Chapter 7

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. All other concepts and ideas from other books or stories belong to their respective authors. No copyright infringement is intended.

Sanctum Sanctorum, Greenwich Village

Harry ran back into the house with Jean on his heels. They had spent a few minutes trying to find any clues as to Wanda's kidnappers at the site of her kidnapping but found little except the stench of dark magic having been used. Harry also felt as if the magic was...old was the only word he could use to describe it. As if whoever used it wasn't from their time and they way they used it wasn't quite right. As if it was an older style of casting magic.

Harry shook off his thoughts as he ran into his room with Jean hesitantly following as she cleaned her eyes of tears. Jean watched as Harry seemed to dart from place to place in his room, gathering materials of some kind. It was only when he started to take out some battle robes his father had bought and take off his sweatpants that she blushingly spoke. "H-Harry! Don't change with a girl in the room!"

Harry seemed to realize that Jean was still in the room and blushed but continued to put on some jeans and a crimson t-shirt. "Sorry but we need to hurry and try to rescue Wanda. I doubt whoever it was wanted her for benevolent reasons if they manipulated you and her to fight so much that she'd leave the safety of the mansion."

Jean looked confused and hopeful. "Huh? Manipulated us? You mean... someone controlled us?"

Harry nodded absentmindedly as he put on his robes and started to put some silver knives in his pockets. "Yeah. You said you heard a voice in your head and that makes me think that someone used their powers to aggravate your negative feelings enough to cause the fight. They couldn't outright control you two due to the training we've put you through but they could indirectly cause problems by intensifying negative feelings beyond normal."

Jean looked thoughtful before a determined look came to her face. "Then I'm coming with you. It's still partially my fault for not controlling my emotions and she's my friend too."

Harry was about to argue but stopped when he saw the determined look on her face. Harry sighed before nodding. "Alright, but hurry up and get dressed. Take only what you need since I have an idea for finding Wanda and we'll need to go light. We'll meet in the living room."

Jean nodded before hesitating slightly. "Shouldn't we tell Wong? I mean, he can help us right?"

Harry shook his head. "Wong has no mystical training and he'd probably try to stop us. Dad is out of reach and I have no idea where our teachers stay when they're not here so they're out too. Looks like we're on our own."

Jean bit her lip and nodded before running toward her room to get ready. Once Harry was ready, he walked out of his room and toward Wong's room where he placed a silencing charm around his room. It would keep him from hearing them and waking up as they got ready for transport. With that done, Harry took a deep breath before walking toward the living room.

Harry became steadily more and more nervous as he walked toward his goal and only hoped Agamotto was feeling helpful right now. He entered the living room and saw the case that was his goal. Harry gulped before walking towards it and opening the case, revealing its contents.

The Orb of Agamotto.

His father had explained that the Orb has the ability to show every location where the Sorcerer Supreme is needed to combat dark forces. For some reason, the Ancient One had given it to his father, saying he had no need for it since he could do it himself. This was further evidence to the fact that his father would be Sorcerer Supreme after the Ancient One passed but for now Harry wished to use its secondary function.

Its secondary function was the ability to contact Agamotto himself in his dimension, regardless of one's skill in the mystic arts. It wasn't recommended since Agamotto is often busy and contacting him for every little thing was a surefire way to annoy him enough to kill you. However, Harry would have to risk Agamotto's wrath because he was the only one with the knowledge and power to send him to Wanda.

Harry hesitantly touched the Orb before channeling magic into it and speaking. "A-Agamotto? I am sorry to bother you, milord, but I have an emergency and my father is not present. My friend was kidnapped by dark forces and considering her powers I doubt it was for benevolent purposes. Can you help me find her?"

All was silent for a few moments and Harry thought he had failed until he felt it all at once. An overwhelming presence that made Harry break out into a cold sweat and start to shiver. He managed to stay on his feet only through sheer willpower. After a minute, the presence receded although it didn't disappear completely.

"Hmmm... a child contacting me? Ah, the hubris of children nowadays. Yes, I heard you child but I doubt it is quite as important as you make it sound."

Harry gulped before speaking. "I don't wish to contradict you, sir, but my friend was literally sucked into a black portal that had dark tendrils pulling her into it. It also doesn't help that whoever it was, was powerful enough to bypass the defenses of the mansion enough to mentally and emotionally manipulate both my kidnapped friend and my other friend, both who have training in defending their minds."

It was silent as Agamotto mused on the information. "You say whoever it was managed to mentally bypass the Sanctum Sanctorum defenses and control two budding mystics? One of which is a powerful telepath and telekinetic, correct?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Hmmm... that's strange. I am connected to the defenses of the Sanctum Sanctorum and I didn't feel it. The power and skill necessary to escape my attention is considerable and only those on my level should be capable of it. Hmmmmm... perhaps this is as important as you make it sound. Let me try and find your friend."

It was silent for a few minutes and Jean entered the room while Harry waited. Suddenly, the atmosphere became more and more oppressive as Agamotto's frustration mounted. Finally, it reached a peak and Jean fell on her knees from Agamotto's presence while Harry only held on due to being connected to the Orb.

"This is impossible! I sense that your friend, Miss Maximoff, is still within this dimension but I cannot find her! None should be capable of escaping my sight! The only ones that could due it are..." It was silent for a moment before Agamotto's voice returned with a hint of agitation and urgency. "This is worse than you can imagine, young one. I know of only three that could block my sight so thoroughly. There are others that are capable but not against my full power of sight. Of the three, one would not deign to lower himself to it, one is imprisoned and the other... the other is beyond even my capabilities to stand against. Worse still is that I have my suspicions as to why she wants your friend and if I'm correct then if she succeeds then the balance of power in the mystical realm will shift toward evil. What a time for your father and the Sorcerer Supreme to both be out of reach! This is their job! But no matter, you and your friend will have to do. I can't see exactly where it is but I do know that it's underwater. I will open a portal to one who can take toward your friends location but it is up to you to convince him to help."

Harry gulped and nodded. "I understand, lord Agamotto and thank you."

The orb shined again. "You cannot stand against these enemies alone. I don't doubt that...whore will have her beloved "children" surrounding her as she's released so you'll need help. It's far too late to hope to stop her release but perhaps we can weaken her power base by destroying as many supporters as possible. Don't worry about her personally. There are ancient rules that prevent her from attacking you directly, just don't be stupid enough to challenge her directly. Trust me, she could turn you into nothing more than a memory with a flick of her fingers. Therefore, I shall give you a gift to help you on your journey."

There was a flash of blue light that blinded them for a moment. Once it receded and the stars left their vision, they saw a floating blue pebble similar to the Orb, just a lot smaller, floating in front of Harry. Harry hesitantly reached out and grabbed it before placing it in his robe pocket where it would be safe and easy to grab.

"That little blue pebble, once smashed on the floor, will allow me to manifest myself temporarily on your reality long enough to destroy your enemies. It won't be my full power but it should be enough."

Harry nodded and bowed his thanks. "Thank you, Agamotto. I would be lost without you."

The orb glowed blue and Harry could sense a hint of amusement in his tone. "Perhaps but I don't doubt you'd have found a way. You have great potential and I eagerly look forward to what you will become. That is clouded even from my vision but I can sense you will be great. How can you be anything but with the Rune of Fate/Victory on your brow?"

Harry gave a start and touched the lightning bolt scar on his forehead. "This? Fate/Victory? What is that?"

It was quiet for a moment before he answered. "Find and study the Sumerian runes written on the Roots of Yggdrasil. There are many examples of them and you will find a list of objects with those runes inscribed on them in the library. I suggest trying to find the Anvil near the Roots. You may have use for it for more than just studying the Runes inscribed on it. Still, we'll talk about that more later. You have a friend to rescue, I believe."

Harry nodded and a grim look came to his face. "You're right and thank you."

The orb was silent before a bolt of blue light came out and hit the far wall. A blue portal appeared where the bolt hit, showing an unknown beach at nighttime. Harry absently noted that the water was so clear that it reflected the stars and that there were no waves which was very strange.

Harry looked toward Jean, who was now dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt, and saw her standing there with a determined look on her face. Any thought of asking her to stay behind left him and he took a deep breath before entering the portal with Jean right beside him. The portal closed behind them and the living room was silent once more.


