What is up my reading dudes and dudettes?
Back here again with a quick one and one that actually has a comic to it if you could believe that. Crazy right?
Anywho, rather than my babbling, let's just get on with it.
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.
Avengers Age of Remnant Chapter 12: The Sorceress of Remnant
At a secluded mountain range, a structure could be seen built into the natural landscape.
Though decrepit and aged in appearance, the building still exuded an air of sturdiness, one that is meant to convey a strong foundation that has withstood countless centuries.
Around the building, if one had a more "latent" power or connection, one could be able to pick up on a kind of energy that seemed to reverberate in and around the structure. A kind of power that few are even aware of by this point.
A sanctum of lost arts and knowledge.
The Remnant Sanctum, which could be considered the last remnant of a magical landmark on the planet.
Once, there were multiple buildings and locations across the world that invited any and all for the studies and practices of the Arcane arts.
Then came the first cataclysm or some would even call it the cleansing.
Just a fancy means of calling it Remnants' first extinction.
Now, many sights such as this one are either in ruins or gone altogether. This one remains as it was originally designed to be isolated, if not hidden from the rest of the world for a grander purpose.
It was why it still stands after all these centuries.
Within the sanctum itself, a lone woman could be seen in the kitchen, chopping up vegetables and meats for a beef stew she was cooking.
Taking on a closer inspection, she was a very beautiful woman with dark olive skin. Shoulder-length black ash hair with a silver streak through her locks. She wore a laced waist-cincher over a long blue tunic with a dark gray hemline that fell over a dark teal skirt that also had the same gray hem. The tunic opens in a "v" to reveal an off-white folded collar. The long sleeves are also cinched just above the elbows. All three cinches and the hem are the same dark gray as the hooded cloak being hung on a rack on the other side of the kitchen. Her boots were dark brown and she wore a dark blue skull necklace.
To finish off her appearance, she had one silver eye while her right eye was covered by an eyepatch.
Not far away on the kitchen island was the other person in the room.
He was a bald individual with tattoos scrawled across his scalp. Where the tattoo "hairline" could be placed were a pair of horns jutting out and curving upwards. There was rope wrapped around the horns and connected them together for some sort of harness. His beard was long, trimmed yet scruffy with the occasional braids and beads thrown in. And his eyes were bright yellow as if they were molten glowing gold.
What else was unique about this man… was that he was a sentient head. Yeah, no body attached from the neck down.
At this time, the apparently alive head was speaking to his companion about a story.
The woman idly listened to the head's tale, his voice grand and reverent as he finished the last portion of it.
"…To truly embrace your purpose, and the patience and sacrifice it demands, is to ensure your day will come."
She found the story of course boring as he told this story many times by now and for someone like her, she is well aware of her responsibilities as the Grand Sorceress of Remnant.
Not only does she have to protect the planet from internal threats, such as Salem, her allies and her Grimm; but external ones such as extra-dimensional entities.
For years, she has worked hard in her role once it had been bestowed onto her. One which she'll carry out to the bitter end.
"So, whaddya think, Maria?" The talking head expectantly asked.
The Sorceress shrugged, tossing her diced vegetables into a nearby boiling pot.
"Well, your storytelling skills are still intact, Mimir." Maria idly commented, beginning to season her stew. Around her, several condiments and spices floated. "But Surtr sounds like an asshole."
"Meh~ he is honestly." Mimir admitted, thinking back on the old fire giant he once met. "Him and his ego. All he really has done is sit his fiery ass on his throne on Muspelheim for a few thousand years and done nothin' else. Just complaining about when he'll kill Odin and all that other rubbish. You'd think he'd get a hobby or something by now."
"And when he does get off his ass, it's to begin this Ragnarök you spoke of?"
Mimir bobbed from side to side. "Could be a number of things. Him being bored enough to break into Asgard to acquire the Eternal Flame so he may destroy the home of the Aesir. Or he's waiting for Odin to finally kick the bucket so he can enact the former."
