≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗗𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗡
𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗙𝗘𝗔𝗥

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

THERE WAS SO much blood everywhere.

And it wasn't just hers that stained the brown wooden floors.

It was Stephen's as well.

Electrifying pain coursed through the sorceress, contorting her body. It radiated through her shoulder and she couldn't move her arm without feeling a searing pain cover her entire body. Yet, despite all of this, she refused to mind her wound and instead held her hand to Stephen's injury, but no matter the pressure she applied, the blood had still gushed between her fingers and oozed under her hand. It had spread into Stephen's blue robes, the bright red quickly darkening, taking on a brownish hue. Glancing at their approaching enemy, she wrapped her arm around Stephen's waist and shoulder, half-carrying him. The couple stumbled into one of the hallways, desperately getting away from Lucian who was hell-bent on ending their lives.

"Cassie, you have to -- " Stephen grimaced, trembling. "go now..."

Cassandra shook her head, dragging him with her. Stephen had no idea that no matter what, she cannot leave him. She cannot abandon him to because he was her first priority and will always be. "No, we're getting out of here together, Stephen. Just -- " she then coughed, her eyes fluttering close for her body started to slow down. The woman knew the weapon they were stabbed with had a poison that will slowly paralyze them and stop their hearts from beating. She hissed, breathing through her mouth.

"Cassie..."

"I'm fine, let's go." Cassandra brushed him off. Gathering her remaining strength, she pushed herself up, but Stephen could no longer carry on. He fell on his knees and the brunette tugged his arm to pull him up. "Get up, Stephen! Get up! We're not going to die here! We're not going to die like this!"

As Lucian sauntered over to finish them both off, Cassandra raised her hand to invoke a shield when suddenly, the red cloak wrapped itself around the incoming threat, slamming him to the ground and wall with such brute force. The young woman released a sigh of relief. The thought that the cloak will do everything to protect its master, Stephen, just like her, eased her.

It didn't last long though.

For emerging from the end of the hallway was a blonde haired Zealot, her eyes murderous as she held a shimmering Space shard in her hand. It was Nora, one of her former students who she knew had some grudge with her. That was when she heard a sizzle of energy behind her and there was Stephen, his hands stretched out to form a portal. It opened to a mop closet and her companion turned his head toward her. "Come on, let's go." he said, weakly.

Looking back at the menace in front of her, she shook her head. "You go first. I'll hold her off. I'll follow you shortly."

"No -- "

"I said, I will follow you shortly, Stephen!" vociferated Cassandra, glaring at her companion. She then shut her eyes, releasing another breath. "I promise. I'll be right behind you."

And with that, she faced her enemy, raising her hands. Mandalas circled her wrist and she cocked her head to the side, silently asking the divine gods to amplify her magic. "You all have given me the task to protect your chosen Sorcerer Supreme," she internally spoke. "then give me enough power to defeat my enemy today."

"God, I have been waiting for years to kill you. I've always hated you, you know... because you're a total show-off." She bitterly spat.

Cassandra narrowed her eyes. She had always noticed Nora's envy over her mastery of magic. Everytime the sorceress would perform a spell perfectly for them all, she would always roll her eyes and mutter words under her breath. The Ancient One had noticed it too, but the young woman assured her mentor that the teachings will humble Nora. It didn't. "If only she knew what I had done to gain this power..." She thought to herself.

The young woman gesticulated her arms, forming a large sparking mandala in front of her. "I'm sorry you felt that, Nora. I -- "

"No!" Her enemy shouted. "You always made me feel inferior. Everyone here admired you because of your excellent mastery over magic." She tsked, jealousy seeping through Nora's tone of voice. At that time, Lucian's body stopped moving and both of the women glanced at him. Glancing back at the portal, Cassandra immediately realized that Lucian's astral body travelled to where Stephen was.

