......
Limbo
Third Person P.O.V.
Eidolon, Raven, and Illyana surround the fallen Sadurang, the dragon, in his Asgardian form.
"Let's start the interrogation…" Eidolon speaks "First, I would recommend you to be truthful from the get-go. You don't want to taste my methods of extraction of the truth… and I will know if you are lying."
"Are you going to torture him?" Raven gives Eidolon a glance
"Gasp Who said torture? Raven… I am a hero!" Eidolon brings a hand to his chest, eyes trembling from the direct attack on his character.
"..." Raven gives him the most emotionless, deadpan eyes she has ever given him. There is no life in her gaze while she stares at his poor act.
"Anyway, do you recognize those two, Sadurang?" Eidolon opens his palm, and above his hand, the heads of Madelyne and her accomplice appear.
"..." Sadurang looks at the images and then at Eidolon.
The hero immediately saw recognition in his gaze, but remained silent for the moment.
It is when Sadurang remains silent that Eidolon makes a move; his eyes sharpen, and he increases the gravity on the Asgardian.
"Ugh!" Sadurang immediately felt the increase in pressure, together with Eidolon's Haki, pressing on both his body and spirit.
"Such loyalty… is it worth your life though?" Eidolon increases the pressure even more, to the point that Sadurang looks like he is melting, his skin being pushed down.
"Alright! Alright! I will talk!" He shouts, and the pressure immediately disappears. Relieved, he takes some deep breaths before murmuring "It is not like I have any connection with those witches…"
"Then talk quickly." Eidolon speaks with a cold tone, looking down on him. But then, all of a sudden, he changes his tone and addresses Illyana casually. "You see what I am doing here? I am not asking specific questions so that he can't hide anything from me… He will tell what he knows without knowing how much I know. This way, he will need to be careful in revealing enough to satisfy me, and I can pinpoint any of his lies."
"What sort of bullshit is this? Are you teaching her now??" Sadurang asks, looking offended
"Is that a problem? Fieldwork is the best education method." Eidolon goes back to speak with him coldly
"...makes sense." Sadurang has to admit with a nod.
"Consider yourself lucky that I am just teaching her smart ways of dealing with people being interrogated instead of showing you some of my interrogation methods." The hero scoffs
"Fine, fine… I don't need to hide anything either. I really don't care about those two." Sadurang raises his hand in surrender. "In truth, if you came to me to ask about them, I would have told you… for a price."
"We came peacefully, but we were attacked by some of your people." Illyana says with her arms crossed
"What? Why- Those fools! Wait… are you flying?" Sadurang passes through five different emotions
"Yes." Raven nods
"Tsk, those arrogant idiots… Why take offense if someone flies over you? Can't they even measure someone's strength first before throwing their weight around??" Sadurang sighs tiredly
"I guess we need to thank your people then. Not only did they prevent us from paying for the information, but we also got your pseudo Eye of Agamotto." Eidolon smirks
"..." Sadurang looks like he received a physical blow at that, his face scrunching in an ugly expression at the remainder of his loss. "Can we exchange the information for the-"
"No." Eidolon immediately shoots the negotiations down. "We hold all the cards now. Start talking, the price for the information is your life… do you want it back? It is in my hands now." Eidolon gives him a challenging look
"..." There is a huge fight going on in Sadurang's eyes, but eventually, he has to give up. He is smart enough to know when to bend to not break.
"Last chance, start talking…" Eidolon starts increasing the pressure again, but Sadurang stops him
"I will!" he raises his hands. "It was some weeks ago, less than two, I was approached by those two witches for information…"
"About the witches…" Eidolon urges him.
"..." Sadurang stares at him before starting to talk. It is really effective in hiding how much they know. The Asgardian Sorcerer will need to say everything in fear of being attacked if he fails. "I don't know the older one, with dark clothes, but the younger one is Ananym. Or Wichfire, as she insisted on being called now. Little brat, acting all bossy now that her father-" At the end, Sadurang is mumbling spitefully
"Focus." Illyana kicks him on the leg. "Don't forget any detail." She threatens.
