A New Magic

by David Wheatley

Forge looked at the room, the heroes scattered around, and he knew that they had failed, that Kulan Gath's spell had been broken, but it had done something. He was enough of a mystic to sense when something was terribly wrong and he came over to the fallen mages Strange and Doom, who had used their combined power to negate the spell Gath was casting, but at what cost

"We were too late," Strange whispered. "The portals are open and the Sons are coming to this world. I can feel their presence tainting this world..."

"We have done what we could," Doom said, with equal weakness, but he could feel his strength returning, and all was as he had planned it would be. "We interrupted the spell and the Sons of Set have been scattered. They will still emerge but separated from each other, we may have a chance of defeating them, ending their tyranny once and for all."

"You planned this," said Forge, turning on Doom, and he looked at the Indian shaman, slightly amused at the fury in Forge's eyes. "You knew this would happen."

"Yes," said Doom, allowing himself a thin smile. "I knew Kulan Gath was the Secretary General. I knew because I was told of it and this world is not that different from my own in terms of the timeline."

"How could you do this?" said Strange, appalled at the actions of one who had claimed the same responsibilities that he had. "You are Sorcerer Supreme. Your duty..."

However Doom had no guilt about what had gone on, so Strange's righteous indignation had no effect on him. "I know what must be done. If Kulan Gath thought I was on to him, he would have done things differently and we would have failed to stop him at all. The Sons will rise, we will stop them, and we will stop him."

"And if you're wrong?" said GW Bridge, his disdain at what had happened compounded by the fact he had been used as part of Gath's spell.

"Then we all die together," said Doom, simply and he allowed it to settle in the minds of these heroes. "Stop the Sons," he then commanded. "Strange and I will defeat Kulan Gath, and that will be the end of it."

"I wish I had your confidence," said Forge.

"I am still Doom," Doom replied. "And I allow no margin for error." The United Nations heroes left the room, and Doom and Strange looked at each other.

"I don't know if I can trust you," said Strange.

"You don't really have a choice," said Doom. "I have never claimed to be a hero, but I am not the villain that I have oft been painted. The Sons of Set have a mystical link to each other, a link we have negated and if the heroes of this world prevail as I believe they will, then whatever cost to my esteem was worth it."

"How do you know they will win?" said Strange.

"Because Kulan Gath is treacherous," Doom answered. "Kulan Gath's goals have always been contrary to those of his would-be masters. To the Sanctum Sanctorum!"

"My Sanctum Sanctorum," muttered Strange as Doom whipped his cape around him and the two of them vanished, teleporting to Strange's home.

Kulan Gath smiled as he saw his image in the scrying pool. No longer did he look like a middle aged politician, but a younger man, in the prime of his abilities and health. He ran his fingers through his hair and he gave a low chuckle. This was a feeling he liked. He had a new body, more power than he had previously obtained and he was feeling good about himself. Nobody truly knew the depths of his planning, the schemes he had played, and what amused him the most was how much Victor Von Doom had underestimated him.

The Sons of Set were a means to an end and they always had been that way, even if they had managed to take over the world, and now Doom had done him a favour. How much of a favour remained to be seen, but it was good enough. Now he was here, in his former stronghold of El Tatalicos, a small island twenty miles north west of Peru. He was here before the Incas had been in South America, and if they had ever found this island then perhaps history would have turned out differently. Spain would have fallen, perhaps the very world itself, but he had planned well.

It had been here where he had first met Selene, battled her and made an enemy for life, but he had seen enough of her to know the future of humanity. Humanity would rise to become a great power, and that power would belong to the N'Garai, and their servants the Ru'tai, who he had worked towards ensuring would be able to defeat mutantkind, through an evolution similar to that of humanity, should the N'Garai not prove to be effective.

