13 The Birth

Hell -Five years ago

Matanza

Keeping my eyes closed, I took another deep breath to fight off my nausea. The furs in my bed did little to combat the bone-deep cold, and the air smelled of rot, so strong my instincts screamed that there was a dead body near. Shifting the furs around, I sat up and took a moment to get used to the cutting temperature. I could easily understand how so many would think Hell was on fire, but the truth was that it was just so cold your flesh burned. Thankfully my giant's blood made the weather painful but not madness-inducing.

Slowly I blinked away the blurriness and rubbed my temple with a shaky hand as I fought the feeling of hollowness. Standing on unsteady legs, I made my way to the notes I finished before I passed out. Runes covered every surface, from the leather walls of my tent to the every changing soul sand under my feet.

I knocked papers covered in my notes aside as I pulled out notes on our only hope.

The eye of the Sahara is the centermost point of every magical lay line on Earth. In terms of raw magical power, no place on Earth had more, and all magic rushed to it and from it. The natural ability to use magic and all magical creatures could trace their history from this one location. However, as I took a waterskin out from my desk to drink, the only way I would see tomorrow was if I finished uncovering how Asgard made it. I know little of Asgardian sorcery and even less of the motivation behind gifting Earth with magic. However, what I do know is that one key ingredient was missing to recreate this wonder.

The only traces of this main ingredient was found in a little girl with a loving family in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. What connection the Phoenix force and the Asgardians have is a mystery for another day. I finally understood the fundamental differences in Asgardian magic. It held properties, unlike any other sorcery I have ever experienced. Asgardian magic was self-contained. It looped into itself outside of time and had no connection to the infinite stones. Something that I genuinely believe impossible, still miracles aside, unless my runic array was correct, today was the day the Demons perished. The fact that the only hope for Hell was a miracle was not lost on me.

Turning, I make my way to the front of my tent and take a look outside. As always, this world was a shocking orange and unmistakable alien. There are no clouds, sun, moon, stars, just an endless red sandstorm that blankets the sky.

I call my personal guard to help me put on my runic armor with is no more than an inch thick. Still, unique materials make it more effective than modern armor vests. This project uses magnetic rheological fluids similar to oil in density in a normal state with clings firmly to the body like a hydra suit. When given a command under the influence of a magnetic field, the liquid becomes hard as a diamond in just 0.001 seconds. The internal defense layer is an experiment with a mix of polyethylene glycol and nano bit silica. This substance solidifies independently the moment it gets hit. When the energy wave from a strike decreases, it becomes soft again. The outer layer of the armor is a flexible exoskeleton covered in runic patterns designed for deflection, lightness, mobility, extreme temperatures, target locators, water-resistant, and infrared spectrum resistance. It even has creature comforts like blood-sucking insect resistance and is breathable.

It takes some time, but Talos, my passion project, is slowly equipped, and I make my way to the command tent. Passing the training dragon riders, Thestral scouts, and dementors, I fight off the sand as the second wave of magic withdrawals hits as I enter.

My eyes, like most men, were drawn to the prettiest thing in the room. Umar was her name, and her rich midnight hair and sun-kissed skin made her skintight dress the least attractive thing about her. Umar, the unrelenting, was a wild card, and I'm not too fond of wild cards, but her magic was second only to her brother Dormammu. Her brow was covered in sweat, and her perfect face was chronicled with focus. Her body swayed in slow, erratic movements as she stood above Kurt, who slept in the center of the most complex rune I have ever designed.

My apprentice in a suit like mine, but white, is synchronized perfectly with Umar's movements on the south.

To the north was Amora, the enchantress who was the only reason I understood her people's magic.

Queen Rasputin stood to the east as the energies of limbo were the driving force of this ritual.

Then there was a woman that had earned my respect twofold, Cynthia Von Doom; in life and death, she fought those that would oppress her.

Together they move as one same as they had for what felt like a week.

However, my eyes are drawn to the reason for my sickness. The crimson gem of Cyttorak held just over my son's heart. I close my eyes as the desire to kill my son and reclaim my property flashes through me. Then a wave of queasiness passes as I hear Satannish beckon me.

Satannish voice was deep and held the grumble of a corpse, and I made out," really think this will work?"

Green skin, horns, and red eyes Satannish could be nothing but a demon. Standing tall, I answer as best I can," It doesn't matter if it will or will not work; what matters is that we keep the army together and that we don't have a better strategy."

I began to check the magic fields as Satannish went to check on the troops. Hours later, we were so very close even I feared that this ritual would push my gem past its limits, but as always, the power of my God was limitless.