Eidolon nods with pride. You can't let the interrogated get too comfortable… They can only get comfortable enough to get loose tongues, but not to get distracted.
"Ananym is the one who brought the other woman, who insisted on being called Goblin Queen. Those women and their self-given-" Sadurang was going to ramble again, but a glare of Eidolon brought him back to focus. "I would not even hear them out, but as a daughter of Belasco, Ananym is an old acquaintance, and I confess, the deal was very good."
"What deal?" Illyana can't help but ask after Belasco was mentioned, especially of a daughter that she didn't even know existed. But Eidolon shakes his head at her
"Patience. We can guess what the deal is, let him talk…" Eidolon says
"Sorry…"
Eidolon is trying to teach her to keep the appearance of a know-it-all. Even he didn't know anything about this Ananym… Illyana, at least, didn't blurt out something like "Belasco has a daughter?", so it is okay.
Sadurang can still think they have more information than they actually do.
"The deal was to help them to get some of Belasco's reserves. Hehe~, between us, that girl probably had a falling-out with her father. To ask me to break the wards? The two have some use for those mindless armies that Belasco does not approve of." Sadurang laughs as if he's sharing some good gossip.
"Not a surprise, Belasco is a cheapskate bastard." Eidolon allows himself to comment, engaging in the conversation without showing anything.
"You know him?" Sadurang asks.
"See, Illyana, normally you shouldn't let the interrogatee turn the conversation around and ask questions." Eidolon ignores him to turn to Illyana "But in this case, it helps…" He turns to Sadurang again "Obviously, I know him, I was the one who kicked his ass so bad that he is keeping his head in the sand till now." He reveals.
"..." Sadurang's shock is not a surprise to Eidolon. The agape mouth and wide eyes are good indicators of how great Eidolon's feat is.
It is common knowledge that in the Limbo… Belasco is indestructible and apparently invincible. That is why he governed this place even though strong people like Sadurang are lying around.
Even Satana was surprised when he told her Belasco had been defeated.
The fact that Belasco escaped in the end does not diminish his accomplishment in the slightest. The Limbo is in turmoil, with many upstart warlords fighting to seize the territories that Belasco left vacant.
"So it was you… That battle shook this place in more ways than one." Sadurang comments in amazement. "And you didn't even do anything to seize control… Things have been chaotic because of that."
"Not interested… but if you have any clue where Belasco is hiding, I would like to know. I want to finish the job."
Sadurang gulps down under Eidolon's gaze. "The only one that could know is Ananym… And if my guess that she is not on good terms with her father is accurate, maybe she can tell you. If she knows… Belasco is a cautious man."
"Oh, daddy issues so bad that she would sell her father?" Eidolon asks with clear amusement in his voice
"If you know Belasco, you should know the answer to that." Sadurang shrugs
"Demons treating girls under their custody badly…a tale as old as time." Eidolon comments with sarcasm.
"..." Raven and Illyana are the living proof of that. Ananym and Satana too… And many others.
It is what Hector would call a "cliche". Princesses in a castle guarded by a dragon? No, girls being badly raised by demonic father figures is the "new meta" in modern times.
"The two are planning to use Belasco's army for something… I don't know the details, and I don't care, as long as my compensation is paid." Sadurang says without a care
"We know what they used it for." Eidolon says. To attack the X-Men and sacrifice them to a ritual.
What they discovered now is how they got it.
Eidolon stares at Sadurang. "Take us to the place where you got Belasco's armies."
"Now?"
"Yes, and in the meantime, you are gonna tell us anything you heard them talking about," Eidolon explains
Sadurang starts pointing in a direction "I can describe the place to you, it is-"
"Didn't you hear me? I said that you should take us there…" The hero smiles with his eyes before turning to Illyana. "Wanna enjoy some dragon flight?"
"Oh… hehe~" Illyana catches on fast.
"Wait… Why don't we just teleport there?" Sadurang also understood. Eidolon is only doing that to humiliate him. There is no reason for people on his level to use him as a mount.
