The moon hung low over the Swiss Alps as Ron, Elara, and Bucky trekked silently along a ridge blanketed in mist. Below them lay a forgotten Hydra fortress, carved into the side of the mountain and shielded by ancient wards. This was no bunker—it was a prison. A vault of magical horrors too dangerous to destroy, and too powerful to leave unattended.
Elara spoke first, her breath misting in the cold. "This is where Hydra keeps its 'untamed assets.' Failed ritual subjects, cursed artifacts, volatile spells. Nothing here obeys logic."
Ron's eyes glowed faintly as he scanned the structure. "And we're going in anyway?"
She smirked. "Unless you've got a planet-wide banishment spell I don't know about."
> "Give me time," he muttered.
Bucky crouched near a rocky outcrop, rifle ready. "You two go. I'll cover the perimeter. Hydra still wants my head, and I'd rather not be spotted before I put a bullet in theirs."
Ron nodded. "Don't get captured again."
Bucky grinned. "Not twice in one week."
As Ron and Elara descended toward the vault's entrance, they exchanged a glance—tense but electric. She wasn't just another agent. She understood magic, the way it breathed, moved, lived. It was rare for Ron to meet someone who didn't look at his power with awe or fear—but with experience.
Inside, the vault was a maze of dark stone and flickering runes. The walls pulsed with ancient warnings in dead languages.
> "Hydra fused dark sorcery with stolen alien tech," Elara explained. "They tried to create artificial gods."
> "Sounds like something I'll need to bury."
As they moved deeper, they passed frozen chambers—each containing monstrous, half-formed beings. One room contained a cracked mirror that whispered in Latin. Another, a coffin sealed with chains glowing blood-red.
Then they reached the heart of the vault.
A pedestal. A floating orb. And inside it—a spell fragment.
Elara's eyes widened. "That's not Hydra's. That's… Kamar-Taj. Stolen."
Ron stepped forward. "Then let's return it."
But the moment he touched the orb, the vault shook.
Magic surged, alarms blared, and a screech erupted from the darkness.
> "You triggered the warden," Elara said, drawing twin daggers glowing with arcane light. "It's time to fight."
From the shadows, a creature emerged—twelve feet tall, armored in soulstone, eyes glowing like dying suns.
Ron's fists lit with silver fire.
> "Then let's see what kind of god Hydra tried to make."
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