Fel-green clouds smothered the sky.
The Burning Legion swept across the battlefield like an endless tide.
And at its center stood a single mage, unleashing power that could erase armies.
By the time Evenson’s immersive illusion reached its climax, the Ancient One felt as though the title of Sorcerer Supreme had suddenly become much lighter than she’d always imagined.
Compared to the archmage before her, she felt like someone who had spent her life staring at the sky from the bottom of a well.
Evenson caught the expression on her face.
"So," he asked with deliberate innocence, "how does that mage compare to you?"
The Ancient One answered without hesitation.
"I couldn’t begin to compare."
She gave a quiet, self-deprecating smile.
"My light is no more than a firefly beside a full moon."
A flicker of satisfaction crossed Evenson’s face before disappearing.
In truth, Khadgar wasn’t overwhelmingly stronger than the Ancient One.
His knowledge was broader, and his spellcraft far more varied, but when it came to raw magical reserves, the Ancient One likely held the advantage. Combined with her mastery of spatial magic and the Time Stone, a battle between them would have been impossible to predict.
But...
The memory Evenson had chosen wasn’t exactly honest.
It was a vision once woven by a dreadlord in an attempt to seduce Khadgar into despair.
Naturally, such a vision exaggerated the Legion’s invincibility.
No recruiter ever opened with, Join us! You’ll spend eternity getting beaten to death, stripped of your gear, and having your head turned in for quest rewards.
That was terrible advertising.
Evenson smiled.
"Would you like to see what happened to him?"
The Ancient One’s heart sank.
"...What?"
Something about his tone filled her with dread.
Surely...
Someone capable of annihilating half an army with a single spell couldn’t possibly have...
The illusion shifted once more.
This time they stood atop a grassy hill overlooking a magnificent city bathed in violet light.
Even without sensing magical energy directly, the Ancient One could tell the truth.
The arcane power saturating that city far exceeded all three Sanctums combined.
She found herself staring in silent admiration.
Then movement behind her drew her attention.
A giant approached.
His skin was deep blue.
His eyes burned with emerald fire.
Tentacle-like appendages hung from his chin, while powerful, digitigrade legs ended in cloven hooves.
A demon.
Yet...
There was something strangely familiar about him.
Before she could place it, the towering figure reached the hilltop and knelt.
With one massive hand, he began drawing an impossibly intricate magic circle across the ground.
The Ancient One watched every line.
Every rune.
Every geometric intersection.
She understood the structure perfectly.
And absolutely none of its meaning.
It was as though she had been handed a language composed entirely of concepts beyond mortal comprehension.
The demon finished his work.
Then he scooped up a handful of soil.
"You built your kingdom with stolen power."
He scattered the dirt over the completed spell.
A perfect miniature of the city below rose from the circle like an elaborate sandcastle.
The Ancient One’s eyes widened.
No...
The demon grinned.
He reached down...
...and casually snapped one of the tiny towers in half.
Far below, the matching tower inside the real city collapsed instantly.
The earth trembled.
The spell continued.
"Let this curse teach your world to fear the Legion."
With a sweep of one enormous hand...
He flattened the entire miniature city.
The glorious metropolis below vanished with it.
In moments, nothing remained except shattered ruins.
Evenson’s voice broke the silence.
"That was Archimonde the Defiler."
"One of the Burning Legion’s greatest commanders."
"He destroyed Khadgar’s nation..."
"...with a single spell."
The Ancient One stood frozen.
Evenson turned toward her.
His voice was low.
"Do you still believe..."
"...that the sorcerers of this world alone have any hope of resisting something like that?"
Only now did she fully understand how naive her confidence had been.
She had expected a desperate battle.
A legendary last stand.
A clash that would shake the heavens before the defenders finally fell.
Instead...
The defenders never even reached their enemy.
Their civilization disappeared before the battle truly began.
Cold sweat gathered on her forehead.
Evenson’s carefully chosen sequence of images had achieved exactly what he intended.
First awe.
Then hopelessness.
Finally...
Urgency.
After a long silence, she managed to speak.
"We still have allies."
Her voice sounded strangely uncertain.
"The people of Asgard would help us."
Ordinarily, she would never have said such a thing.
Military protection always carried political cost.
No civilization defended another forever without expecting influence in return.
Even Odin couldn’t simply commit Asgard’s full strength to Earth’s defense indefinitely. A king still answered to his own people.
If Asgard truly became Earth’s permanent shield...
Earth would eventually become its dependent.
Evenson merely snorted.
"Asgard?"
"The gods?"
He shook his head.
"No."
The illusion changed again.
Now they stood before an impossibly magnificent city suspended among radiant clouds.
Its holy light illuminated the heavens.
At the city’s gate stood a lone warrior clad in gleaming golden armor.
A spear rested in his hand.
Behind him spread wings of pure golden light.
The sight instantly reminded the Ancient One of humanity’s oldest depictions of angels.
"My eternal enemy..."
The armored warrior leveled his spear.
"No disguise will ever deceive my eyes."
Evenson spoke quietly.
"Imperius."
"Archangel of the High Heavens."
A pillar of holy fire erupted from the spear.
It struck...
A little human girl.
She screamed.
Her body twisted beneath the flames.
In moments the child was gone.
Standing in her place was a towering crimson demon, its elongated frame covered in black, blade-like protrusions.
"The Prime Evil..."
Evenson said softly.
"Diablo."
Angel and demon collided.
The battle should have been evenly matched.
It wasn’t.
Within moments, Diablo shattered Imperius’s spear.
The broken weapon plunged through the archangel’s chest.
Imperius fell.
Diablo’s laughter echoed across the heavens.
"The High Heavens will crumble beneath my laughter!"
The radiant city began to break apart.
Tower after tower collapsed from the sky like falling stars.
Silence followed.
Evenson’s voice became solemn.
"Countless gods have already fallen before the darkness."
Then he faced the Ancient One directly.
His eyes burned with unwavering conviction.
"There is no savior coming."
"No god."
"No hidden guardian."
"No miracle."
"Only us."
"Only we can save ourselves."
The Ancient One stared into his eyes for a long time.
At last...
She asked the question he had been waiting to hear.
"What exactly are you trying to accomplish?"
She took a slow breath.
"And how can I help?"
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