"But that would not be fun." Eidolon shakes his head like it's obvious. Then he extended his hand and reached for Sadurang. "Now I am gonna heal you and make sure you stay obedient even while fully healthy." His eyes shine with dark amusement as his fingers move to Sadurang's chest.
To this Asgardian Dragon Sorcerer, this human is more demonic than anyone he has met in this forsaken dimension.
.......
Later, Sadurang is back in the air, but this time he is flying in a certain direction while carrying the trio that defeated him on his head.
Eidolon, Illyana, and Raven are sitting on a padded circular platform that Eidolon strapped to the dragon's head.
The old Asgardian Sorcerer has never felt so humiliated. He wants to cry or rage, but he can't do either… Eidolon got a very good assurance against him.
"You have so many convenient powers." Raven comments while taking a look at what is on Illyana's hands.
The blonde girl is playing with a gelatinous cube with a beating heart inside.
"Aaaargh!!" Sadurang shouts in pain when Illyana suddenly squeezes the heart with enough force to deform it in a worrying way.
"Illyana, don't make our travel uncomfortable." Eidolon admonishes. Not caring about Sadurang, only about how comfy the flight is, he even has his eyes closed as he enjoys the breeze. "It always pays off to be prepared… If not, I would have to use some drastic measures." He addresses Raven's comment
"Drastic measures?" Illyana is suddenly interested. She turns to him, and even stops squeezing Sadurang's heart; now she is just throwing it from one hand to the other.
"Okay… you just triggered another lesson." Eidolon opens his eyes, glinting with amusement
"Ugh." Illyana makes a show of rolling her eyes
"Don't act as if you hate it."
"I am a teenager, I am bound to hate lessons."
"I think our lessons are a little more interesting than math." Eidolon gives her a look.
"Barely." She smiles cheekily
"I will remember that." Eidolon replies with the same energy "But anyway… Illyana, I am not even gonna ask and just straight up say… Deep down, one of the main things that moves the world is… violence."
"Violence…" She is not that surprised by that, but more interested that a hero like him is admitting it.
"Yes, it can derive and emerge from other sources, but what makes the world change, or stay the same, is violence. It is the most common way, dating back to ancient times, even though our peaceful modern mindset wants to change it… But there will always be those who are suppressed by people using the old and violent way."
"Violence will prevail in the end."
"Yep. Violence is not always bad, Illyana. In truth, for civilization to prevail, good people must be better at violence than evil people."
"Like you."
"Exactly." Eidolon nods "Childish people will say that I am just the other face of the same coin, that heroes and villains are the same, using violence to impose their ideals and blah, blah, blah… They are completely ignoring morality and decency to sell their point, classifying all violence as bad to lump all of us together. It does not matter how many people try to tell you that everything is Gray, that it is not the truth. Yep, Gray exists, but there is absolute evil and good, too. Demons are an example of Absolute Evil, the ones that spawn from Hell, at least, and the best way for good to prevail is to use violence against evil. And no, this does not make us as bad as them. If anyone tries to tell you the famous 'if you kill a killer, you become like him and the number of killers remains the same', spit on his face and walk away to kill another killer."
"Hehehe~"
Eidolon then raises a finger "BUT… and this is very important, and I want you to pay attention… It is not a good thing for you to always use an exaggerated amount of violence. Our brains are among our best traits, and we should use them… If you can think of an alternative method to solve an issue in a non-violent way, a thought outside the box, I want you to give it a try. A leap of faith of sorts… Violence can drown us if we stay submerged in it for too long. Sometimes we should jump out of it for a breath of fresh air."
"That is what you do, right?" She says "Sparing enemies, trying peaceful coexistence first, talking…"
"You guessed it right again. Unless in extraordinary cases, I try a peaceful approach first, giving everyone one chance. It is as much to my own benefit as it is to them. Violence could solve every issue, but it is not always the best answer. I don't like it, and that is why I worked hard to have so many powers, to be prepared for every situation, so that I had other solutions to the many problems that appear in my chaotic life." Eidolon points at the heart in her hand. "If I didn't have this ability, Sadurang here would have been in a trench, or at least in a very uncomfortable cell. But instead, he now has the chance of paying for his mistakes and eventually getting free."
