[hr][hr][center][h3][b] [color=#6644FF]J[/color][color=#6A4AEC]a[/color][color=#6F51DA]c[/color][color=#7458C8]k[/color] [color=#7E66A3]H[/color][color=#836D91]a[/color][color=#88747F]w[/color][color=#8D7A6D]t[/color][color=#92815B]h[/color][color=#978848]o[/color][color=#9C8F36]r[/color][color=#A19624]n[/color][color=#A69D12]e[/color][/b][/h3][img] https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/5f3b6a17-53fa-4863-9ade-672835e54507.png[/img][hr][b] [color=#6644FF]L[/color][color=#6E50DF]o[/color][color=#775CBF]c[/color][color=#7F689F]a[/color][color=#88747F]t[/color][color=#91805F]i[/color][color=#998C3F]o[/color][color=#A2981F]n[/color][/b] | The Sanctum Sanctorum [b] [color=#6644FF]S[/color][color=#7154D4]k[/color][color=#7D64AA]i[/color][color=#88747F]l[/color][color=#948455]l[/color][color=#9F942A]s[/color][/b] | Extra-Planar Navigation, Magic Expertise, Basic Spellcraft, Soul Staff, Mutant Circuit [b] [color=#6644FF]S[/color][color=#7154D4]p[/color][color=#7D64AA]e[/color][color=#88747F]l[/color][color=#948455]l[/color][color=#9F942A]s[/color][/b] | [url=https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/710908524602851461/1119732958107021322/f7059321aefbfb8ce4923b133f1f9d6d.png?width=343&height=625]Outfit[/url] [hr][hr][/center] It went so, so wrong. To Jack’s credit, the portals absolutely started draining the infernal energy into the Everdark. But the problem with being magically connected to an entire plane of reality was that the energy of that realty flowed through [i]him.[/i] Every facet of Jack’s self started withering, his bones felt weaker and his teeth loosened from his jaw. Time slipped away faster and faster. Moreover, he felt himself [i]dying.[/i] His vision was fading to black just before he saw Ananym in the blaze of the pentagram. Needling him, taunting his blunder. Jack wasn’t surprised by this outcome, after all, anything was possible through magic. The Everdark would be fine, he felt sure of that. It was all but boundless as the known universe. By the time that energy spread, it would be absorbed by something. And by the time something absorbed it, another one of the land’s monstrous denizens would simply adhere to the food chain, and the corruption would dwindle into nothing. Would this world be fine? Was this the last story he would ever witness? In all of Jack’s years, he learned time and time again that nothing could last forever. Everything came and went, but evils rose and fell in the same way. If he slipped into the endless sleep of death now, Jack would become a fleeting memory. Reza wasn’t around to remember him, neither were Stephen and Ororo. He would not be remembered, even if the other seven companions on this journey somehow managed to stop Witchfire. And yet, Jack felt that he was okay with that. The impact he had on countless places would live on. Someone would one day stumble upon the things he left behind, and make something of themselves. He was one drop in a cosmic ocean, but part of it no less. And for him, that was enough… Until Max saved his ass. He felt Max’s magic overlapping with his own, mixing like blood in clear water. It spread, until the blood had no beginning, and the water had no end. They were no longer Jack and Max, but one individual. It was… Strange. And Jack- What part of them [i]was[/i] Jack, had to think. They were one now, and their magic was equally unified. [color=6644ff]”You damned fool,”[/color] he said to himself. [color=6644ff]”Now we’ll [i]both[/i] die from this.”[/color] [Color=aba400]"I can't die yet, got a husband and kid waiting for me back home. But what [i]we can do[/i] is give it our all and take this thing down."[/color] He thought to themselves… Magic was a method of infinite possibilities. What separated a good wizard from the best was how they applied the possibilities, how they turned the circumstances against them into a favorable outcome. So how did they turn this into an advantage? For a moment, Jack was silent. Perhaps Max knew every thought in his mind now, how he desperately wanted to do the right thing. A plan slowly formed in his mind. [color=6644ff]”I’ve got it… We’ll use your magic to teleport the power source away to safety, one by one. And we’ll use mine to substitute a source in, until it is safe to collapse the pentagram in on itself,”[/color] he explained. [color=6644ff]”I will use Everdark energy in place of it, and I will cut it off once everyone is at a safe distance. The pentagram should, in theory, have no more fuel at that point.”[/color] [Color=aba400]"The force binding them was too strong for me earlier to teleport them off...but perhaps united we actually stand a chance. Especially if we're swapping one source for another...Fine. It's the best lead we have, worst case we fail and approach from another angle we haven't thought of yet."[/color] [color=6644ff]”Or the Veil suffers for nothing. The risk is that we do more damage than we can fix with our divided power.”[/color] It scared him, to not be able to stop the incursion permanently. [color=6644ff]”But we’ve run through most of our options. So, if you’re ready…”[/color] [Color=aba400]"As ready as I can be I suppose."[/color] They reached for the energy of Jack’s home, and split open fonts of darkness to replace the babies. Like fuming black holes, the energy leaked into the open air of Earth and dissipated into harmless nothingness in equal measure. The energy sources spilled out dark energy in total equilibrium. In the same motion, they asserted their will over reality itself, and three of them were sent off into who-knows-where. [color=6644ff]”It is working, slowly but steadi-“[/color] The energy of the pentagram cascaded at one corner, immediately mutating one of them. A pang of stress filled Jack. [color=6644ff]”No- [i]Damn you, Witchfire,”[/i][/color] he hissed. [color=6644ff]”…Three out of five, Max. [i]Progress,[/i] at last. All we have to do is continue, and hope for the best. And… Make a note to see if we can undo the mutation that just occurred once we have a chance.”[/color] It was working, even if the results were unexpected. Max helped guide his magic as the pair moved as one. Each infant appearing in the only location he knew to send them, the main floor of the Sanctum Sanctorum. A place both wizards were well acquainted with. He'd initially thought to send them to Xaviers, but there was no guarantee these babes were mutants or orphans, so it was best to keep them close. [Color=aba400]"There's nothing wrong with having a mutation Jack, though I suppose we could attempt to reverse the mutate if it is possible at all."[/color] [color=6644ff]”This is not quite the same mutation that my old friends from Charles Xavier’s mansion are familiar with. We are responsible for that, it is the least we can do. Though, if we cannot, then we will decide what to do afterwards.”[/color] They had a solution now, and everything seemed so much easier when the way ahead was clear.