intact bones for their decor.

"You have no power here, Sorcerer Supreme," they spat, their glowing green eyes zeroing in on Jack.

Carolina, you would feel a ghost of lips on your ear, whispering softly. No one else could hear what you did. It was a special sort of sense that no one else had. "I'm waiting for you, love," the voice beckoned. "Come and see." I am certain I do not need to tell you whose voice this is.

"In fact, I think we are hungry... for more," the Green Eyed Ones exclaimed. Klara had been striped of her soul, meaning most of her nutritional value was gone. Carolina was off the menu, protected by Witchfire. That left you, Jack, as the option for their snack.

The three pounced on you - one of them ended up getting knocked aside by the others, getting in the way. The other two attempted to grab you, to sink their bony fingers into your chest and devour your soul, but they only succeeded in scratching you. Lengthy, bleeding wounds appeared on your chest and cheek.



You lost a far amount of time, Madalyne, during your discussion with the demon Vernath. I can only hope that it is not yet too late for your mortal soul, that you will not be condemned to follow in his dark footsteps. But I fear it is already too late.

When you awake, you are no longer in the woods. Instead, you are chained in what looks like the dungeon of a castle. Your arms and legs are shackled, chained to the wall. There are bars, lined with silver, designed to prevent your escape. I wish I could say that it was silent, there in the dark. But it is not.

You hear Ananym's screams. "Please, stop, noooo!!!!"

Maybe a minute passes. Or maybe it's an hour. But the door opens, revealing a tall, stupid looking demon. Sym. You've met him before. You aren't friends.

Sym snorted. "Boss says I have to give you a choice. Join or die," Sym explains. "But I gotta be honest - I've been wantin' to torture the shit out of you for a while." He has a spiked club in his hand and he eyes you, smiling toothily. "So what'd'ya say, Maddie?"

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Runa was not irritated to hear Max reveal their old name - it was nice in some ways to hear it said again. And should any of her new companions attempt to use it against her, well, she knew their names. It was mutually assured destruction. "Yes, I imagine it may very well be longer for me," Runa mused. The last time they had seen Max, well... Only one of them had walked away from that encounter. But she really was pleased to see him, just as she was pleased to see Edus.

It was helpful that neither of them knew the extent of the actions they had taken. Neither of them even knew whose bones made up the staff that Runa held tightly, her fingers having worn groves into the marrow. Most Midgardian marriage vows said till death do us part - Runa had not included that sentence in their vows. Even though their husband had ascended, they kept a part of him with them.

She imagined Edus and Max may not approve.

The versions of them she had killed certainly had objected to a lot of things she had done.

Runa didn't answer Max as to how she was - they were pretty certain that Max would form his own opinions, given their appearance. The missing eyes was a big one. And the signs of old age and seeming frailty. The fight had stopped, thanks to Max's spellwork, and she could hear the sounds of Annika viciously ripping one of the remaining demons to shreds. They smiled. It was nice to see the young ones having fun.

"Yes, we should press on - and find this Witchfire," Runa agreed. She was mildly amused with Prudence's discomfort - it shone through in the sorceress' voice. "They may be responsible for Stephen's death - and for our coming to this realm." They paused for a moment, considering. Then, they reached into their pockets and produced their bag of runes. The runes were carved, allowing them to feel the symbols under their finger tips.

Runa reached into the bag, concentrating and focusing. There was a simple question to ask - where was Witchfire?

They drew ōþila. Heritage, estate, possession. And in their mind's eye, they saw it. A castle on a hill, illuminated by lightning strikes. "We are looking for a castle, old and terrible," Runa explained calmly to the others.

The rest would not need much more description, as while Runa could not see it, they could. In the distance, there was a tall imposing structure on a mountain, with an ominous cliff. It was the castle of Runa's vision. The lair of Witchfire.