From this island he had created the Cairn, a doorway that he used to control the N'Garai, for though he knew them to be effective and that their power would challenge even that of Set and he had scattered Cairns across the world at every weak point that the N'Garai could use to cross over to the world. Kierrok had screamed once the doorway had been sealed and only Kulan Gath had the key to open the portals. However that had been the past and since then things had changed and he had spent his time at the United Nations finding his island, and learning of the fate of the N'Garai.

The Cairn's had proven vulnerable and they had been breached by Kierrok, but he had been pushed back time and again and they had been defeated in their own realm by a feral mutant, who's power and savagery had been as great as any they had known, and the Ru'tai had rebelled against their masters after being inspired, and now the N'Garai were gone, the Cairns destroyed and the power of the N'Garai had been dispersed with the lost of the Eye of Kierrok, a amulet of great magical power. With that, the ability to transverse the dimensions was sealed to the Ru'tai, and condemned them to extinction.

The threat of the N'Garai was gone, the Ru'tai had been destroyed and their power was gone but now Kulan Gath had returned, and his new abilities would allow him to gather the power of the N'Garai for his own, and he would combine those with the powers of the Harbinger and he would challenge the elder gods themselves. He would merge the two worlds, creating a third world and he would rule. The laws of magic would be his to command and none could interfere as a new reality was created, and not even the combined might of the seven Sons of Set would be able to defeat him.

He ran his hands through the waters of the scrying pool, seeing what was going on out there and he stroked his chin as he watched the battles between Earth's heroes and the Sons of Set. The scrying pool showed variations in time as well as space, the possibilities of the future and any worlds he wanted to observe. He was the apprentice of Thoth Amon and he had learnt more than his former master had ever realised was possible, and he would show this world why he was destined to rule.

The first thing he needed to do was reassemble the Eye of Kierrok and with the current dimensional instability he would be able to reach directly in to that dimension and harness it for himself. It was all part of the great game, and soon the opponents would arrive, but that was also part of it.

"Don't be late, Victor," he said as the image in the scrying pool changed to the ruined dimension, and his hand reached in to the pool and his powers began to work.

"Damn him," said Doom as he focused, using the various mystic artefacts that Strange had to try and locate Kulan Gath. The sorcerer's powers were great and he had hidden himself from detection, but the arrival of the Sons of Set had also disrupted the natural magic of the world and he could not tap in to it, as he would have liked. Neither could Strange, but he was more concerned about what was happening in Fiji.

"Yamu's gathered many mystics," Strange said, worried for Clea who had also been taken. "Should we not..."

"No," said Doom. "Yamu's threat is not our concern, Kulan Gath is. This dimension is not that far removed from our own and I learnt much of ours from the Watcher's domicile."

"That timeline never happened," said Strange, thinking of the way Gath had altered the universe, creating a nightmare version of the world, something Strange had been able to stop only with the aid of Illyana Rasputin, combining their powers to create a new timeline where the takeover never happened.

"Then how do you remember it? You, Captain America, Magik, Storm and Arilynn Williams? I know more about temporal theory than you do, I have witnessed chronal changes at levels you will never understand and I am still the first person to create a time machine and every time machine that will be used in the future is derived from my works."

"I will admit that my knowledge of time is not as impressive as your own," Strange conceded, "but..."

"But nothing," said Doom, as if he were teaching a child who was not that bright. "The point is that Kulan Gath can do that and this time he will not be easily thwarted. Our only advantage now is that he is not the original Kulan Gath but an amalgamation of two versions, which allows him the freedom he has. This Gath does not want a barbarian era, because he knows there is more than that now."

"And you know this because?" asked Strange.

"Because I am Doom and it is my place to know these things. And remember he managed to bewitch you easily enough..." If Strange was embarrassed by the admonishment, he did not show it.

"Your point is taken," he said, coldly. "I just wish there were more we could do to assist the other sorcerers."

"We all have things we wish for," Doom answered, in a half whisper, "but it is rare that wishes become a reality..." Strange looked at Doom, wondering what the man had been through, what he had seen and done. He was not conservative in the uses of his mystical abilities, using them in a way Strange would never consider, but then again Doom was always more imaginative than most people.