It was then that Nora suddenly attacked her, using her distraction as her opportunity, but Cassandra was quick to notice her and dodged the incoming hit. Swiping her green cloak upwards, she rendered herself invisible, wrapping her arm around her opponent's throat to pull her down. The young woman squeezed her arm tightly around Nora's neck, hoping to subdue her, but alas, her opponent was able to defend herself and with two quick elbow punches, she was able to break free.

The quick blow, however, opened her up for an attack and Cassandra obliged her, putting a simple sidekick into the woman's stomach, doubling her over. The brunette followed that up with a quick rising uppercut.

Nora stumbled and crashed to the ground with a loud thud. A groan escaped her lips and she rolled across the ground, doing a kick-up. Mumbling an incantation, she swayed her arms to the side and instantly, Cassandra's invisibility wore off.

The sorceress looked down at herself in shock. Of course, Nora's connection to the Dark dimension amplified her magic. Not many knew, but almost everything is possible with the dark arts even resurrection. A practitioner of the dark arts may perform necromancy, but with great price. The blonde Zealot chuckled, darkly. "Look at that power, Mason. You still think you're better than me? Than all of us? Dormammu had given us so much and I will use it to end you and your pathetic little man over there."

The brunette's lips twitched into a scowl once she heard the threat. It was as if a switch had just turned off inside her brain and she no longer felt any mercy or sympathy for Nora.

"Dear," Cassandra's voice lowered down, ominous. "I don't need to prove anything to you or to anyone else." She felt the energy course through her veins, her heart beginning to race and her breathing coming fast and shallow. "I am... better."

As soon as she declared this, she channeled all her energy into the spell she was about to perform that her arms began to shake from the force of containing and directing that much raw power. Heat seemed to rise off her body in waves as her cheeks flushed and sweat poured down her face and back in sheets. Fire came into her hands as a golden ball, igniting the hallway. It didn't take long for Nora to recognize the spell and she desperately muttered a counter-spell, but Cassandra had already completed the last incantation. She lifted her arms just as the golden ball from her hands spread and formed into a bow and arrow. Positioning herself like an archer, she raised the bow and simultaneously drew the string back to her anchor point.

Giving her enemy a cold and unyielding stare, Cassandra released the flaming arrow, striking directly at Nora's chest. The blonde Zealot was then thrown off her feet and she collided with wall, her body slumping down to the ground. She was knocked out cold.

"Don't ever think you can threaten me and Stephen without consequences, Nora." She murmured, observing the burn mark she created on the woman's abdomen.

Shaking her head, Cassandra proceeded to enter the portal, but not before inclining her head to the red cloak quietly floating at the side. "You stay here and guard this gateway. Do not let anyone follow us, got it?"

The Cloak of Levitation nodded and stood guard beside the entrance. Cassandra stepped inside the mop closet, pushing the double doors open. By this time, her vision began to pinwheel, lights around her danced erratically, then the blackness began crowding in.

"Ma'am! Ma'am! Do you need some help?"

"Stephen Strange, where is he?" She weakly asked to the frantic doctor.

The medical doctor furrowed her eyebrows, confused. "Dr. Stephen Strange hasn't been here for a long time, ma'am..."

Cassandra swallowed, trying to remember what hospital Stephen worked in before. "Is this the Metro-General Hospital?"

"Yes."

"Alright, uh," She looked around, recalling the name of Stephen's former colleague and ex-girlfriend. "Dr. Christine... Palmer. Is she here?"

"Ma'am, we need to get your wound treated. Come -- "

Cassandra hissed, gritting her teeth. "Where is Dr. Christine Palmer? I need to see her right now!" She yelled, her voice reverberating across the ward.

"She's inside this operating room!" A nurse declared, pointing to a door near her right. Cassandra nodded and applied pressure to her wound, thanking the nurse who led her to the operating theater. Exhaustion crashed on her like a tidal wave since the poison was starting to take effect, but she still pushed on. Relief coursed through her when she saw Stephen lying on an operating table with a brown-haired surgeon steadily holding a syringe with a very long needle.