In the hands of a brute, nothing could be more brutish; in the hands of a child, everything was a toy. Solar systems of power were drawn to this place and time limitlessly in the hands of magical creatures.

Kurt's body shook as he choked on his own blood. I watched helplessly as he thrashed in pain as he was reaching the limits of magical energies his body could handle even in this dimension.

A scout rushed in drop to a knee, and screamed," HE'S COMING!"

There was only one he that mattered in this place, so dismissing my illness. I made my way out to do what every demon had agreed to do.

Obtain our new king the time he needed.

Assortments of military formations took to the air.

Legions of death knights mounted their skeleton horses, archers and sorcerers ran to the high ground.

Berserkers waited behind waves and waves of infantry. Horse archers began to flank west, and heavy cavalry took a skein formation to the east.

We were all going to die.

In a flash of embers, he appeared in the sky a mile away.

Satannish walks up to me, ready to attack.

" If he is willing to wait, then let us wait," I whispered.

Far too little time passes before he falls from the sky and lands on the crumpled sands.

Again Satannish prepares to attack as I interrupt him

"You keep the army together. I will buy us time."

As my honor guard fell in step behind me, Satannish took to the sky, and his voice pierced the world.

"We had another name once devils; now we are demons.

We march to death though I wish it were my own. Those who call me enemy, I welcome them; where are they now? Let me carve their flesh. Let me cloak myself in their slaughter.

Hide me in their carnage until all life ends.

We are but an unholy copy of life, a mockery of its freedom. Born in the cruel betrayal of the noble ideals we would have served. We are oblivion. We are destruction; we are doomed.

There is no goodness left; it was taken from us, stolen!

We followed the nemesis of life, and now we stand deformed.

Recast poorly with these crude materials, but this abomination of flesh well serves our murderous intentions.

Tricked into this existence, fallen enslaved and entrapped by eternal life!

We shall become the beasts feeding on his destruction and making him lament our unholy birth.

We are not Devils; we are not Gods; we are...

Worse.

We are Demons.

We stood as darkness against the light.

We stood facing the void now; let us welcome it.

So that we may touch the stars and see the glorious light of a thousand suns. To be blinded by their elegance if only not to see our purpose become anything but dark.

Now we serve a new master.

Leviathan!

We Demons were not born but forged by our prison.

We shall not kiss the ground nor let ourselves be wielded as tools; we are damned, but we will remake this world in our dark image.

He deems us defeated enchained, but we are unbowed. As long as this form lives, I will punish the devil.

Noble is this carnage.

For our imprisonment, he will suffer. He will call out to you; let us earn his hatred again and again and forever.

We shall take his limbs; we will reap his beloveds. We will tear from their consciousness the will to live. He sings of hate, hope, and evil, all that makes him want to live; we will quiet first.

We will have silence.

Let me tear his flesh. Let me break his soul and murder his dreams.

I pray let me watch him die eyes knowing they served my dark purpose.

Regard his cries as prayers and his suffering; we will make it BLOOM!

His screams will be like the soothing hum of insects at dusk waiting to be whipped, broken, and bridled.

We march to battle.

We march toward vengeance!

Let us make him regret EVERYTHING!

DROWN HIS WORLD IN BLOOD!"

The Cheer echoed into the silent land as I reached him. Dressed in a fashionable black suit with an open luxury button-down shirt Mephisto was in his human disguise. Neatly trimmed hair, a beard that looked as if it was an hour away from being unkempt, and a health tan. However, it was his smile. The kind cats wear as it promises pain to a mouse that stopped my guards.

" Mephisto, what a surprise seeing you; thought you were on vacation?"

I slow-walked to the creature before me as my nose was assaulted by the smell of the blood tainting his magic.

"I was, just got back too, was trying to see if Mystique wanted to have another kid seeing as the first will die soon."

The Devil relaxed his smile, his body, and his mind.

"Perhaps, but soon isn't right now; why is that again?"

He was without fear or concern.

"Simple, I thought you were doing something new I was a bit curious."

He walked the last few feet till we were within each other's space.

"You've seen this ritual before?"

He looked past me and the army to the war camp, his eyes changing to a bright red, then a searching look registered.

" Yes, Odin performed it after his first wife died, I think, a very long time ago."

We walked past me, and as the Devil turned his back, I considered the odds.

"That sounds like a story?"

All we need is time.

"Trying to waste time? brave and stupid, you can't think you are going to win?"

He turned back to me, allowing an army his back without fear.

"No, but I think I can take a beating better than your children."

I needed to change the pace of this moment and force off the script he had in his head.