The stars were brighter than normal as they landed on the beach the portal took them too. The sea was so dark that they reflected the stars, making the difference between sky and sea hard to discern. Harry looked around and studied the island they had landed on.

The island was actually more of a large mountain with a beach surrounding it. There was no land separating the beach from the mountain base whose top couldn't be seen as it went higher than the cloud-bank. Harry could see a cave at the base of the mountain and from the orange light coming from it, he guessed that the mountain was actually an active volcano. For a second, he swore he saw a shadow move amongst the orange light but dismissed it when he didn't see it again. After all, who can be that tall and wide?

The cave was not a hundred feet from the water and the light from the cave showed that there was a boat on top of the sand near the water. It looked like a normal everyday boat except for an insignia of a hammer along the starboard side and runes inscribed along its length. Except for the boat, there was nothing else around.

Harry sighed as he eyed the boat. "Well, I guess it's obvious what we're supposed to do. Take the boat."

Jean looked nervous and bit her lip but nodded and followed behind Harry as he walked toward the boat. Once they reached the boat, Harry stopped and waved a hand over it, as if trying to touch something that was coming off the boat.

Harry looked equal parts surprised and mesmerized. "This boat seems to be almost made of magic. It has so many enchantments on it that I'm surprised that it doesn't attract the senses of every mystic in a thousand miles."

"That'd be cause there ain't anyone around for a thousand miles, genius."

Harry and Jean turned at the sound of the voice only to see a sight that made equal parts amazed and terrified.

There was a giant of a man standing at the mouth of the cave they had seen before, with a giant black hammer over his shoulder. He stood at an incredible 9 feet tall and seemed to be made out of nothing but pure muscle. He had blue eyes and red hair that included a beard that continued from his hair to all around his chin but without a mustache. He was currently wearing a sort of strange getup that included brown pants and no shirt but he did have a short blue cape that only reached mid-back and whose function Harry didn't know. The light of the cave at his back made him look even more intimidating, not the he needed it.

The giant of a man glared at them before walking over to them with loud, echoing footsteps. "You plan on usin' them hands ever again... you'd best not go touchin'... that what ain't yers."

As he finished his threat, he had reached them and was now towering over their measly 5 and a half foot frames while glowering at them. Despite the man's size, Harry stood tall and just glared back while Jean gulped and got into a fighting stance.

Harry tried the polite approach first and so lost his glare. "I'm sorry. We had no idea the boat belonged to anyone. My name's Harrison Strange and this is my friend, Jean Grey. We were sent here by Agamotto because he said there would be someone here that could take us to our kidnapped friend. Are you that person?"

The giant laughed. "That overgrown slug! I should have known that he was the one to have the guts to send a bunch of wee little kids to my domain. Name's Ulthane, boy. And sorry but I ain't that person. However, I do have an idea as to who is."

Harry and Jean brightened at his declaration and the latter spoke. "That's great! Can you take us to that person?"

Ulthane chuckled as if it was all a grand joke. "First off, the person that can take you to yer friend ain't exactly a person, if ye catch my drift. He's a serpent. The Midgard Serpent, Jormungand."

Harry and Jean paled at the explanation. They had read about the Midgard Serpent, supposedly so large that it could constrict the entire Earth in its length and strong enough to be destined to kill the Asgardian thunder god, Thor. How the hell were they supposed to get his help?

Harry steeled his determination as he remembered why they were there. "Then we'll get his help, no matter what he is. Can you tell us how to reach him?"

Ulthane cocked an eyebrow at Harry's determination but just smirked. "Well, my wee boat can take you across this here sea straight to him."

Jean smiled happily. "That's great! Thanks so much!"

Ulthane chuckled darkly. "Now...who said I'm gonna let ya take it? My boat's a work of art and I ain't about let some grubby little children take it on a joyride and break or lose it."

Harry frowned before shrugging. "Then we'll make our own boat. There are plenty of trees and the spell to make one isn't hard."

Ulthane let out a belly laugh at his statement, confusing them. "You make me laugh, boy. Obviously, those eyes of yers are just for show cause you ain't using them. Haven't you looked at the sea?"

Harry and Jean frowned before looking over at the sea. Harry had to admit that the way the stars reflected off the sea was weird. Even at the clearest days, the stars never reflected off the water so well. It was almost as if-

Ulthane smirked as their jaws dropped. "I see you finally seen that that ain't no ordinary sea. That, children, is the Sea of Space that separates the dimensions. You didn't just travel to another part of the planet. You traveled to my dimension. No ordinary boat can get you across that sea and toward Jormungard's domain."

Harry and Jean gulped before the latter spoke. "Then only your boat can take us across it?"

Ulthane shrugged before turning his back to them and walking towards the cave. "Maybe. But most enchanted boats got requirements you see?"

Harry frowned before studying the boat. Unknown to him, his eyes flashed blue for a second as he studied the boat and came to a conclusion.

"You need to give us permission to use the boat as well as give it coordinates in order for it to work, don't you?"

Ulthane stopped just as he reached the mouth of the cave before turning back to them with a grin. "Yep. And?"

Harry's eyes narrowed and lightning started to flicker between his fingertips. "Then why won't you let us use it if you know we need to rescue our friend?! We'll bring it back!" Beside him, Jean was scowling as well and things were starting to float around her.

Ulthane turned back to them with narrowed eyes. "Cause I don't believe in sending you to yer deaths. Yer just kids and you don't got the strength to convince Jormungard, much less rescue yer friend from that witch."

Harry gritted his teeth even as Jean looked shocked at his knowledge. "You know who took our friend? Agamotto didn't say."

Ulthane nodded. "Yep. That devil witch Pandora took her, I imagine. Probably to let that whore, Lilith go free."

Harry narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "How do you know all this? Not even Agamotto know for sure..."

Ulthane waved him off. "I got my ways boy. Now go back home and hope yer friend dies quick. That's the most you can hope for cause I ain't letting you use my boat."

Harry roared in anger and charged Ulthane with his hands filled with his purple flare magic. Quicker than he expected from a man so large, Ulthane turned around and grabbed his fist before throwing him away like a rag doll. As Harry flew away, Jean used the opening to send a powerful telekinetic push at the giant. However, Ulthane weathered it with a small grunt and swung his hammer at her.

It was lucky Jean had practiced her dodging because the crater the hammer made when it struck the ground told them that it would only take a single hit to kill them.

Harry got up and sent several purple flare beams at Ulthane who just took it without batting an eyelash before roaring and charging him with his hammer. Harry cursed as he used every bit of his skill to dodge the berserker swings that, despite having no real skill behind them, were strong enough that skill didn't really matter since he only needed one hit.

Eventually, Harry's luck ran out and he slightly lost his balance dodging a swing, making it impossible to dodge the follow-up swing. However, Harry managed to create a force shield around his body just before the hammer hit his stomach, sending him flying toward the cave mouth.

Despite having overloaded his force shield so that could take a hit from a cement truck going at 100 mph and stay standing, the hit had enough strength behind it to shatter it and almost crack one of his ribs with the remaining strength. Harry winced as he got back up and saw Jean helplessly trying to take Ulthane down with telekinetic pushes and only managing to make Ulthane laugh and thank her for the breeze.

Harry gritted his teeth at the hopelessness of the situation and wondered if they should just give up. 'No! I won't give up! I'll keep fighting till there isn't a breath left in my body! I need to save Wanda!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw a glint of metal and turned to the cave proper. He saw that Ulthane must be a smith of some kind since there was a large anvil with a roaring fire and various weapons lying about. There was everything from swords, hammers, axes, shields, and even a golden chain of some kind lying on a table. But what had caught Harry's attention was a specific sword sticking out from among a pile of others.

It didn't look very special at first glance but upon closer inspection, Harry could see that that was due to the rust that seemed to have accumulated on the hilt from lack of use. It felt old but at the same time new. Like it had a long history and was just recently reforged.

The cry from Jean brought Harry back to the present and he saw that Jean was losing ground and Ulthane seemed to have stopped playing around and was getting serious. Harry grabbed the sword and easily pulled it from the pile of swords before charging at Ulthane from behind.

Ulthane heard his footsteps and turned to him before bringing back his hammer for a powerful swing just as Harry charged his magic into the sword and swung it to meet it.