Her relief didn't last long... again.

Because as soon as she stepped inside, Stephen flat-lined.

No heartbeat.

A long continuous beep sounded in the room, alarming Cassandra who immediately sauntered toward Stephen. "No, no, no!" Her eyes were blown wide with fear as she lifted her gaze to the cardiac monitor. It showed a straight green line, making the sorceress heart race with panic. Color quickly drained from her face as a feeling of dread crept up from the pit of her stomach. Suddenly, she could no longer control her hands; they were shaking in an odd trembling rhythm. "Stephen, come on! Wake up!"

"I'm sorry, who are you?" The doctor, who she assumed was Christine Palmer, eyed her warily. She was holding two defibrillator paddles in her hands. This caught Cassandra's attention and she shut her eyes, taking Stephen's hand in hers. She couldn't feel the tremors that usually wracked his hands.

"I'm Cassandra Mason. I'm, uh..." She trailed off, unsure of what to say. "Stephen's... colleague."

Christine slowly nodded. "Oh, okay." And with that, she charged the defibrillator paddles, placed them on the sorcerer's chest. Stephen then received a huge dose of electricity; his back arched and his limp body lifted up off the bed with the shock.

Still no heartbeat.

It was then at that moment that she recalled her mother's words. "You're giving yourself something to regret later on."

Her body wracked with an onslaught of sobs and tears. She already lost her father. She cannot lose Stephen too. Cassandra's lips trembled and her heart pounded against her ribs as if trying to fulfill a thousand beats. To be honest, she wasn't scared that the world might lose its next Sorcerer Supreme. She didn't even care about it right now. She was just scared of losing Stephen Strange. She still had so much to say to him. She still had so much to admit, to confess.

Like how much she loved their talks together, their personal classes, their occasional visits in each other's bedrooms at night, their overnight stays in the library... everything.

And like how much she loved him.

"Stephen, you idiot, you better come back to life right now!" She furiously demanded as if it could miraculously do something. Cassandra was ready to give everything to bring him back. Everything.

"Stephen, come on."

Seconds pass, then the familiar, comforting waveform appeared on the monitor.

Cassandra laid her head above his abdomen and sobbed again in reassurance, her lips now breaking into a smile. He was alive. His heart was beating again and he was breathing. The universe indeed still had a lot of plans for him. This moment however was shattered by Stephen's astral body appearing out of nowhere.

"Hit me again!"

The sorceress slightly jumped in shock, closing her eyes as she squeezed her partner's hand. "Stop doing that!" exasperated Christine. Stephen's head tilted toward Cassandra and his blue-green eyes softened once they locked gazes.

"I kept my promise." uttered she, softly smiling before noticing his concerned expression. "What's going on, Stephen? Talk to me. Is it Lucian?" She then placed her hand above her chest to push out her astral body when her companion stopped her.

"No, no. I can handle him. You take care of your wound."

"But -- "

Stephen reached out to touch the side of her face, but it only passed through her physical form. "I will be safe. I'll come back to you. I promise."

"You better."

The blue-robed sorcerer nodded and turned his head toward Christine, his expression resolute. "Hit me again." he gestured his head to the defibrillator. "Up the voltage and hit me again."

"But, your heart's beating!" objected Christine, repulsed by the idea. Cassandra furrowed her eyebrows at Stephen's command and immediately realized what he wanted to convey.

"Astral forms are made up of energy. If a person's physical form is exposed to high amounts of energy, such as electricity, their astral form will be amplified or intensified to the extent that they will be exuding large amounts of power." She recited from memory, blinking twice. Stephen was planning to release an astral shockwave that will incinerate Lucian Aster. She turned to Christine. "Increase the voltage and hit him."

"I -- I can't!"

"Do it!" Stephen and Cassandra simultaneously ordered with the latter moving away from his physical body.

Despite her confusion and reluctance with the whole request, Christine obeyed and charged the paddles to three hundred and sixty joules. "This is crazy! Are you sure about this?"