"And when will Odin die?"
Mimir did his best to shrug in his head form. "No clue. But we'll definitely know when."
"How?" Maria flicked her hand, a cool wind blowing the fire out from underneath the pot.
"You'll definitely know. You'll feel it in the cosmos. A Skyfather dying does not go unnoticed. As if a bell has been rung. Out in the vast universe, an echoing single truth to those capable of hearing it: the Allfather is dead!"
"Right~~" Maria dryly said, moving to wash her hands, several utensils floating around her, the pot setting itself down next to her.
As Maria had finished cooking her meal, both she and Mimir froze, locking eyes with one another as there was a reverberation within the sanctum.
They felt a disturbance and realized something had breached Remnant. Throwing her hand out, Mimir floated into her grasp before she hooked him onto a latch on her belt.
Rushing out of the kitchen into the primary center chamber of the Sanctum, she pulled up a magic globe of Remnant where the breach is coming from and sees it was from Mistral forest.
Seeing the destination in mind, Maria conjures a portal to the location.
-Scene Cut-
'This sucks.' Came the thought of an unfortunate soul who was running for her life right now.
Behind her, she could hear the sound of the thing that was chasing her, only serving to make her run faster despite the exhaustion in her legs.
She was a young teenage girl with slightly tan skin wearing a denim jacket decorated by stars and was currently running for her life from an unseen force behind her.
Trees were being crushed, uprooted and swatted aside with a slithering trail appearing on the ground, making a beeline straight for the girl fleeing for her life.
Taking a moment to gauge her surroundings, she looked around, hoping to find an exit only to see none. Movement from behind caused her to dive behind a tree only for it to be blown to pieces by the invisible enemy's attack.
Splinters and twigs flew everywhere, her included and she sailed through the air before crashing hard into the bark of another tree.
A sharp exhale of pain escaped her, the girl fell to the ground a moment later, tasting blood in her mouth.
'This really sucks.' She thought to herself, feeling pain coursing through her body.
If it wasn't for her adrenaline rushing through her right now, she would've passed out from that.
Sometimes, life could really be a bit of a bitch.
Regardless, now wasn't the time to rest. She heard movement and noticed it was close but also…
Did the creature lose sight of her from it blowing up the tree she hid behind?
If so, now was her chance to hightail it out of here.
But she didn't make it far as something appeared in her path that caused her to screech to a halt.
What could be described as a literal portal in the middle of the forest, the denim-clad teen was momentarily thrown off by the sight yet she felt a sense of Deja-vu with what she was looking at. But who came through wasn't who she was expecting to see.
From her past experiences, she had seen a man with a specific beard style always come through but in this instance, it was a young woman in robes, a grim mask to say the least with a severed head attached to her hip and to top it all off, her eyes glowed a haunting silvery-white hue.
The teen girl was at a loss for words, actually being frightened momentarily at the sight.
For Maria Calavera, she gazed intently at the young girl in front of her. She opened her mouth to ask just who she was until she saw the forest ablaze behind her and a tree being smashed apart by something she couldn't see.
On instinct, Maria grabbed the girl and pulled her to stand behind her as she faced whatever it was that was there.
"By Odin's beard, what is that?" Mimir spoke up in surprise.
Maria was instantly alert, tensing up at her comrade's words. "What? What do you see, Mimir?"
"Something I wish I didn't. Too pink and too fleshy for my ta-SHIELD!" He yelled out suddenly.
Without needing to question this exclamation, Maria threw up a barrier just in time as a large beam of energy smashed into it.
She was pushed back by this beam, her feet grinding against the ground until she held out her other hand. Muttering beneath her breath and flexing her fingers in a specific pattern, the shield was reinforced and she now stood strong against the beam, now pushing back against it.
After a few seconds, the shield dissipated, giving Maria the chance to go on the offensive.