"What should we do?" asked Strange. "If we cannot find him..."

"There has to be a place," Doom said. "Somewhere he feels safe, and he can use his powers correctly. I can feel disturbances and I sense his hand, but the arrival of the Sons has made it difficult to place it."

"It is too general," agreed Strange, also sensing the mystical disturbances. "We need someone who knew of Gath. Perhaps Selene..."

"Selene," said Doom. "Black Queen of the Hellfire Club, and formerly the Black Priestess of the Cult of Fire."

"You know your people, but she's not been heard of since the Horsemen of Apocalypse attacked New York during the resolution to the Legacy Virus." Strange considered. "Perhaps Arilynn..."

"No," Doom said. "Selene will be our best chance and she will be easier to find than Kulan Gath." Doom closed his eyes as he shifted his focus to divining her location and then he smiled. "Excellent," he said.

"That was quick," said Strange.

"She was not difficult to find. She is held in stasis, deep within the Vault..." He gestured with his hands casting a teleportation spell and both he and Strange ended up in bowels of the United States Special Penitentiary.

"I wish you would ask before you do that," Strange said.

"Yes," said Doom, not really caring and he looked at the system, studying it a moment and then removed a panel and started rewiring.

"What are you doing?" asked Strange.

"Ensuring that she cannot use her vampiric abilities upon on us," said Doom. "That would not do at all, but I will need to ask her questions. Her powers are mostly mutant in nature but she dabbled too far in the blackest arts. I believe the Darkhold has much to do with her longevity."

"But how?"

"I have read from the book," said Doom. "And it has given me a prescience to others who have been touch by it's power." He stepped back and pressed the release on the stasis chamber.

"I hope you are correct," said Strange, but Doom did not acknowledge the man as Selene gave a gasp.

"Welcome," he said to her.

"Who are you?" she said.

"I am Doom, and you will tell me what I need to know."

"Why?" said Selene.

"Because I am the only one who can restore your powers to you. You have no bargaining position to speak of and it is in your interest to aid the battle."

"Battle?" she said. "What battle? How long have I been in this machine?"

"Ever since you were defeated," said Strange. "And the battle is with Kulan Gath."

"Gath!" she hissed. "He lives..."

"More than that," said Doom. "He uses his power to create a new world order. He has called forth godlings from another dimension who have the need to rule this world and I will not allow that, but unless I can find him..."

"El Tatalicos," she said. "He will be there in his cynosure."

"A centre of attraction," said Doom.

"I know what a cynosure is," said Strange, starting to become fed up with Doom's treatment of him. He was not one of Doom's minions to be spoken to in such a manner.

"El Tatalicos is the place I first found him," Selene said. "There his power base is staggering and he has access to a scrying pool, created by the Darkhold. I tried to steal it from him, to use the secrets it held and he used it against me."

"Kulan Gath has read from the Darkhold?" said Strange. "But his soul would be forfeit to Chthon."

"Not necessarily," said Doom. "I have read from the book and my soul remains my own. If Gath pitted the power of Set against the power of Chthon, then he could have protected himself from the book."

"Free me," Selene demanded. "I must have my revenge on him for condemning me to this existence, needing the life force of people to survive. I hunger..."

"Yes," said Doom, "I imagine you do, however you are an abomination that needs to be dealt with, and I do not have the time for your treacherous nature." He gave a flick of his hand and the stasis machine started again as Selene started to cry out, but she never got the chance to make a sound as she was frozen. "Chroniton displacement," he said. "Forge's design, Richard's engineering."

"What does it do?"

"Creates a barrier and prevents time from passing the barrier," said Doom. "Crude, but effective."

"Crude?" said Strange.

"Yes," said Doom. "That was why I was able to rewire it so easily."

