"You're sure this is the right one?"
The King's Door, built atop the skull of Un-Ranir, stretched up into the sky, casting an unmoving shadow upon the small group gathered at its base.
Matani laid a withering gaze upon Tethysythysehts, her bodyguard and companion. The devil merely snickered in response. "Yes. It would not be responding to the Key were it not. Though as to whether this is the world that will contain your quarry-" She turned her eyes to Kasen Menetho, the Geas Knight. "-remains to be seen."
Indeed, the massive gate was wreathed in thin, nearly-invisible lightning, flickering and dancing as if the very structure itself was daring Matani to rend open the space within its frame and once again connect the world inside to the greater Wheel.
Kasen studied it, his face hidden behind the traditional helm of his order. "The Bone Listeners foresaw him in a world of the Hive Gods' creation."
"There are over 3000 of those," Tethysythysehts said, jamming the end of his cleaver-like sword against the ground to lean on.
Kasen shrugged. "Have to start somewhere."
"You are lucky they fall under the control of Lady Mottom. I doubt any of the other six would have been quite as gracious as to open a closed world for a wandering knight." Matani stepped forward, causing the lightning to briefly flare as the distance between the gate and the blazing light on her forehead decreased.
Kasen snorted in derision. "The whims of royalty are easy to direct. This world or another, I doubt it makes much difference to your Lady, or her armies. So long as the tithes continue to flow in, no?"
Matani threw a glare over her shoulder at Kasen. "Hold your tongue. It is by our Lady's grace that you still stand." She held her hand up to the cool stone of the King's Door, closing her eyes as she concentrated. Allowing the borrowed Key she possessed to bolster her focus and power, she spoke.
"OPEN."
Even as the word rang out, Matani allowed all thoughts to slip away, her ego instantly dissolving. For the briefest of moments, Matani Ten Yodmani, sorcerer, vatra, handmaiden and Emissary to Mottom ceased to exist, and instead sublimed, her mind, body, and soul becoming the very act of Opening itself. White lightning surged from her hand into the structure even as she flickered out of existence.
A moment of silence passed with the gathered group staring at the spot where Matani had been standing, before Kasen looked inquisitively at Tethysythysehts.
"That means it worked. Come on, she'll be on the other side." Almost casually, Tethysythysehts strolled through the King's Door, his body disappearing as it crossed through the empty arch.
Kasen, turning back to the small entourage that had accompanied Matani, shrugged once more and followed suit.
As he emerged on the other side, Kasen was buffeted by a bitingly cold wind. Almost instantly he felt his eyelashes under his helm freeze, causing him to squint. As their arrival point came into view, he felt a brief wave of vertigo - their arrival point seemed to be the peak of a mountain, with a sheer drop less than a scant dozen feet away. Turning around, he craned his head to look up at the archway they had just walked through. Similar to its brother in Throne, it stretched upward an impossibly high distance into the sky, but was distinctly iced over.
As Matani's entourage appeared through the gate, Kasen turned his attention back to the diplomat. "I don't suppose my deal for passage extends to getting down off this mountain, does it?"
Matani, who had fearlessly approached the edge, her feet planted less than a hand span from the drop, considered for a moment. "Your presence is neither requested nor prohibited. We will send for a flying ship to make the descent - you are welcome to accompany should you wish." With that, she returned her attention to the view below, standing still as a statue with her hands clasped behind her back, the only movement of her silhouette the flapping of her ornate skirt and the tassel on her mortarboard cap.
Behind Kasen, an eidolon servant had already scrambled back through the gate, no doubt to fulfill Matani's order to fetch a ship. He bowed to Matani, figuring it better to err on the side of formality with her. "Many thanks."
Tethysythysehts approached the edge alongside his mistress, the accumulated ice melting around his unclothed feet. "So what's the plan? Play at diplomacy, or skip straight to the slaughter?" He seemed eager at the prospect.
"If our Lady wished for out and out bloodshed, she would have sent the Guild of the Crimson Lamb, not us. No, we are the olive branch to be extended in hope of preventing such an event, and convince the locals that it is in their best interest to pay proper tribute."
Even as she spoke, Matani's eyes widened slightly, as though she had noticed something. "Look," she said, raising a hand to trace a path along the horizon, "you can just make out a curve. This world must be a sphere."
Kasen was about to respond, only for his head to whip to the side, his body effortlessly dropping into a casual but prepared stance. Tethysythysehts mirrored his motion, facing the rapidly-expanding circle of sparks that had swirled into existence.
Matani, far more composed, merely turned to face it even as it widened enough that a large man could walk through comfortably. "Ah, good. It seems the locals are aware of the Art, at least in some archaic form."
As they observed it, the circle finished expanding, and quickly the view of an ice-filled room became apparent. Two figures dressed in heavy coats stepped through, their hands raised in a defensive stance. A moment later, glyphs of the same material as the portal encircled their hands. Sorcerers, then.
"Higher duties?" Dr. Stephen Strange questioned incredulously.
"The Sorcerer Supreme has higher duties, yes," Wong replied, the eye roll evident in his inflection.
"Wait, I thought you were Sorcer-'' Peter Parker was abruptly cut off as both sorcerers before him suddenly stood ramrod straight, a quick glance between the two confirming that each was experiencing what the other was. "Wait, what's happening?"
Wong spared Peter a glance even as Strange tossed his mug to the side, only for it to float gently over to a nearby table as he dug his Sling Ring out of one of his winter coat's pockets. "The Arch of Gang Rinpoche just activated."
Peter remained completely lost. "The Arch of what?"
This time, Strange was the one to answer him. "The Arch of Gang Rinpoche, or Mount Kailash as it's known in the west. An ancient structure at the top of Kailash, it predates almost all known civilizations on Earth. We know frighteningly little about it, save that it is a work of tremendous magical power."
Wong took over as Strange began creating a portal. "All studies done on the structure point towards it being some sort of transportation to another universe, one we know nothing about. As such, Agamotto sealed it away, preventing any but the Masters of the Mystic Arts from approaching it, and even then only to reinforce the seals."
With the portal complete, both men stood before it, steeling themselves for whatever may lay on the other side. Strange glanced at Peter. "Stay here."
Peter stepped forward, nearly bouncing on his toes. "If this is something dangerous, shouldn't I be there to help?"
"Whatever activated the Arch is potentially a threat beyond anything we've seen. Stay. Here."
And with that, the two sorcerers stepped through together, the portal closing behind them before Peter could think to follow.