Holding up her right hand, her fingers were outstretched with her middle and ring connected. A blue appeared in front of her hand, multiple symbols and runes being seen on them with blue energy wisps converging around her as she completed her spell. Once calling upon the needed power, Maria thrust her hand forward and unleashed a powerful beam of her own that had blue lightning crackling around it.
Since she couldn't see her enemy yet, Maria made sure to fire in an arching horizontal sweep that struck multiple trees, rocks and-
*SHRKRAAAA*
Eye narrowed, her gaze darted around, trying to catch any form of movement or any noise that may discern the location of this invisible foe.
The snapping of branches caught her attention, her head whipped over to the right.
Squinting her eyes slightly, Maria saw a brief shimmer in the air, a small smirk appearing momentarily. Sharpening her gaze, she clapped her hands together, a blue flame-like energy converging around her arms. Once the adequate energy had come together she crossed her wrists, ring fingers and thumbs touching with her index, middle and pinkies stretched out.
She slowly uncrossed her hands, unleashing a magic wave that washed over the invisible entity, making it visible for her to see.
What was revealed to them was a pink and black serpentine creature with additional tendrils and a yellow mouth screeching at them with multiple symbols all over its body.
The symbols faded several moments later as they had served their purpose, the creature shrieking venomously at the Sorceress who regarded it with her cold glowing silver eyes.
"Well now, he looks pleasant."
Maria jolted back, completely thrown off by what she just heard.
Was that… who was that?
Where did that disembodied voice come from?
*SKRAAAAAAAAA*
The Sorceress shook her head, refocusing on the monstrosity in front of her.
Now wasn't the time for that. Clapping her hands together once more to conjure spells to surround her arms, her middle and ring fingers were connected whilst her pinkies, indexes and thumbs remained spaced apart.
Her head tilted up in time to see the serpentine creature on the offensive. Keeping her hands clasped together, Maria propelled herself back as the tail of the beast smashed into the ground repeatedly in an attempt to turn her into a bloody stain on the ground.
Once she got a proper distance from her foe, the Grimm Reaper summoned the needed power, a translucent crimson hue dancing in and around her hands. She threw them both out, rotating her arms as half a dozen ethereal swords appeared around her before they were fired upon the incoming demon. The rapidly fired projectiles made contact, but they only made the adversary angrier and angrier.
"That's not working."
"Thank you, Mimir, your commentary is enlightening as always."
In the midst of all this, the girl in the denim, star Laden jacket watched on in astonishment.
She had seen a lot in her short life but she always found displays such as these to be awe-inspiring.
Maria's eyes widened, seeing the serpentine creature lunge forward in a burst of speed that one would assume to be difficult to pull off given the size of the beast.
Its head collided with the earth as it barely missed Maria, who performed a summersault dodge, her robes flapping in the wind.
Upon landing on the ground, she held her hands forward, red energy appearing from her elbows that swirled around her arms down to the tips of her fingers that formed into small red portals.
Plunging her hands into them, she pulled out two small scythes, ones that she was quite well-versed in and familiar with.
Her signature weapons, "lovingly" nicknamed Life and Death. With a quick twirl, they expanded into their full sizes and she got into her ready position. One resting on her shoulder and the other held out in a diagonal position.
Seeing this, the demon serpent remained unperturbed, hissing at the Sorceress who rolled her neck momentarily before going on the attack.
Throwing one, the bladed weapon embedded itself into the demon, actually digging itself deeper into it. It thrashed itself about, trying to rid the weapon from its body to no avail.
Holding her other scythe in hand, a red hue surrounded it while she held out her free hand, reaching for the connection she shared with her weapon. Feeling the link in place, rather than calling back her scythe, she instead used it as the anchor to pull herself in close. Once landing, she began cleaving through the serpentine demon in rapid succession; all the while magically holding onto her other weapon still embedded in the scythe.
The Serpent-like demon screeched in pain and fury, its tendrils shooting out to grab the sorceress. Maria lept high into the air, retrieving her other scythe and went into a corkscrew that cut apart the multiple tendrils coming for her.
