Belasco finally got what he wanted—half of it.
His X-Men collection finally had its first Magik, even though her powers had not yet awakened.
The terrified twelve-year-old girl sat in this hellscape strewn with the corpses of her adult self. Many of the Illyanas had bled out, their skin pale; some were being devoured by the maggots and worms of Limbo, and more were utterly reduced to white bones, leaving only their skeletons and long hair.
This was a hell of death.
"Illyana Rasputina, you possess extraordinary potential."
The young Illyana looked at her brother, Colossus, and the other X-Men, who were frozen mid-attack, suspended in the air.
She didn't know what had happened to her brother and the others. As far as Illyana knew, her brother and those men were the greatest heroes in the world.
And now they were motionless, like sculptures.
"Your soul is quite delicious, little girl, but fortunately, I am not hungry yet. Furthermore, I am willing to give you a chance to save your family."
Belasco smiled, stroking the little girl's hair, and told her a way to save herself: "Give me half of your soul, and I can let you go. There are some scraps resisting me in this world; you can try to seek their help."
"Or, you can choose to give up, and your family and friends will become those monsters."
Facing Illyana, Belasco stepped aside, showing her the endless line of corrupted X-Men behind him. Illyana saw many different versions of Colossus, all transformed into monsters.
"Have you chosen? Poor Illyana?"
The twelve-year-old girl was surrounded by the corpses of herself and countless versions of her brother who had turned into demons devouring human limbs.
Belasco watched the little girl turn and flee, satisfied yet bored.
She always chose this, without exception.
"Then, as agreed, your soul is mine."
Belasco grinned viciously, reaching out his hand and watching her fall to her knees while fleeing. Then, he tore a translucent, blonde little girl's spirit from Illyana's body.
Illyana bit her lip and crawled up. Blood seemed to seep from her eyes for some reason. She felt she had forgotten something and was completely dizzy. She staggered to her feet and quickly ran away.
Belasco watched the scene he had witnessed countless times, sighing with a sentiment he had expressed just as many times.
"Once again, poor Illyana chooses to fight, foolishly believing she can save her family, never considering that in the entire Multiverse, no Illyana has ever succeeded."
The Undying One emerged from the shadows nearby, looking highly displeased at Belasco. The latter was truly a demon, easily breaking the plan they had agreed upon. True, the Undying One had opened a rift for Belasco, allowing him to pull someone from Universe-616. The choices were limited, as few beings could open a channel between Limbo and Earth-616.
The Sorcerer Supreme was definitely out of the question. Doctor Strange, a newcomer who had only been a sorcerer for a few years, was already brandishing an axe and chopping Dormammu back into the Dark Dimension. Belasco had to gauge the difference between himself and Dormammu. While he wasn't the weakest Dimensional Lord, he certainly wasn't one of the powerful ones.
Dimensional Lords are powerful sorcerers who merge their minds with an unowned dimension. Following one of the four paths of magic, they internalize the dimension, gaining near-infinite energy and a transcendent status beyond mortals.
But this didn't mean their fighting power immediately skyrocketed. Beings like Chthon or Oshtur were ancient gods, but Belasco was merely a mortal sorcerer transformed by Chthon. Their battle capabilities were incomparable.
If Belasco left his home base of Limbo, Strange would likely chop him to death with his axe.
This was why the Undying One believed Belasco needed Illyana Rasputina, the future Magik. This was a link in fate; the Magik of Universe-616 was destined to replace Belasco as the new lord of Limbo.
But the X-Men sought to obstruct this pre-determined fate, which was why the Undying One chose to intervene.
However, Belasco played a trick. While he couldn't enter Earth-616 himself, he could selectively enlarge the rift torn by the Undying One and send his lackeys to bring back Spider-Man of Earth-616.
"Why would I need Magik when I have Spider-Man, who can freely travel worlds? Haven't I killed countless versions of Magik from different universes and played this game of 'letting the tiger back to the mountains' countless times?"
"I'm bored of it."
"You had better hurry. The Avengers and the Sorcerer Supreme won't give you much time."
"The Sorcerer Supreme of Earth-616 is troublesome, but not enough to defeat me," Belasco said with the most arrogant words delivered in the most cowardly tone. "I'm not leaving Limbo anyway. As long as I don't leave my dimension, the Sorcerer Supreme is no match for me once he enters my territory."
He reached out his hand, condensing the half-soul he held into a piece of crimson gemstone. This was the Bloodstone, one of the sources of his black magic power and the key to opening a passage to the 616 dimension.
"The void in her soul will gradually be filled with the black magic of Limbo, turning her into a poor child whose soul is filled with darkness, tsk-tsk-tsk."
Then, he glanced at the Undying One.
"As for the time issue, don't worry. The flow of time in Limbo is different from other places. Even if only a few minutes pass outside, years may have passed here. Rest assured, I've played this game of hunting Magik countless times, and I've never failed."
The Undying One merely looked coldly at Belasco. He had frozen the X-Men's time, awaiting the arrival of the Avengers, but now it seemed he might have to change the plan.
Not only were the Avengers and X-Men trying to alter established fate, but even Belasco was trying to modify his destiny.
The Undying One took a deep breath. If the Avengers arrived, for the sake of established fate, he might even have to help them.
Meanwhile, the fleeing Illyana ran for what felt like an age, only to find more and more demons beginning to hunt her.
But soon, a long sword flew through the air, piercing the demon about to pounce on Illyana. She was saved.
Illyana saw an incredible person.
It was an older version of Illyana Rasputina, with an arm like a demon's.
"Follow me, Magik," the figure said.
"Whatever you plan to do, first, you have to survive."
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