"What mistakes…" The dragon grumbles
"You yearn for the cell?" Eidolon glares at him
"No…" The dragon replies as timid as a dog that was scolded by its owner.
"See how the threat of violence is effective?" Eidolon turns back to Illyana with a wry smile "It is almost addicting how easy it makes things."
"Yes, I see it."
"And that is why I don't want you to be corrupted by it." The hero sighs and caresses the top of her head. "I know that you were cursed to a life of hardships and conflicts… so this whole lesson is to remind you that there are other ways to go through them. It may prove to be a useless lesson in the future, but maybe… one day, you will be at a crossroads where there will be an easy, violent way and a more difficult alternative. I want you to choose what will be better, not only to save some of your time and effort, but also to leave you with no regrets. We can save other people's lives, Illyana, but we are responsible for saving our own hearts. Don't easily give up on that."
"..." Illyana stares at him with a very serious look before nodding "Alright, no need for this melodramatic speech." She looks away, bashful for some reason.
Eidolon leans back. "Just passing some wisdom to the new generation. It is what we do, so that you don't make our mistakes… and one of my regrets was how… heavy-handed I was in getting strong enough that I can use other means beyond violence." He sighs.
He still remembers his stay in the Hero Academia world. He was so weak, and he was in such a hurry to get strong that he ended up hurting people unnecessarily.
Time proved that he was right in doing that; weeks later, he was forced to fight Thor, after all. But he could have done better. He thought that just by not killing the people, everything would be okay in the end, but by taking their powers, he ended up hurting them in a way he didn't understand at the time.
Now he understands that it can be traumatic to lose such an important part of you, their efforts, and their future…
"I was so young and overeager…I cringe just from remembering… If I were a little more patient and put a little more effort…" Eidolon sighs again. "It doesn't matter if you go back in time; what you did, you did." He advises Illyana while looking at the sky. "I mean… it was part of my growth, but if you can grow without having to carry those burdens…"
"I imagined that there would be a price for you to get so strong." Illyana comments while staring at him
"Always." He nods "But it paid off in the end, now I am very strong and have convenient powers to help me and others."
"Like this one?" Illyana raises Sadurang's heart
"Yep, pretty cool, huh? Harmlessly taking someone hostage. He can't grow another one because it was not really a wound… and even if he uses magic to create an extra heart, this one would always be connected with him, and we can use it to keep him in check." His words are directed to both Illyana and Sadurang
The dragon looks sick.
As a sorcerer, he understands how significant it is to have someone holding his heart like that… "This is fucking bullshit. No one should be able to do that so effortlessly…"
"What are you mumbling down there?" Eidolon glares
"Nothing!" The dragon immediately answers obediently
"So if he disobeys, we do what? Stab it?" Illyana makes a stabbing motion with her right hand while holding the heart with her left.
"Be more creative, Illyana. What we just talked about, always using violence first?" Eidolon gives her a taunting 'tut tut'. "We can use his heart in many ways… We can use track spells, read his thoughts and feelings, control his mind, curse him..."
"Please don't…" Sadurang cries
"Don't worry… I am a hero." Eidolon says righteously "But heroes kill evil dragons… Are you an evil dragon?" He changes his tone to a somber one.
"No…"
"Good boy."
"..."
"I read about that with the other Ororo. It is like Voodoo magic, right?" Illyana comments while remembering her education under Belasco. "She told me to be careful with people getting my blood or hair."
"She is right, even giving your name can be dangerous. If you become famous/powerful, try to go by a title." Eidolon says
"Hmm, I see… Wait, why didn't his heart grow when he changed to dragon form?" Illyana suddenly asks
"If you look closely, you will see that changed shape a little, but is locked in this size." Eidolon points out "It is a very convenient power." One Piece's Devil Fruits are really convenient; some of the powers even include clothes. For example, when he got the cube with the heart from Sadurang, the hole closed, and the shirt was restored too.
"Really convenient." Raven finally speaks
"Yes, but less than magic." Eidolon shrugs "By the way, Sadurang, you are not really famous in the mythos of the normal people… Do you have any relation with Fafnir?"