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Those slashes were quite unpleasant… Blood dripped from his chest as Jack stumbled back. He did not bleed the same color as an ordinary person. No, his blood was an oily black, like fresh ink yet to dry. Jack managed to keep his footing with a defiant smirk on his face. Lately, the magical energy in Limbo had been shifting. The universe it was anchored to was like a song, and the individual worlds within were notes. The harmony was slowly decaying, no doubt due to the Veil itself decaying. If he were to open a portal to somewhere safe, perhaps to the Twilight Pass for a strictly brief rest, then there was no guarantee that Jack, the woman, and the now injured child wouldn’t end up on Hala, or inside the corpse of one of the dead gods Jack has been to before. But there was an advantage to be found in most disadvantages. The song was heard by all, and all were one in the cosmic harmony of existence. And so, Jack weaponizes this truth.

Jack channeled his magic, and struggled at first. Even as the metaphorical melody was falling apart, there was a cause that could be diagnosed. He strained for a moment, and latched onto the right “note.” In doing so, he practically cackled in the faces of the Green Eyes Ones. His shadowy hand fumed like a smoking volcano.

”Oh… You sad wretches would not understand power if you consumed the soul of all the gods to ever live. Power is simply too far out of your grasp, that is why you cling to the vestiges of life you steal from others… To pretend you have a sense of meaning in your existence. I cast you out, into the everlasting abyss.”

Sparks of shadow energy formed under the feet of the necromantic beings, forming into tears through reality, through which they fell.



They sunk through the portals like quicksand, and were swallowed away into what Jack assumed was an ocean of shadows. Where they actually went was a mystery. But he didn’t care. He despised things like the Green Eyed Ones.

Once the portals shut, Jack looked down at his shirt, now stained with blood that smelled far too strong than it realistically should have.

”This is going to sting tomorrow… I am sorry for your soul, child. If it were possible to reclaim it, then I would have… There are many ways to live a good life without one.” Jack reached into the cloak’s pocket and withdrew a leather bound book, inscribed with incomprehensible markings. He flipped through it for a moment and then snapped it shut again, having verified something.

”If you do wish to hunt your soul down again, you would need to kill the Green Eyed One, which is virtually impossible, as you both noticed…” Tje adrenaline from bamboozling the demented creature was finally wearing off. ”Im sorry, I know this must be sudden. did not know I would be here. I opened a portal and apparently took a wrong turn. My name is Jack Hawthorne, a fellow sorcerer supreme, like both of you and several others. Do either of you know a healing spell? I don’t.”

This was his favorite shirt, too..

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"Well, I don't know how many of those may be in this place. But we can see one in the distance now." He gave a brief description for Runa. He then held out his arm again, gently brushing hers so she would know he was there for her again. Assuming the Indigenous woman had not been with Max, that put the number of Sorcerer Supremes currently running around at a minimum of seven. What had Strange done? And to have pulled three of them from the same group but at vastly different times was...odd. Max was from the earliest time of their group, Runa easily from the farthest into the future. Why? Had Strange messed up? Or was it on purpose?

"Those fiends, when they attacked, said death to the Sorcerer Supreme and long live witchfire. That is why we believe they have something to do with all of this." Ed quickly explained to Max. They had known each other for three years. Had worked on the same team. Ed had almost forgotten the way they had met...or at least met on his end of things. His ease of interacting with Max was almost second nature to him, all that time...but to Max it hadn't happened yet.

He glanced at the woman, who was currently a werewolf, could she change back on her own? Was this normal? He hadn't focused on it during the fight, but now that all the other fiends were gone he wondered why she hadn't gone back to her human form. Also, he should properly introduce himself to her once she had.

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Annika scented the air, but the smell of blood and iron was too strong for her to get a read on anything else. She took a couple of steps back, bending her legs so she was hunched. Her mind started to feel fuzzy, the beginning signs of nearing her limit. She would lose that part of her if she didn’t return to human. Annika hadn’t thought she had been transformed long, but perhaps time in this world worked differently.

Whining, Annika retreated a few steps and attempted to change back to her two-legged form. Her mind circulated old memories of hunting and gathering with her grandmother. She felt an intense heat, and a shiver of effort shook her body. No longer was there a werewolf amongst the four humans but another woman who looked slightly dishevelled but no worse for the wear.

