Was that enough to stop my Fiendfyre?

Sebastian knew that every power, no matter how potent, had its counter. But he hadn't anticipated that Siryn—freshly empowered by Apocalypse as his knight —could neutralize his Fiendfyre so effectively. If he faced Siryn alone, Sebastian had countless spells to outmaneuver her sonic barriers. But with Apocalypse in the mix, the battle grew trickier.

He raised his wand, sweeping it in an arc above his head. The roaring Fiendfyre morphed into a flock of dark red flaming crows, their caws echoing as they swarmed toward Apocalypse and Siryn.

Siryn stepped forward, her screams, finger snaps, and claps unleashing bursts of sound waves. Each pulse shattered a flaming crow, reducing it to embers. But the sheer number of crows was overwhelming. Even with her ability to counter Fiendfyre, Siryn couldn't destroy them all.

Apocalypse summoned tendrils of sand to strike down the crows, but each defeated crow erupted in a burst of Fiendfyre, the flames racing along the sand toward him. Only his energy shield held the fire at bay, sparing him from a fiery end.

Sebastian watched Apocalypse struggle, then took a step forward. A sharp flick of his wand sent a dark green arc of Sectumsempra slicing toward Apocalypse, aimed to wound and disable.

But Apocalypse's shield flared again, deflecting the Sectumsempra spell harmlessly. The spell's cutting force, potent against flesh, couldn't breach the energy barrier. As purple-red light pulsed from Apocalypse's body, he vanished, abandoning Siryn—who was still battling the flaming crows—and leaving Sebastian stunned.

Without warning, Apocalypse had fled. Sebastian hadn't expected this ancient self-proclaimed god to retreat so readily, casting aside any pretense of divine pride.

Even Siryn, his newly anointed knight, was left behind as a distraction.

Sebastian waved his wand, casting Reducto. Several glowing rays joined the remaining Fiendfyre crows, converging on Siryn. A Reducto bolt pierced her head, ending her life in an instant.

I don't seek trouble, but if someone stands against me, they'll have to bear the consequences.

She had the option to stay passive, but she chose violence.

Frowning, Sebastian stared at the spot where Apocalypse had disappeared. If they clashed again, Apocalypse's ability to lock space would limit Sebastian's mobility, while the mutant could escape at will. To counter Apocalypse's freedom of movement, Sebastian needed to harness the Space Gem.

Using the Space Gem was already his next step. Whether it could neutralize Apocalypse or not, mastering it was essential. If he couldn't defeat Apocalypse, the gem could still transport him back to his own world.

For now, his priority was clear: find a way to wield the Space Gem.

Sebastian had prepared for this. At Kamar-Taj, he'd studied the Eye of Agamotto, hoping to one day control an Infinity Stone. Those studies would guide him in crafting a magical artifact to channel the Space Gem's power.

He waved his wand, casting Portal without a sling ring. When forging this wand—crafted from golden tree wood and Odin's raven feather—he'd woven the sling ring's magic into its core, allowing him to open portals directly. This not only concealed his spellcasting but also streamlined his movements. The original sling ring, now obsolete, served as a prototype for the artifact he'd create to house the Space Gem.

"Wanda, Pietro, let's go!" Sebastian called.

A shimmering portal opened, ready to whisk them away.

Wanda and Pietro had witnessed the battle with stark clarity. Apocalypse's terrifying might was undeniable, but Sebastian's strength left an even deeper impression.

Wanda's curiosity about Sebastian grew. His magic—fluid, precise, and devastating—fascinated her, but so did the man himself. She wanted to understand both: the secrets of his spellcraft and the enigma of Sebastian Shaw.

Pietro, meanwhile, felt only fear. He was grateful that he and Wanda hadn't crossed Sebastian directly. The outcome would've been grim.

They followed Sebastian through the portal, wary of Apocalypse lurking nearby. If the mutant was watching, waiting for Sebastian to leave, they'd be defenseless. Stepping into the portal was the safer choice, and it brought them straight to the X-Mansion.

Inside the X-Mansion, Charles Xavier and Hank McCoy stood ready to greet them.

