The forge lab shimred with dim, refracted light, its surfaces rippling as though subrged underwater. Every sound from the real world reached this place distorted a heartbeat behind reality—faint echoes of movent and murmured voices seeping through as Luthar distributed the teleportation devices to Natasha and the others, unaware of the Ancient One watching from beyond the veil.
She lingered within the mirrored fold, her form faint and translucent, blending seamlessly with the warped geotry of the space.
Her gaze rested on Luthar—the man tampering with forces that could shatter entire worlds. After a silent minute of observation, she raised her hand and conjured a thin ring of light that floated before her like an unblinking eye. Within it, countless tilines unfolded: phisto's laughter echoing across the multiverse, Hydra's insignias burning over cities under his control, and legions of the dead marching beneath crimson skies. A thousand futures lay before her, yet not one held salvation for this world—or any other.
Having found no solution among the countless possibilities, she shifted her focus back to Luthar, who was preparing to leave this world while phisto continued manipulating Hydra toward opening the gates of Hell. Her thoughts lingered on him, searching for a way to speak before demons consud everything.
Outside, the forge lab held its breath as residual energy shimred around Luthar. One by one, all eight Black Widows were sent away. Only Luthar remained as he recalibrated the device, synchronizing the tiline to the Marvel universe. This way, when he returned after conducting experints, the Mars base would be completed by the Acolytes and the other Vankos.
Next, he began notifying both Hephaestus and Freya about his departure. The air behind him warped like liquid glass, and out of it stepped a figure draped in robes.
"Why are you here again?" Luthar's voice was edged with irritation. He hated how easily the ddling magician slipped into his lab without triggering any alarms.
She did not respond at once. Her calm presence seed to shrink the lab itself, the hum of machines fading into background silence. When she finally spoke, her voice cut through the air like a scalpel.
"I am here because phisto has stolen your inventions."
The mont he heard those words, Luthar's hand went to his gun, then froze mid-motion. He forced it down, knowing the weapon was useless against beings of that nature. Perhaps it was ti to design a few magical variants of the cyclonic torpedo—sothing suitable to throw straight into phisto's face.
"Do not proceed with the idea forming in your mind," she said softly. "I have seen what happens when you answer phisto with overwhelming force. Your weapons will not kill him—they will only harm the Earth and its people."
"Maybe I can't kill him, but dropping a few bombs in his little kingdom wouldn't be an issue," he replied. "If you have sothing to say, say it quickly. I don't have ti for long conversations."
Her eyes swept over the glowing rings of the teleportation array. "I have seen a future where phisto uses your dinsional gate to open a passage from Hell to Earth."
Luthar gave a short, sharp exhale. "Impossible. Even if he extracted the information directly from my mind, he wouldn't be able to use it. He does not possess the kind of mind required to understand how the machine works."
"He does not need to understand your invention," she continued. "He only needs to create a functional replica."
He turned back to the console, partly to hide his irritation. "Then why are you here? Shouldn't you go and stop him?"
"Even if I stop him now, it would only delay his arrival." She stepped closer, her reflection faint in the polished floor like a ghostly double. "I do not have much ti. I need you to handle a problem that you and your technology have created."
"That's going to be difficult without my heavier weapons. I can't fight phisto. I am not soone who takes up a sword."
"Magic," she said simply. "It is the only thing that might work against him."
He glanced over his shoulder. "And you expect a man who has devoted his life to machines to learn magic?"
"There is not much difference," she replied. "Both are thods of manipulating energy. If you can promise to stop phisto without blowing up the Earth, I can give you the Codex Aeternum—a very useful book."
For a long mont, only the machinery answered, humming in a steady rhythm. Then Luthar sighed and reached for a small device on the table.
"With this, you will be able to contact even when I am not in this world."
She accepted it, her fingers curling around the tal. In return, she produced a slim book bound with golden thread. Runes glimred softly across its surface.
"This will allow you to create wards in your laboratories," she explained. "It will not make you a sorcerer, but you will know when soone tampers with your work—or with you."
He took it without hesitation, studying the cover. The patterns shifted, as if the book itself were breathing. "So, what about the Codex Aeternum?"
"I will give it to you once this matter is resolved." Her voice hardened. "But hear , Luthar—do not use your heavy weapons. I do not wish to see a barren Earth."
Her form began to thin, the edges dissolving into light. He watched in silence as she faded, the faint shimr of the Mirror Realm sealing shut behind her.
The forge fell silent again. Luthar opened the small book without hesitation and skimd through the pages. It contained no thods for drawing power from other dinsions, but it did detail procedures for detecting demonic presence: warding sigils, trace readings, and layered magical alarms—spells designed to reveal when sothing, or soone, had tampered with magic.
The only issue was clear: he could not cast any of these spells himself. However, that was not a problem. Hephaestus could weave the traps and alarms directly into the infrastructure. All Luthar needed to do was ask.
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