”Kwehkwe, you are new to us,” Annika greeted the newcomer. ”Thank you for healing me.” Human once more, Annika could comprehend what was being discussed easily and contribute to the conversation. In the distance was the castle at hand. Annika nodded and fell into easy steps with the group.

As they walked, Annika examined her hands. She could still feel the remnants of claws and sinew between her teeth. Instinctively, she touched her teeth, but nothing remained there. In fact, there was no evidence on her that she had ever been in battle.

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Carolina was on edge when the Green Eyed Ones started to surround the three of them, they didn't seem to have any interest in her at all for whatever reason she still didn't know though the Green Eyed One seemed to know who Witchfire was. Klara landed on the ground with a loud thud and heard something crack. Then the Green Eyed One suddenly lunged forward and tried to go for the new comer cutting him slightly but missed. Then Jack decided to use his own magic and they were all suddenly gone leaving the three of them and the two demon horses in the room alone.

"Are you okay Klara?" Carolina asked as she looked at her, she was worried about her she didn't know what else to do to help her and the new person introduced himself as Jack Hawthorn. Carolina turned to look at him seeing his wounds sadly she didn't know any healing spells for him and shook her head. "I don't know any sadly." Carolina said, she decided to keep her inability to use magic to herself. Carolina felt a familiar voice whisper into her ear and quickly turned around but didn't see anyone nearby at all. "See if there is anything that can be used as a bandage or something." Carolina suggested as she went over towards the two horses that they had rode in on and gently tried to wake them up.

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Madalyne slowly started to come to letting out a slight groan as she tried to move her arms and legs, only to feel them chained to a wall she had no idea how she got here or how long she had been out for thanks to the conversation she had with her father. But her head was pounding and the room still felt like it was spinning, she could hear Ananym's voice crying out. "I'm here Ananym." Madalyne yelled out to her hopefully the girl could hear her, she tried to tug at the chains once more but it was no use. The doors to her cell were made of silver as she started to try and look for something else to use to break free.

She wasn't sure how long it was but the door to her cell finally opened turning to see a familiar face, the last time she had been in Limbo she managed to beat him in a fight. "Long time no see you dumbass." Madalyne said as she stared him down they were not friends at all, whoever his new boss was they demanded her to join but she had no interest in it at all. "How about you let me and Ananym go and I won't kick your ass this time. Also no i'm not interested in joining whoever your new boss is either who are they anyway?" She asked.

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The universe seemed to be not too thrilled at the moment, and she rolled her eyes a bit, "If you actually gave a damn about anyone other then your own skin since you only got a few scratches then you wouldn't have done that. But whose to say anything else at the moment," she commented, as she was standing there, holding her sword in her hand, before without too much effort, she instantly pointed it directly at Jack. "Those injuries are nothing compared to what can potentially happen, especially since you and the other one who sort of abandoned us here are probably going to have all of Asgard coming after you."

"I'm Klara, daughter of Thor and princess of Asgard, and Goddess of Love and the Ocean. Ironically I could help heal you at least to take the pain away and some of the injuries, but why would I? Personally there's no reason for me to actually help you. You just randomly show up, then the instant you got scratched you suddenly decided the fight wasn't worth attempting to continue even though usually you probably could figure out a way to kill that thing. Especially since everything can technically be killed, well sort of. And death and destruction can only be postponed, not completely stopped. So there probably is a way, to me nothing actually is impossible so everything is worth trying." she commented with a shrug, still pointing her sword at him. Though it seemed to have a very faint glow of a black color to it.

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let it be known Prudence was only going along with the group for two major, though very different, reasons. The first was because she wanted to get out of whatever messed up world this place was. home was not ideal in her estimations, but it served its purpose. She had a roof, food, time spent to herself and her interests, and she was left alone by others, especially the horrible men in her village. This place had thrust her with not just one but two men who, in her opinion, served very little purpose. Sure the younger looking one seemed to have some power to back up his words, but he seemed...sloppy. The other didn't seem to do much at all apart from some shield and healing magic. What would have occurred had it been just him on his own facing demons? A shield could only last so long. Weak men.