"Actually no, Dr. Palmer." admitted the brunette. She had never done it before nor did she have any experience related to their situation, but she knew they had to try to save Stephen. "But, let's charge this to experience if we get it wrong, alright?"

"Oh, my god." Christine breathed out and shocked Stephen's body with electricity, resulting in the lights around them to spark and burst at the same time.

Then, there was silence.

The young woman's head perked up as soon as everything calmed down. "Stephen?" she softly called his name, shifting closer to him. "Stephen, wake up."

He jerked awake, causing the woman to jump in fright and slap him in surprise.

"Ow!"

Cassandra released a sigh of relief and swiftly embraced him, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"I kept... my promise." the future protector of Earth told, making the woman smile again.

"Don't," the woman emphasized, her voice muffled by his shoulder on her lips. "Don't do this to me again, Stephen."

"I promise."

THE YOUNG SORCERESS winced as the needle passed through her skin. Minutes earlier, Christine Palmer offered to treat her wound after she had finished closing Stephen's. Cassandra found herself observing the surgeon that held the needle and suture threads with such care and precision. Stephen mentioned Christine to her several times. How they were colleagues and once lovers that fell apart. He even told her what happened the last time they saw each other and Cassandra berated him for what he said to her. She even told the former neurosurgeon to reach out to Christine and apologize.

"After all this time..." Christine expressed as she finished up stitching Cassandra's wound, grabbing the dressing pad at her side. "you just show up here, flying out of your body."

Stephen chuckled, who was still lying down on the operating table, resting. "Yeah, I know. I missed you, too, by the way."

Cassandra bit her lip, trying her best to quell the aggravating feeling that bothered her since earlier.

I am not jealous, I am not jealous... okay, I am jealous. She confessed to herself, hanging her head slightly low.

But, she had no right to be, right? She and Stephen were not together. She was even pushing him away because she chose to prioritize her task more than her feelings. So, no, the event planner wasn't jealous of Christine Palmer. As a matter of fact, she wanted to be acquainted with the surgeon.

"I've never seen a wound like this before." uttered Christine. "What were you both stabbed with?"

"A space shard."

"A space what?"

"They are weapons that can be summoned relatively quickly from space and can be easily dissolved back into it." expounded the sorceress. "They are often like this blades warped into a glass-like material and crystalline projections."

Christine blinked, twice.

Cassandra sighed. "It's magic-related stuff."

"Oh, okay."

"You don't believe that, do you?"

"I-I mean..."

"I understand, it's okay." smiled the young woman. "you're a doctor. A firm believer of science. Stephen was the same as well when he first arrived in Kamar-Taj, but then we're now in the age of gods, aliens, and... flying people, anything is possible."

"You're right." agreed the surgeon, standing up to check again on Stephen's chest wound since she was finished with Cassandra's. "I'm just shocked."

"Understandable."

"I wrote you emails, Christine, but you never responded." Stephen began, groaning lightly.

"Why would I?"

Cassandra clenched her jaw, feeling the need to get away from them and breathe. The walls around her seemed to cave in and suffocate her. "I'm-I'm going to go." she declared, causing the two ex-lovers to turn their heads toward her. "I need to secure that portal you summoned in the mop closet."

"Portal?"

"Cassie..."

"I'm fine, Stephen." She smiled, fondly. "Thank you so much for stitching my wound, Dr. Palmer. I hope we see each other again in... better circumstances."

Without saying another word, she left the operating theater and proceeded to the mop closet where she stood guard by the entrance. She saw her emerald Cloak of Concealment lying on the floor and gingerly picked it up. Sighing, she wrapped it around her shoulders and made herself invisible so she may easily block whoever attempts to enter the inter-dimensional gateway.

Her thoughts were then filled by possibilities of Christine and Stephen rekindling their relationship and shuddered. If they ever decided to do so, she had no right to stop them. They were together first. Why should she be bothered so much?

