Warped Within | Stephen Strange

Prologue

In one strange corner of the universe, just past the dimmest star, hidden in that one cold quarter no one ever wished to visit and concealed in a menacing dimension, was a small, barely-habitable rock (it did not deserve the term of planet for it was so insignificant to those who knew of it). On that rock, in the most tenantable environment upon it - and even then, most was a stretch - nestled amongst inky reeds and situated by a tar-like river, proudly stood a decaying mansion.

That deranged home belonged to a disturbed, fearsome, power-hungry warlock: Baron Judas Alarie-Black, better known by the fortunate as the beastly Baron Black.

Cross-legged, the Baron, whose straggly bob of dark hair fell across his youthfully-aged face in a fearsome way, sat in his sombre chambers, quietly searching the dimensions in his astral form for his next nourishing refreshment. In the astral plane, he was free to glide, to roam, to spy across the universe, undetected, in search of his next victim.

He had felt a pinch when the Entity and Tessa had bonded yet it had not lasted long enough for him to locate them. Then, more recently, he had felt a curious twitch, a tickle, an itch, when the Entity and Tessa had joined briefly with the Other in the most habitable dimension, the one where he once thrived, but when that evil one truly fused with them, the sensation of the emergence washed over him in a maddening way, in a way that made all his neurons tingle with a giddy glee. A pernicious hum of laughter left him as his beady eyes shot open.

Baron Black, brutal usurper and devourer of power, simply couldn't resist the feast that awaited him now.

Patience really did pay off.

"Seraphina-a-ah!" He called songfully, gruffly.

Footsteps echoed out in the hall but they did not approach the room eagerly.

A woman, dressed in an austere sangria sheath dress, accessorised by a thin shawl and a deathly ribbon choker of the same colour, slunk into the Baron's room through one of the two heavy doors. Her gentle blonde curls bounced slightly as she approached the intimidating man. Averting his gaze, her flat, weary, hazel eyes fell to the floor before him.

"You called, Baron?"

"It's here." He hissed excitedly as he stood from his spot of meditation.

"What is?"

"The big one, Sera, the biggest catch of all - a hybrid."

Her eyebrows twitched, "Surely...Orrotan's Leviathan was the largest being of all? What more could you want?

"You know I want it all." Judas paused, "There are great beings and collectives in this vast universe, but once I have devoured the supreme hybrid...I will release you."

Seraphina looked up at him, a flash of uncertain hope in her eyes.

Judas smiled eerily and moved to caress her hair, "You would like that, wouldn't you?"

Uncomfortable, she nodded.

"One last run, Sera, one last ritual, and then I will release you from our contract." He removed his hand, gesturing to a beautifully-carved, mahogany door on the left side of the room, "To the mirror."

When they entered the room that was adorned with candles of various sizes, they headed straight for a vast, uneven fragment of glass. No reflections entertained them in this mirror and, in fact, the surface was hardly reflective at all. Instead, it looked like a gateway to a dark abyss that stood out sinisterly in the candlelit room.

Judas pressed his index and middle finger to his temple, pinching at his skin but instead drew out a wisp of white smoke. Gripping it tightly, he brought it to the mirror and released it near the surface. Once the wisp connected with the glass, it rippled, fading into the scene of a bedroom. It was a fascinating, disturbing sight: a woman lay in the bed, sheets strewn around her body, haunting eyes opened wide to reveal their abnormalities whilst wisps of black smoke, sprinkled with shades and sparks of red, shifted above her resting form.