"Hmpf, I am not a dwarf turned dragon. I am a dragon!" Sadurang says proudly "I admit that the Asgardian form is incredibly convenient in many ways, but this is my true form."
"Oh, I see."
"That Fafnir bastard was helping himself to my treasures while I was away studying sorcery…" Sadurang says in a low voice.
"You have the habit of mumbling, you know that?" Illyana points out
"Why should I care if people hear my thoughts?" He replies arrogantly, forgetting who is on his head
But Eidolon doesn't seem to mind.
"Away? Seeing that you are here in Limbo, I believe that you mean in another dimension entirely." He comments with interest
"I learned under the greatest sorcerer in existence!" Sadurang brags
"The Ancient One?" Eidolon raises an eyebrow
"Of course not! I trained under Dormammu! I am his best student!!"
"Ooooh…" Eidolon's eyes narrow. Now this interests him greatly.
"The ancient One… hah! What a puny human can teach-"
"I am a puny human." Eidolon interrupts, "And recently the Ancient One kicked Dormammu's ass when he tried to invade Earth."
Hector will not let him slander the Sorcerer Supreme.
"Ugh… It is easy for him to do with all the protections of the Sanctums…" Sadurang replies stubbornly
"Please, the Ancient One entered the Dark Dimension to throw hands on Dormammu turf, and came back unscathed." Eidolon taunts
"Sorcerer Supremes and their tricks…" Sadurang mumbles
"All magic can be considered tricks if we go by this logic."
A strange event occurs when the two start bickering as two fans defending their favorite UFC fighters, evaporating the previous serious atmosphere.
"You two are being childish." Raven drawls before rolling her eyes "Men."
"Hey." Eidolon starts, but Sadurang interrupts to speak about something more important.
"We are here."
That attracts their attention, making the trio look down. They are now flying over a ravine.
Eidolon activates his All Seeing Eyes of God to pry the secrets of this seemingly inconspicuous place.
"You even restored the wards and everything after you robbed the place clean." He comments
"Don't look at me. Ananym and the others are the ones treating this place like their personal storage."
"Whatever, go down and open the protections again… Don't care about being subtle, I want to spare some time, and piss off Belasco, in whatever hole he is hiding now." Eidolon instructs
"Why do you want to go there if you already know that it has nothing?"
"Investigation. As I said before, I have a lot of convenient powers."
Sadurang can't argue with him and does as he is told; he dives down and enters the ravine flying.
The air trembles around them as if it is distorting because of the heat, and the place they should be entering changes.
"A pocket dimension…" Raven says while looking around
"A pocket space, if you want to be more accurate." Eidolon corrects "Belasco expanded the area inside the ravine, changed it completely, and put some illusion and protection wards to make it pass as a boring place."
The ravine, which was previously just a rocky place with a small river passing through it, became a man-made structure fused with nature.
On their two sides, there are temple entrances in the walls, statues, and pillars.
"Ugh, I don't want to see his face if I can't even punch him." Illyana spits in distaste after noticing the many statues of Belasco around the entrance of the temples.
"No surprise that the Demon Lord is a narcissist, but I never saw one taking to those extremes." Raven also says her piece. There are simply too many statues of him
"And this is a hideout, remember that. A place that should be hidden, and theoretically, not found by anyone, but the guy made sure that people know that it is his and he built it." Eidolon laughs, amused
They fly slowly till they reach a more open area. A circle of stone, the size of a tennis court, surrounded by many pillars in the middle of the river, and connected with the walls on each side by two bridges.
"It is here." Sadurang speaks before levitating around the circle "It will be quicker now that I know how to do it."
Eidolon and Raven pay attention to learn, while Illyana looks around, distracted. Seeing that, Eidolon decides to get her attention and, at the same time, shares his All Seeing Eyes of God with the two.
"Everything is a learning experience if you open your mind and heart to it." He says to Illyana.
"Okay…" She retorts with a sigh but obeys.
They can clearly see the hidden runes being moved in the air while trembling, a sound echoing from the back of Sadurang's throat, similar to the sound of a giant blowing a horn, guttural and deep.
