[2009 – October]
I had learned nearly two dozen languages during the period of time that I had now spent in this reality, amongst them several ancient languages which included the 'dead' Latin language. There were also Sanskrit, Hebrew, Samarian, and Chinese, which were amongst the oldest languages on Earth along with several others.
At this point, I could only think of a few people on Earth whose scholarly prowess in the field of languages and linguistics could equal or surpass my own for the time being. The Ancient One was unsurprisingly amongst those people, as was Selene.
The Dark Priestess was millennia old and most likely spoke more languages than anyone else, including languages from other planets and realms.
With all that in mind, it was only logical for me to guess the man's identity by the name 'Omnituens' since this word meant 'all-seeing' in Latin.
Born from a tear of Oshtur, Agamotto was the first Sorcerer Supreme, the ancestor of the mystical path on Earth, his magical strength great enough to banish and battle entities like Dormammu.
He was one of the three members of the Vishanti, a triumvirate that swore to protect the Earth's dimension. His mother, the Elder Goddess Oshtur, and the Old One Hoggoth were the other two members of the Vishanti, their powers no less than Agamotto's.
His identity certainly spoke for itself and made it clear that he was a being at the top of the pyramid, though I had limited knowledge about his character. Or to put it more accurately, I didn't dare to make assumptions about the character of another higher being since none of them were simple by any stretch of the word.
So, looking ahead calmly, I watched the son of Oshtur as the Ancient One introduced me too, gesturing in my direction while she looked at Agamotto: "And this is Elijah Frost, a friend of mine."
A sensed something that I couldn't quite grasp in the sorceress' voice as she said those last four words but I couldn't quite put my finger on it as the faint undulation in her presence and the slightest shift in her tone were too vague and complex to decipher.
"Tea?", the Ancient One asked as she turned back to me and offered, just as Arya woke up and her head popped out of my collar sleepily.
Smiling quietly, I took hold of her and set her down on the table as I nodded in response to the sorceress' question.
Her curiosity awakened, Arya peeked intently at the Ancient One and Agamotto from in between my finger, hiding behind my palm as the post-sleep haziness slowly vanished. She hooted softly as if she wasn't sure what to make of the two beings in front of her.
The corners of my lips rose up a little higher as I saw her silly behaviour and the same was true for Agamotto as he stared at the tiny owlet with interest, a moment of comfortable silence spreading in the hall, only interrupted by soft hoots.
"I wonder.", I started as the Ancient One placed a cup of black tea in front of me, picking it up with my free right hand as I continued, "What does one of the Vishanti need from me?"
Suddenly, the atmosphere turned rigid. Agamotto raised his head, his gaze shifting from my avian companion to me as daunting power filled his dark eyes, a smile forming on his lips.
…
Looking at the young man in front of him, Agamotto couldn't help but be impressed and surprised.
His ability to disguise himself was one that he prided himself in very much. There existed only a few beings that could see through him and he had certainly not expected a fledgling Realm Lord to do so.
That though made him only more interested in the young man and spurned his excitement and desire for battle.
He had grown up under his mother's teachings but from the time when she had left up until the time that they had reunited, Agamotto had experienced hundreds of thousands of years of battle, forging his own mystical path while discovering the secrets of magic.
Without a doubt, his achievements in the study of the mystical arts made him a scholar without equal but Agamotto had always seen himself as more of a warrior since he had grown up during times of true chaos and bloodshed on Earth.
What added to his surprise was that he could not see through the young man in front of him, even though he knew him to be the Realm Lord of the Darkforce Dimension. Something was interfering with his 'sight' and Agamotto could only marvel at how the young man was doing that.
Considering his title as the 'All Seeing', hiding from his perception and investigation was certainly not an ordinary feat.
Smiling, Agamotto unveiled some of his strength, drawing on the power of his Sorcerer Realm, his presence exploding outwards as he targeted the young man in front of him, his intentions clear as he wanted to uncover what Elijah sought to hide.
He expected Elijah to reply in kind, which hopefully would give him the opportunity to gleam upon the nature of his power as the newly-crowned Realm Lord of the Darkforce Dimension.
What he did not expect was the feeling of suppression that suddenly enveloped and cut off his connection with his Sorcerer Realm for a single instant, as well as the black scythe that ripped through his torso from one side to the other.
Erupting with a devouring force, Agamotto hardly had the time to utter a single word before his body and vitality were wholly swallowed by the materialized Darkforce that the scythe blade was made of.
"Interesting.", he muttered as his form turned to dead ash, staring at the young man whose form was surrounded by swaying shadows, eyes burning with dark fire.