But that did little to deter the demon as it began to thrash about, moving all over in an attempt to rid itself of the Grimm Reaper.
"Damn thing is worse than a king taijitu." Maria murmured under her breath upon landing on the ground.
The serpentine monster hissed at her, wisps of flames wafting out from the corners of its mouth.
"Oh shit." Maria said, quickly conjuring another shield as the creature unleashed a torrent of fire.
"Bollocks!" Mimir shouted, making Maria look down at him and then at what he was looking at to see the shocking sight of the fire melting her shields away.
She expunged her shield with a gust of wind behind it to blow some of the flames back, giving her some space.
Backpedaling away, Maria had to figure out her next course of action. The serpent was already slithering after her, firing more flames from its mouth with her forming shields around her weapons to continually deflect them.
She held both her scythes in one hand with the other over her forehead. There was a flash of her silver eyes behind her mask, the Sorceress combining her two weapons into a dual-sided scythe staff.
Beneath her mask, a grin had formed, a familiar rush kicking in as she faced down the gargantuan monster before her.
Spinning Life and Death in her hands in rapid succession, a chilling mist emanated from the combined weapon, cold winds whipping around her and from her spinning scythe. At its apex, she slammed the dual-sided scythe staff into the ground where a massive icy gust exploded, particles of ice and snow assailing the pink serpent-like demon.
It may be enough to freeze the creature in place. How long it will be was a question Maria didn't wish to answer very soon.
She broke into a run, watching the cold storm hindering and freezing the movements of the demon, jolting motions to try to free itself. Getting closer to her adversary, she coated her blades in darkened flames before she began spinning and slicing into the beast. Multiple deep and dark gashes appeared on the monster, small wisps of fire emanating around them that caused the receiver unimaginable pain.
At the end of this, she reared her weapon back and had an enlarged ethereal mallet form around her staff before bringing it down hard onto the serpentine demon's head.
The mallet bashed the demon down to the ground, stunning it for a moment yet not enough it seemed as it managed to retract almost instinctively back from Maria's scythe.
Retaliating, it reared its head back and unleashed a roar. From its body, a blast of energy was quickly unleashed and sent Maria flying.
"Are you alright?" Mimir said aloud.
"Alive." Was Maria's quick response, using her scythe to grab onto a tree branch and land safely on the ground.
The Serpentine monster roared aloud, dashing straight for her now.
With another spin of her scythe staff, electricity and black wisps coursed around the edges of her blades.
She spun her staff around once again, conjuring lightning bolts and black fire and proceeded to rapidly spin her staff back and forth from left to right.
A tidal wave of lightning and black flames were rapidly fired in the direction of the serpent-like monster which zigged and zagged but she managed to land several direct hits upon him. The creatures' cries of pain were near blood-curdling but Maria remained unperturbed by them.
It went on to swipe its tale at her, which Maria avoided each time with the occasional leap or dodge somersault. Eventually, it reared back its head and unleashed a beam of energy from its maw. It didn't go straight as the serpentine beast moved its head all over in hopes of taking out the Grimm Reaper. Once the attack failed, the extra-dimensional entity continued on with the offensive onslaught.
The creature sprouted more tendrils, the edges becoming like spears and sent them all straight at Maria.
"They're coming in from all sides!"
"Yes, I can see that Mi-OOF!"
Maria got one tendril that landed a clean hit in her gut, sending her crashing down hard to the ground. She groaned aloud, clutching her stomach. The Sorceress managed to create a barrier at the last second from being impaled but the damn thing still struck her hard and Ohm did it hurt.
Seemingly satisfied with the damage it had dealt to Maria, the serpent reared its head back in the direction of its original prey.
The girl jolted, having all but been ignored for the few moments of Maria's fight with the monster, now backing away in fear as the monster slowly moved towards her until slithering at her at full speed.
She spun round, ready to run but failed to realize a tree root was behind her, causing her to trip over and fall. The teen girl grunted, annoyed by her mistake until the sound of movement reminded her who was coming to get her.