"However you did not ask her a vital question. Where is El Tatalicos?" said Strange.

"I know where El Tatalicos is," said Doom. "It is off the coast of Peru."

"And how do you know this?" asked Strange. "I have never heard of it."

"That is because you have not read the Darkhold," said Doom. "We must hurry, if we are to stop Kulan Gath from destroying us all."

It had taken him a tremendous amount of time, but now Kulan Gath held the power of the N'Garai in his hand and channelling as much of the mystic power he could so that he was able forge it in to one focal point. Children of the Elder Gods had power, and he was the one person with the knowledge to gather it all. He would take the energy and he would make it in to a unifying force of two worlds and there was black lightning coming from the sky as he bent nature, time and space to achieve his goal.

Then he wrenched his hand from the scrying pool, the Eye of Kierrok assembled once more and the power was his and he wore the amulet around his neck. Now he felt as if he were truly back. The Eye held power but there was a difference this time, and that was it could absorb the essences of the godlings. If the Sons of Set were victorious they would be weakened and he would use the Eye to finish them, and if they were beaten then he would call their spirits thusly to the Eye.

"And now we begin..." he said and he pointed his index fingers at one point and the energy that he called upon was channelled through the Eye and El Tatalicos started to be transformed from a ruined temple and jungle environment to a different kind of place, a world of rock and water, where the plant life was of a kind never seen before on this world and as he moved his fingers more of the place began to transform, the only thing remaining constant was himself and the scrying pool and by the time he had finished the place had been altered to a new temple, with a throne before the pool, unearthly fire shooting up from the floor. The plant life acted as drapes within the cynosure and Kulan Gath had a power base worthy of the title.

This would be the new centre of the surface world and all things would come from here, but he had also noticed that time had moved on faster than he had expected, but then again he had used time as part of his spell, and that would explain it, and as his sphere of influence grew, time would change around Earth anyway. It would operate according to his whims, not to the natural order for once this transformation had taken the Earth, it would be a cancer in the midst of Eternity and it would slowly spread.

He was indeed the Harbinger but the Harbinger of a whole new era. He looked upon the scrying pool, no longer needing to touch it and he commanded it to show him what was happening. The Sons of Set were holding their own and so much had happened. Some had lived, some had died and some were denied to him, but he could gather what energy he could and ensure that the Sons of Set were a part of his greater scheme. Earth's heroes had fought long and hard and taken casualties. They would not be ready for what was to come and he would alter them as he had altered the planet.

Nobody would be left unaffected by the gaze from the Eye.

"KULAN GATH!" a voice called and Gath smiled as he looked up. It was about time.

Doom and Strange hovered over the island, looking down, but seeing nothing.

"There is nothing here," said Strange. "I only have the general sense of the presence of Kulan Gath and nothing more focused. Are you sure it is here?"

"I can feel the island," said Doom. "It is calling to me and..." He trailed off. "It is mystically hidden, but there is something else, something wrong."

"Wrong?" said Strange. "With all that's going on how can you tell?"

"Because I know," said Doom. "It's a matter of time. Time is wrong around here."

"What is it with you and time?" asked Strange, getting annoyed, partly because of Doom's attitude and partly because he was being left behind when Doom spoke. "Why do you act as though you know better than anyone else over the properties of time?"

"I have spent a long time learning," said Doom. "We know there are seven elements, earth, Air, Fire, Water, life, light and magic. Then there are the directions of north, south, east, west, above, below and within. Seven is a mystical number. There are seven heads on my Father, there were seven sons. Seven souls were needed to facilitate the Ascension. There are seven days, seven seals, seven heavens. Seven stands for the expression of the mysterious God force in Nature."

"What does seven have to do with time?" asked Strange.

"Seven has also significant properties within science as well. My skills within science allowed me to deduce how to actualise the scientific principles behind time travel using the number seven, and my mystical heritage taught me the properties of the number seven. Many believe that there are five dimensions - length, breadth, width, time and space. Because seven is has such power, it is possible to assume there are in truth seven. Mind and chaos."

