[2009 – October]
With a grave look on his face, Fury stood in the back of the main command center of SHIELD while intelligence flooded in from all over the world, faint tremors and vibrations even shaking the room despite its location deep underground of the Triskelion and with its architectural style twenty times more advanced than what was seen as 'advanced' for the general public.
"Give me an update, what's the current status?", he asked Agent Hill by his side, his voice deep and grating while his eye was fixed on the live footage and graphs displayed on the many monitors around him.
There were at least three dozen other agents in the room, frantically analyzing data or coordinating with teams on the ground.
"Earthquakes of at least 3.0 up to 8.9 are appearing all over the world, the monetary damages are probably in the hundreds of billions and rapidly increasing. The casualty rate is estimated to be in the tens of millions but shows no sign of decline.", Hill replied stoically but the shock in her eyes was clear as she had an almost haunted look on her face, which she tried to conceal behind a mask of professionalism.
"As for the seaquakes and the resulting tsunamis, no coast is unaffected and while many cities have already been hit in just a few minutes, there are many tsunamis that are still traveling to their destination. Among them, there is no lack of Grade Four and Grade Five ones."
"At this point, it's simply impossible to make a clear estimate of how many lives were lost and how many more are going to lose their lives.", she ended with almost gritted teeth.
Listening quietly, Fury had only a single thought: 'This is the end.'
Earth seemed on the verge of collapse, human civilization likely to fall in this unspeakable disaster. It was as if they were facing nature's wrath, an apocalypse that would throw the human race back into the Stone Age.
There were no orders to be given at this point, no secret protocols to be followed as a sudden disaster of this magnitude was not something that one could survive or avoid just because one wanted to.
Fury was most certainly a warrior at heart and would fight tooth and nail for what he believed but he was also a highly intelligent man and a realist, so he understood the futility of fighting natural disasters of this severity.
And as if to prove his point, a massive tremor suddenly erupted just beneath the Triskelion, shaking the whole underground base and tearing apart steel-reinforced concrete like paper, collapsing multiple floors at once.
Fury couldn't even react fast enough before the floor beneath his feet gave way as the earth was ripped apart in the aftermath of a battle amongst gods.
He was swallowed up by the shifting earth almost instantly, eternal darkness greeting him-
Jolting awake, deep heaving breaths almost collapsing his lungs, Fury found himself sitting in his office, a report on his desk waiting to be read and evaluated.
He looked around, trying to find the reason for his sudden anxiousness, a nagging feeling in the back of his mind reminding him that something seemed off. But that feeling didn't persist for long as it slowly dispersed without him truly realizing that it had been there in the first place.
…
I could hear them scream and beg, I could hear them pray for even a glimmer of hope as Earth was shaken by the aftermath of my battle with Agamotto.
The Mirror Dimension was truly the wrong place for two beings of our level to fight against as it was too 'close' to the Earth Dimension. The Mirror Dimension wasn't a secondary dimension, it was more like a shadow of the Earth Dimension.
As long as something happened in the darkness of this shadow, it would have no effect on the real world. But once the strength unleashed in this sub-dimensional space reached a level that caused disturbances in the shadow, the real world would be affected too.
Had we sparred in a secondary dimension, this would not have happened as the dimensional boundaries between the primary dimension and the secondary ones were too strong for that.
Knowing that I had to remedy the current situation since I had caused it, I invoked the strongest ethereal barrier to date as I imbued it with the intent to restore what we had destroyed. Taking a deep breath, I stood in the air and didn't hesitate as I pushed it outward to wholly encase Earth.
And what followed was true colossal pressure descending on my mind as I endured the stress of 'healing' the Earth and reviving those that had passed away.
I understood that weakness was a sin in this Universe and I was therefore not obligated to help those that could not save themselves. 'Fault' was therefore an irrelevant concept from a rational perspective.
But I also knew that the Cycle, the ultimate force of balance, would require me to even out the scales of karma in one way or another. And personally, I would much rather be in control of how to even out the scale and when.
Undoing the damage that I had unintentionally caused was a comparatively 'easy' way to do exactly that.
Though enduring the pressure of reviving an untold number of people at the same time wasn't all that easy even for me, since my shielding powers didn't 'use up' my strength but required me to have the mental strength to withstand the strain of my actions.
Even the mind of an Omega-level mutant would have shattered in an instant under the force that my mind had to endure. My eyes narrowed under the pounding pain, the blazing white in them raging with defiance as I calmly withstood the ravaging impacts on my psyche.
I didn't try to fight the almost crippling mental pain but simply let it wash over me, taking it as a baptism that would serve to remind me that every action has its consequences and that there was a price to pay to even the scales. Recklessness was thus a pitfall that could turn lethal.
Eventually restoring everything as it had been outside of Kamar-Taj, I exhaled as I felt the pressure subsiding.
Landing on the ground of the rather dilapidated headquarters of the Masters of the Mystical Arts, I once again restrained myself causing the white blaze in my eyes to vanish while my presence became human again.
Waving my arm, I effortlessly restored Kamar-Taj too before ignoring the reverent and fearful looks of the gathered mystics and walking back into the hall to finish the tea that the Ancient One had prepared for me.
…
"Hmm?"
Sitting on a black throne in an endless yet empty hall of a realm that had not one shred of vitality, milky skin was revealed to a large extent by the black silken gown that barely covered her chest area and her sex, a woman of indescribable beauty opened her onyx eyes, a flicker of interest in them.
A smile drew up the corners of her lips like a blooming midnight flower as the woman whispered: "Preventing so many souls from meeting me? What an impressive little god! No wonder you like him, Sister."
A second melodious voice suddenly sounded out in the dark hall as if in response, a small flame igniting in the air just before the dark-haired beauty: "He is special."
Like a windchime, bright laughter poured forth as the onyx-eyed lady smiled even wider before answering: "You don't have to be concerned that I would act petty over a few million souls that have temporarilyescaped my grasp. Don't be such a serious flamehead all the time."
"Hmph.", a short snort could be heard that made one instinctively imagine a small girl stomping her feet in frustration, "Either way, don't interfere. He is a singularity, and I believe that he could be your hope. He certainly is mine."
Hearing those words somewhat forceful words, her playful and teasing expression vanished instantly and the scantily-clad lady asked in a low voice: "Do you know what you are talking about, Sister?"
"I naturally do.", a warm and confident voice responded, "He understands balancelike no other mortal I have ever come across. And his understanding is still growing, he is still growing."
Now frowning lightly, her otherwordly feature charming enough to seduce even gods, the lady replied with a sharp question: "Do you really think that he could reach us? A being born as a mortal?"
"He is special.", the melodious voice repeated this time with a heavier tone and a hint of tender affection.
Leaning back into her throne, her frown deepening, the lady didn't reply anymore to the melodious voice, the tiny flame extinguishing itself as silence returned to the endless hall in the Realm of Death.