She was quick to spin back around, sitting up in terror just as the serpent reared its head up, hovering over her, mouth agape and small wisps of flames emanating from it.
For a moment, her breath got caught in her throat, finding it hard to breathe. Then, her eyes slowly began to glow with a bluish-white aura surrounding her hands, working up to the rest of her body.
Yet just as the demon was about to come down on her and her aura was to reach its apex, a glowing blue sword slammed itself into the midsection of its body.
Both the creature and girl turned to see a battered but standing Maria glaring intensely at the monster.
"I'm sorry, did I say that you and I were done? No, I don't think so." Maria said aloud, silver eyes flaring once again.
She had split her weapon back into separate scythes, holding one in each hand. Her hands and scythes were glowing an ethereal blue energy with a dozen blue swords floating above and around the sorceress.
Maria began swinging her scythes with each swing, sending one of the floating swords forward with another replacing it a second later. They seemed to never end with how quickly they were being fired upon the serpent-entity with more constantly materializing around the conjurer.
The Serpent tried in vain to dodge the oncoming blades but it was overwhelmed by the seemingly endless stream of swords that punctured multiple portions of its body with several having pinned it to the ground. And for good measure, Maria toppled over several trees so they may further hold down her adversary.
With the beast ensnared, Maria sought to end this here and now.
Once more, she combined her scythe into its full form, the large blade radiating with power.
Rearing Life and Death back, black, red, white and blue lightning crackled and coalesced at the tip of her scythe whilst bluish-white energy whipped up around her.
All these elements rapidly came together, expanding and condensing before reaching their peak. As this happened, her eyes glowed at their full power as she combined her silver-eye power with her upcoming spell. An instant later, she thrusted her weapon forward and unleashed her attack.
For any onlooker, it appeared to be an enlarged beam of pure magical energy. Its bright azure light washed over the vicinity for a brief period of time.
The sound it gave off was indescribably, close to a booming hum that vibrated one's ears and entire being.
The young girl could only watch with her jaw nearly on the floor, the power behind that attack making her entire body vibrate until the beam ended.
Maria's arms fell to her sides, her right hand barely holding onto her scythe.
As the light faded away, the beast fell over dead, a large portion of its body was gone with its blood spilling all over the ground.
Maria sent Life and Death away, taking a moment to herself to lean forward and rest her hands on her knees, breathing in and out heavily.
"You alright there, Maria?"
"Got the job done, Mimir." She responded, a bit out of breath. "All that matters in the end."
"Aye, that much is a given."
Once recovering from her moment of exhaustion, the Sorceress reached out to the dead body of the slain demon.
"Alright, time to clean up this mess."
Twirling her hand, Maria created a portal beneath the serpent as she deposited the corpse to the nearest volcano to incinerate the remains.
The girl whom the demon was chasing could only look on, still in a state of shock after witnessing the intense battle.
"Holy shit." She whispered.
It was at this point that Maria returned her focus to the person she had just saved not long ago.
"Now with that out of the way," Maria then focused all of her attention on the teen before her, crossing her arms. "What's going on and who are you?"
"Uh…" Was all the young teen managed out, her eyes glued to the lifeless gaze of the mask staring down at her.
She then heard a scoff.
"Ya could have asked that a bit more kindly, ya know." Said an accented voice, making the denim jacket-wearing girl look down at the hip of Maria.
She stared blankly at the blinking, horned head that stared right back at her, the denim jacket-wearing teen bending down slightly to get a better look at him.
"What? Ya never seen a talking head before?" Mimir jokingly asked, making the girl shake her head blankly.
Maria hmphed in amusement, holding a hand up to her face, moving it upwards that removed the mask to reveal her face to the girl. The girl got a proper look at Maria's face and noticed something that didn't correlate with her.
The woman's right silver right eye was visible but her left was covered by an eyepatch. Another startling detail was scarring around her right eye that appeared to go into her covered left eye.
"Come on," Calavera spoke more candidly. "I can imagine you'd rather talk in a place where you can rest your legs."