It wasn't long after that Stephen and Christine emerged from the doors of the mop closet. The other female gawked at the sight of the glowing gateway. Honestly, she looked like she was questioning everything about her reality.

"Really do have to go." Stephen grimaced, stepping inside the portal. Cassandra took this as the time to make herself visible and waved her hand at Christine as soon as she appeared beside Stephen.

"Good day, Dr. Palmer."

THE NEW YORK Sanctum was too quiet that Cassandra thought it was the calm before the storm. As she and Stephen surveyed the area where Kaecilius was supposed to be chained up, the young woman pondered about what he revealed to them both. The Ancient One harnessed powers from the Dark Dimension to extend her longevity -- a rule she had adamantly told them to follow. She deceived them all. What was the reason for her action? Why did she break her own rule? How long had she been doing it?

And most of all, how could she not notice it?

She supposed that she felt it within her mentor before, but then brushed it off because she knew or well, thought the Ancient One would never do such a thing.

Cassandra shut her eyes for a moment. Why did the Sorcerer Supreme hid it from her? Wasn't she supposed to know that? She may not be the Ancient One's guardian, but she had the right to know for it could be a way to save Stephen in the future. Perhaps, Kaecilius going rogue was indeed her fault.

"Cassie!" She heard someone declare her name in reliefand spun around to see Karl swiftly approaching her.

"Karl!"

Within three large strides, the two embraced one another. Karl held onto her as if she had almost died. "I'm so glad you're okay." he breathed out, brushing the back of her head.

"How's everyone?" Cassandra asked as soon they broke away, checking her bestfriend's visage. "Did you find my mom? How are the novices?"

Karl nodded. "They're all safe in the courtyard as of this moment. Wong and I found your mother outside the library, unconscious but alive. It looks like she was able to escape the London Sanctum before Kaecilius obliterated it."

"Thank Vishanti," she uttered, almost crying at the good news. She didn't know what she would do if anything happened to her mother.

"Strange! You're okay."

"A relative term, but yeah, I'm okay." Stephen deadpanned.

"The Cloak of Levitation. It came to you." noted Karl, surprised as he pointed to it. Cassandra knew why he was stunned to see the red cascade flowing behind him. It was one of the relics it that hadn't chose a master in a long time for it only selects the most capable of wizards. She herself was shocked earlier when it came to Stephen's aid when he fell from the railing. It only cemented her belief that Stephen's fate was to be the next mystical defender of Earth.

"No minor feat." voiced out someone behind them. Cassandra didn't have to fully tilt her head to know it was her long-time mentor, the Ancient One, the person who Kaecilius accused of deceiving them all. "It's a fickle thing... unlike Cassandra's. Hers has been loyal only to her ever since."

"He's escaped."

"Kaecilius?"

"Yeah. He can fold space and matter at will."

"He folds matter outside the Mirror Dimension..." The Ancient One's eyebrows pushing higher up her forehead, shocked. "in the real world?"

"Yeah."

"Dormammu granted him powers like he once did to me, Ancient One." she implied, trying to catch if her mentor's façade would falter. It didn't, yet.

"How many more?"

"Three. I stranded one in the desert."

"And the others?"

"Lucian and Nora's bodies are in the halls." replied Cassandra, moving closer to Karl as she knew Daniel was one of his close friends. She hung her head low, "Master Drumm is in the foyer."

He nodded, his expression forlorn. "He's been taken back to Kamar-Taj... along with your father."

Cassandra still couldn't believe that her father was gone. It still felt all too surreal. Yesterday, they were just talking to one another and now, he was gone. It deeply hurt. His presence in her life never wavered -- not even once. He had been there for her all her life. Harry witnessed her greatest achievements and failures. She shut her eyes for a moment, feeling the loss. She had her mother had always expected his death when he became the guardian of the London Sanctum, but still, it left a vast emptiness and pain in her.

Karl patted her shoulder, comforting her. "We will not let his death be in vain, Cass. Kaecilius will pay for what he has done."