"Mind and chaos?" said Strange, who's medical background meant he was no slouch in scientific disciplines either.

"Mind, the ability of thought. The astral plane confirms that it is possible to consider that as a dimension, indeed the phrase astral plane indicates it is indeed a plane of reality."

"But chaos..."

"Chaos is a crude word for it. Uncertainty perhaps is a better word. It is that uncertainty that allows for the possibility of other dimensions, because without it, there is no variation, no divergence. That is how I eventually solved the problems of time travel, by accepting the seven dimensional planes of existence. Add to that the mystical properties and I indeed am the only one on this planet who can fully comprehend what is going on. My fusion of science and magic allows me to be in touch with those parts of existence; masters of one or the other discipline cannot be as they do not fully accept the truth of the discipline they are not masters of. You can sense the problems across the five dimensions, my scope is broader."

"I think I understand," said Strange. "My perception is limited because I do not acknowledge the conceptuality of things, because I do not see the science behind them."

"Exactly," said Doom. "It is a way of thinking you are not used to, and as Sorcerer Supreme I found it gratifying to find I was correct in my way of thinking, and that I had always been so."

"So how do I attune to the dimensions of the mind and uncertainty?" said Strange, eager to learn more disciplines of magic. As master of the mystic arts, it was his responsibility.

"Focus, forget what you know. Reach out with your mind and feel the disturbances across the astral plane. You have the capability as Sorcerer Supreme to access the astral plane and so you should be able to do so."

"I feel it," said Strange. "There is a discord."

"Which does not concern us," Doom said, his voice also hypnotic in tone. "Now, expand your focus. Expand your awareness to encompass all the astral plane - do not try and control it, that is not your province."

"I... cannot..." Strange said.

"Until you can, you will not be able to perceive the chaos plane and without seeing the fluctuations of uncertainty, you cannot truly perceive time."

"The Infinity Gauntlet," said Strange, softly, thinking that reality was the gem that allowed the wearer to become a god when the gems were used in unison. It allowed the wearer to perceive the uncertainty and as such be aware of the truth of time. "That was how Adam defeated the Magus..."

"Exactly," said Doom. "We have the ability to watch and to sense, if not the power of the Infinity Gems. But only if the mind is correct."

"I will achieve this," Strange promised himself and Doom nodded.

"Then perhaps you will indeed become the greater Sorcerer Supreme, as your potential has always shown." Then he looked down, to where the island should be and he grew angered. "This will not DO!" The mystic wards around the island dropped at Doom's gestures and El Tatalicos became visible for the first time in millennia.

"How do we get past the time differential?" said Strange.

"By accessing the future," said Doom. "A localised transition is possible without creating a divergence, but it is a mystical task that will tax me."

"Then allow me to aid you," Strange said.

"Yes," Doom said, and he began chanting and Strange chanted his own the words, drawing upon the resources he normally used. Hoggoth, Oshtur and Agamotto the three beings that made up the Vishanti and he channelled the power in to the Eye of Agamotto and as the eye opened, mystical energy flowed from it in to Doom whose arms flowed in gestures, his fingers moving quickly with an adeptiveness that had been learnt from the precision of science and then a tear opened. "QUICKLY!" he commanded and the two magicians moved through the portal.

"Are you okay?" said Strange and Doom nodded, but said nothing. His breathing was ragged and Strange knew from experience how draining the use of such powerful magic could be and Doom was pushing himself hard. The interruption of the spell that had called forth the Sons had drained them both and this too would have required equal or greater power than that feat and Doom headed down for the island, which was undergoing a mystical transformation.

"He is combining two worlds," said Doom, his voice returning. "We may be too late..."

"He's only transformed an island," said Strange. "We've not lost the world yet."