A powerful explosion of wind and sound took place when the two weapons met and surprisingly, Harry's blade held its own against the hammer's strength. However, eventually Ulthane's strength overcame Harry's magically enhanced strength and he was sent flying away. Luckily, Harry hadn't lost his grip on his sword and he quickly picked himself up and brandished it as he glared at Ulthane.

However, Ulthane had stopped and was looking at Harry with a curious look in his eyes. "Boy! How'd you manage to pick up that their sword?"

Harry was confused at his question and the adrenaline from the fight slowly left him as Jean discreetly walked over to stand at his side while breathing heavily. "What do you mean? It was just sticking out from among a pile of your swords and I took it."

Ulthane narrowed his eyes and placed his hammer on its sheath on his back. Following his example, Harry and Jean fell out of their ready stances although Harry didn't put down the sword.

Ulthane walked over and looked from the sword to Harry. "Impale the sword on the ground for a moment." Seeing Harry's suspicious glance, he relented. "I, Ulthane, allow Harrison Strange and Jean Grey to use my boat to reach Jormungand's domain." Behind him, the boat glowed silver for a moment before returning to normal. "Satisfied? Now impale the sword in the sand for a second."

Harry nodded and lifted the sword before impaling it halfway down its length into the sandstone at their feet. He stepped back once he did and allowed Ulthane to step forward.

Ulthane placed a hand on the sword's hilt (more like three fingers since his hand was too big to fit) before pulling. Despite his incredible strength, the sword stayed stuck fast to the sandstone no matter how much he pulled.

Ulthane stepped back with a grunt and turned to Jean. "Now you girlie. Try pulling it out."

Jean huffed at being called girlie but did as she was asked. However, Jean also failed to pull it out of the sand despite her best efforts.

Ulthane nodded as if he expected it before turning to Harry. "Now you try, boy."

Harry huffed and walked over to the impaled sword. "I don't see how I'm gonna be able to when you and Je-"

Despite his words, Harry barely used any strength to pull it out of the sand. Unknown to him, a light seemed to shine on him for a second before entering his body. Ulthane watched it with a sardonic grin while Jean was wide-eyed in shock.

Harry was confused because the sword had changed. The grip handle was now a solid blue color with a few gold designs here and there. The pommel now had a blue jewel held in a gold claw similar to a dragon's while the crossguard was mostly gold with blue designs here and there. The golden design of the crossguard extended to the shoulder of the blade and there was red jewel in the middle of the shoulder. The blade itself had a golden center that extended along its length almost to its end and had several strange runes engraved in it. Harry couldn't help but notice that if his scar was really a rune then the runes on his blade were of the same kind. He even saw the his lightning bolt scar among them which, if Agamotto was telling the truth, is the rune for Fate/Victory. At the tip of the blade just after the golden center ends was another set of runes of another kind and despite never having seen it before, Harry could swear he could read it.

Ulthane's chuckles broke him out of his trance and Harry looked up at the giant with a confused look. "What's so funny?"

Ulthane eventually stopped chuckling and explained. "That there is the Golden Sword of the Victorious. It can supposedly only be wielded by those that have the Soul of the King. I reforged it at the behest of an old friend that died a long time ago. He told me that someone with the Soul of the King would come to reclaim it someday. Looks like yer more than just a scrawny kid, boy."

Harry huffed at the slight and looked back at the sword before his eyes landed on the runes in the golden center. "What do these runes say?" Jean leaned over his shoulder to look at the runes and despite the serious atmosphere, Harry couldn't help but blush at the feel of Jean's developing breasts pressing against his back.

Ulthane smirked at Harry's blush before speaking. "That says the sword's name: Caliburn. The runes are Ancient Sumerian much like that rune carved on yer forehead. Should have expected the one with the rune of Fate/Victory to be able to wield the Golden Sword of the Victorious."

Harry looked surprised that Ulthane recognized his scar as a rune and then studied the different set of runes on the blade's tip. "And these?"

Ulthane shrugged. "No idea. Those runes are Fae runes and only a Fae can tell you what they mean. However, as its true wielder you should be able to read it too once you have a moment to sit and concentrate. It probably tells you most of its more esoteric abilities. For now, let me tell you the basic skill everyone knows about."

Harry reluctantly handed over the sword to Ulthane who pointed it to a rock halfway up the mountain. "Fly, Caliburn!"

Caliburn jumped from Ulthane's hands and flew so fast up to the rock that it was a golden blur. There was a crash and Harry could see that Caliburn had impaled the rock halfway up its length, a one-hit kill if it had been a person.

Ulthane turned to Harry. "The command 'Fly!' makes Caliburn fly at almost the speed of light to impale whatever yer thinking to impale. It can't be dodged no matter how fast the opponent since it bends space and time to reach its destination. I imagine you can think of a few ways its useful, right?"

Harry nodded but frowned as he looked up at the impaled Caliburn. "That's great and all... but how do I get it down now?!"

Ulthane chuckled. "Just mentally call it back, boy. It is yer sword, ain't it?"

Harry frowned before mentally calling Caliburn back. There was a flash of light and Caliburn instantly appeared back in his hand.

Ulthane gave Harry a critical eye before nodding. "Now, before yer go, you'll need a sheath and belt for the sword. Luckily, I had been expecting this day and made one just for it."

The two friends looked at each other before following Ulthane to the cave.

As Harry had previously thought, it looked as if Ulthane was a smith of some kind. He had been too bust before but he noticed now that the air in the cave was sweltering and Harry absently cast a cooling charm on both of them just to be able to stand there. Ulthane rummaged around the area as he searched for the sheath he mentioned while the two teenagers looked around with amazed eyes now that neither was in danger of being killed by their creator. Each and every weapon gave off a feeling of magic and power so great that any of them can equal even Thor's infamous Mjolnir.

Harry looked at Ulthane in a new light. "Who are you really? I mean... you're strong. You were playing with us during our fight and could probably have crushed us like bugs with a thought. I don't doubt you could probably match even the strongest of gods in a fight of pure strength easily. To top it all off, you can create and reforge weapons that can match even the gods mightiest weapons. Who are you?"

Ulthane looked up at him before sighing. "I'm the last of the Makers. We're an ancient race that came to being around the same time as the Old Ones although I don't know our exact origins. We were neutral in the fight between Heaven and Hell and made weapons for both sides. Michael's sword? I made that meself from the fires of the One-Above-All's very own Flame of Authority and the First Demiurge. Unfortunately, neither side liked that we made weapons for the other and eventually we were all killed off. I'm the last one left."

Ulthane sighed in remembrance. "We were also the ones that taught them dwarves how to smith, although they can never reach our skill. Bah! They rely on enchantments and the like to give their weapons their mystical powers. MY weapons use the Language That Was First that's now known as Ancient Sumerian. By not only using those runes but understanding their True Meaning, my weapons are far sturdier, powerful and longer-lasting than theirs. I also use True Metal only found on this here mountain and that only I can use to forge weapons. Caliburn was reforged using True Metal so it will only ever break when you break, I promise you that!"

Harry mulled over what he was told before speaking. "So... can you teach me how to read Ancient Sumerian? It's just that.." Harry touched the lightning bolt scar on his forehead. "... I'm marked by one and I want to know what they mean."

Ulthane gave Harry a long look before turning back to his search. "Tell you what boy. You survive this here adventure and manage to find yer way back to me and we'll talk. Here it is!"

Ulthane turned around and presented Harry with a belt and sheath. The belt looked to be a normal everyday belt except for what Harry now recognized as Ancient Sumerian Runes along its length. On the other hand, the sheath was a beautiful piece of work. It looked to be made of solid gold but Harry realized must be True Metal of a gold color with blue lines crisscrossing along its length in a beautiful pattern that made Harry think of clashing blades for some reason. There were Sumerian Runes along its center, 32 in total, and each was different. Harry's eyes landed on his personal rune: Fate/Victory.

Ulthane noticed him admiring the runes and grinned. "Them is the whole alphabet of Ancient Sumerian runes. If you manage to survive and return here, I'll teach them to you. Just a fair warning. You may understand the translation of each rune but you'll only ever truly understand two or three runes at most."

Harry and Jean looked confused before the latter spoke. "But... what do you mean by truly understand?"

