@alongtimeagoā // starter call.
Heās meant to protect Earth and he knows this, but the cries of help screamed through the multiverse had cracked into his skull with the force of a thousand hammers. Thereād been death, so much death-- thereād been the screams of children reaching through threads of energy for someone, anyone who could hear-- and so despite Wongās warnings, Stephen had conjured a portal and jumped in.
What he sees is a crumbling temple on fire. A lone figure walks away in a dark cloak and the feel of death is everywhere. Darkness (whole and true and palpable) reeks off of them like corpse rot, and Stephen feels it crawl under his skin.
As the cloaked stranger enters what looks to be a spaceship, Stephen thinks about stopping them. But a single source of energy echoes amongst the sorrow around him-- a fearful one, a young one, an innocent one-- and Stephen decides to seek that light out instead.
This is not your universe, he reminds himself. Fighting its evils is not your destiny.
But if he can save one life, even just one, then perhaps it will make up for the fact heād felt thousands of sorcerers die and had come too late to stop it.
Stephen moves through the ruin, ignoring the licks of heat that come from the fires around him. He seeks out the fear, the lone soul remaining, and tries not to flinch at the sight of dead children around him.
And finally, after what feels like an eternity, he finds a crumbled wall and a collapsed pillar.
āI can sense you,ā Stephen says, trembling hands raising as he moves the pillar away with his magic. The wall had been thick, and he realises that whoeverās hiding had somehow fit in the small space between the pillar, the floor, and the thickness of the wall. āI can sense you, little one, donāt be afraid...ā
Stephenās voice dies in his throat when all the rubble has been moved, and he sees the small, green toddler huddled alone and covered in dust.