"Indeed," said Doom and he saw the quarry they had come for. "KULAN GATH!" he shouted, his voice filled with the authority of a monarch born and the presence of the Sorcerer Supreme. Gath smiled as he looked up.

"Doom," he said, seeing the sorcerer. "And Strange. I thought you would have learnt from our last confrontation."

"There is nothing you can teach either of us, Kulan Gath," said Strange as he and Doom stood side by side, hovering in the air.

"We will soon find out..." Kulan Gath said and unleashed the power of the Eye, pushing past the mystical wards they had erected and casting them down. "Two Sorcerer Supremes with one stone."

"If I was that easy to kill, I'd not have survived to 2099 and beyond," said Doom, standing.

"I'm in the mood for a challenge," Gath answered. "This is my domain, Doom. This is my world."

"No it is not," said Doom. "Nor is it mine. It's his." Strange stood there. "Now, to quote an old foe, it's clobberin' time..." With that, Doom unleashed eldritch energy from his hands and Gath had to move quickly to defend himself, especially as Strange joined the assault and Gath used the power of the Eye of Kierrok to redirect the attacks at the enemy, but he knew even as he did it that it would not help him and he had to take the offensive. One Sorcerer Supreme he could handle - he was a powerful sorcerer in his own right and with the power of the Eye he was more than a match, but he could not face two of them, not yet, not until he had drained the power of the Sons. If he was to win, he needed a distraction so he could take on the weakest link.

"Of course," he said and he quickly used the power of the Eye in the fraction of time in took for them to refocus their attention from the redirect of the attack and energy travelled from the Eye to the Scrying Pool and he summoned forth Kierrok, reconstructing the former leader of the N'Garai from the energy within the Eye. "Take him!" he said, pointing at Doom and then he turned to Strange. "I've taken you once before, and I am much more powerful now."

"This time I'm prepared," said Strange. "I have faced many such as you, fought in a war you can barely imagine." He cast his spells, attacking with magic at this most ancient of adversaries.

"The War of Seven Spheres," said Kulan Gath. "I know of it. You exhausted the Gaian Aura in the war, draining all of Earth's mystical energy, and you used the catastrophe magic for the power of change." He met Strange's attack and attacked in turn.

"You know of these things?" The Eye of Agamotto opened as Strange called upon the Amulet for aid against the Eye of Kierrok.

"The scrying pool is very informative," said Gath, readying the Eye of Kierrok. "And I have been around for some time, learning of the ways of this world. I have discovered a great many things about you, about the magic of this era, and about what has been done to this realm. The powers you called upon were powers I called upon millennia ago, powers taught to me by Thoth Amon."

"Then you know what I have faced."

"You have nothing now. Let us pit the light of Agamotto against the power of the elder gods." The two amulets struck each other and it would be a battle of power and will to see which prevailed.

Doom looked upon Kierrok and his eyes narrowed. The demon was fast, strong, and immensely powerful and Doom was indeed taxed from his previous castings. He did not doubt that Strange could and would hold Kulan Gath until he rejoined the battle, but he was not sure he could defeat Kierrok just yet.

"I am Kierrok!" the demon said. "Kierrok, the shatterer of souls, slayer of men, Kierrok the Damned!"

"And you will not best me creature of darkness," said Doom. "My soul belongs to no-one, least of all you."

"Foolish creature, what weapons have you, where is your power? I sense no greatness to you."

"Then allow me to educate you," Doom said and at his hands appeared a circle of light, with spikes of energy sparking forth in to shards. "My mystical skills are second to none." He cast a light forth, creating mystical bindings around the demon, but Kierrok broke through them.

"Your parlour tricks are impressive, but they are not the potent magic I have witnessed in my lifetime."

"Then perhaps the Crimson Bands of Cytorrak will hold you," said Doom, stepping up the power and the red energy surrounded Kierrok as if in a mist and held him tight and the demon struggled, and the bonds began to crack. Kierrok's power was indeed formidable, Doom considered. With his master Kulan Gath… Then Doom smiled, realising the key to victory was within his grasp and there was a certain amount of irony to it.