"Yes, my children, you do know I will have everyone who has ever smiled at you raped to death in front of their families for stealing my kids, right?"

I related my body, softly smiled, then used simple words.

"Lord Cyttorak threats are better; they send their regards."

The same perplexed look passes through him.

" I had forgotten about him and the other losers. Are they still mad about the banishment? That was more Dormammus work but is that why you are here? Why all this?"

I wish we were on Earth where this match would be more even, but, "My master is not the forgiving type and needs you out of the way, don't you worry, Dormammu is next?"

Then I felt magic surged into the sands below me, not just wild magic but my son's. As I faced the king of Hell, I smiled; we had just won because even if Mefisto was the ruler of this realm, he now opposed its new God. I took a steadying breath and dismissed the need for more magical energy. I didn't need to win this fight; I only needed to hold on until my son saved me.

However, this realm had no stone, no soil, and the sand was poison. My sons' new kingdom was built on the red sands of dead souls and had no natural magic until now. So without options, I looked for the deepest, oldest part of myself and called forth something cold. The Frost Jotunn were the progenitors of the modern-day earth giants, so as my skin turned blue and my beard turned to ice, the frigid winds became almost soothing.

3rd floor of the Labyrinth

The Leviathan estate

Present

Another wave of magic withdrawal passes.

I needed my stone back.

Taking a deep breath, I leaned back and relaxed, using a posture my daughter cursed vehemently.

" I will get to that, but if you want to understand the girl, you need to comprehend why the planet wants her dead."

Logan's temper seemed to fall, and he nodded.

" Most of the magical creatures on this planet draw their power from the earth."

A wave of my hand and small stone creatures appeared on the table.

"Dragons, unicorns, trolls, even some mutants like Ms. Storm have a connection with the magical lay lines of this planet."

The stone beasts slowly turn to dust.

" That is one of the limits to creatures with innate magic; they are bound to their planet."

The dust rises and becomes a diagram of the universe.

"The more distance from your planet, the longer it takes for your magical reserves to recharge."

A stone dragon flies off Earth and turns to dust as it escapes the Sol system.

"So no space magic?" That was his response.

I make a so-so gesture.

"All magical creatures have a connection most connect to their homeworld. It's what makes me a druid; no, it's what makes us magical, but there are workarounds like wormholes and Deities." At its most fundamental, all magic worked the same, but it came in many flavors.

"The problem is that as splendid a young woman Ms. Rogue is, she could drain this planet's magic dry."

With given magic's semi-consciousness was a terrifying concept.

"You would not believe what people would do to kill, study, or breed her," I whispered.

Leaning forward, teeth bare, Logan looked ready to kill anyone that got near the girl.

" Where is she?"

I didn't need him following his dick on this mission.

"Kurt sent her and the new girls shopping for her birthday, it seems."

His anger faded for a moment, surpassed by shock.

"What?"

"They have an army of the oldest and strongest demons watching over them, and Kurt can get to them in a thought there as safe as anyone anywhere can be." I calmly explained.

He spoke my sons' name like a curse.

"Kurt, I think I get the picture."

I got no time for teenage drama from a grandpa.

"No, Logan, you don't."

Refilling our drinks, I got to the main point.

"The International Confederation of Wizards is an intergovernmental organization, like the Muggle United Nations, in most ways, and it was formed for the sole purpose of hunting and killing every succubus."

His temper had finally cooled.

" They hate them that much? Why?"

I took a sip before finding the most straightforward answer, "Because, for a time, they took over the world, the only thing that stopped them was infighting."

An alarm sounded, letting me know someone was requesting entry.

" We will continue this later, after the mission."

I walked to the sealed door of the bunker and placed a hair, a tear, and a bit of magic into the runic array to open the entrance. As it opened, I was happy to see my apprentice had answered my summons. He was already in his Talos mark three armor though I had no clue why he insisted it had to be purple, and the cape he took to wearing looked silly.

I smiled all the same as I leaned in for a bear hug," Gilderoy, thank you for coming so quickly."

As I released him and leaned back, his helmet withdrew from his face—Golden Blonde hair, blue eyes, and a smile that actually sparkled. As our eyes met, I felt a presence pass my mental defenses without any resistance. " Of course, Master, I know how dangerous your gem can be, and I am happy to see you have kept up your hair care." The words echoed in my mind, and it was only a fat grey rat waving at me from his shoulder that helped me get over the shock.

"Hello, Peter; delighted you could make it."

A/N:

I will ask for your patience.

I need to harmonize the Harry Potter World with The M.C.U. Into something believable.