Chapter 228: The Avatar Magic Side Effect!

(A/N: Damn! My foreshadowing in chapter 30+ is finally going to be revealed here. I am not convinced that people will even remember it hahaha)

The thriving city of Washington was turned into a wasteland in a blink of the eye – no signs of survivors anywhere. Dawn stared off with the Ikthalon Avatar as he arrived.

"Ryan? Are you there?" Dawn asked with a calm voice. "Come out now. It's not the time to sleep."

Hela had split up with Dawn, and went to where Kai was lying unconscious – protected from the ice bomb by his companion beasts. An almost frozen, barely alive hippogriff and a frozen corpse vine raised their eyes to look at Hela.

"Poor little thing." Hela said and touched the head of the hippogriff softly and lovingly. "You won't abandon your master, even at the end of your life."

The hippogriff opened his mouth, but his mouth was frozen. Hela closed her eyes, and a drop of tear fell out of her android's eyes – falling onto the hippogriff's beak.

"Rest. I will take care of him." Hela smiled with teary eyes as she tried to comfort the companion beast. The hippogriff then closed its eyes, and disappeared into nothingness. Hela held Kai's forehead, and she said, "Dawn told me you're the key to stop all of this. So…Wake up… Kai Vera.."

She channeled a bit of her Death energy inside of Kai's mind in hope that he will soon wake up. Kai's finger twitched for a moment before his body started to accept the Death energy.

A few hundreds meters away, Ikthalon Avatar smirked at Dawn while they were floating in the air.

Flashing his bloodthirsty expression, his eyes reddened, and his teeth grew sharper. An ice throne appeared, before Ikhtalon Avatar took his rightful seat on the throne, crossing his legs while propping his jaw with his right hand and he sat lazily on the throne.

"He's here. Deep…Deep…Deep…inside…" The devil pointed at Ryan's temple, telling Dawn that he had locked Ryan inside of his own mind.

Letting out a long sigh, Dawn estimated the energy level he still had to continue being awake. "10 minutes huh." He muttered and took up his magic staff.

"Wakey-wakey Ryan. Don't make me do this." Dawn muttered and before he could chant, Dr Strange attacked him to get his attention. It wasn't a lethal attack nor did Strange aim it at Dawn. He only did it as the sounds around the Ice Devil Monarch were suppressed.

"Are you a friend, or a foe?" Dr Strange yelled toward Dawn. The runic barrier protecting the Avengers finally dissipated, allowing them to look at the situation around.

Adam Warlock turned towards Strange and said, "He's a friend. God of Life, Dawn Everstar."

Thor's eyes shook as he could no longer sense the presence of Asgard after he was released from Adam Warlock and Wanda's barrier.

"What THOU HAST DONE!" Thor swirled his hammer in anger, his eyes flashed with lightning. Without any hesitation, Thor attacked Ryan's body.

"THOR!" Tony Stark called out, but Thor was too furious to care. But then, Ryan catched the hammer with only one hand, making Thor flabbergasted.

"Pitiful Asgardian. You need a crutch to use your power. Has the gods fallen so low nowadays?" Ikthtalon spoke and numerous ice spears appeared behind Ryan.

"GET AWAY NOW! THOR!" Steve Rogers tried to protect Thor, but the ice spear stabbed into Thor's abdomen, penetrating his invulnerable protoss physique like paper. Thor's mouth burst out with blood, and his eyes couldn't understand what had just happened.

…

"W-what happened?" T'Chaka asks as he suddenly finds himself teleported to New York City, inside the United Nation Embassy there. Annika, who was fighting with the Valkyrie, also finds herself in the middle of New York streets along with the others.

"This…Is Deer God's MAGIC!" Annika yelled in realization. Her attention then was turned to the big LCD screen on Times Square as J. Jonah Jameson was shouting.

"FOLK! THE ENTIRE OLYMPIA-! THE CAPITAL CITY OF WASHINGTON! HAD BEEN…DESTROYED!"