The second reason had to do with why she drank from the cup and its consequences. She imagined her newly acquired fangs were part of the result, but she got the feeling there was more to it. Power. Craveable power and she was close to getting it. This Witchfire that everyone seemed hell-bent on finding could be that next step. So Prudence would play along for now.

The old woman seemed very competent. At least there was another amongst them. The other woman, the werewolf, was an enigma, though if they faced more enemies, Prudence would prefer to have power at her side and a werewolf was power. The old woman called for a castle and they soon came upon one.

It felt very predictable.

"I expect we will be dealing with more demons or some other such nuisance so I suggest we prepare ourselves for more fighting. Come up with more useful magicks, as a suggestion."

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Max felt like an ass now. He'd remembered seeing Carolina, though she'd mentioned things that hadn't happened yet, Runa was clearly much older than when he'd met her last, and here was someone who knew him but he hadn't known back, another peak into what was to come for him. All else fell to the wayside for now. The lone demon being ripped apart by a vicious werewolf was but distant sound as Max searched for the words to mend something he may have just broken. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly through his mask before breaking into a light jog to catch up to Ed as he pressed forward. "I'm…I'm sorry Ed. I didn't mean for it to come off that way, I should've known you'd be from my future, so far every sorcerer I've met here in Limbo has been someone further in time from me. Well…save for one." He didn't know if he should mention Klara was here. He didn't want them to think he abandoned her when the reality was something stranger than fiction.

Max listened intently as Ed explained the current situation to him. He thought of the name he had given, Witchfire, rummaging through his mind to see if any study or mention of the name had ever come by him before all of this. But nothing. Whoever this was, it was a new player added to their Smash roster that promised to liven things up for them. Twice now he'd heard the name, once when the Green Eyed One grabbed hold of Carolina, and another just now. His attention turned to the human turned lupine turned human. They appeared to be fine, though he didn't quite catch the first word she spoke to him. "Kwehkwe? Uh, my name's Max." he managed to cough up awkwardly. Everything was happening so fast, he could hardly make heads or tails of it. "This is the second mention of this Witchfire I've heard of today. Anyone have an idea of who they are? What they are?" Max asked the group allowed before pausing for a moment and looking towards the woman who mentioned their magic. "My imagination is my limit, so by all means if you wish to think of something, be my guest."

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The wounds on your chest continued to bleed Jack, showing no sign of clotting. To my trained eye, I would recommend applying even pressure immediately. Otherwise, you may find yourself bleeding to death. Having another Sorcerer Supreme perish in Limbo today would be tacky. Although I am sure that some of the demons would rejoice in such a thing - and perhaps one of your fellow Sorcerers Supreme would enjoy lapping at the strange black blood gushing from your body.

It is truly too bad your group does not have a doctor - you are all in dire need of one.

Carolina, a glance through the window shows that the skeletal horses Butter Rum and Mercymorn are tied up outside to a post of sorts. The horses are awake and alert, pawing at the ground nervously. Mercymorn turns her gaze, looking at you through the window. I guess the Green Eyed One can't come to the phone right now - why? because they're DEAD Mercymorn chattered into your mind.



There was no response from Ananym. The screams continue, unending in their agony. Perhaps you assume the worst. But I can assure you, the worst is yet to come.

Sym chuckled, amused at your bravado - and happy, as it gave him an excuse to hurt you. "How exactly are you going to kick my ass, when I'm here, and you're there?" he asked. "For example, I can do this-" he swings his spiked club, colliding with your left ankle - "and you can't do shit about it."

"The boss is none other than the prince of Limbo, Witchfire," Sym then added. "So I'll ask you again - are you in? Or are you out?"

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Runa nodded, feeling the brush of Edus' arm on her own. It was sweet of him. They took his arm, allowing him to guide them through the night. "Aye, that would be the one," she affirmed. Truthfully, they did not need his description to come to that conclusion. Some realms worked in the ways of stories, and while this one was filled with horrors, it seemed like they were being drawn to some sort of an inevitable conclusion. They had been guided here, brought here for some reason, some purpose. Stephen's death was only the beginning.

They kept this opinion to themselves though, not wanting to frighten the children.