The trio returned to the Remnant Sanctum shortly thereafter, Maria having brought them into the kitchen where she was now seated with her "guest" at the table, placing Mimir up.
"So," Maria said conversationally, a twirl of her fingers bringing two bowls of the stew she was working on earlier. "Let's start with your name then some lunch. You look like you need it."
The girl's mouth watered at the stew, catching a whiff of it and digging into a near ravenous degree.
"Well, she's a boisterous one." Mimir commented, watching her devour her stew in a rabid fervor.
Maria said nothing, instead checking over the teen.
Her clothing had seen better days and there were cuts and bruises all over her. She wasn't malnourished, which was a good sign but clear signs of hunger and exhaustion were plain to see.
The girl finished half her stew before inhaling, catching her breath after her eating frenzy.
"Whew, sorry bout that." She earnestly said. "I was just-"
"No worries." Calavera waved off. "So, back to my previous question. Who are you?"
"Maria." The talking head abruptly admonished. "What's with your lack of decorum? The question is right but the method is wrong. As her host, our names come first."
The Sorceress rolled her eyes at Mimir, both visible and non-visible but smirked at him all the same.
"True enough." She remarked, turning to the girl who sat there in silence. "Names Maria Calavera, kid. This here is Mimir. And this is our Sanctum."
"Pleasure to meet ya Lassie." Mimir cheerfully greeted her.
He was still getting bewildering looks from her but they were lessening as the seconds ticked by.
Clearing her throat, she appeared hesitant at first before revealing her name.
"Chavez." She quietly said. "America Chavez."
Calavera nodded in satisfaction at hearing this, now focusing intently on her.
"So, America," Maria said, leaning forward and propping her arms up, hands lacing together. "Mind explaining to the two of us just what in the hell was going on back there? What was that demon doing chasing after someone like you?"
"Aye, seemed a bit more than an accidental run-in, drawing the ire of the beast." Mimir commented.
Swallowing what food was in her mouth, Chavez answered the question with a question of her own.
"How much experience do you have with the multiverse?"
This… certainly was an odd question for them to hear.
"Not much." Admitted Maria. "Just know that exists."
"In terms of knowledge, a lot." Mimir added in. "We've got quite the library on it here."
Chavez nodded as she resumed eating, albeit at a quickened pace.
"You should slow down on eating." Maria chastised. "It's not going anywhere. And you'll hurt your stomach."
Chavez nodded, cheeks full before gulping down hard, patting her chest slightly. "Whew, sorry. So… yeah, I'm from another universe."
"Truly?" Mimir inquired with clear fascination.
"Yeah, so what makes ya think my stomach works same as yours?" Chavez cheekily asked.
Maria shook her head at this. "I don't. But etiquette matters."
"I clearly don't have one." Said Mimir. "Interesting and hopefully true as it would be, we don't even know if you're genuinely from another universe."
"Which is why I'm sitting here-"
"And me placed here."
"-waiting for you to enlighten us." Said Maria, once getting over Mimir's interruption.
Abruptly, Chavez appeared hesitant, looking back and forth between the dismembered head and the older woman who were looking at her expectantly.
"She seems a bit shy." Mimir remarked.
"She wasn't shy with our food." Maria dryly said, the teen flinching from that. "Now you need to explain what's going on. Why was that snake thing trying to kill you?"
"That thing was trying to kidnap me." Corrected Chavez, who only confused the two a bit more. "It's like a henchman who works for a demon."
"A demon eh?" Mimir murmured. "Haven't dealt with one of those buggers in a while. A long while."
"And why was this demon trying to kidnap you?" Maria pressed forward.
America didn't answer at first.
"Oi, we saved your life." Maria impatiently stated.
"Least ya could do is tell us what's goin' on." Mimir offered a compromise.
The girl was clearly unsure of whether or not she should ever say anything but then again, them saving her life was a valid enough argument for her to talk. "All we knew is that they wanted to take my power for themselves."