The screen showed the footage of the city from afar as the ice storm had prevented the reporters from getting nearby.

JJJ held his earpiece as his workers were telling him the breaking news.

"I just received the updated news. The world leaders and citizens living in Olympia have been transported to the city of New York, and are safe from the destruction. However, the Avengers and our President's whereabouts are still unclear."

As the situation was too critical, no one actually spoke up to correct JJJ's claim that Ryan was the president. Even the true President didn't notice it and was as concerned as JJJ was.

Annika's eyes shook, and she muttered, "Deer god…why?..WHY DID YOU KICK US AWAY!"

As if answering her questions, the grounds in New York City started to shake, and cracks were appearing on the road.

"What the hell-" Skye and Pietro saw the destruction of the city, and their shock was doubled when they saw bony, 5 meters tall Ice Demons started to crawl out of the cracks!

"It's a Hell's Invasion." Wong muttered while he was guarding the sanctum – taking the place of the Sorcerer Supreme that was fighting with Mephisto at the moment.

"Gather the Masters of the Mystical Arts. We shall guard the Earth!" Wong commanded the apprentice nearby him.

An army of Ice giants were congregating in Times Square, the place where the Valkyries were transported to.

"I guess this answered your question." Cersei said to Annika while getting out her rapier.

"Yes. He wants us… TO KILL THE DEMONS HERE!" Annike used SkyWalk to run in the air before she channeled her chi toward her right hand. Her right hand glowed in a bright orange light before she punched the 5 meters tall, skinny Ice demon in the face.

"Damn Danny, she stole your move!" Luke Cage said to Danny Rand as they joined in the fight.

Danny was silent, and then he looked at his dimly lit hand. "Why is her punch more powerful than mine?"

…

Inside of Ryan's Mindscape.

"Ohh. It started." The Dark Ryan summoned a popcorn while he was standing next to the real Ryan. While chained at the floor of his mindscape, Ryan asked, "Caramel?"

"Yup." The Dark Ryan replied.

"Throw it." Ryan said and opened his mouth before the Darker Ryan threw one popcorn kernel in.

"Okay. Now we fight again." Ryan said and then his tone turned anxious. "What are you planning?!"

"Me? You don't even know what is happening to your body, and you blamed me for doing what I'm doing right now!" The Darker Ryan said and then teleported their location to someplace else. A white space with the video of the system creator.

"Ah. The message. It's…done loading?" Ryan said in realization.

"Yup." The Darker Ryan said and he walked closely to the projection of the system creator– a man with universes in his eyes.

"While you aren't here, he shared the message that he personalized, just for us." The Darker Ryan said.

"You meant just for me?" Ryan instigated.

"Nope. Us." Darker Ryan said and turned back the recording till after the creator had done his long speech about the system before he gots to the personal message for them. Then, the Darker Ryan played the message.

[...Ryan…the one who was fated to buy my Avatar Magic Skill.] The Interdimensional Trading Site Founder started his message to Ryan.

[...The Avatar magic is a failed God Ascension Technique created by myself. However, the reason it failed wasn't because it was damaged. But because, it wasn't fated for the people in my realm. As I ascended into Godhood, I finally understood that, the reason it failed was because someone else was fated to it.]

"And that…is us." Dark Ryan said while poking the founder's cheek as he stood beside the recording.

[...That's true. It is yours. Only a person who had let go of his past…and wasn't burdened by his fate in the future, could use the Avatar magic to ascend.]

"Kai Vera. Your creation whose name was made by the names of the people you love the most. Your best friend Kai who died of cancer while you were 10 years old, and Vera, your wife who died when she was pregnant with your child. But…you don't even remember any of them." The Darker Ryan said in disgust.

"I…" Ryan opened his mouth to refute, but he couldn't find any words to defend himself.

"Dawn Everstar. When you created him, you didn't even name him. He was the bad future that you had cut off from your fate. A lonely man hidden alone on an island while wearing a mask to hide his identity – never to trust anyone, nor did he belong with anyone. You even throw the things you don't want to do to him. That is high tier procrastination skill Ryan. Literally throw it to the future you."