Ulthane chuckled and pointed to the line of runes. "Each runes is more than a letter or word. Each rune is an idea or better said, belief about the multiverse. For example, Fate/Victory means fated victory for those who don't truly understand the idea behind it. For those who do, it means more than just a simple victory was foretold. It means that every single decision and path to that encounter would have only ended in victory for the one marked by it. It means that no matter how the past is changed or what paths were taken, you were always fated to be the victor of that battle creating a truly 'fated victory'. I'll explain better if you get back."

Harry nodded his understanding even as a part of tried to digest the information. The rune basically said that there was no way for Voldemort to have beaten him no matter what he did. It basically spat in the face of free will and chance and said that his victory was the only possible outcome of that encounter. For someone who believes in free will and freedom, it was the ultimate slap in the face.

Harry looked up at Ulthane. "So what abilities does the sheath have?"

Ulthane smirked. "Well, first place Caliburn inside the sheath."

Harry did as told and placed Caliburn inside the sheath. Once inside, it glowed slightly before returning to normal.

Ulthane nodded. "Now only you can take the sword from its sheath. No other can draw it. Fair warning though, once its out of the sheath, anyone can take it from you unless its impaled somewhere. However, since yer the true wielder you can call it to you no matter where you are. The sheath also has a name. It's called Mir: The Unreachable Dream. Mir means Peace in Macedonian and if there's one thing that's unreachable between people, it's peace."

Harry looked up in protest. "That's not true. The world's is at peace now."

Ulthane cocked an eyebrow at him. "Really? So the entire world is at peace right now? There's no war anywhere on the whole planet?"

Harry opened his mouth to say yes but shut it quickly. That wasn't true, there was war going on in the Middle East even now. Come to think of it, while the major countries weren't currently at war, it seemed as if there was always war somewhere.

Ulthane nodded his head when he saw that Harry understood. "Exactly. Now, another thing about Mir is that it's a Noble Phantasm much like Caliburn."

Harry looked up in confusion, a feeling that seems to be the norm when around Ulthane. "Noble Phantasm? What's that?"

Ulthane grinned. "Ask yer mystic teachers. They'll explain the philosophy behind it better than I ever could since I don't bother with them fancy beliefs and crap beyond the Sumerian Runes. Just know that by calling on the sheath's name you create an impenetrable shield around you that nullifies any and all attacks from reaching you from any direction. However, like the Sumerian Runes, you won't be able to use it effectively till yer know the true meaning of the Sumerian Rune Peace."

Harry looked down at the sheath in a new light and buckled it with Caliburn inside to his waist before placing his robes over it so it couldn't be seen. He looked up to see Ulthane looking Jean over with a critical eye. "Yer one of them fancy 'mutants', right?" At Jean's hesitant nod, Ulthane grunted. "Well that makes giving you a weapon kinda difficult since most of me weapons need magic to wield." Ulthane looked into Jean's eyes for a second before grinning. "You kids are just full of surprises, ain't ya? A Host, huh? I think I got something for ya..."

Jean gave Harry a questioning glance but he just shrugged in confusion. Ulthane turned to his anvil and used his hammer on something they couldn't see due to his large bulk. He was muttering something under his breath before there was a flash of power and light.

"Aha! Here ya go, girlie. Don't go pointing it at anything ya don't want dead."

Ulthane threw something at Jean who caught it and almost dropped it once she saw what it was. "This is a gun!"

Indeed it was but it was like no other gun they had ever seen. It looked like a normal revolver along the grip but had a large barrel and there was no place to put bullets into it. At first, it looked too big for Jean but before their eyes, the gun shrunk until Jean could hold it in one hand easily.

Jean tested the weight and pretended to be pointing at something on the wall. "It doesn't weigh anything! In fact, it weighs less than a napkin would!"

Ulthane chuckled. "Yep! No weight for the wielder but you can still club someone with it and it'd hurt like nobody's business so it can also useful in a melee fight, though I ain't recommending it. It also has no need for ammo since it uses yer own telekinetic power to create energy bullets so no need to worry bout that!"

Jean bit her lip. "But... guns kill, right? I... I don't think I could do that."

Ulthane rolled his eyes. "Give me a second then." Jean handed over the gun that grew to Ulthane's hand size once it was in his hands. He turned around and seemed to be carving something on the gun before he muttered something and another glow was seen. He then turned back to Jean. "There. Now it only kills if you want it to and if you know what's good for you, girlie, you'd want to kill Lilith's servants. Believe me, they'll do worse to you, especially since yer female."

Jean gulped at the insinuation and Harry narrowed his eyes before speaking. "Do you... do you think they're doing that to Wanda?"

Ulthane shook his head. "Doubt it. They'd need her unharmed for the ritual. Any scratch or blemish on her could damage the entire thing so they won't risk it. Long as you rescue her either before the ritual starts or right after, she'll be fine. Word of advice, don't interrupt the ritual once it starts! It'd only end in yer friend's death."

Harry nodded his understanding. "Well, thanks then. I'll come back to learn after we're done. Promise. How do I get here anyway?"

Ulthane smirked. "Ain't easy. Agamotto only managed to get you here cause I owed him a favor and allowed it. He won't be able to do it again. He might be powerful but I'm old. And with age comes wisdom. My domain is protected by the First Language Runes and no one can enter without my permission. You manage to locate my domain somehow and I'll let you enter but only if you figure out where it is on yer own."

Harry nodded. It wasn't completely strange. Some dimensions could only be reached through passing certain trials and tribulations. Harry knew that locating his domain wouldn't be easy but it would be worth it to learn.

Jean was handed a belt to hold her new gun and she holstered it before turning to Ulthane. "Does it have a name?"

Ulthane smiled amusedly. "Yep. That there gun is called Mercy."

Jean gave him a deadpan look. "Mercy? For a gun?"

Ulthane shrugged. "Can't get more merciful than a quick death, do it?"

Harry interrupted Jean before she could give him a scathing comment. "Thanks for your help. Is there anyway we could repay you?"

Ulthane looked thoughtful before nodding. "Actually there is. That witch Pandora got a dagger I made. Get it back for me and I'll be mighty grateful."

Harry nodded. "I'll do it. Thanks for everything, Ulthane."

Ulthane shrugged. "By the way, be careful out there in the Sea of Space. Within my boat, you'll be able to see everything that's normally hidden from mortal eyes and some things might surprise you. It also keeps yer invisible to anyone who tried to look for yer, even that all-knowing slug Agamotto. But no matter what ya see, don't leave the boat. You touch that there water and you'll be lost forever."

With that last bit of advice and saying thank you once more, the two teenagers walked out, leaving Ulthane alone. Once he was sure they were gone, he sighed. "Yer won't be thanking me once you know what I did. Of that, I'm sure." With that last comment, Ulthane turned back to his anvil and began to work.


Harry and Jean pushed the boat until it touched the "water" before jumping into it. They made sure not to touch the "water" due to not wanting to risk something happening if they did. It was just lucky that they hadn't tried to touch the water when they arrived, though the fact that there had been no waves should have given them a clue that the water wasn't normal.

It seemed as if the boat could steer itself since it quickly pushed through the sea and into some unknown direction. Harry and Jean admired the sight of the water and the sky, as well as noticing how quickly Ulthane's island disappeared behind them. It felt as of they were floating among the stars and only the fact they were on a boat and they could breath convinced them that they weren't in space. Jean was quick to point out that despite the boat moving along the "water" quite quickly, it made no ripples and it was almost as if everything was moving instead of them being the ones in movement.

Jean turned to Harry with a curious look. "Do you think Agamotto knew that you would get Caliburn here or that it was just luck?"

Harry looked down at the sword in its sheath at waist and remembered Ulthane's comment. He said it was ironic that he would Caliburn's true wielder and have the rune of Fate/Victory carved unto his forehead. "I think... that me getting Caliburn was fated one way or another. I don't know whether Agamotto knew or not but I doubt it. No one knew Caliburn was with Ulthane except him and I doubt he told anyone."

Jean nodded before looking down at the gun holstered at her side. "I know that killing is wrong but for some reason... I feel as if this gun belongs to me, you know?"

Harry nodded as he felt the same about Caliburn. As if some part of him he didn't know was missing had been found. "Yeah, I know what you mean. But Ulthane did say you could control it so it didn't kill so that means you can use it as a weapon without fear of killing someone by mistake." Harry then shrugged. "It also gives you a long-range weapon other than your telekinesis in case you're too tired to use it. You never know when you may need it. You can use it until you manage to create your those telekinetic sais you're planning on learning to make."