"Is this some kind of special draconic language very compatible with magic?" Raven asks with interest
"Yes… It is something even outside the Allspeak." Eidolon answers with equal interest "But my Cypher power can still understand it."
"What is he saying then?" Illyana turns to him
"Well… It's hard to translate, losing a lot of meaning… It is a sort of chant against the forces of nature and natural laws. Rhythm is as important as words too."
At that moment, the sound coming from Sadurang gets louder and louder, enough to create a vibration that shakes the whole ravine.
With a final low roar, the invisible runes start trembling before flickering into existence just to ultimately dissipate in motes of light.
The trembling doesn't stop; the circle of rocks shakes and starts rising, revealing it's a cylindrical structure.
"So it was like an altar." Raven says as the structure reveals itself.
"Something is happening." Eidolon points out, taking a quick look around. The trembling not only continues as the altar emerges, but it is increasing in intensity. Dust and small rocks are being shaken off the place while the eyes of the statues start shining with a red light.
"Typical." Eidolon chuckles
"Why didn't you tell us that there is a trap?" Illyana asks Sadurang
"I didn't trigger this last time; it is not my fault! You are the ones who asked me not to care about the protections." Sadurang protests
"It is okay, Illyana. Didn't you want the chance of hitting Belasco in the face?" Eidolon sparks with some amusement.
All around them, the statues start moving away from their rightful spots, each holding a different type of weapon. The statues that are not Belasco also started moving, beasts, demons, and the most varied array of creatures roar at the invaders.
"Now that you talked about it~" Illyana smiles predatorily, Soulsword appearing in her hand with a swing of her arm.
Chaos erupts in the next instant, and the group of invaders is jumped from all sides by the many statues. Similar to a swarm of wasps, the statues are wild and relentless.
Of course, no one here is a pushover.
Raven conjures a dark wall against a bunch of enemies and pushes it to the side of the ravine to crush. Illyana immediately disappears to fight amidst the chaos. Sadurang just emits some magic pulses to push them off him.
And Eidolon just stays still. Some statues throw magic blasts at them, from their eyes and hands, but the hero easily diverts them with a clever use of barriers at the right angle and wormholes.
"Try doing the same." He tells Illyana that after he makes a magic blast go back to the enemy that threw it by opening a portal behind his head.
He is only seeing this as a practice because he judged that the level of those statues is too low for them.
"Hm?" But Eidolon noticed the numbers don't seem to be decreasing, even after they destroyed a great quantity of them.
To test his theory, he raises his hand in one direction and uses a palm strike that releases a huge invisible force. The shockwave travels through that whole side of the ravine, probably till the end of it, turning all the statues into small rocks.
He observes for a moment before confirming his theory.
"They are restoring themselves." He says to the rest.
"As expected from Belasco." Sadurang scoffs "He was always a cockroach, and that was reflected even in his traps."
"I thought they were golems." Raven says
"No magic core inside them." Eidolon points out
"There must be something supplying them with the magic to keep going." Sadurang says
"It is the many pillars." Eidolon already discovered the truth. "It is acting like an antenna to distribute the magic power and give commands. It uses the black metal from here, so it is not really infinite, but it will last for a long time. It only works inside this ravine, though."
"Enough time to keep anyone from trying to invade here so that Belasco can come." Illyana understands the trap now. Smashing some of the statues of her former jailer.
"It would be nice if he really came, but I doubt he would take the risk now." Eidolon sighs and decides to end this charade.
He raises his arms, palms pointing in opposite directions from the Ravine, and the space in front of them starts distorting and forming a transparent vortex.
It is when a black dot appears that Eidolon shoots a seemingly invisible attack at the two ends of the Ravine.
The small dark bead immediately starts attracting everything around it and growing in power together with mass. It rips statues, temples, and pillars clean from the ravine as it advances toward the opposite ends.
The vortexes grow so big that they fill the whole ravine, and even start increasing in size as they disappear from the view of Eidolon's groups
"Were those black holes?" Illayana asks in amazement.