This only served to confuse the two inhabitants of the sanctum.
"We? Who's we? And what's this power of yours?" The Sorceress inquired.
America once more hesitated at first until she answered. "I can travel the multiverse."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...Excuse me?" Was the dismembered head's response.
"You heard me." Chavez indignantly said. "I can travel the multiverse."
"You can physically move from one universe to another?" Mimir asked, clearly in disbelief.
"Mm-hmm." Chavez said, gulping down the rest of her stew.
"How?" Maria inquired, narrowing her visible eye at her.
Chavez slumped in her seat, throwing her arms up. "That's the problem, I don't know how. I just do. I can't control it. Only happens when I'm really, really afraid."
Mimir sighed upon hearing this. "Well that's just perfect."
Calavera was silent for a moment, dwelling on this issue. "And how long has this been going on?"
The young teen sighed tiredly.
"Hard to say. Running for your life for so long in a short span of time, feels like forever. The last guy who helped me," Chavez spat out, which didn't go unnoticed by Maria and Mimir, "spoke of this magical book of pure good that gives a sorcerer whatever they need to defeat their enemy. He thought using it would be enough to stop whatever is trying to take me."
Maria gazed at her intently. "I gotta ask, but does Vishanti mean anything to you?"
Chavez perked up upon hearing that. "Yeah, that's what we were after! The Book of the Vishanti."
Mimir and Maria looked at her in surprise. "Impossible, that's supposed to be unreachable."
"It is. Except… we reached it." Chavez exhaled a sigh, much to the others' further surprise. "Unfortunately, the demon that chased Strange and I caught up with us."
"Strange?" The pair parroted, the teen clarifying a moment later.
"The man who was with me. I thought he'd protect me. Yet he died and betrayed me before we could get it." The hurt in her voice was clear for them to hear.
"How did he betray you?" Maria quietly asked.
Chavez's head dipped low, lip quivering and tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "He tried stealing my powers before the demon chasing us could. I… I know I can't control my powers but… I trusted him. I really thought he was my friend and I…"
She didn't finish the statement, not that it was needed. Maria and Mimir felt the pain of her betrayal and could only watch as she wiped her tears away. The trio fell silent for a few brief moments until Mimir cleared his throat.
"So what now?"
America looked up at him a bit miserably. "Now? I guess… whatever scares me into jumping into another reality."
"That's encouraging." The head dryly said.
"It's the truth." Chavez said with a bitter smile.
The Sorceress of the Sanctum, however, would not abide by such a matter.
"There's bound to be more creatures out there hunting her." Maria said in complete seriousness.
"And being on Remnant is dangerous enough with the Grimm." Mimir tacked on, America showing a sign of curiosity at the mention of these "Grimm" that he spoke of.
"Before anything else." Maria gazed intently at the newcomer. "Do you perhaps have proof of your tale?"
Chavez paused for a moment, thinking it over until…
"I could show you Strange's body." She said in a low voice.
"...What?" Was Maria's thrown-off reaction.
The teen chuckled nervously, grimacing at the thought of it now. "Yeah, his corpse is where I landed. Apparently it came with me when I activated my powers."
Maria and Mimir shared a look with one another.
"We should go grab the body immediately." Mimir suggested.
"Why?" America asked. "Isn't showing you guys the body enough?
"There are some people in this world who may take advantage of such a thing if left unchecked. It's a body from another universe after all." Maria pointed out. "Better safe than sorry."
"Uh, I guess but I think it's ways away since we're… wherever here is." America stated.
"Well, we already have a solution to that. Chavez, could you perhaps envision where the body is at?" Mimir inquired.
She tilted her head at that. "Why?"
"I can make a portal to its location, but I need an actual reference." The Sorceress of the Sanctum answered. "So if you would be so kind as to open up your mind, I can make it real quick."
The extradimensional teen really was experiencing a lot of hesitation today but really, now wasn't the time for that. Nodding, she tried her best idea of what "opening her mind" up would be like and allowed Maria to take a quick look in her mind.