Jean nodded her agreement and then turned to look ahead before gasping and pointing at something. "Look!"

Harry turned to see what she was pointing at only to go wide-eyed as well.

It was a bridge. A giant rainbow bridge that seemed to originate from somewhere high up and down to where the boat seemed to be heading. The bridge looked ethereal, almost as if it wasn't meant to actually be walked across but more as a sort of highway for whoever uses it.

Harry turned to Jean who was still enraptured by the sight. "The Bifrost bridge! That's the Bifrost bridge that's mentioned in Norse mythology. If I'm right, that bridge leads up into Asgard, the realm of the Norse gods!"

Jean's eyes widened even further. "They're real. The Norse gods are real. So that must mean that all the other ones are real too. But... how can that be possible?! Almost all mythologies say their gods live in the skies! Surely there isn't space in the sky for all of them, right?"

Harry mulled it over before coming to a conclusion. "Well... the myths don't really say their gods are in the sky per say. They say that they're in the heavens. Wouldn't you consider the planet Mars to be in the heavens?"

Jean slowly understood what Harry was insinuating. "You mean that these mythological gods... live on different planets?!"

Harry shrugged. "Not exactly. Maybe the physical location where they live is on a different planet but more likely, the gods live in dimensions that are just out of sync with ours. The portals they go through to reach ours are in certain locations, like Mt. Olympus or Miyazu Bay in Japan. Dad's told me of similar stuff before. So maybe the dimensions they live in are just a second of sync with the other planets', making them unreachable to normal people but still 'residing in the heavens', understand?"

Jean nodded as she mulled it over. "I think I do and it does make sense. I don't doubt that the sky would become crowded quickly if they all lived there. But what does that mean about where God lives? I mean... Ulthane did mention Heaven and Hell. So that means God exists, right?"

Harry frowned in thought. "Yea... but I think that True Heaven and Hell are unreachable for anyone while still alive."

Jean turned to him in confusion while still admiring the sights around them. "Why do you say that?"

Harry turned to look at Jean. "Think about it. If any mortal, magic-user or even immortal god could reach it, what would they have to fear about judgement? They could just open a portal there and bypass judgement. It would put a real cramp into the whole Judgement thing, don't ya think? Even immortals aren't exempt from Judgement, theirs is just postponed. Either way, I'm glad we can't reach it until we die."

Jean gave him a questioning look. "Why's that?"

Harry had a grim look on his face. "Because if we could reach them then they could reach us. Can you imagine a near infinite amount of beings as strong if not stronger than Ulthane fighting across our plane of existence?"

Jean thought about it for a second before shivering in fear. "We'd all be annihilated within an hour. You're right. Things are better off as they are."

Harry nodded before concentrating on the trip once more.

The boat kept going for a while more before they caught sight of Earth. It was just like they'd seen in hundreds of pictures if not more majestic. However, the one thing that detracted from all that was the fact that they were hurtling at it at speeds that promised a very rough landing. Before they had time to scream, they had passed the atmosphere like it wasn't even there and plunged into the sea. The boat seemed to create a sort of bubble around them that gave them air and protected them from the water pressure. It led them deeper and deeper into the sea, deeper than any submarine or other sea vessel could go and Harry understood why they had needed Ulthane's boat to take them here. No portal could take them somewhere no mortal had gone before.

The boat eventually reached the sea floor and the protective bubble surrounding them allowed them to see through the pitch black water a couple of feet around them. They shivered as they caught sight of things at the corner of their eyes that looked as if was from ancient times. These creatures certainly had never had contact with any human before and if they had, the human hadn't survived long. They were instantly thankful for the fact that the boat kept them invisible from any and all eyes.

Eventually they reached a stretch of ocean floor free of any sea denizens. They had been traveling along this stretch for a while when Jean grabbed Harry's arm and started shivering before pointing to their left. Harry looked up only to pale at the sight before him.

It was Jormungand.

And he was HUGE!

Technically they were only seeing a part of Jormungand's body but they could see that he was as big as legends claimed. Miles upon miles of mile thick hide was visible before their eyes as it coiled all along the ocean floor and they still couldn't see Jormungand's head. Such was his immense size that they couldn't see either end yet.

They continued to travel along Jormungand's length toward what they imagined was his head and they became more and more apprehensive. Everyone had an instinctive fear of serpents of all kinds unless they'd either grown up around them or trained themselves to lose it. It was made worse by the fact that they were so deep underwater that all Jormungand had to do to kill them was throw them out of the boat and let them die by water pressure.

Eventually, they reached what looked to be the end of the line as they reached what looked to be an underwater cave of some sort. They gulped as they saw that one end of Jormungand entered the cave and it finally sunk in that they would be speaking alone with a serpent long enough to encircle the world in order to try to convince him to help them.

They fervently hoped luck was on their side.

The boat silently entered through the cave mouth where the serpent's body entered and went up until it broke the surface. Once they broke the surface, Harry and Jean looked around and caught their first glimpse of Jormungand's face.

He looked similar to what a dragon's face would look like rather than a snake's. He had two large 'tusks' as well on either side of his mouth that jutted out horizontally similar to an insect's mandibles. He had two large forearms as well that he was currently sleeping on and even asleep, an aura of menace exuded from him.

Harry gulped before steeling his courage and getting out of the boat along with Jean. The good news was that the boat stayed where it was instead of disappearing as he had feared. The bad news was that once they left the boat, they could no longer see Jormungand.

Jean leaned over to whisper in Harry's ear even as she tried to look for Jormungand once more. "Where is he? Does he know we're here and went invisible?"

Harry shook his head. "No. I think he was always invisible and ethereal but we could only see him thanks to the boat's abilities. A lot like we could see the Bifrost while inside the boat but no astronaut has ever seen it before. But now that we're out, we can't see him anymore. However... I think he could still see and hear us."

Harry steeled his courage once more before stepping forward. "Jormungand. I'm sorry for disturbing your rest but we humbly ask for your help."

There was no sound or movement that gave away if he had heard them but Harry somehow knew he had and if they could see him, he would probably be coiling around them at that very moment.

A sibilant voice that made chills go down their spine was heard. "What do we have here? A child god? No... you would be able to see me if that was true. A sorcerer? Yes... I sense magic coming off the dark-haired one in waves. Almost as much magic as my father. Why have you disturbed my slumber and how do you know I am here?"

Harry gulped before going down on one knee and gesturing at Jean to do the same. "My name is Harrison Strange, great Jormungand, and this is my friend Jean Grey. We could previously see you thanks to the transportation we took here that allowed us to see things invisible to mortal eyes. As for why we are here... we were told by the Agamotto that you are the only one capable of helping us on our quest."

The sibilant voice returned, now with a faintly amused and curious tone. "I see... and what makes you think that I can help you?"

Harry stopped trying to see where Jormungand was and just kept his eyes to the floor. "Agamotto told us that only you can find where our friend, Wanda Maximoff, is located. Not Odin, not him, nobody but you could possibly help us."

Jormungand now sounded very amused. "Ah... flattery will get you everywhere, young one. But I must ask, why would I help you even if I could?"

Harry had no answer to that question. He had never even thought of what he would do to try and convince Jormungand and this had come back to bite him in the ass.

Thankfully, Jean intervened. "Great Jormungand, we ask for your help because we think that the place where our friend is being held lies deep beneath the sea. Since you are the king down in these depths, we imagine it bothers you for another to dare claim to be ruler here."

There was a deafening silence as Harry somehow felt as if Jormungand was NOT happy at her words. "Another dares to say he rules these depths?! Yes... I think I know of who and what you speak. The Leviathan... he has been here since before even I but I can't challenge him due to him being protected by ancient rules. He has always been smug about that. He may be a creature but he also functions as a prison for something that is far older. Hmmmm... yes, it can be no other for only I could take you to where he is. Very well, I will take you to where he is and even help you enter him... however, you must promise me that you will destroy him. I have abided his presence long enough. He will die this day! Understood?"

Harry and Jean nodded their understanding before the former spoke. "We understand, great Jormungand, and we thank you for your help."