"Fake ones… just a clever use of gravity and space powers." Eidolon shrugs "Now we can continue."
Without anything in the way, they can now see that the rock circle has an entrance on the side, after emerging from the ground.
"An elevator. Let's go." Eidolon leads the way.
Everyone follows after him, even Sadurang, who goes back to his human form and discards the platform on his head like it is a dirty tissue.
The elevator ride down is a little awkward.
"An elevator without music is really weird." Eidolon comments, remembering a similar moment with the spider-people in Miles' universe
To pass the time, he takes off the stolen Eye of Agamotto and shows it to Sadurang, the dragon's eyes widening with greed. "It is safe to say that this was given to you by one called Goblin Queen, right?"
"Yes… It was broken and of little use to her, but I could restore it to myself while she doesn't have the expertise. I was using the fire of the volcano to do that when…"
"When we interrupted." Eidolon interrupts him again "So it is really an alternate version of the Eye of Agamotto. Kinda obvious, this one is rocky instead of golden. I don't know if it is as strong as the one from here, but it should be close… Oh, there are some words behind…" Eidolon pays attention
"Runes?" Raven asks
"No… English words, written with anger…" Eidolon frowns before reading them "Useless Trash… And those cracks together with those holes… someone clutched this tight enough to almost break."
"That witch said that she got this after the previous user smashed it into the ground, throwing it away like trash." Sadurang says helpfully
"A Sorcerer Supreme did that?" Eidolon is confused. Only someone at the same level as a Sorcerer Supreme would be able to get their hands on an Eye of Agamotto and then call it useless. 'An evil version of Strange perhaps.'
"Who knows?" The dragon doesn't know the details.
"That bitch is of the same universe as Kitty, Ororo, and Kurt that I knew, right?" Illyana asks
"Yeah… apparently something really chaotic happened to the magic side of that universe. Doom, maybe…"
"From what you told me, he should be arrogant enough to discard a Magical Artifact like the Eye of Agamotto this way." Illyana suggests
"Uhum, the only thing that doesn't make sense is the anger in getting rid of it. Like it failed him somehow… The person even carved the words 'Useless trash' on it. Printed with magic, as a curse." Eidolon thinks a little harder, "Probably the Eye of Agamotto had some sentience and turned against the person… or anger issues."
"The two are equally possible." Raven deadpans.
"Erm… Uhm… Is there any chance that you are going to return it to me?" Sadurang tries
"..." Eidolon stares at him for a good second before putting the Eye of Agamotto away. "No."
"..." Sadurang almost chokes on sadness. Today is probably the unluckiest day of his life.
The elevator stops, and the door opens. Eidolon and Raven leave first. Illyana gave the Asgardian Sorcerer some pats on the arm in comfort.
"You at least still have your dragon hide… Mama here wanted some leather boots, but Eidolon said no." She says before following the first two.
"..."
..........
If Eidolon can reach a place where the person he was investigating passed through, it is over.
'[Moody Blues] is too overpowering.' He chuckles in his mind while watching the exchanges between Ananym and Madelyne Pryor.
Of course, he will not believe everything they say; after all, the two don't know each other very well, and they must be withholding information or outright lying to the other.
But people tend to relax when they think no one can listen to them, and a power that can literally spy on them from the future is not something most of them could conceive.
'The Scythe of Sorrows… Never heard of it.' As Eidolon moves around the place while accompanying the two witches from the past, discussing their plans in hushed tones, he adds the new pieces of the puzzle in his mind.
He also didn't only use [Moody Blues] here. Eidolon obviously used the power of the Stand on Sadurang's stronghold; it is what made him aware that the dragon didn't lie. He watched the whole negotiation between the three.
Sadurang really only had a business exchange with Ananym and Madelyne.
'Two bad they used teleportation powers.' He sighs, having to stop the investigation after the image of the two suddenly gets stuck in place, unmoving. [Moody Blues] can't follow this kind of movement.
Retrieving [Mr. Blue Sky], Eidolon turned to the people watching him and says. "I got what I needed, let's go." This time, he didn't show the images to everyone because of Sadurang.