He used the Eye of Agamotto, using the power of truth that it contained and he turned the light upon Kierrok. This was dangerous, because of the unpredictability of the N'Garai, but Doom suspected that if the roles were reversed, he would act in a similar fashion as to the way he predicted Kierrok would. Kierrok, master of N'Garai was being commanded by the High Priest of the N'Garai, one who should be worshipping him and Kierrok let loose a terrifying howl as he turned towards the High Priest, who battled the Sorcerer Supreme and swatted Strange to the side as he turned to the one he desired.

"BETRAYER!" Kierrok howled, but Kulan Gath turned the Eye upon him and drew the essence back in to the amulet.

"A masterful strategy, Doom," said Kulan Gath, "however, this is not Kierrok. He is a recreated version, and what I can create, I can destroy."

"Destruction is easy," said Doom, "and he was just a distraction!" His fist slammed in to Kulan Gath's jaw and he knocked him to the floor. "With the aid of simple illusion. Now it ends!"

"How right you are," said Kulan Gath as El Tatalicios shook and suddenly Doom's face grew dark. "Can you feel it?"

"Impossible," said Doom as Kulan Gath stood, the Eye of Kierrok glowing.

"That was the essence of the Sons of Set. Your strategy to separate them worked in my favour as well as your own and I have the ability to draw upon the essences, thanks to the Eye of Kierrok!"

"Then we must remove you from the Eye!" said Strange, and with a gesture the Eye vanished from Kulan Gath's hands and the ancient wizard looked shocked before he realised that the Eye was simply hidden from his perspective.

"Illusion will not work on me a second time!"

"Perhaps not," Doom said, "but this will!" He cast a spell he had memorised, a spell he had taken the time to learn while he remained in the Negative Zone with the Darkhold. This was the Spell of the Abyss, the spell he knew he would have to use to defeat Kulan Gath once and for all, across every reality. The lineage of the Harbinger would end here.

"Doom!" said Strange as he felt what was building. "You don't need to do this! There's another way!"

"The power of Chthon, against the power of Set," said Kulan Gath, using the Eye to keep the energies that were being summoned at bay, but Doom replied to neither man, focusing his power on this one last spell, one last chance to ensure that the threat was ended. "I am drawing on all the energies I can, the defeats of the Sons mean I can draw their power and fight you…"

"I will not allow this!" said Strange, realising he was being ignored by both men, and he knew it was because he was now beneath their notice, but he was Sorcerer Supreme and if what Doom had told him earlier was true then there were ways and means beyond those he currently knew and there were paths he could take to bring himself to their notice. He opened his mind, seeing the astral plane, and he knew he had to let his consciousness expand to encompass the universe.

This was the closest thing he would ever come to having cosmic awareness, but he knew the Sorcerer Supreme was as close as any magician would ever come to cosmic power. He was bequeathed power by the graces of the mystical forces of the universe, in the same way that those with cosmic power had been gifted it by the mightier cosmic forces and he let his mind become one with all that was. His eyes went blank but in his head he could hear the voice of the Ancient One, telling he to keep his head and he was aware of the uncertainty of it all, and he could feel potential he only ever dreamed of coming to life within him, and it had seemingly taken all but a moment and Kulan Gath now knew there was a second real threat in the vicinity.

"You have no hope of defeating me," said Gath, but his voice was tentative in tone.

"I don't need hope," Strange said. "I have faith." He could feel what Doom felt, he could access the power that Doom could access and though he knew he was an amateur in this field and did not have the confidence or the genius of Doom, he was still Sorcerer Supreme, a title won by right of magic and he would use the power as he needed to, not with the surgical skill that he was accustomed to but the brute force of a hammer and he unleashed the full magical potential at Gath who could not defend against it and prepare a counter for the Spell of the Abyss at the same time and he screamed in defiance as both magics struck at the same instant, the blackest magic and the purest magic combining with devastating effect to consume Kulan Gath.