Jormungand's amused voice returned. "Yes, I am most kind am I not? But I tire of speaking in your tongue and one of you will need to speak my tongue to enter Leviathan the way I have planned so..."

Suddenly, a massive python appeared coiling around Harry before biting down on his neck. Harry screamed in pain as he felt...something enter his veins and travel throughout his body. The python let go after its venom had entered him and let a few tears drop onto the wound. Jean watched in shock as the bite mark disappeared as if it had never been there and Harry fell down on the floor breathing heavily.

The python hissed and started circling them with its massive length. "I couldn't bite you in my true form without killing you so I had to take this one. My venom is special in that it can kill even gods. However, I can also change it in order to gift you with the ability to speak my tongue. You can understand me, can't you?"

Harry nodded confusedly. "Yeah but I could always understand you."

Jean looked from the chuckling python (no idea how that was possible) to Harry with a confused look on her face. "What did he say, Harry?"

Harry frowned as he stood up on unsteady legs. "Didn't you understand him?"

Jean nodded. "Before, yes. But now all I heard was hissing. You can understand him?"

Jormungand chuckled. "The boy can now understand the language of serpents. While not as old as the First Language, it is one of the most universal tongues among all serpent-kind. You can now speak to anything vaguely serpent-like from snakes to Drakons, though if you meet the latter I suggest you use it to beg for mercy."

Harry glared at the chuckling python. "What was the point of me gaining the ability to talk to serpents?"

Jormungand gave off an aura of irritation. "Don't take that tone with me, boy! The ability to converse with serpents is a gift that some gods would give an eye for." Jormungand chuckled as if he told a particularly funny joke. "Anyway, serpent tongue has various uses but the most notable is the creation of barrier spells when speaking in it. Any barrier created using serpent tongue is twice as strong as it would normally be. Conversely, breaking barriers or wards are much easier since you can use serpent tongue to figure out how to break them down. I'll leave you to figure out how but the important thing is that I'm going to teach you a barrier spell that will shrink and your friend to molecular size. I'll use my magic to put you into my venom glands and I'll bite the Leviathan. This will allow you to travel along with my venom into the Leviathan until you reach its heart, which is not a true heart. The Leviathan's heart is replaced by the prison it is meant to guard. The spell will dissipate at your command so be careful not to dissipate it too early. I'd hate to have wasted my time with you."

Harry looked wide-eyed at the information. "Wow! I didn't know parseltongue could do all that!"

Suddenly the python was constricting both him and Jean and its face was inches away from Harry. It was easy to see that he was angry.

"It is NOT parseltongue and never call it that again! Parseltongue is the language of the lower tier snakes that have not ascended above their instincts and so speak a bastardized version of true serpent tongue. Any snake or similar creature who has risen above their instincts and can use the magic of the Earth calls itself a serpent to distance itself from those that cannot. To call one of us a snake is a grave insult and be glad I am in a good mood or I would kill you for it."

Harry gulped even as Jean shivered in fear before nodding his understanding. "I understand, lord Jormungand, and I'm sorry. It will never happen again."

Jormungand, still in python form, slowly let them go. "See that it doesn't." Once he completely let them go, he turned to Harry once more. "Now, to teach you a few serpent spells..."


Pandora hummed even as Wanda screamed as Pandora carved the last rune into her body. Pandora surveyed her handiwork all over the nude body of Wanda and nodded her acceptance. This had been the reason she hadn't allowed Wanda to be harmed before the ritual. She needed to carve a specific sequence of runes in specific areas of Wanda's body in order to be able to use her as the final key to open Lilith's prison. Any bleeding or scratch would have damaged a potential place where a rune was needed and she couldn't risk it. They had only one chance and that was it.

Wanda sobbed as the runes carved into her body continued to glow. They had been cauterized by the dagger's passing so they didn't bleed but they still burned brutally and Wanda felt as if the runes had been etched onto her soul as well as her body.

Wanda tried to block out the pain by concentrating on something else so decided to concentrate on the dagger being used to cut her. It was quite ornate, with red gems on the pommel, black leather for a hilt and the blade itself was pure silver with several runes inscribed on it.

Pandora noticed her curiosity and beamed at her in fake joy. "Like it? It was made by a particularly gifted smith that is the last of his kind. It has the power to allow me to bypass a single ancient rule as long as I'm in a warded area. So long as I'm in here, I can harm any human I wish regardless of rules as long as I only harm them using this dagger. Neat, ain't it?"

Through the haze of pain, Wanda looked down from where she was hanging spread-eagled above the dais where she had landed and now knew was the prison door for something far worse than the demon before her. "Why?"

Pandora clicked her tongue in false sympathy. "Oh, I'm sorry my dear but it had to be done. You are the Witch of Chaos and we need your magic to open the final lock to Lilith's cage. Unfortunately, you are much too young to be able to channel that much chaos magic even if you wanted to help us so we have to draw it directly from your blood. These runes will purify your chaos magic and make it enter your bloodstream. It takes longer than simply ripping the magic from your body but at least this way you may survive."

Wanda tried to glare at her but failed. "What do you care if I survive or not?"

Pandora smirked evilly which was made worse by the fact that the only thing Wanda could see was the lower part of her face and her ice blue eyes looking at her from the shadows. "Oh, I have plans for you, dear little Chaos Witch. Having someone like you on my side will be extremely beneficial for my future plans."

Wanda finally managed to glare up at the seemingly innocent girl facade before her. "And if I refuse?"

Pandora's eyes flashed and her voice deepened so it showed her true demonic nature. "Then I will have no need for you anymore. After all, these nephilim have been working so hard that they'll need some... recompense for their hard work and if you refuse, you'll do just fine."

Wanda just looked her in the eyes defiantly. "My friends will come for me."

Pandora chuckled and her voice returned to its previous 'innocent' tone. "Oh, you better hope not. Cleaning up the mess the nephilim will make of them will be ever so bothersome." She gave off a childish giggle before skipping away so she was outside the ritual area, leaving Wanda to study the five beings standing along the perimeter of the cage.

There was a vampire, a nephilim, an incubus, a succubus and what looked to be a barrel of blood hooked up to some sort of machine that would drain it into the floor beneath it. Each was standing on top of a symbol of some kind and were looking nervous. Wanda was hanging naked above the center of the ritual area in a spread-eagled fashion so that her body made a star shape. Wanda absently noticed that the five symbols were arranged like a mirror image to her own spread-eagled position with her arms each pointing at a symbol, the same with her legs and the last one being in line with her head.

Pandora smiled reassuringly to the nervous willing participants. "Don't worry, you four. We only need a bit of your blood and it'll be over. Now, each of you be sure to be standing right in the center of the symbol below you and when I say so, drop a few drops of blood on the symbol. Lilith will reward you greatly for your service."

The four willing participants nodded and now looked eager to get their promised rewards. At Pandora's signal, they slit their wrist deep enough to let a steady stream of blood drop onto the symbol beneath them. At the same time, Pandora telekinetically activated the machine with the barrel and it dropped blood onto the symbol. The five symbols lit up a dark red similar to the blood spilled.

The participants looked as if they were about to move out of the symbol but found that they were stuck fast. The succubus looked at Pandora in shock and confusion. "What-What is this?"

Pandora gave a mock sad look to the four demons. "Well, you know how I said I only needed a few drops of blood?" They all nodded. "Well, I meant a few drops of blood... if you were a giant. For you four it'll be much, much more than that."

As she finished, five red tentacles popped out of the symbols and impaled the beings above them before starting to suck their blood. The barrel itself was also impaled and had several tentacles quickly taking the blood inside. The four demons screamed in pain as their blood was sucked out of them until they were nothing but withered husks and died.

Pandora smiled evilly at the sight and Lilith's voice was heard. "What brave children, to sacrifice themselves for their beloved mother. Remind me to make a short memorial for them, would you?"

Pandora rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

The blood from the sacrifices overflowed from the depressed symbols and started to go down channels carved into rock before reaching a pool in the center right beneath Wanda. Wanda, hanging above the Cage, was the only one who could see the symbol that was formed out of the blood. It resembled a rune but for some reason, it filled Wanda with fear just looking at it.

Lilith's impatient voice was heard. "Well?! How long till the final phase of the unsealing?!"

