Oh no! One of my plot bunnies escaped his pen! Oh well, at least it's an interesting one... Another MTG crossover (Even if Rise of the Artificer is just kind of inspired by Urza), that one goes with the bad guys! All hail Phyrexia! Also, if you have no basic knowledge of either MTG or the Wormverse, you should probably brush up on that before reading this. Just saying...

Also, Disclaimer: I don't own MTG, if I did, well it would have been Mirrodin Pure in place of New Phyrexia. Here. Said it.

1.1 Salvation

I'm worthless. That thought was running circles in my head as I laid on my bed starring at the ceiling, unblinking. My body was broken, my mind was crushed and my father was in prison for assault on Allan Barnes. In our world, powers came to people at their all time low, the worst day of my life. Maybe there was something to salvage from this situation. My hopes were nuked again as the Doctor gave me the results of my MRI. No Corona Pollentia, and that meant no powers. I would not be shooting lasers from my eyes in exchange for my life being reduced to ashes. So here I was, powerless, with no friends, no family, and a hospital bill that could not go on any longer. I was sent home with a couple of bottles of penicillin and a get well card.

At first, I was distraught. Then, I was angry. After the anger came the disgust. After a month, I lost complete faith in humanity. Oh, it wasn't because of what happened to me. Don't misunderstand me, the locker was horrific, but those responsible were still just three petty girls amongst a sea of other individuals. My father was responsible for his own actions and the school... well, there was a place like this everywhere. No, what really broke the camel's back was when Miss militia and Armsmaster, two of the most well known heroes of Brockton Bay came into my room as I was still in the hospital to make me sing some kind of NDA. Because apparently, Sophia fucking Hess was Shadow Stalker! Well, as they say, society is only as good as it's Heroes. That tells so much about our own that it's not even funny. I told them to go hang themselves before calling the nurse saying that there were intruders in my room. When I was released, I filed for emancipation and obtained it almost instantly. They let me keep the house, meaning I had to continue paying the bills.

I got a bit of money from the school and if I stopped paying for the cable and trash disposal, I could keep the house for another two months before running out of money then I'll be on the streets. Well, it could be worse! Yeah, good going Taylor, you fell for that first law of Murphy and hard about that... All what can go wrong will go wrong. Sighing, I get up and look in my library for something to read. Hm. 'Invictus', by William Ernest Henley. Not surprised to find that kind of literature, mom was a teacher and had a truckload of those books before she died. As I open the book at a random page, a sealed envelope falls from between the pages. My thought process freezes as I realize I recognize that handwriting. Mom's curly cursive, neat as always. Reverently, I unseal the envelope to gain access to it's content, a letter.

Hey little Owl,

if you're writing this and I'm still alive, you better put it down and call me right now! If I am dead, please don't mind those instructions. If your father's there, well hi Danny. If not, I'll presume something happened as well. In that case, know that I'm sorry. Okay. You know that when I was younger, I was one of Lustrum's followers? Well, when I was younger, I met a man who did not give me his name. I gave him a hand as he was having trouble with a bear. To thank me, he gifted me a vial and a set in instructions before vanishing. Come to think about it, he probably was a parahuman... Well, whatever. Before disappearing, he told me to use it only if there was no more hope and if I lost fate in humanity. Since you read this, it means I never had to use it and i pray you'll never need to use it either. Remember i will always...

I tried to read farther but the letters looked like they were all smudged with...water? Tears? Frowning, I realized I was crying. I don't know how long I spent just laying there, sobbing while holding the letter close to my chest. When, after a couple of hours I felt calm again, I started to make my way to the old coal cellar that mom had indicated in the instructions joined to the letter.

After half an hour walking, stumbling, hobbling and stubbing my toes on every surfaces imaginable, I reach my destination with only a few new bruises to add to my collection. Taking a deep breath, I push the heavy door open, revealing a barren room filled by a lone desk, upon which sat a vial containing both the most disgusting and beautiful thing I ever seen. A black, silky looking liquid shimmering under an unseen light. It looked like it was moving, but not at the same time. I look around, spotting a frame on the wall, containing the instructions given by the stranger to my mother. Preparing myself mentally, I debuted the Aria, as per instructions

"Here upon this untainted land stands an imperfect being"
"Oh Father of the Machines, hear my plea"
"For I am offering to your might this world"

Blood started to pound to my head as all other sounds died around me.

"I submit myself to your dominion"
"Oh glorious Sovereign of worlds"
"And take within me the glory of Phyrexia!"

As those words were said, I uncorked the vial before downing the liquid, who seemed to spread in my entire body as I finished the Aria.

"And so, with this blessing"
"I offer this world to you "
"Yawgmoth, Father of the Machines!"

At this moments, every single person on the planet heard the sound of drums beating thrice before a wave of power rippled across the globe. When the wave touched me, The liquid reacted within me, thrumming with power as my consciousnesses was linked to something... greater. "Your offering has been accepted by the Father of the Machines. As you are the only Phyrexian agent of this plane, you have been elevated to the rank of Praetor. May the glory of Phyrexia shines upon you." "And upon you." I answer automatically, being provided with the right answer by the Glistening Oil in my body.

As the link closed, my connection to the Glistening Oil strengthened, giving me access to all the information pertaining to the role of a Praetor and the magic accessible to us. On that day, I died. From the ashes of my broken and battered human body emerged Tay'lhor, The Tide of Nightmares and Black Praetor of Earth.

Damn I had a blast writing this. Such fun. Anyways, if you liked, just R&R! Thanks for reading!