The ancient syllables spilled from Dracula's grotesque maw, an arcane chant that echoed like the rattle of bones in a tomb. They were not meant for human understanding, but Soren, elevated to the peak of magical mastery, understood.
And what he heard was a curse, blood magic unlike any he had ever seen.
He's invoking a soul-binding curse, Soren realized.
And it's working.
With a twisted motion, Dracula raised one deformed arm, and with a single gesture, a blood-red halo, invisible to the untrained eye, flashed into existence around Soren.
In that instant, Soren's face paled.
He knew.
The curse bypassed his protections, his barriers, even his innate resistance, and lashed straight into his soul.
"Damn it…" He has been getting to cocky lately.
The world around him changed. The battlefield was gone.
He stood in a horrific illusion, hovering above a blood-drenched ocean, surrounded by mountains of corpses and a tide of screaming, red phantoms spirits of the damned, clawing at the air.
Their cries pierced into his mind.
Soren's body floated inches above the ground in the real world, his eyes unfocused.
From a distance, Dracula laughed…. a broken sound full of triumph and insanity.
The blood lake behind him dimmed, almost drained of color, and the crimson glow that once pulsed across his body faded. The spell had cost him dearly, but he didn't care.
He had won.
"Struggle, human!" Dracula hissed with venomous joy.
"Drown in the sea of your regrets, like the others before you!"
Even Freyja's eyes tightened with concern.
She took a steps forward, paused. She couldn't help him.
Not without risking him further.
Inside the illusion, Soren staggered within the blood-soaked realm. Ghostly claws tugged at him, whispering promises of torment.
"I underestimated you." He said softly. "Blood magic… soul binding… clever trick."
Then, with a flick of his hand, a green magic circle blazed to life around him.
"But you made one mistake."
"You tried to touch a soul that knows time."
The world twisted.
"Time Reversal."
In a blink, the blood sea dissolved. The corpse mountains crumbled to dust. The crimson phantoms screamed, then faded. And the blood curse unraveled, torn apart by the unstoppable tide of causality reversing itself.
The blood halo on his body flickered, cracked, and vanished, as if it had never existed.
Soren's eyes snapped open, glowing with emerald clarity.
He was back.
Dracula recoiled in disbelief.
"No, NO! That was my greatest spell! I bound kings and gods with that curse!"
Soren tilted his head, smiling slightly.
"Then I suggest you go back to practicing."
Dracula roared, charging at him in rage.
But Soren had already raised his hand.
"Stagnation."
A pulse of green energy exploded from his fingers, racing across the field. The moment it touched Dracula, everything stopped.
The vampire lord froze mid-step.
His body locked in place. The wind around him stilled. His eyes, now stared ahead empty and unmoving, as if time itself had abandoned him.
Lorelai, barely conscious behind Freyja's barrier, gasped softly.
"That's… that's not mortal magic."
Soren approached the frozen Dracula, casual in his stride. He looked at the immobile monster.
"Your blood magic was impressive. Truly."
"But allow me to return the favor."
"I'm going to send you somewhere you'll be… appreciated."
He raised his arm, forming a spiraling green portal in the air, a rift in time and space, oozing with darkness.
From beyond the veil, a rumble echoed, a wretched, thunderous voice filled with fury.
"I beg you, let me out!"
"Let me go, Soren! I will serve you! I will call you Lord!"
Dormammu's voice, trembling with desperation, echoed from the other side.
With a wave of his hand, Soren cast Dracula's frozen body into the churning rift of time and darkness. The vampire lord vanished into the swirling void, limbs stiff, expression locked in place.
"Dormammu." Soren said calmly, addressing the dark realm beyond.
"I'm sending you some company. Try not to get bored. When I need you… I'll call."
From the rift, Dormammu's echoing voice trembled with fury and fear.
"No! You dare—! I—!"
But the rift closed with a quiet snap, and his voice was gone.
All that remained was quiet.
The ancestor of all vampires, banished to be big baby's plaything.
Behind, Freyja and Lorelai stood speechless.
The raw, crushing power they had just witnessed left their bodies tense, their minds reeling. Both had felt it, that ancient, cosmic pressure leaking through the time rift.
The presence of the Lord of the Dark Dimension. A being capable of collapsing universes.
"That was…" Her voice was hushed, reverent. "…Dormammu, wasn't it? The Devourer of Worlds. You just… banished him?"
"Not banished." He corrected.
"Just reminded him of his place."
He turned away, the green glow of time magic still faintly trailing his fingers.
"Let's move. We're done here."
Without further explanation, he guided Freyja and the restrained Lorelai toward the exit of the ruined castle.
Outside the Castle
The storm of battle had long passed, but its echoes remained. Craters in the stone courtyard, scorch marks along the shattered walls. And at the edge of the bloodstained ruins stood Blade, struggling to remain upright.
The clash between Soren and Dracula had been devastating, and as a half-vampire, Blade had felt every heartbeat of it, the soul pressure alone had almost crushed him.
He hadn't been able to enter the battlefield, only watch and endure from afar.
Soren approached, tossing a small vial glowing with emerald light.
"Catch."
Blade snatched it out of the air and drank. The potion worked fast, his pale complexion began to warm, his muscles relaxed.
"You good?" Soren asked.
Blade exhaled, finally regaining his voice.
"That… was not a normal vampire?"
Soren didn't break stride.
"The original. Dracula."
"You serious? He was that strong!"
Soren offered a faint smile. "Don't worry. It's been taken care of. You can head back.. I have other matters to attend to."
Blade gave Soren a long look, his curiosity piqued by the sight of Soren walking alongside Freyja. Still, he nodded in understanding.
Soren smiled faintly. Freyja gave Blade a respectful nod.
Lorelai, drained of her seductive aura thanks to Freyja's artifact, looked more like a sullen captive than the enchantress she'd once been.
Blade glanced at her, then back to Soren.
"She gonna behave?"
"She doesn't have a choice." Freyja said.
Blade grunted and turned to leave.
"Well, thanks for the assist. I'll be in touch… maybe."
He disappeared into the night, already vanishing into shadow.
Everlife
With a gesture, he brought Freyja and Lorelai with him, transporting them back to the Medical Center. Freyja looked around, then sighed.
Freyja, lacking Thor's divine authority, couldn't simply summon Bifrost. Heimdall wouldn't open it for just anyone. Earth wasn't closely monitored by Asgard at all times, her only way back to the realm of the gods was through the portal in the medical hall.
"You don't look much like your brother, you know. But you sure sound like him when you're annoyed."
Freyja rolled her eyes. The tension was fading now, and a faint smile played at her lips.
"Please. Thor would have jumped into that battle fists-first and ended up needing stitches."
"And I didn't?" Soren arched a brow.
"No. You ended it like a god." She admitted quietly.
He glanced at her, thoughtful, then turned to Lorelai, who sat silently, bound and glowering.
"She'll be your problem now. Just make sure she doesn't start a cult again."
"She won't." Freyja assured him.
"We have very creative prisons in Asgard."
"Good."
Soren then gave her a lopsided smile.
"Now, Freyja… A deal's a deal."
"Hmm?"
"You asked for a guide around Earth, didn't you? Now that Lorelai's caught and your mission's done…"
He extended a hand with mock formality.
"Shall we start the tour?"