Pandora gave a long-suffering sigh. "A while yet but not much. We need to let the blood set into the Rune before we add her blood or else it won't mix correctly. Don't worry, it won't be more than five minutes." Pandora smiled evilly and Wanda had a glimpse of the true evil hidden beneath the veneer of a kind girl. "And then, the real fun begins."


Harry had to admit that this was a very strange experience. They were currently no bigger than a drop of water, protected by the Serpent's Shrunken Barrier spell inside Jormungand's venom sac. When they had asked how he could bite Leviathan when it was supposedly impossible to attack due to ancient rules, Jormungand explained he could bypass the protection temporarily but it would take most of his strength to do so. This was the reason that he would only be able to bite the Leviathan once rather than attempt to kill it. His venom would also be ineffective since the Leviathan lacked a heart to poison.

The boat had disappeared soon after they had agreed to Jormungand's plan, almost as if it knew it was no longer needed. Jean complained loudly about Ulthane saying they would lose it when it obviously had a "come home" function installed but Harry just shrugged it off.

There was a rushing sound as the venom outside of their bubble rushed out the fang's exit. Harry turned to Jean, who had finally regained her composure after the unnerving meeting with Jormungand. "Well, game time, Jean. You ready?"

Jean gave a shaky nod. "As I'll ever be." Jean sighed and gave him a sarcastic smile. "Only you could have an interesting enough life that I'm going to fight omnipotent beings at fourteen."

Harry gave her a sheepish smile before the bubble shuddered and they came out of a "vein" alongside a wall in a large chamber. There was a large crowd of around 20 beings near the center but they were too large and far away to see any details as they were. Harry could only see that they were humanoid and unless he was imagining things, had large black wings.

After making sure that they were no enemies nearby, Harry cancelled the Serpent's Shrunken Barrier spell and they grew back to their normal sizes. Harry and Jean quickly kneeled down into the shadow of the wall to avoid detection and Jean used her telepathic powers to discreetly make sure that no one looked in their direction. Harry used another serpent spell that created a intangible barrier around them that would walk with them and would make them invisible to most. However, it didn't affect any other sense so they could still be heard.

Harry nodded encouragingly at Jean who concentrated and levitated them above their enemies' line of sight. They stuck to the shadows of the ceiling just in case the enemies could see through the spell. Luckily, the ceiling was quite high and the light of the torches didn't reach that high up. Once they were halfway to the center of the chamber, they took in the sight before them.

Wanda was chained spread-eagled hanging from the roof while a crowd of now-recognizable nephilim surrounded the perimeter. However, what grabbed Harry's attention was the hooded female walking toward the hanging Wanda. She radiated dark magic on a scale Harry had never felt before and seemed to be dark magic given form rather than just a dark magic user.

Harry and Jean hovered above the hanging Wanda. Luckily, the chamber was so dark that even without the spell, they wouldn't be seen. The chains holding her were connected to the far walls and so tight that she was stuck in her star shape no mater how much she moved. Harry hissed under his breath when he saw the runes carved onto Wanda's skin and had to stop himself from lashing out.

The hooded female reached beneath Wanda and took out a dagger. Harry realized this must be the dagger Ulthane had asked to be returned, meaning that the female had to be Pandora. Harry shivered of the thought of retrieving the dagger forcefully. He had no illusions that he could beat her and wondered how he could trick her into dropping the dagger.

Pandora looked up at the hanging Wanda with a smile. "Now for the last phase of the ritual." With that statement, she stabbed Wanda in the stomach.

It was only Jean's hand on his shoulder that kept him from jumping down and attempting to rescue Wanda. Jean looked at Harry with a sad look. "I know you want to rescue her but remember what Ulthane said, interrupting the ritual will kill Wanda. We have to wait till its over to try and rescue her."

Harry wanted to retort that she might not survive till the end but held himself back. Jean was right. Despite Harry wanting nothing but to jump down and save his friend, he had to hold himself back less he cause her death in the first place. He instead decided to study the runes engraved along the large stone prison and realized they were Ancient Sumerian...almost. They were recognizable as Ancient Sumerian but if possible, it looked as if it was in an older style than the ones inscribed on Caliburn and Mir. They gave off a feeling of confinement and rejection. As if they were rejecting the very concept of the one they were imprisoning.

Harry focused as he saw that Pandora had dropped the dagger into the pool of blood beneath Wanda where her blood was dripping. At least she didn't have it anymore and if he could grab it before anyone noticed...

Deciding to worry about that later, Harry and Jean were forced to watch as blood dripped down Wanda's stomach wound and into the circular pool of blood beneath her. The pool glowed a bright red before darkening to purple. Once it did, Pandora sent a spell at Wanda that healed the wound and stopped the flow of blood. However, Wanda's agonized scream told them the way she healed her wasn't painless.

Slowly, a whirlpool formed within the pool, leading to a dark place. Harry felt his hair stand on end as something moved within those depths. Something horrible yet beautiful for some reason.

The being appeared slowly, rising up out of the pool as a shapeless mass of purple blood till it stood at about 6 feet tall, just a few inches below Wanda's hanging form. The shapeless mass started to take on a more humanoid form until it was about 5'7" tall and started to define itself until Harry could say without a shadow of a doubt that it was female. The only thing different was the massive bird-like wings the shape was sporting. The mass became more and more defined until it took on a shape of a woman with long hair, large breasts and posterior with high heels. Slowly, the woman started gaining color and finally finished a minute later. The portal beneath her disappeared and the runes that had been lit up during the entire ritual went dark.

Harry studied the now-released Lilith, for she could be no one else. Like any teenage boy, he first noticed she was very well-endowed in every feminine area, which was accentuated by her clothing, if you could call them that. All she was wearing was two thin strips of black clothing that went down her body vertically and barely covered her nipples and were tied behind her neck. They then went down her body before becoming a pair of panties that barely covered anything. The two strips of black clothing had a few black strings connecting them together so that they wouldn't move out of place and invited the person to stare at the cleavage in between. She also had on a pair of black high heels that accentuated her body, not that she needed it. To sum it up, she was the incarnation of every man's wet dream that was only made worse by the aura of seduction she gave off.

Harry gulped as he fought his primal instincts scream at him to jump down and fuck her till he died of dehydration. Beside him, Jean seemed to be suffering from the same instincts as well and Harry realized that her aura didn't discriminate between sexes.

Lilith stretched to work out the kinks of her body as well as put her body on display for all her viewers. She spread her black wings before closing them where they seemed to disappear into her body. She smirked as she looked at the assembled nephilim who, despite her technically being their mother, seemed all to willing to help her work out every kink she might have. She chuckled before turning to the smirking Pandora.

"Well, it seems as if you actually managed it Pandie, dear."

Pandora's eyes narrowed beneath her hood as her voice became slightly demonic. "Don't call me Pandie."

Lilith smirked at her. "Now there's the demon I remember. I thought you'd spent so much time playing the innocent little girl to remember. I heard about your exploits with the Greek gods. Very well done I must say."

Pandora gave a mock bow. "I have to say, corrupting the many pantheons through the Olympians was my best work. If I hadn't they would have no doubt sided with our enemies. By corrupting them however they are forced to be declared neutral else they be found 'unclean' and killed by both sides."

Lilith chuckled. "Yes. There are now so busy fighting amongst themselves that they won't ever be a threat to us. I must admit that you handled it better than I would have. I probably would have just bedded several of them and made their wives catch us."

Pandora's tone became deadpan. "You would do anything for a fuck."

Lilith's face was unrepentant. "What can I say? It's in my nature." Lilith turned to the no longer bleeding Wanda who was slowly coming to. "Are you sure you want her? I can imagine the fun I could have with her. She did free me so I'd turn her into my heir and have her become a little mini-me. She's still young so a few alterations here and there and she'd be the most desirable woman, besides me, in the Universe. Oh, my children would love her."

Pandora looked amused. "I might let you have her if she turns me down. Speaking of," Pandora walked over to Wanda till she was under her once more, the dagger still lying in the center of the now empty pool between her feet. A large nephilim that seemed to be the leader of the group walked till he was standing beside her like a bodyguard. "Have you made your decision? What will you do? Serve me or become Lilith's little sex toy?"

Harry nodded at Jean and they jumped down, Harry pulling Caliburn from its sheath and Jean gathering her power in her hands.

Pandora looked up just as Harry reached level with Wanda and yelled, "NEITHER!"