"NO!" Gath cried, his mystical shields crumbling and he could feel his very nature being opened up. He had no prayers to call upon, no force that could prevent what was happening and he knew that across the multiverse, every incarnation of Kulan Gath was being absorbed in to this one person, one being in the here and now. "I AM THE HARBINGER Of SET!"

"Set denies you," said Doom, his voice in a whisper. "Can you not feel it, Kulan Gath, Chthon calls you…"

"NO!" cried Kulan Gath, his voice echoing and he could feel a hand wrap around him, and he was lifted in to the air and he could feel a darkness gather inside him, draining the life-force of him and all who had been Kulan Gath and all those who would ever be Kulan Gath. He was being devoured by the elder god, and he was being offered up by Gaea herself, who had allowed her brother to access this universe from the nether dimension he was bound to. Without a sponsor to protect him, Kulan Gath knew he had been turned upon by the elder gods and then he was gone and the screams stopped. The Eye of Kierrok fell to the floor bounced and entered the scrying pool. It was over and Strange looked at Doom, who lay there in a heap.

"DOOM!" he said, hurrying over.

"I will recover," said the sorcerer, his voice quiet and for the first time Strange could see how old the man truly was and how much strain this had put upon him. The deceptions, the counterings, the manipulation all had one cause in mind and as powerful as Doom had become he was still just a man. This was not the same Doom as they knew, it was an evolved Doom. This Doom knew the dangers of godhood and he knew his limitations. He had learnt the truth of the power he had always sought and learnt well.

"You've aged," said Strange. "Your youthfulness is withering…"

"The price I have paid for my magic," said Doom, knowing instead of being a man physically in his early thirties, he was perhaps in his late fifties. "Too much, too swiftly. I do not have the immunity from Death that you earned long ago. I age as you do not, but I will rest and recover before I start again. Magic will sustain me."

"Start again?" said Strange, wondering if it was truly all over.

"The Eye of Kierrok," said Doom, looking at Strange as he slowly rose to his feet. "The last weapon against the Sons of Set. I knew it's potential, it's purpose. I am familiar with the N'Garai."

"The Darkhold."

"The Darkhold is more than just spells, as you know. Chthon's mystical knowledge is held within the Book of Sins and I have read it from cover to cover and I knew what was needed. With the Eye, I can go to the universes that have been defiled by the Sons presence and undo what they have done. This will end the legacy of Set."

"You can't do this alone," said Strange.

"I am not alone," said Doom. "There are others."

"But there is so much I do not understand," Strange said. "Kulan Gath…"

"Is gone. For now. Perhaps Chthon will find a use for his essence in some way. The Sons of Set were drained of their power by the Eye, just enough for them to be defeated properly, though not all of them are dead. I have given you enough to ensure that humanity will survive the pitfalls that are coming."

"Pitfalls?" said Strange.

"There will be a new race of serpent men," said Doom. "Your magical knowledge has been expanded and the Earth has been altered by the presence of the Sons of Set. You are beginning Chapter One of a great story, that none on Earth has ever read, Stephen Strange. The Sons of Set have been defeated, but there will be further, deadlier threats in the years to come."

"Good fortune, Victor Von Doom," Strange said and the man nodded as he reached in to the scrying pool and created a vision of the Negative Zone and he retrieved the Eye of Kierrok and then waded in to the waters. It was time for Doom to go home, before he realised his true destiny. He wandered in to the water and soon he was submerged and he entered the Negative Zone. "Good fortune," Strange repeated and he waved his hand over the pool and the waters dissipated.

El Tatalicos was a mystical nexus, a place formed of two worlds. There would be much to discover here, but for now he would rest and see what damage had been done to this world by the invasion.

He was the Sorcerer Supreme, and thanks to Doom, he understood for the first time what that truly meant.