Begin Again In Marvel

POV Rio

I was watching the mages of the 2 factions fight to the death and I was pretty surprised by the spells used. The first shocking spell was used on Rasputin. It sent him and his undead into Heaven. Which needless to say ticked off the Angels. I was fairly confident that Rasputin wasn't going to survive that. The next spell was a time spell. It was nowhere near as strong as the Time Stone but it did allow Morgana to rewind the time on her body to undo damage from a sneak attack.

'She seems to be avoiding fighting as much as possible. Perhaps she is waiting for the Ancient One. Or maybe she is wary of Agatha.'

Speaking of Agatha she was being very proactive. My guess was she was required to do so for her patron. The battle was already very bloody. It was clear that the fighting was only going to last for another hour or so.

'I haven't seen Dr. Strange. Let's see where he is.'

I use the Palantir to check and find that he has been moved to the New York Sanctum and is currently fighting off Chitauri. I also checked to see how Charmcaster was doing and found that she had dealt with the London Sanctum. Moving back to the battle in Hong Kong the mages didn't seem to care about civilian lives. Well not actively. But they weren't going out of their way to kill them either. Well except Rasputin when before he got sent to Heaven. I had prepared in advance and tried to get as many civilians out of the area but some were still there when the fighting started.

'I should use some spell to get more civilians away. With all the magic getting thrown around it won't be noticed.'

I cast a few spells and even made a few disguised Shadow Clones to help evacuate the area. By the time they were done most of the magic users on both sides had perished. Kamar Taj had around 13 Sorcerers left and the Dark Mages had Agatha, Morgana, 2 Witches, and the descendent of Merlin. Despite being outnumbered the Dark Mages were vastly stronger than Kamar Taj. But despite them being this close to victory my clones were able to sense that the Witches were not planning on letting Morgana access Kamar Taj.

'Who would have guessed the mages that worship an Evil Death God plan on betraying the temporary allies. Shocking. Whatever, it makes my job easier.'

And exactly as I predicted once the Sorcerers were reduced to only one member Agatha activated her trap card. She tried to take Morgana's power. The Witch and Merlin Descendent fought to stop each other but the Witch was clearly a coven leader and beat the exhausted Mana Core user. Right when it looked like Morgana could lose she used a magic talisman and blew up the entire block. Which killed the injured sorcerer and the other witch but both Agatha and Morgana fled.

'Well, that is my cue.'

I sent many clones into the city to collect the corpses. Mage corpses are great undead material. Then I went to Kamar Taj to collect the Time Stone. First I needed to disguise myself. Once I arrive at Kamar Taj I see the Ancient One.

Rio: "It is such a quiet thing, to fall. But far more terrible is to admit it."

Ancient One: "Who are you?"

Rio: "Who I am is irrelevant. What is important is what you have wrought."

The Ancient One looks like her name. She is covered in wrinkles and is clearly barely holding on to life.

Rio: "The true war, has never been one waged by robots, or warships, or soldiers. They are but crude matter, obstacles against which we test ourselves. The true war is waged in the hearts of all living things, against our own natures, light or dark. That is what shapes and binds this universe, not these creations of man. But you have have lost this war."

Ancient One: "I did what was necessary."

Rio: "The universe is an intricate place. You think you are doing the right thing, but then it has consequences you never imagined. You were warned. You could have chosen a different path."

Ancient One: "There was no other way."

Rio: "To have fallen so far and learned nothing. That is your failing. We all feel that pull from the dark side sometimes. It's part of nature, part of all of us; but it doesn't control you unless you let it. Instead of showing them truth, power, all you showed them was the how Universe will die. If you are to truly understand then you will need the contrast not adherence to a single idea. It is to surrender yourself, to make yourself a slave to a teaching or belief that makes it so belief will always rule you."

Ancient One: "Our teaching helped protect Earth from invaders."

Rio: "You do not change that is the great failing of your people. Kamar Taj is the same as it was 20 years ago. The same tricks, the same fights, the same groveling and mind control. There is no greater challenge than to change from within, but that is what we must all do to survive. Tell me why do you not change."

Ancient One: "I do not control them. I saw the future and this was the best course of action to ensure the safety of Earth."

