The Herald Descends
I wanted to practice writing something fun so I thought writing a small ficlet for my villain ironstrange au would be neat. Exploring how they first met each other sounds cool. And then things got out of hand and I don’t think I have the energy to finish it, well not in the near future. But I kinda like the 1st part of the fic so I guess it won’t hurt to post it here.
So, enjoy.
Title: The Herald Descends Words: 1,491 Summary: In the beginning, there was darkness. In the end, the darkness awaited. Stephen Strange would make sure Earth would finally fall into his master’s hand.
In the beginning, there was darkness. The universe was formless and empty. There was no sign of life anywhere nor the smell of death and decay. There was simply nothing. Just never-ending darkness. Just a bottomless void of nothingness.
But then the light appeared and it brought life.
Stephen used to think that life was all that matter. He became a doctor to preserve life and to save people. Even when his heart turned cold and he let his ego dictated his move, he still clung to that ideology. Do no harm. He was not a fan of violence after all.
But one life meant nothing in this multiverse. People died every day and yet everything went on. The Ancient One told him, death is what gives life meaning. Stephen wondered how come she could be so close-minded. She had seen the vast multiverse, she had lived for more than a hundred year, she was the Sorcerer Supreme. And yet she still thought like a mere mortal.
Neither life nor death mattered. Why should it matter? Every beginning had its ending. Great civilizations fell and left forgotten. Planets explored and gone forever. We were nothing but dust in this multiverse. Our life was too short and insignificant. Nothing mattered. In the end, everything would come back to the darkness.
In the beginning, there was darkness. It the end, the darkness awaited.
“Mercy, please have mercy…”
The man before him croaked. Stephen looked down at him. His skin was marred with blood everywhere. Stephen knelt beside him so he could get a better look. A short gasp escaped the man’s lips as Stephen’s leaned closer, eyes blown wide with terror. Up close, Stephen could see every line on the man’s face, some spoke of his age and some of his agony. This man had minutes left to live, sooner even. He was the one who called himself the good shaman. He brought magic to this little town. He saw himself as a healer and disregarding the dangers he invited by tampering with powers beyond his comprehension. It was the one that drew Stephen’s master to this town. This town flourished with magic. How poetic it was to end it with magic.
“Please…” he whined, his voice breaking, “have mercy! I beg you!”
Stephen looked at his surroundings. Only debris and destruction remained of this small town. Stephen didn’t give them any chance to fight. With waves of his hands, Stephen unfolded reality and destroyed everything in his sight. Buildings collapsed and buried people inside them. Roads bent and trapped cars in their twist. The local polices tried to subdue him with pistols but no bullet managed to graze him. The town was too far to attract attention so no help was coming. Not soon enough at least.
“What do you want?! Why are you doing this?” The man asked. Tears fell from his eyes, leaving wet trails on his bruised cheeks.
Stephen touched the man’s cheek, feeling him whimpered under his touch.
“Please don’t kill me…” he begged.
“I won’t, don’t worry,” Stephen promised. For a fleeting moment, Stephen saw hope flashed in his eyes. It soon died when he heard Stephen’s scoff. “I need someone to spread the news.”
“What news?”
The man shrieked in terror when Stephen let magic to levitate him from the ground. Stephen got up on his feet then walked to the center of the town with the shaman floating behind him. Once he was in the position, he turned to address the man.
“Listen to me,” he began, “you’re going to witness something and I’d like you to tell everyone. Can you do that for me?”
The man was only able to let out a pathetic whimper.
Stephen smiled and somehow it only made the man whimper even louder. How pathetic. He turned his back against him. He felt a surge of energy burst in his system as he opened his connection to The Dark Dimension. His hands then moved to form complicated hand gestures to cast his spell. Soon, he could feel raw power flowing in his vein. So much power, it burned him from within.
It hurt, oh did it hurt. The power set his nerves ablazed and strained his muscles. Mortal body was not meant to wield this power. But thankfully, Stephen was not a mere mortal anymore.
“Let the darkness descend upon this town!” And with that, he released hell.
