Tony Stark, leaning on a cane, his white hair neatly styled, wore a black suit. Even in his eighties, he still retained a hint of his youthful vigor.
Beside Tony, the ever-young Sebastian stood, saying, "Tony, are you really not going to consider my suggestion?"
"No," Tony smiled, shaking his head. "I was born a human, lived a human life, and naturally I will die a human death. It is only natural. You, on the other hand, have always been the same. If it were me, I would get tired of you quickly."
Sebastian smiled, saying nothing more. Looking at the name James Rhodes engraved on the tombstone before them, he sighed and said, "Rhodey has also passed away. It is time for me to leave too."
Hearing Sebastian's words, Tony looked at him knowingly. Tony was not surprised by Sebastian's choice. Ever since defeating Galactus forty years ago and Sebastian handing over the reins of the Magic Dimension to his eldest disciple Priya, Tony knew Sebastian would leave sooner or later. He had only thought Sebastian would stay until Alisha's death, never expecting him to stay until now.
"Sebastian, where are you going?" Tony asked. "Have you not become the embodiment of the universe itself?"
"That is precisely why I am leaving," Sebastian replied. "A long life is not meant to be wasted, is it?"
"Then I wish you a safe journey," Tony said warmly. "Go and wreak havoc on others!"
Nodding to Tony, Sebastian did not linger. He turned and nodded to Victor von Doom, who was standing nearby, before disappearing in a beam of platinum light. He vanished from everyone's sight.
From then on, his name remained only in legend.
Beyond the Universe
Sebastian was not entirely sure when he lost consciousness.
One moment he had stepped beyond the boundary of his universe, into the chaos between worlds. The next, there was nothing — no sensation, no thought, no passage of time that he could measure. Just a blank, seamless darkness that swallowed everything.
And then, slowly, the rumble of an engine.
He opened his eyes.
He was on a school bus. Long worn bench seats, scuffed floors, windows smeared with dust. Outside, endless green pastures rolled by under a wide Kansas sky. He sat up slowly and immediately felt it — the body was young again. Small hands. Light limbs. A teenager's frame.
"Well," Sebastian muttered quietly to himself, glancing down. "I am used to this by now."
He reached inward out of habit, feeling for magic — and found nothing. Not depleted, not blocked. Simply absent. Whatever universe this was, it played by different rules.
He looked out the window just as a red mailbox drifted past.
Kent Farm.
A few rows ahead, a petite blonde girl smacked the arm of the boy sitting beside her. "Pete, I cannot believe you bet against your own best friend."
The boy — Pete — pocketed the bill she passed him with a grin. "Chloe, it's a statistical fact. Clark Kent could be late to his own funeral."
Sebastian stilled.
Kent Farm. Clark. Chloe. Pete.
The bus rolled around a bend and a roadside billboard came into view, its paint faded but perfectly readable.
Welcome to Smallville, Kansas.Pop. 45,001.The Meteor Capital of the World!
Sebastian looked at that sign for a long moment. Then he leaned back against the seat and let out a quiet breath, somewhere between a sigh and a laugh.
Smallville. Of all the universes in all the chaos beyond the worlds — Smallville, Kansas.
He thought of Tony standing at Rhodey's grave, grinning as he told him to go wreak havoc on others.
Something told him Tony would find this very funny indeed.
The story of Sebastian Shaw continues in:
Into the Smallville Universe: Reborn Again
End of Book One: Into The Marvel Universe — A Reborn Sorcerer