Rio: "No you just make them sell their souls to a demon and then guilt them into helping you fight. As for Safety? Safety against what? All the Dimensional Lords are dead or weakened. The future is not a river to carry us, it is the ocean in which we drown if we are not prepared. The Universe changes, and we must change with it. And you don't change."

Ancient One: "The teachings of Kamar Taj have protected us for centuries. There is no need for change when they have saved us in the past."

Rio: "The same teaching that saw you watch as entire species go extinct. The same teachings that prevented you from preventing the numerous atrocities and wars across history. You useless old fool. Who watched as innocent magical creatures were hunted down and slaughtered because you decided they were unworthy of your protection."

Ancient One: "They were evil. They had preyed on humans."

I could feel her distaste for them and that made me pity her.

Rio: "Misdirected passion, such a waste. When I am finished here. I want you to be alive. So you can face Stephen Strange and explain what you did to him."

Ancient One: "I have given him a new life purpose. He will become the next Sorcerer Supreme. He will thank me for what I did."

Rio: "You sold his soul to a demon. You destroyed his life so you could get a better successor. You could have chosen someone else but you refused. Even when power wasn't needed as much. Even when Santa warned you, you disregarded him. Even now you cling to life after paying the consequences of using the Dark Dimension. Your very soul has been destroyed by what you did. Which means you won't get taken by Vishanti. But Strange will. He won't get a nice afterlife. Instead, he will be enslaved to Vishanti or have his soul devoured for power."

Ancient One: "Magic always has a price. Strange may pay it someday but he will do good in the meantime."

I look at her with a disgusted face.

Rio: "I have come to pass judgment on you. But it is clear that the darkness has consumed you."

I get the message that the Clones are done taking everything from Kamar Taj. I use the Force to take the Eye of Agamotto from Yao.

Rio: "Strange will be here soon but to prevent you from lying to him I shall curse you to tell the truth and only the truth."

Once the curse is placed I wait for Strange to arrive and when he does I talk to him.

Rio: "She is waiting in that room. I suggest you ask her about your injuries. She has been hiding much from you."

Strange: "Who are you?"

Rio: "Answers can come after you talk to her. She is dying and you will never get answers from her again. So use this while it lasts."

Strange seems to want to ask me more but realizes that the questions can wait. I wait for him to leave the room. Once he does I sense his inner turmoil.

Strange: "She did so many terrible things. And she never apologized. She thought she was right."

Rio: "We all have our heroes and when we watch them fall. We die inside."

Strange flops onto a chair and puts his head in his hands.

Rio: "I can help you. I doubt you want your soul to be taken when you die. I can sever your connection to Vishanti. I can also heal your hands and even improve them."

Strange looks up at me and I can sense caution.

Strange: "And what would be the price?"

Rio: "You would never use magic again. Unless you decide to come to my Empire and learn magic eventually. I expect you to use your skills to save people's lives. Kamar Taj is gone and you are the last Sorcerer."

Strange: "That's it?"

Rio: "On my immortal soul that is all I ask."

Strange thinks about it for a bit but eventually, he looks at me and nods.

Strange: "Then it's a deal."

We shake on it and I cast the spell that severs his connection to Vishanti. Normally Vishanti would call upon his followers to stop me or kill me but with Strange being the last follower of Vishanti in this Universe they have no power here. Once Strange is free of magic I then heal his hands and even improve them slightly. Combined with his training which improved his hand flexibility he will be likely the second or third-best surgeon on Earth. Orochimaru and Tsunade would likely take the first and second places respectively.

Rio: "It is done. Now you can return to New York to become a surgeon again. If you ever want to learn magic again reach out to the Crystal Imperium. They will help you."

Strange: "Thank you for your help."

Rio: "Don't worry I got all I wanted from Kamar Taj so we are even. Now if you excuse me I will teleport you to NYC and then I have other places to be."

Before he can respond I teleport him and then I go home to make sure my family is okay before reading reports about the entire situation.

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Authors Note:

Thus ends Kamar Taj and its several millennia-long existence. Also, Rio got to take out some frustrations on Yao. I have been building up to Yao's downfall for a while. She is flawed and stuck in her ways. The only magic users outside the Crystal Imperium are Agatha, Morgana, and Rasputin. I have plans for all three of them. Rasputin was destroyed but since his Phylactery wasn't destroyed he will just respawn. The next chapter will be about the rewards and consequences of the invasion. Until next time Ciao.