Sebastian, Wanda, and Pietro approached. Wanda and Pietro, familiar with Charles and Hank from past encounters, exchanged brief nods and said little.

"Sebastian, you found it!" Hank said, his eyes bright with anticipation.

"Of course. This is the Space Gem I told you about." Sebastian raised his hand, pinching the gem between his index and middle fingers. The irregular, oval-shaped sapphire pulsed with a faint, ethereal glow, captivating Charles and Hank for a moment.

Charles studied the gem, then hesitated. "Sebastian, may I examine it?"

By "examine," Charles meant probing the Space Gem with his telepathic abilities. Sebastian saw no harm in that. A mental probe wouldn't destabilize the gem's volatile energies.

"You can, but be cautious. Don't push too hard, or you risk triggering the gem's power. That could cause serious trouble."

"Understood," Charles replied.

He pressed a hand to his temple, channeling a delicate thread of telepathic energy into the Space Gem. His eyes shimmered blue, mirroring the gem's glow, as if he'd become an extension of its power.

Charles's voice grew distant, like a man lost in a dream. "This is the cosmos… a spatial dimension. It's incredible. Just a fraction of its power could reshape our understanding of reality…"

His words cut off as his body convulsed. Blood trickled from his nose, his face contorted in pain, veins bulging under the strain of some immense force.

Sebastian reacted instantly, waving his wand to cast Protego. A shimmering barrier severed Charles's connection to the Space Gem, snapping him out of the trance. Charles gasped, his face pale, shock lingering in his eyes. He barely noticed the blood or pain, too overwhelmed by what he'd glimpsed.

-----------------------

"Charles, what did you see?"

In the X-Mansion's medical bay, Charles lay on a hospital bed, hooked to monitors and an IV drip. His breathing had stabilized, giving Sebastian, Wanda, and the others a chance to question him about his vision within the Space Gem.

Sebastian's curiosity about the Infinity Stones burned fiercely. He wouldn't have allowed Charles to probe the gem's depths if he weren't eager to understand its structure himself.

Charles exhaled, his gaze meeting Sebastian's. "I saw… fragments, at best. My telepathy could only grasp outlines. Within the Space Gem, I glimpsed the cosmos—countless dimensions, interwoven in an intricate order, like branches of a tree… or the silhouette of a figure."

Countless dimensions…

The Space Gem didn't contain entire universes, but it might serve as a gateway—or a fundamental law—revealing the cosmos's vast tapestry. This aligned with its role as a conduit to infinite realms, drawing boundless energy from the universe itself.

Could the Space Gem, or the six Infinity Stones together, embody a singular cosmic authority? When their powers combined, might they unlock a transformative force? Perhaps this explained their ability to grant any wish when united.

At its core, the Space Gem held dominion over space itself. Mastering it could grant Sebastian unparalleled control over that Authority.

He didn't fully grasp what such authority entailed, but he knew its significance. Among dimension lords, Setorak of the Crimson Cosmos stood supreme, his complete mastery over his realm allowing him to overpower rivals like Dormammu or Nightmare with ease. The scope of one's authority defined their strength.

This was why the Vishanti Trinity valued Sebastian's innovative magic system so highly—it pushed the boundaries of magical authority.

Fully wielding even one Infinity Stone, however, was a distant dream. Even with a conduit like the Infinity Gauntlet, only a fraction of a stone's power could be harnessed. Sebastian, crafting a magical artifact to channel the Space Gem, would face the same limit. But for now, a fraction was enough.

Charles's vision—of a multiverse shaped like a tree—a figure—intrigued Sebastian. The tree likely echoed Asgard's World Tree, a concept tied to the Nine Realms, knowledge he intended to pursue when the time was right. The figure, though… that stirred a cautious suspicion. Some entities in the multiverse could sense their names spoken aloud, and Sebastian had no desire to draw their attention. Few knew of such beings, and he preferred to keep it that way. The figure—perhaps it referred to Loki, the one now balancing the fate of the entire multiverse.