She chuckled though, at Prudence's advice to come up with more useful magics. "You would not like my more useful spells, child," they chided gently. "What I truly weave is an affront to the gods - a heresy so grand that I have been cast out from my place in the heavens." She paused again, and smiled. "I will show you."

The battle had been awfully boring, after all. Perhaps it was time to stretch those muscles again and dabble with the dark forces.

Unfortunately, they had never heard of Witchfire before - and if they had, the name had long since been lost to time. "I am afraid not. I suspect a demon and the killer of poor Stephen. But the way ahead is unclear and I am blinded in more ways than one."

Time compressed and stretched. The small group would be at the foot of the mountain on which the castle stood in almost no time at all. All they had to do was climb.

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Carolina started to look around the room to see if there was some kind of bandage for Jack, unfortunately she couldn't find one as her attention turned to Mercymorn and Butter Rum. The two demon skeletal horses seemed to be awake and well which was good then when she could hear one of them speak into her mind. Which felt a bit unnerving and weird. But Carolina knew that this place was far from normal really as she continued to search for some kind of bandage.

She managed to find a patch of human skin, and shook slightly as she picked it up and turned to look at Jack and Klara who was pointing a sword at him. Carolina could understand Klara not being happy really at all after what had just happened to her mere minutes ago, she then made her way towards Jack. "Klara if you could heal him please, we need to work together here we were taken from our homes for no reason the sooner we work together the better our chances will be to get back home." Carolina said and then handed the creepy patch of skin to Jack. "I couldn't find any real bandages, I know it's creepy and weird probably maybe it'll help." Carolina said to Jack.

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Madalyne had never heard of Witchfire at all it seems like this person had taken over for Belasco she looked up and continued to glare at Sym as she was quietly chanting spell that could hopefully get her free from here. She suddenly would let out a loud cry in pain when Sym brought his club down onto her left ankle. Feeling the surge of pain going through her ankle and the rest of her body she looked down at her ankle it hurt like hell however there weren't any bones broken which was a good thing then.

"You hit like a four year old toddler c'mon I know you like a good challenge release me and I can kick your ass fairyly." Madalyne said hoping that Sym would just let her go. "And nope I am still not interested in helping you at all." Madalyne told him.

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Under any other circumstances, Jack would have laughed at the kid for pointing a sword at him. But right now, she must've been feeling a lot of things, so he let that slide. Though the notion that someone could kill him was very amusing.

"Love, and the ocean... Ah, are you related to Freya and Aegir? Or perhaps Ran? She stole a book from me once." Ever the anecdotal one, Jack didn't seem too terribly worried about his current situation. Was he putting on a brave face for the kid's sake? So that she'd take a hint that there's nothing to fret over? Or was he just fine with this? "As for the Green Eyed One, they are not something one can simply "kill." I, personally, could not do so. And I do apologize for how this sounds, but when one has a broken arm, a sword is rather difficult to use against a deathless being." Truly, Jack was not trying to be rude, but it was just the truth. He looked down at the strange, glowing sword for a moment. "Unless of course, your sword is enchanted to subsume necromantic resonance. In which case, that would have been helpful to know beforehand."

Jack graciously accepted the skin from Carolina. Oddly enough, he wasn't creeped out or phased in the slightest. "This will work perfectly, thank you very much. Skin is surprisingly elastic when preserved by necromancing monstrosities. One moment-" Jack fully unbuttoned the tattered shirt with one hand and began kneading the skin in the middle with the other, essentially stretching it out. He then shrugged off the red cloak, and the wool coat he wore, which fell to the floor while the cloak simply floated. Now that his shirt was open, these two could see that the slash marks were far from the only physical harm he had been through. There were dozens of scars, remnants of burns and old skin abrasions. As he stretched the skin around his chest, he continued the conversation.