As Ryan's eyes shook when he understood the situation, the Dark Ryan laughed.

"And you?" Ryan asked, looking straight into Dark Ryan's eyes. "What are you?"

"Me?.." The Dark Ryan smirked before he continued, "I'm your mirror. I'm the reflection of who you truly are!"

"..." Ryan looked at his reflection in confusion. "Then…Why are you black?"

Dark Ryan was speechless by the question, and he said, "Dude. It's the 20th century. You can't ask people that. People will label you racist and cancel you because of it."

"...."

[...The moment you understand about your own identity, that will be the moment where you will ascend into your own Godhood. Not as a God in a universe, but to become an entity on par with the Creation Gods of your home. You have started your trial. Now, it's time to finish it.]

The System Founder turned to the Dark Ryan, and said, [..Either of you..]

"See. We all have a chance." The Dark Ryan smiled gleefully, and the Founder's message finally ended. "Even Kai and Dawn too."

"I see. Then, you're…going to absorb Ikhtalon to tilt the scale into your direction?" Ryan asked.

"Ding Ding Ding Ding." Dark Ryan sounded the correct answer sound with his mouth. "You see…All of you already had your time to shine. It's now…my turn!"

…

"Damn it!" Dawn cursed and used the basic magic, [Mage hand] and pulled Thor out of harm's way.

"Tier 6 magic: Inferno!" Dawn chanted and slammed his staff in the air. As far as he knew, Iktalon had one major weakness. That was fire.

A horizontal flame pillar made of the hottest flame mankind had discovered was shot toward the man in the ice throne. It was blocked by the cold barrier around Ikhtalon.

The devil raised one of his brows as for the first time in millennia, he felt a heat that could threaten his existence. Ikhtalon opened his mouth filled with sharp teeth, and charged a cold wave inside an orb in front of his mouth. Then, he shot an ice blast that could turn the earth back into the ice age toward Dawn.

The fiery pillar and the ice blast clashed into each other, locked into a struggle where one tried to overpower the other.

As for the spectators;

"Thor. Asgard is still there. It was the devil who has locked us inside this space." Adam Warlock explained as Thor fell to the ground and needed to be healed by Wanda.

One of the first few things Ryan had thought Wanda was healing magic, and she was using it to heal the injured Asgardian God now.

"Ugh. Is that… True?" Thor asked with a heavy breathing.

"Stop moving!" Wanda yelled out and slapped Thor's bicep. "I can't focus if you move."

Thor turned to Steve Rogers and said, "She is scary."

"Yup." Steve agreed to it.

Gwen helped Gamora to stop her injuries and said, "I'm sorry for this."

"Don't worry. It's not your fault. Nor is it Ryan's." Gamora said.

"So. Are we all going to stand here and do nothing while those two fight?" Tony asked anxiously as he watched Dawn's fight with Iktalon.

Thor furrowed his brows and said, "Both of them…are at my father's level. It isn't a fight that you can interfere with."

"Maybe for you!" Hulk slammed his fist together and jumped toward Ryan Knight's body.

"Wakey-Wakey Ryan." Hulk muttered as he threw a punch at the ice throne. Hulk's punch was stopped by Ikthalon's grip, but his moment of distraction allowed Dawn's fire to reach the devil and blasted him backward a few hundred meters.

Unscathed, Ikthalon lets out a bloodthirsty grin.

"Everyone. And everything. Will freeze. Nothing. Will change." Ikhtalon, the devil of stagnation and resistance to change, started to encroach Earth's realm with his Icy Hell, trying to bring the entire Earth into his realm.

"Open up the sanctum's defense!" Wong commanded the Masters of the Mystical Arts that had stood by and ready for the encroachment.

"Hold the defense until the Sorcerer Supreme gets back!" Wong said. Then, he whispered, "Hopefully."