Minutes later, the trio were now standing over the body of the sorcerer who died attempting to take Chavez's power. The body was presently lying on a medical table in the sanctum after Maria had retrieved it.
"Well… this man has seen better days." Mimir couldn't help but comment on the state of the body.
"And you said he died not long ago?" Maria asked, seeing the teenager nod.
Looking back at the body, she gently trailed her hands over the multitude of gashes and wounds.
"Such afflictions were done so fast. Whoever had this demon or extra-dimensional entity under their thrall wasn't messing around."
"So…" Chavez rubbed her shoulder nervously. "What's gonna happen now? What should I do?"
Maria gave the girl a sympathetic look, going over to the girl and placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Chavez, you are welcome to stay here. As far as we know, this is the safest place you can be right now." She kindly said, giving her a comforting smile.
The teen girl shot her a look of mistrust. "How do I know you won't betray me like he did?"
The Sorceress took the question in stride.
"You don't. All you can do is trust us." Maria held out her other hand. "But what I can offer you is a place to stay where you can be protected. Maybe even learn how to use your powers."
"You sure about that?" Chavez said challengingly. "My powers have been a pain in my ass since I could remember."
Maria figured this would be her response. "I get your hesitation to use your powers. But it's best to at least be prepared in case anything else happens. In the meantime, choose any available room. There's… quite a lot to decide on."
Chavez nodded before glancing over to the dead body one last look before leaving the room.
With them now alone now, and out of earshot, Maria and Mimir conversed without Chavez's presence.
"Was there anything about this creature you faced, Maria?" Mimir inquired. "Anything in particular which we may know whose allegiance it aligns towards?"
Maria tilted her head up in thought, recalling the fight she had. "There were these glyphs and runes etched onto its flesh. They weren't typical ones that were carved or branded on by a higher demon. These were made by a witch."
"You think Salem and Agatha are behind this?" The head worriedly said. "Or that daft Amora is up to something once again?"
Maria shook her head. "Doesn't fit their style. Salem would just sick her Grimm, maybe even supersize them. And as far as I know with Agatha, she'd use people enhanced with her magic, unless she's doing it personally. Amora is like Agatha but uses illusions and mind manipulation a bit more. Yet she never uses demons, much to my knowledge."
"Another party, then." Mimir surmised. "One we are unfamiliar with. That's worrisome."
"Guess we have something to look out for." Maria remarked. "Think your eyes can help?"
"I'll do what I can." Mimir promised, eyes flashing momentarily. "But Maria, you do know her powers alone can wreak havoc on this universe and many others. And someone is after her. I dread to imagine if someone nefariously harnessed her gift."
"Yet she sees it as a curse, a burden." Maria pointed out.
"Aye, that she does." Mimir said sympathetically. "Poor lass. A power like that and no control? I can only imagine the turmoil someone as young as she had to endure. What'll ya do, Maria?"
Maria was silent for a moment until sighing. "I'll do what I can for her. It's all some people can do sometimes."
Mimir simply hummed, shooting an appraising look up at her. "Well, ya won't be alone in that matter."
Maria smiled down at him, patting his head. "Thanks, old friend."
AN
Hey everyone, this was a quick one, wasn't it?
Short sweet and simple and an expansion of something we have on my DeviantArt account. So if you wanna see the amazing artwork for this chapter, please go check out my DeviantArt account, same name and you'll see Sorceress of Remnant in my Galleries.
BSX: If you're curious about the demon that we use, it's called Synraith, a very obscure creature from the X-Men comics. With Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania coming out next week I'm looking forward to it and hope Phase 5 starts off with a good start.
FMW: Other than that, yeah, last chapter as the build-up. Now, we're goin' into Volume 1 but of course, might be a slight while cuz of Quantumania. We still gotta do more groundwork and all for this story. Big undertaking cause of how much we're gonna be juggling around.
Other than that, thanks for reading and stay tuned for more.
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.