"As you were just saying- We aren't here for nothing. The Sorcerer Supreme of Earth has perished, and we are all candidates for his replacement. And there are more of us, at least two others named Madalyne and Annika. I'm assuming the one Klara mentioned is also one such person. It seems anyone with their own Cloak of Levitation is here for that reason. Though, I cannot say for certain exactly how many of us there are, as that title is usually passed directly down to one person. If a new Sorcerer Supreme is not chosen in a timely fashion, Earth will begin to collide with Limbo, and both worlds with fall to ruin like to ships crashing against one another, as Earth is invaded by infinite armies of demons."

He successfully finished tying down the dead skin, ensuring that the pressure was secured. He then picked up his coat, ensuring Ororo's acorn did not slip out, and then retrieved his cloak.

"All of us just happen to be the lucky ones tasked with preventing that calamity," He concluded, sardonically, before looking around this ugly room.

"Personally, I would be more than happy to incinerate this hideous excuse for a dwelling, but we have more important things to worry about. I will accompany both of you wherever we go for the remainder of this journey. By my estimation, we should have..." He pulled out his enchanted watch to take a guess. It was about 3am when he was originally cast into Limbo. "Approximately twenty two hours to see this madness through. More than enough time to find the new Sorcerer Supreme of this world and request her assistance, if we find ourselves travelling to her sanctum." Jack wasn't personally familiar with Magik, but she was known by many for a reason.

"I realize my presence may be startling, after what you two have just experienced, but fate has brought us all together in this world. For better or for worse. The night has only just begun, but I will do all that I can to see that it does not last forever."

God, that sounded so damn corny, coming from the umbramancer in the room. But it was the truth.

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Ed wanted to ask Max some questions. Wanted the easy friendship that had taken months to form but had lasted. Jokes over Dungeons and Dragons. Chatting about magic. But all he could bring himself to do was nod, not even the smile he wanted to give him. As it felt like a countdown timer that he had known about since the day he met Max was clicking down the last minutes, hours if he was lucky.

He didn't even let Prudence's prickly comments bother him. The shield had been his main weapon for his whole life. His family didn't kill with magic. None of his spells should be able to. But he had had ideas since he had been in an alternate reality and met a broken version of himself. A version that had been willing to break the family laws.

And Ed knew that this place would be where he broke them.

He would ensure the world was safe for his children.

The 5 of them were soon at the base of the mountain. He considered offering to carry Runa, or put her on a shield and let her float up the mountain. He decided he'd wait. If she started to fall behind and stumble he would. He wouldn't leave her behind. He needed at least one person who knew him beside him.

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Lightning continued to flash around them as they walked, seemingly unable to connect with anything. Annika’s hands came into focus during one flash, but they weren’t hers. The paws had returned, but with the next flash, they were gone again. Annika flipped her hands over and back, blinking rapidly. Was that simply a trick of the light or something more?

Wolves were aplenty in her home. She had always found them to be gentle creatures, holding the soul of the world within their very eyes. Their pack dynamics were fascinating. Her people had learned how to hunt by watching the way wolves did; however, whatever she had turned into was nothing like the wolf.

Annika didn’t realize they had reached the castle until she stumbled into someone. She looked up to see the older woman. Annika’s eyes widened, and she bowed her head, apologising profusely.

”I am sorry for my carelessness, Grandmother,” she said respectively.

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Prudence gave a once-over to the newest addition to their little group. Max or whoever he was. "If your magic is limited to your imagination I daresay we are all doomed. Worry less about what others want and focus more on your own thoughts." Prudence wasn't even referring to him when she made the comment, but if the silly boy took it that way, it was his own undoing.

It was the other man in the group, Ed, that she was trying to provoke. A shield was good in some aspects, and she was willing to swallow her pride for a moment and admit the shield helped them when it needed to, but she got the feeling this fight was far from over and a shield would only do so much. At least Max was able to contribute to the battle. She could tell he was trying not to let her words get under his skin. "IF we face this Witchfire and another fight ensues, we shall see how your shield fares. Defense may be good strategy in some instances, but when your allies around you lay battered and hurt, potentially dying, you will ask yourself if it was enough and the answer will and always will be no."

Their journey looked perilous, but what about this plain wasn't? "We move onward then." Prudence wondered why the old woman was so against not sharing all she had at her disposal. That made Prudence on edge and she hated being on edge. Was this woman an ally or was she leading the sheep to a slaughter?