Charles's ability to glimpse so much surprised Sebastian. After urging him to rest, Sebastian left the medical bay, heading to his old laboratory in the X-Mansion. Wanda followed, leaving Pietro behind. Her purposeful stride suggested she had something to say.

In the dimly lit lab, surrounded by shelves of arcane texts and glowing artifacts, Sebastian paused. Wanda stood close, her eyes searching his face. The air between them felt charged, heavy with unspoken words.

Sebastian settled into a chair in the X-Mansion's laboratory, gesturing for Wanda to sit across from him. He waved his wand, casting Lumos to brighten the room with a soft, warm glow, then summoned two steaming cups of coffee with a flick. Handing one to Wanda, he met her gaze. "You followed me for a reason, didn't you?"

Wanda nodded, clutching the cup with both hands. She didn't drink, instead inhaling the coffee's rich aroma, as if steadying her nerves. Her eyes, intense yet hesitant, locked onto his.

"Sebastian," she began, her voice soft but steady, "you spoke of magic before. At first, I wasn't sure I believed it. Mutants have all kinds of powers—some can mimic multiple abilities, or stretch one into countless effects. I thought you might be one of them."

She paused, her fingers tightening around the cup. "But Charles, Hank, even… Apocalypse—they all said you're not a mutant. You're human. That changed everything for me. I started to see you differently. Not as a mutant like me, but as someone like me in another way. Our powers… they're not just mutations, are they? They're magic."

Sebastian took a sip of his coffee, setting the cup down with a quiet clink. "Wanda, I can't know exactly how you feel—our paths are different. But I can tell you this: magic is nearly extinct in this world. Your power, this immense magical energy within you, isn't some random chance. There's a reason behind it, something deeper."

He leaned forward, his voice lowering. "The connection we feel, that sense of being different from others—it's likely the resonance of our magic. A kind of… pull between us."

"Magic…" Wanda whispered, her eyes flickering with wonder. She set her cup down, leaning closer, her voice earnest. "Sebastian, can I learn it from you? Your magic?"

Sebastian hesitated. Time was short—crafting an artifact for the Space Gem demanded his focus. He opened his mouth to decline, but a faint tremor ran through his wand, resting in his hand. A strange, almost instinctive urge stirred within him, like a whisper of prophecy. Refusing Wanda now felt like turning away from something vital, though he couldn't yet see what.

Her power—wild, unrefined, yet unmistakably magical—echoed in his mind. It wasn't just her potential; it was the wand's reaction, a sign he couldn't ignore. In his past life, wizards skilled in divination often sensed pivotal moments through such omens. This was one.

He met her gaze, his tone firm but warm. "I'll teach you, Wanda. But I'm a strict mentor. You'll need to commit fully—magic isn't a game."

Wanda's face lit up, a radiant smile breaking through her usual guarded demeanor. "I will, Sebastian. I'll learn, I promise. I'll make you proud."

For a moment, their eyes held, the laboratory's soft light casting shadows that seemed to dance with their unspoken connection. Sebastian felt a warmth he hadn't expected, a pull that went beyond magic.

He cleared his throat, breaking the moment. "We'll start with the basics—simple spells, the foundation of my world's magic. But I'll also be working on a tool to harness the Space Gem, so our lessons will be disciplined."

Wanda nodded, undeterred, her determination palpable. "I'm ready."

Sebastian's thoughts drifted as he began explaining a basic Lumos spell, guiding Wanda's hand through the wand's motion. Teaching magic in this world wasn't just about sharing knowledge—it strengthened his own magical system. Each student who embraced his spells would, through unseen bonds, amplify his authority over magic itself. The Vishanti had seen this potential in him, and now, with Wanda, he was planting the seeds.

Yet the wand's tremor lingered in his mind. Was it a prophetic warning, tied to Wanda's untapped power? Or something more personal, a connection he wasn't ready to name? For now, he pushed the question aside, focusing on the task at hand: teaching Wanda and unlocking the Space Gem's secrets.

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Author's Note:

Second potential female lead Confirmed!—-surely I didn't have to tell you about who??