…
Her brows rising in astonishment, the Ancient One had been hard-pressed to follow the movements and actions of the two god-like beings next to her.
She had only felt a surge of power from her former teacher before it had been snuffed out by the young man to her left, his presence having transformed into something deeply malevolent, like a shadow titan that hungered for life and light.
Standing there with living shadows wound around his form, a long black scythe in his hand that gave off a harrowing sense of malicious hunger and pure destructive intent, dark smoke obscuring its true form, Elijah's presence alone caused the sun's radiance to dim, the room darkening by the second.
Faced with the true body of a Realm Lord and higher being, the Ancient One had no delusions about the fact that she was but a minor obstacle for such an existence.
It was true that she had faced off against many extra-dimensional beings in the past but never in a direct confrontation as that would simply be a suicidal act. Through magical rituals, she had invoked the powers of the Vishanti and other principalities to force those having invaded Earth back into their own realms.
Those invading though had never stepped into the Earth Dimension with their true forms, which was the only reason that her banishment of them had been successful. Harming a higher being or banishing one that appeared with his true body was a totally different concept, after all.
She knew that the most she could hope to do was to protect her own life when facing such an existence, and that was only through the help of an artifact like the Eye of Agamotto that would allow her to harness the power of an Infinity Stone or something of equal strength.
Even as the most powerful sorceress on Earth, someone that represented the peak strength of this planet, she knew how limited her strength was in comparison to a true higher being.
Seeing Agamotto's body turn to ash, her eyes widened as she hurriedly sprang up and moved back while drawing extra-dimensional energy into her body, a deep frown on her face while she just observed the happenings in front of her with a grave expression, not daring to rashly interact in a battle of this level.
She knew that this confrontation was far from over, even though it looked as if a winner had already been decided.
And as if to reinforce her point, a moment later, the booming laughter of her teacher echoed through the hall as Agamotto reappeared in the hall, his form glowing with a shocking power that made the space around him tremble and the earth itself cry out in alarm.
He stood opposite Elijah, the hall behind him vanishing as it seemed to transform into a twisted world of mountains, woods, and planes, a light blue and pink haze covering it all as it exuded an aura of strangeness and surreality.
It was an apparition of his Sorcerer Realm that he had pulled into reality to face off against the dark-haired young man.
"Let's do that again, shall we?", Agamotto asked, his voice causing tremors in the atmosphere, shattering the table in between them while also causing the floor and the pillars to crack.
Elijah though only snorted as a world of pure darkness forced itself into reality behind him, exuding a horrifying aura that seemed to represent the bane of all life and light. His own mortal form vanished too as he took a step forward and transformed into a demon with a body made out of light-devouring shadows.
Pure Darkforce set the atmosphere ablaze around him, his facial features gone as only two bright white flames flickered where his eyes should be. Two black horns extended from his crown, the abyssal scythe still in the grip of his clawed hand.
The Ancient One could feel the natural disasters that were waiting to happen due to the presence of these two gods as the world itself shook in fright when faced with their immeasurable power. The earth quacked and the seas rumbled even before they clashed and she knew that if they exchanged even a single blow like this, the planet would not survive.
As such, she didn't even hesitate to draw on all of her strength and push out her palms, opening the Mirror Dimension around the two higher beings in an effort to protect Earth from their clash.
Thankfully they did not even try to resist her meddling, as it would have been impossible for her to banish them if they did.
Serenity returning to the half-collapsed hall, the Ancient One breathed out a sigh of relief before she looked down into her palm, surprise in her gaze as she saw a tiny black owlet look up at her with a pair of narrowed eyes, her head tucked in vigilantly
"Hoo?", the featherling called out as if to ask if they ought to fight too.
Before she could even decide if she should laugh or not at the tiny owl's goliath confidence, the Ancient One was forced to stagger backward as a shockwave rippled through the air and the earth.
Looking ahead, she saw cracks expanding throughout space, half of them abyss-like black while the others were of differing colours filled with potent magical strength. Inwardly appalled, the age-old sorceress knew that even the Mirror Dimension struggled to contain the immense strength unleashed by her former teacher and Elijah.
Quickly placing the black owlet on her shoulder, she didn't hesitate to form new hand seals and draw in enormous amounts of extra-dimensional energy to form large seals and Eldritch chains that suppressed the spatial cracks to the best of her abilities.
Thankfully, she wasn't alone as Masters, Disciples, and Apprentices quickly appeared around the collapsing hall and aided her.