Either way, Prudence would be prepared.

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"No, though I do know them. My grandfather is Odin the All-Father, grandmother is Frigga who also has begun teaching me some magic, well, learning from both her and my uncle Loki. Though sword play is a rather simple thing, not to mention I can use my other arm. People do have two arms you know. What's the whole point of having another arm if I can't use it to fight with my sword. I've been training with the weapon since I could hold one in my hand," she snapped at him, completely ignoring the whole fact that what Carolina was saying how they needed to help each other out.

As if to mock him a little bit, she reached down by her side and opened up the flask of water that she had there. Manipulating the water with her powers, a stream swirled around and started to glow as it wrapped around her broken arm. It took a little bit of her trying to cast the magic and to get it to work, but after a little while, the arm mended a bit. So it wasn't super broken, at least that it had been healing for a few weeks. The water swirled around in her hand again and went back into the flask at her side as she shut the lid. "Remind me why I should help him? Not to mention you aren't exactly one to talk," she said towards Carolina now, "By Asgardian standards, and I'm guessing Midgard standards I'm fairly young, so when against some really bad thing why would instead of choosing to do something to help and instead decided to just not do something when it had been made apparent to literally everyone that the Green Eyed One wasn't going to hurt you. So no, I'm not healing him. Plus you say everyone should work together when you didn't really do anything and then the other guy who was with us abandoned us completely." Yup, she was not in the mood to deal with everyone around her right now. The feeling and emptiness was a bit overwhelming at the moment, and she had no idea what to even seemingly do at the moment to fix it. So lashing out at people instead for having not actually been helpful was what she had settled on doing.

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Max thought on Runa's comment. He recalled her powers back in WandaWorld, how she'd mentioned something about lies and how she spoke them into existence. Frankly he hadn't fully understood it all, it read like an Asgardian FairyTale. But he knew enough to know the darkness that was inside her back then, the way she willingly called upon Dormommuu (who he later learned was not a very good guy) to bolster her own strength to take out James. But, if her new attire (and age) were anything to go by, then she would seem to be on a journey of self discovery. He couldn't see a speck of black on her, though he felt the grey was ill fitting. She deserved white, she deserved her completion. Didn't she?

Ed hadn't said anything to Max. If anything it was as if Max was a knife in his side, uncomfortable and painful to even be around. It hurt him to think he'd ruined a relationship somewhere down the line, that he did something to unnerve Ed. But Max didn't have the strength to ask. He simply made his way past the pair, wrapping his arms around Runa in a tight hug. Something she seemed she hadn't had in millenia. "I'll help Runa up the cliff, I'm sure each of your magics should be more than enough to help yourselves." Max went to cast the spell when he stopped just before and looked towards Ed. "And Ed…I'm sorry for whatever I've done." With that the spell took place, Max swirled with cosmic dust as he floated up the cliff with Runa in his arms before placing them both atop it.

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Oh, Jack. You do have what would be an excellent plan - to go recruit the aid of Miss Rasputina. I had been summoned to Limbo under the pretense that she needed my aid in squashing a rebellion. It had been a lie, a trick used to lure me to my grave. Magik is not in Limbo. I do not think she knows what is happening here - and I do not think you will be able to reach her. I wish I could tell you this, but I am forbidden from interfering. All I can do is watch. I cannot council you three to stay together. I cannot give you advice on your quest.

I am no longer Stephen Strange, Sorcerer Supreme. I belong to Death.

Hey, come and untie us! Butter Rum prompted in your minds.

Yeah, let's get out of this fucking nightmare place, Mercymorn echoed in agreement. The skeletal horses were staring through the window hopefully.



Sym stared at you for a moment, Madalyne, as if he were actually considering it. But he did not achieve his position in Limbo by being an idiot. "How about I add more shackles?" he sneered. He spat in your face. Ananym's screams rose to a crescendo, before abruptly falling off. "Aww, show's over I guess," Sym lamented. "We'll eat her tonight - and it'll all be because you said no."