The woman inhaled deeply. She had to pull herself together for the fate of the world hangs in the balance. The battle was not yet over. Her grief can wait.

"The London Sanctum has fallen." The Ancient One started as she directed her eyes toward Cassandra and Stephen. "Only New York and Hong Kong remain now to shield us from the Dark Dimension. You defended the New York Sanctum from attack. With its master gone, it needs another, Master Strange."

Karl and Cassandra shared a glance. Yes, Stephen's destiny is to protect Earth from mystical threats in the future, but was he ready to accept it? He only came to Kamar-Taj to heal his hands, come back to his job as a neurosurgeon and nothing more. He even expressed his stand when they explained what being a master of the mystic arts really meant. She herself had been preparing for her task her whole life, but it took a little while to adjust.

"No." adamantly denied Stephen, his eyes staring at the Ancient One, cold and intense. "It is Doctor Strange. Not Master Strange. Not Mister Strange. Doctor Strange." He took a step closer to their mentor, confronting her just as he once had when he arrived. "When I became a doctor, I swore an oath to do no harm. And I have just killed a man! I'm not doing that again. I became a doctor to save lives, not take them."

"You became a doctor to save one life above all others. Your own."

"Still seeing through me, are you?"

"I've seen what I always see: your over-inflated ego. You want to go back to the delusion that you can control anything even death... which no one can control. Not even the great Doctor Stephen Strange."

Stephen scoffed. "Not even Dormammu? He offers immortality."

"It's our fear of death that gives Dormammu life." Their teacher held her head high, her right eye twitching. "He feeds off it."

"Like you feed off him?" This time, it was Cassandra who challenged her. Her lips were curled into a frown. She had been wanting to ask that question since it was bothering her since earlier. "You talk to him about controlling death when you yourself are doing it exactly, teacher."

This stunned their mentor into silence and she glanced back and forth between her and Stephen. "Oh, I know how you do it. I've seen the missing rituals from The Book of Cagliostro." mentioned the blue-robed sorcerer.

"Measure your next words very carefully, doctor, master."

"Because you might not like them?" countered Stephen.

"Because you may not know of what you both speak."

Cassandra shook her head. "You hid it from all of us. Why? Why would you do it?"

"What are you both talking about?" Karl queried as he eyed the Sorcerer Supreme, baffled.

"We're talking about her long life, the source of her immortality. She draws power from the Dark Dimension to stay alive." The sorceress finally revealed, disappointed and betrayed. Her teacher, her second parent who taught her everything hid the truth from her.

"That's not true."

"I wish we were, but..." the woman murmured. "no, we're not. I've felt it once when I was under Dormammu's influence, but I didn't mind it because you were our teacher. I knew you would never succumb to such greed. Well, I was wrong." She stressed.

Karl angrily defended their mystical mentor. "How dare you accuse her of that, Cassandra? She has been our teacher for so long! She almost raised you, saved you even when you became Dormammu's pawn! How could you be so ungrateful?"

"Stephen had seen the rituals, Karl."

"I worked them out." her companion supplied. "I know how you do it."

Guilt flashed across the Ancient One's features and Cassandra didn't miss it, her lips falling open when she caught it. The façade finally broke and all was revealed. The young woman recognized the expression her teacher had for it was same visage she held when it was discovered she dabbled in the dark arts.

"Once they regroup, the Zealots will be back. You'll need reinforcements." And with that, the Ancient One turned away, leaving all of them without so much of a second glance. The sorceress marched over to her and gripped her arm.

"When you told me of my task, was that true?" She confronted, lowering her tone. "Or were you lying? Am I really destined to be his companion?"

"You are, Master Mason."

"How could you lie to us?" She whispered harshly. "Why did you hide it from me? You know it's important for me to know about this since it concerns your successor's safety and future. Were you scared I'd leave and abandon my duty?"

The Ancient One didn't respond and instead firmly pried off her fingers from her arm then walked away, leaving the question unanswered.

