1. Emperor's New Clothes

A resonance of tinkling bells drifted through the gelid air. Thunder rumbled lowly through the overhead clouds. The monsoon darkened the roiling sky. A stiff zephyr swept the evening's bitter chill into Kamar-Taj's crevices. A soft drizzle slid its way across the worn ground of the site's empty courtyard; where students usually conjoined to practice and discuss their teachings was instead a silent, eerie space devoid of all except black rainfall. The students had sought refuge from the approaching storm by slipping inside the safety of Kamar-Taj's walls; however, their absence provided the opportunity for an unwelcome presence to infiltrate their sanctuary. A shadowy figure stepped across the abandoned quad.

The roaring wind uprooted speckled leaves that had settled in the corners of the courtyard, sending them into a crazed flurry. A milky moon peeked past the thick cloud cover, but despite the resurgence of light, darkness continued to seep into Kamar-Taj.

Gongs burst through the weather's noise. Their booming beat bespoke the anxiety of the drummers, who both saw and felt the danger emanating from the entity striding across the courtyard. The alarm reverberated through Kamar-Taj's vast network of structures, startling many tenants from their slumber.

Students flooded the area, their frantic footsteps pattering against the moist cobblestone. Descending the few steps outlining the perimeter of the quad, they weaved into a tight circle around the intruder. Palms were raised, relics were readied, and energy was focused. The being amidst them paused at the prospect of adversaries.

"You are trespassing."

The students parted to allow their master into their ranks. Wong strode through the mass of disciples to confront the intruder. His hands were clasped firmly at the small of his back, where he surreptitiously sheltered the Wand of Watoomb. His boots pounded the pathway with every deliberate footfall. Wong stopped a few paces from the shadow creature and quietly demanded an answer.

Where there had been a blank, sloe visage, a red smile stretched the width of its face. Eye sockets burst alive with a violent cacophony of colors. Its maw opened to reveal ebony fangs and a cauldron of crackling fire. Dark, defined arms rose, the palms of its claws cupped upwards as though physically manipulating its power. The being's talons twitched, and with this slight prompt, its body began to morph. Its skin bubbled, the rapid regurgitation of its form adding length and bulk to its limbs. The entity began to grow.

Fire flickered into existence at the ends of its expanding limbs, licking its feet and claws. The mystical blaze hissed and snapped under the assault of the light rainfall. First blue, the element climbed up the being's limbs and erupted with red and yellow flames that danced along its black flesh. The emblazoned skin rippled in a phenomenon like the rippling of disturbed water. The intruder flexed its powerful, enormous talons, which grew in unison with multitudes of protruding spikes. These sharp extensions curved to encase the entity in form-fitting, substantial armor. The fire crept up the massive chest of its master and settled as an omnipresent inferno. It engulfed every stretch of skin, every fracture in the jagged mail, and with an eruption, the conflagration consumed the creature's head.

Only when the entity towered a dozen meters above Kamar-Taj's occupants did its growth stop. It rolled its shoulders back, dispersing its magic, and raised its claws. With deliberate movements, it grasped the roofs of the towers on either side of it. Chunks of stone and mortar crumbled. The students froze, paralyzed by both the being's physical might and the unseen assault of godly power crushing their spirits. Wong remained stubbornly impassive, refusing to be intimidated.

"Tell your Sorcerer Supreme I have come," Dormammu bellowed. "He will face me; I will destroy him; and your world and its souls will have the privilege of joining my Dimension."