He brought down his spiked club again, this time connecting with your kneecap. The pain is horrible. Like it or not, a scream escapes through your lips. Sym raises the club, about to bash in your skull, only to stop suddenly. Another demon has entered the torture chamber.

"Lord Sym, the Sorcerers Supreme are here - they've approached the castle," the demon squeaked.

Sym paused for a moment, before letting a deep laugh out of his belly. He looked at you. "Waste not, want not, right?" he said.

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Runa felt someone walk into her, and she stumbled forward clumsily. She caught herself with her staff, using it to gain traction. The voice behind her apologized - Annika. In Annika's native tongue, she said: "it is alright, little one." Annika, much like Prudence, reminded Runa somewhat of her own daughters. They were part of the shadows now, forever suspended above in the heavens, freed of the crushing wheel of fate and destiny.

She could no longer dry their tears. Their heart ached in that moment, but they had no one but themselves to curse. No one else to blame. They had broken the cycle. They had formed the shadow god out of the aspect of every single person they loved. She had set them free. She had imprisoned herself in their place.

Prudence was bold and quippy, whereas Annika was courageous and reserved. She adored them both. She hoped she didn't have to kill them.

Weak, noodle like arms embraced her. She smelled a fine perfume. Max then. They snorted slightly. "It is nice to see you, too," they quipped. They knew it wasn't a greeting hug though - or even one designed for comfort. They knew it the moment their feet left the ground, and they felt a sense of weightlessness, of upward propulsion. It wasn't long until her feet found purchase on the ground again.

She didn't need to be able to see the castle - she could feel it now, the waves of pure evil emanating off of it. "Something is wrong here," they sensed. They reached a withered old hand out, as if they could see through gnarled fingers. "Our enemy is not what she seems."

The doors to the castle opened. A demonic hoard appeared. It was led by a Sorcerer Supreme. It was led by Madalyne Crane.

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Grandchild of Odin, niece of Loki. An unfortunate heritage, in Jack's opinion. "Perhaps you could. Though, I wouldn't recommend it. Bones have a way of being... Loud about their state of being broken when thrown about in such away." He watched her pool out water from a source, and use it to heal her arm. In all honesty, Jack wasn't a particularly big fan of godly magic in any capacity. Though, he still would have appreciated it. Nevertheless, this was an angry child who just lost her soul, so he was willing to cut her some slack for acting the way she did. Even if Jack had little patience for most kids.

"The Green Eyed One choosing not to attack someone is normal. They often prefer to collect souls through a bargain, rather than force. They're a slimy wretch, not unlike a con artist of earth... Does anyone else hear that voice?" Jack walked over to the ugly window of this ugly house, and saw the skeletal horses outside. Tied, up, they didn't want to be here, it seemed. And Jack could just tell that they weren't happy with their human companions lingering. "It would seem that we have a more reliable method out of here than by portals," He opened the window, and responded to the horses. "Greetings... I hope you can understand me. I did not know you two were out here. The three of us need to find answers, which lie far from this disgusting abode. Will you join us?" Jack didn't actually know whether or not the horses spoke english, or if their voices were even words, and not just a conveyance of the idea of retreat. But he didn't want to teleport again, and he couldn't fly that fast these days. Besides, it might give the kid some time to cool off while they rode a horse.

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Ed didn't respond to Prudence. Not right away. He watched as Runa and Max floated to the top of the cliff, and then turned to Prudence. His face was that of someone who knew their death would come soon, and it would not be a kind one.

"Nothing we ever do will be enough. There will always be someone who wants to take from you." This man had known death and had lost loved ones. He had once shielded his heart from caring again, but that had not worked. Now he found himself here.

He waved his hand, and a small platform appeared. It was not big enough for even one of them, maybe 4 inches in diameter. He held up his other hand and after placing both hands together he pulled them apart. The shield expanded some. It wasn't large, but it was big enough. He stepped onto it and offered his hand to the indigenous woman; he did not offer a hand to Prudence. Once all who cared to join him on the platform were on it; he raised it up to the top of the cliff.

"More demons." It was interesting that it was another Sorcerer Supreme leading them. What a choice. Ed prepared himself.