"She's not who you think she is." She heard Stephen talk to Karl, displeased.

"You don't have the right to say that. You've no idea the responsibility that rests upon her shoulders!" Her friend argued, jabbing a finger toward Stephen.

"No, and I don't want to know." Stephen scowled, turning away from him.

"You're a coward."

"Because I'm not a killer?"

"These Zealots will snuff us all out, and you can't muster the strength to snuff them first?" bellowed Karl, his voice so thunderous that Cassandra couldn't concentrate on what he said. He became a different person.

"What do you think I just did?"

"You saved your own life! And then whined about it like a wounded dog."

"Oh, you would have done it so easily?"

Karl stepped forward, glaring at the former neurosurgeon. The fire in his eyes were wild, like a blazing inferno ready to burn Stephen from the inside out. "You've no idea the things I've done. And the answer is yes. Without hesitation."

Cassandra always knew about Karl's violent past. He admitted everything to her when he first arrived, finding solace and friendship withim her when she offered her hand to help him. He had done all of those things, but he wasn't a bad person. He had to fight for his life in order to survive.

"Even if there's another way?"

"There is no other way."

Stephen scoffed. "And you? Would you have do the same, Cassandra? Would you kill someone?"

Cassandra narrowed her eyes. Didn't she just almost do it earlier when Nora threatened her and Stephen? She pursed her lips. There was no doubt in her mind that she was willing to kill and die for him. "Yes. Without hesitation." She repeated Karl's words. This caught Stephen's attention and he looked at her, concerned. "Yes, I may be on the side of the angels, but I am not one of them. I can turn into the very demon you fear in seconds. I just have great self-control."

"You both lack imagination."

"No, Stephen. You lack a spine." hissed Karl, his eyes narrowing into slits. Suddenly, there was a commotion down in the hallway and it didn't take them too long to realize Kaecilius and his Zealots were back to destroy the New York Sanctum. "They're back. We have to end this. Now!"

Cassandra followed Karl downstairs and casted the Ruby Rings of Raggadorr for her protection.

"Hello, Cassandra." greeted Kaecilius as if to taunt her. The skin beneath his eyes were now even more cracked and decaying, a purple color shining through. "I'm glad you survived your wound. Dormammu will be greatly disappointed if you died."

"Well, I'm greatly disappointed you aren't dead." the sorceress retorted, her eyes flashing the color of amber and purple. "Hello, Nora." She smirked, flickering her gaze toward the woman who she burned earlier. "How's the burn, darling?"

"I will kill you!"

"Kill me?" She snickered in retaliation. "Please, that is so an hour ago."

"Fuck you."

Cassandra gave her a thumbs up and flashed her the most charming smile she could muster. The one she knew dazzles and captivates everyone. This seemed to have pissed Nora more off and she let out a furious roar, charging toward her first. The sorceress only twisted her arm to the side and sharply casted the large golden ring she summoned, causing Nora to fly across the main foyer. Not wasting another second, she sent a powerful indigo shockwave that disoriented her and clenched her fist. Black smoke-like tendrils crawled out of the brown walls and wrapped around Nora and the other Zealot beside her. Staring into their eyes, she inflicted pain on them, torturing their minds and body together.

Like she said earlier, she could turn into the very demon they feared in seconds.

As the two Zealots screamed at the top of their lungs, Cassandra was reminded of how she single-handledly almost killed every sorcerer that blocked her way when she tried to destroy the three Sanctums -- including her parents. She felt destructive, unstoppable, and all-powerful.

"Strange! Get down here and fight!"

Unbeknownst to her, Kaecilius performed the ritual on his own, gathering a large pulsating ball of energy above his head. Desperate, Cassandra grabbed her dagger and was about to call forth her dark magic to counter his attack when Stephen finally jumped down the stairs, emerging from the shadows.

"No!"

y'all hello!!! i'm so into comic edits now! so here's a comic version edit of cassie!