The ground shook violently below his feet. Stephen could hear the shaman screamed but his cry was drowned by the cracking sound of thunders. Dark purple clouds covering the night sky above them, forming a temporary portal to The Dark Dimension. Stephen smiled at the magnificent sight, a glimpse of the different sky he called home. The air was thrumming with primordial magic. Stephen watched in silent satisfaction as bodies on the ground crumbled to scorched husks. They flew to the sky, towards his master.
“That’s… That’s The Dark Dimension!” The shaman’s words made him turn his attention back to the pathetic wailing man.
“Oh, you’re more than a blabbering idiot,” Stephen commented. “I don’t need to recite my evil monologue. What a shame.”
"You...” the shaman gaped at him. “How...?”
“But what you know about The Dark Dimension is probably wrong. There’s so much misconception about it, especially about my master. Maybe I should start writing a book. Book of Strange has a nice ring on it, doesn’t it?”
“You served him!” The shaman spat the words like it was an insult. Stephen resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
“Wow, what gave it away? The fact I just banished the whole population of this pitiful town to The Dark Dimension or my creepy eyes?”
Stephen then grasped the man’s lower face in one hand, his nails digging right to his cheeks. He could feel the man’s scream behind his palm.
“Sshh, there’s no need to struggle.” He brought his other hand to the man’s forehead. “I promise I won’t kill you, remember?” A spark of purple fire ignited from his fingertips.
The shaman’s eyes went wide. The purple light looked so beautiful when it was reflected in his black eyes.
“It’s going to be ok,” Stephen tried to reassure him. “Trust me. I used to be a surgeon.”
And with that, he carved a symbol to the man’s skin. A warning to the world, especially those at Kamar-Taj. His master’s symbol.
Dormammu.
Stephen admired his handiwork with a small smile. He leaned forward toward the shaman and said, “Tell everyone you see, darkness will come to you all soon. He will come and there’s nothing you can do to stop him.’”
He didn’t need a sling ring and a hand gesture to open a portal. It was for dumb sorcerers who had no idea how to manipulate space and time continuum. Stephen learned so much from his master. A circle of purple spark materialized just behind the shaman. Stephen could see the street of New York on the other side of the portal.
“What are you-“
“Bye.” Stephen used his magic to launch the shaman towards the portal and then closed it.
Stephen noticed that purple clouds were starting to dissipate. A minute passed in somber silence until the connection to The Dark Dimension was finally closed. Stephen’s knees buckled and just failed to support his weight. Knowing that he was completely alone, he let himself fall to the ground. He was exhausted, his whole body shaking with pain. He curled up into a fetal position and closed his eyes.
It always happened after he channeled an extensive amount of energy from The Dark Dimension. A backlash from casting a large portal to Dark Dimension and banishing hundreds of people there. Stephen’s physiology might have evolved into something more than a mortal but he was not a cosmic being that was born from pure energy.
“I’m disappointed.”
His master’s voice rang loudly in his mind. Stephen’s eyes snapped open as he tried to control his labored breathing.
“You are not ready.”
“Ok, that’s not actually true.” Stephen quickly got up on his feet, ignoring how his muscles spasm painfully as he did so. “I just need more time!”
“Ah, time. The little gift you brought me when we first met.” A deep rumble echoed in his mind. It was hard to tell whether Dormammu was chuckling or grumbling. “Haven’t you spent centuries mastering the power I gave you? You dare to ask for more time?”
“I haven’t been here for a long time,” Stephen argued. “You trained me in The Dark Dimension. Things work differently here. The Sanctums are disturbing my connection to you. It’s harder for me to access your power. They protect the Earth, remember? Let me destroy the sanctums so I can have full access to you. You can even come here.”
“You are not ready,” he repeated. There was no more word for a long time. Stephen feared his master had left him, but then he continued, “Rest, my herald. There is still much work for you.”
Stephen felt like he would collapse once more but he refused to do so. Fuelled by sheer will, Stephen made a portal to his hideout. His master was right. He needed to take a rest. Earth destruction could wait.
***
I’m just going to stick with fanart for now.
