chapter 4

Chapter 4: A Game of Gods

The night hung still over New York, the city unaware of the gods and monsters preparing to clash in its streets. Aldric stood on the roof of his sanctuary, bathed in the silver light of the full moon. His silhouette, sharp and imposing, could easily be mistaken for that of a deity surveying the world below. His cloak billowed softly in the wind, and his eyes—their eerie, all-seeing gaze—pierced the veil of reality itself.

The Almighty stirred within him, allowing Aldric to glimpse threads of the future. Each thread was a potential outcome, and he sifted through them with the precision of a master tactician. Every move Loki made, every scheme the god of mischief plotted, was laid bare before Aldric's omniscient vision.

But something deeper gnawed at him tonight. He had foreseen the invasion, Thanos' looming threat, and even Stephen Strange's path toward greatness, yet a fragment of the future remained obscured, a shadow in his omniscience. It was unsettling.

The Visionary will reveal it when the time is right, he reminded himself, though it offered little comfort. His knowledge of the mystical arts was second to none—on par with the great Zatara—but the future was always fluid, unpredictable. Despite his abilities, there were still forces in the universe that defied perfect calculation. It was the one thing Aldric, in all his wisdom, could never fully control.

He unsheathed his zanpakutō, Ryūjin Jakka, the blade alight with the ancient, scorching fire of a thousand suns. The heat it emitted distorted the very air around him, the flames flickering as though eager to taste battle once more. Aldric ran his hand along the flat of the blade, the gesture both familiar and grounding.

"Kage wo horobosu..." he murmured, the ancient incantation falling effortlessly from his lips. The blade glowed brighter, responding to his will.

As if on cue, the air shifted behind him. He didn't need to turn; he already knew who it was.

"You're playing with fire again," came Yao's voice, soft but laced with years of understanding. The Ancient One had always been able to appear without announcing herself—an old habit from their days as rivals and lovers, where the element of surprise had been their game.

Aldric smirked, not taking his eyes off the distant skyline. "I've always liked the heat. You know that."

Yao stepped closer, her presence as timeless as ever. The magic she wielded seemed to hum in harmony with the world around her, and for a brief moment, Aldric was reminded of the years they had spent together, their power and ambition intertwined. They had been unstoppable once. But now, those times were distant memories, buried beneath layers of duty, regret, and unspoken feelings.

"You're restless," she observed, her tone more concerned than critical.

Aldric finally turned to face her, his hand still resting on the hilt of his zanpakutō. His appearance, sharp and calculated, mirrored that of a warrior-poet—one whose beauty was only matched by the danger he exuded. His resemblance to Aizen had always given him an aura of calm confidence, as though he was ten steps ahead of everyone else.

"Restless? No," he said with a measured smile, the glint in his eyes betraying something deeper. "Cautious, perhaps. The game we're playing now… it's not like the ones before."

Yao's expression remained calm, but Aldric could see the flicker of concern in her eyes. "It's Loki, isn't it? You know he's a pawn in a greater plan, but what aren't you telling me, Aldric?"

For a moment, Aldric's grip on Ryūjin Jakka tightened. He didn't want to admit it—his pride, his god-complex, refused to allow it—but there were variables even he couldn't foresee.

"It's not just Loki," he said finally, his voice low. "It's Thanos. The Mad Titan's influence is stronger than I anticipated, and there are… forces moving in the shadows, even beyond him. I've seen glimpses of it in the future, but not enough to piece it all together."

He stepped closer to her, his gaze intense, as though trying to will her into understanding. "Something is coming, Yao. Something even I can't predict, and that—" he paused, as if the words pained him, "—that is a problem."

Yao looked at him, her expression softening. "You don't have to do this alone, Aldric. We've faced worse together."

A bitter laugh escaped him. "Together? No, Yao. We haven't been together in a very long time." His tone wasn't accusatory, but there was a deep sadness to it. They had once been so close—rivals, yes, but always connected, always two sides of the same coin. That connection had frayed over the years, and now, with the looming threats of Loki and Thanos, it felt more fragile than ever.

Yao's eyes softened further. "Perhaps that's true. But that doesn't change the fact that we are both standing on the same battlefield now. You and I… we've always known how to win."

Aldric studied her face, searching for something—perhaps the remnants of the affection they had once shared, or the camaraderie of old friends. He found it in her eyes, as clear as the night sky above them.

"Perhaps," he murmured, stepping back and sheathing Ryūjin Jakka once more. "But you know me, Yao. I don't fight for the same reasons you do. I'm not here to be a hero, nor to save the world."

"Then what are you here for?" she asked, her voice almost a whisper.

Aldric smiled, though there was no warmth in it. "I'm here to prove that no one—not even the gods—can escape fate."

He turned away from her, his mind already working through the countless possibilities, the thousands of futures laid out before him like a chessboard. He was not a hero. He was not a villain. He was something in between, something far more dangerous.

"I'm going to stop Loki," he said, more to himself than to her. "But when this is over, Yao, remember: the real game hasn't even begun."

Yao watched him, her eyes filled with a mixture of admiration and sorrow. "Aldric… don't lose yourself in this."

But he was already gone, walking into the shadows, the weight of the universe's secrets pulling him deeper into the abyss. Behind him, the Ancient One stood alone, a part of her wishing she could reach him, save him from the darkness that had always been at his heels.

But she knew better. Aldric was his own master, and his path, for better or worse, had always been his to walk.

And as the night stretched on, the city slumbered, unaware of the forces conspiring in the dark—forces that would soon tear its world apart.

(A/N): This was actually a side project. I just wrote this for fun because i was getting bored writing my current fanfic. I didn't actually want to continue writing this but suddenly it got some people eagered. So, here i am writing this chapter.

As this is a side project for fun the updates will be random. Mostly because I don't get side tracked from my original fanfic.

To be continued....