Using gravity and Caliburn's own power, Harry impaled the nephilim leader through his skull and into his chest. Caliburn shined slightly before the nephilim burst into white flames. The burst corpse gave a little shake before crumbling to ash, taking Harry with him. Harry looked at Caliburn with an awed look. "Okay, you have now jumped to number 1 in my 'Awesome weapons' list."

Meanwhile, Jean had freed Wanda and was securing the dagger used in the ritual so Pandora and Lilith couldn't use it to harm them. Without it, they would have to obey the ancient rules saying they can't attack mortals.

Harry took advantage of the enemies' shock and used his power to rip the chains that held Wanda out of the walls. The nephilim regained their senses at that time and charged Harry and the girls. However, Harry was prepared and reinforced the chains before giving them some false sentience and throwing them at the charging nephilim.

At first, the chains worked as expected and the reinforcement allowed them to survive against the nephilim's blades. However, the nephilim quickly overcame them by grabbing them and breaking them with their incredible strength.

Gulping, Harry sent spell after spell at them as Jean used what little first aid she knew and a cream for wounds on Wanda. After doing all she could, Jean turned to help Harry by using Mercy in her right hand and telekinesis with her left. Necessity is the mother of all invention and Jean, who previously had trouble lifting herself in the air, was now slamming the nephilim around like rag dolls before blasting them with Mercy.

Slowly but surely they were being surrounded until they were completely encircled by the nephilim. They had only managed to take five more out of the running and had quickly come to the conclusion that nephilim were extremely hard to kill. The only wounds that didn't regenerate were the ones inflicted by Caliburn and those were mostly superficial wounds anyway due to Harry's lack of skill wielding a broadsword.

When they were completely surrounded, Lilith spoke. "Stop! That's enough, my darlings." Suddenly, Lilith fazed in front of them in a show of overwhelming speed that shocked them. She studied them without a hint of fear. Then again, she had nothing to fear since if they tried anything she could kill him with nary a thought. As long as he didn't make the first move, she couldn't attack them.

Lilith looked Harry up and down with a seductive smirk, causing Harry to unconsciously blush. "Hmmm... what a specimen of the male gender. And just when I was planning on finding a good strapping young man so I could reacquaint myself with the more...carnal pleasures of the flesh. How about it, boy? Want to become my sex toy for the next few centuries?"

Despite the question being slightly insulting, Harry couldn't help but feel nothing but arousal at the proposal and a large part of him was screaming at him to take her up on it.

Lilith smirked as she saw the conflict in his eyes. "Come with me my dear Harry and I'll show you things you would never have seen if not for me. Teach you things you would never have known, give you power beyond any mortal's comprehension," she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered into his ear. "Give you pleasure, that would drive most men to madness. What do you say?"

Harry felt his instincts flare and almost fell to the temptation of just saying yes. However, out of the corner of his eye he saw Wanda looking at him in fear and silently pleading him to reject her. Somehow, he gathered the strength to push down his primal instincts and turned back to Lilith, who was now standing a few feet in front of him with a smirk on her face.

Harry gathered his resolve and gave Lilith a determined look. "I'm sorry but the answer is no."

Lilith's smirk slipped and fell and her yellow eyes turned from a seductive gold to a sickly yellow. Harry could suddenly see a glimpse into her true demonic form as he saw a tail and horns appear. "You dare reject ME?! No man rejects me! I reject them once I tire of them! You insolent little bastard!"

Pandora materialized beside her in another show of speed and chuckled. "Looks like you've lost your touch, Lilith."

Lilith turned to Pandora and gave her a withering glare. "Be quiet!" Lilith turned to Harry with an evil smile. "So be it, boy! Children, tear them to pieces!"

The nephilim started to close in on them when Harry remembered something. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the blue pebble Agamotto had given them. "I hope this works!" Harry then smashed it against the ground.

Immediately, a flash of blue light filled the room and a blue ethereal being went from nephilim to nephilim, turning them to ash. Eventually, the blue being destroyed them all and appeared at Harry's side before speaking. It materialized into a small blue orb hovering beside him. "Well... that went better than I expected. I only have enough energy to take you to safety so we have to get going."

Pandora stepped forward. "Oh, I think not. We may not be able to attack the mortals but we can attack you, Agamotto. Without you they'll die down here so either way, we win."

Harry frantically looked around for a way to distract them before he heard Wanda call out to him. He turned and saw her pointing at the now-inactive cage beneath them. Understanding what she was getting at, Harry nodded before impaling Caliburn into one of the runes beneath them and channeling magic into it.

Now, one thing you have to understand about runes is that they are very volatile. Any misaligned line or curve and the rune would fail. It's worse when you consider an already active run scheme. Any damage to one rune and activated the rune scheme would have disastrous consequences. Best case scenario, they would just fail to activate. Worst case, they explode. The tendency for the latter became more and more probable the more complicated the rune scheme was. And it didn't get more complicated than a 20 millennia old prison made to seal an omnipotent being.

The runes lit up but eventually, sparks started flying amongst the runes and Harry and Jean jumped off the cage as it slowly started to gather energy to what promised to be a spectacular explosion. Pandora and Lilith watched this all happen with wide eyes as Lilith screamed and yelled her anger as the exploding cage separated the two groups.

Harry turned to the ball of blue light that represented Agamotto. "They're distracted! Let's go!"

The ball of blue light bobbed up and down before opening a portal in front of them. The last thing Harry heard before passing out unconscious was a loud roar of pain that was obviously from the Leviathan that almost covered up Lilith's yell of rage.


Lilith yelled in rage as she watched the three mortal children who caused the deaths of her beloved nephilim disappear into a blue portal. Beside her, Pandora had a scowl on her face. "Well, they escaped. Let's go, Lilith. There's nothing for us here and I'd prefer not to get my clothes wet when the Leviathan blows up from the inside out."

Lilith huffed before following Pandora into a red portal. As it closed behind them, the cage exploded with incredible strength, blowing a hole in the Leviathan's chest, killing it instantly.

Pandora and Lilith appeared in an alley in another dimension and Lilith shrieked in rage before kicking a nearby trash can. "Those whelps! How could they escape us?! Have we gotten so old that some brats can get the best of us?! And just how dare that brat turn me down!? When I get the chance I'm going to tear him limb from limb!"

Pandora sighed. "Calm yourself. I admit that it's annoying but it's only a minor annoyance. Our objective was achieved and you're free now and at full power."

Lilith smirked as she chuckled evilly. "Yesss... I'm back and the multiverse will tremble in remembrance of my power."

Pandora waved her off. "Yes, yes. However, what truly annoys me is that they destroyed the cage. I was planning on using the energy still stored within the cage, not to mention the runes, to break open a gate to Purgatory so we could free the Old Ones. That's impossible now."

Lilith turned to Pandora with narrowed eyes. "You think?! How are we going to manage it now?!"

Pandora smirked before starting to walk down the alley, forcing Lilith to follow. "Thankfully, I always have a back-up plan. Only a mortal or something created by mortal hands can open the gate to Purgatory. The only one of the latter that had sufficient power was your cage so that's out so we need to use a mortal."

Lilith snorted. "The only mortals with that kind of power are sorcerers and not even the most power-hungry are that stupid. Not to mention that even if they did, their patrons would quickly take back their power, making the point moot."

Pandora smiled conspiratorially. "Yes... but wizards don't need patrons to fuel their most powerful spells."

Lilith looked at her incredulously. "That's because even the most powerful wizard is barely as strong as the weakest sorcerer! The only ones that do have the power became Magi and they want nothing to do with us!"

Pandora just continued smirking. "Usually... unless we patron a wizard ourselves."

Lilith cocked an eyebrow at her. "Who would be that stupid and power-hungry to accept our patronage?"

Pandora's smirk widened. "Have you ever heard of a man called Tom Riddle?"

AN: Dun-dun- DUN! And there's chapter 7!

Lol! And enter Voldemort! For those wondering how Voldemort would become strong enough to fight Harry on even footing since Harry is so powerful, you have your answer!

Hope you like the chapter. I had always planned to give Harry Caliburn but never really knew how to make him find it when I already planned to have it in Ulthane's possession. This chapter gave me the chance and is one of the reasons I had Wanda kidnapped in the first place.

As always, Read and Review!