Illyana opens a portal to the surface, and the four emerge from it at the top of a hill.
"You are free to go now, Sadurang." Eidolon says to the dragon
"And what of my heart?" Sadurang probes
"I will be keeping it a little more." The hero replies with a tone that leaves no room for discussion.
"..."
"Just as a precaution… I hope you don't do anything dumb like seeking revenge or ratting us out to the two I am chasing. The inconvenience will not be worth it… believe in me." Eidolon continues with a threat
"Shouldn't we just kill him?" Illyana asks while eyeing the dragon with an emotionless gaze.
Sadurang trembled because this moment could decide his destiny.
"No… his only sin was having dumb subordinates that attacked us first." Eidolon shakes his head. "Seriously, Sadurang… don't try anything dumb. Eventually, I can return your heart. Just wait. And be sure that I am not gonna use it for anything nefarious."
After the short time spent together, there is no really big grudge between the two groups.
"Fine…" The dragon turns around and turns itself into a dragon. "I will be waiting in the same place…" He says to them before flying high in the sky, while mumbling that today was shit. After a roar, some stormy clouds appear; he dives headfirst into them and disappears.
"Cool way of teleporting." Eidolon comments.
"Mine is cooler." Illyana scoffs with a little envy.
"Heh~ See, Illyana? No need to kill him. Death is so… final. Maybe one day he can become an ally, or at least a partner in some endeavor." Eidolon says to her
"Or an enemy."
"And that is why I have his heart." He points out "I don't need to be naive to do some good."
"Makes sense…" She admits
"So, did you discover what you are looking for?" Raven asks after they are alone
"More or less…" Eidolon admits
"Hm?"
"I discovered that they used those demons as a sacrifice to create a weapon."
"A weapon?"
"Yes, the Scythe of Sorrows or something."
"Never heard of that." Illyana frowns
"Me neither, but by the talk, it apparently is the key to eventually ruling the Limbo. I just don't know how they will use it… And I don't think it is as simple as using the weapon to kill Belasco." Eidolon shrugs
"Maybe there is some symbolism." Raven suggests "Some dimensions are linked with certain Objects of Power; whoever holds it, controls the Realm."
"It was like that with Annihilus and his Cosmic Rod." Eidolon holds his chin. "But I don't think the Limbo has something like that; it would be famous by now."
"Belasco had a sword that he took everywhere, and he was a sorcerer." Illyana informs
"Hm, so it is a symbol… Does the ruler of Limbo need a strong weapon? Is it politics?" Eidolon looks around. "Maybe the Goblin Queen has already returned here and is preparing to take over. The realm has a power vacuum."
"So even without Belasco, the Limbo can always be a fucking problem if the leader is like this?" Illyana frowns
"It is how things are." Eidolon sighs "It is a Hell Dimension after all. It is not like the Nine Circles of Hell, which literally spawn evil demons, but this is not a place that is friendly to others. Invasions are always a possibility. But I have to say, if she is doing all of this just for a cliché demon invasion through portals… I will be disappointed by her lack of creativity." 'She really is betting on us being much weaker than in her universe, which is very advanced in the timeline.'
"Don't take this lightly, demon invasions always leave a lot of collateral damage because we fight on our home." Raven scolds him slightly, very aware of how those things work.
"Okay, okay… But you know me, I am not underestimating her." Eidolon raises his hand to placate her.
While the two are talking, Illyana is showing a contemplative expression.
"Eidolon…" She calls him, face very serious. At that moment, the wind blows her hair and his mantle.
"Hm?"
"Do you want me to take control of the Limbo?" She asks.
Her golden hair, blown by the wind, covered the lower half of her face, but her blue eyes were as serious as they could be as she looked at him.
"Yes." Eidolon turns to her and answers immediately with a calm tone, his eyes also turning blue. Illyana doesn't know, but those are their real color. An unconscious reaction to his completely honest answer.
An easy and casual conversation that holds insurmountable weight. As their gaze meets, they are fully aware that the other is being serious, and no other words need to be said about it.
She nods without hesitation. "Then I will do it for you."
......
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