Chapter 96: Bring the War to Them

After Gul'dan gave the order, the battlefield erupted. Millions of resurrected Chitauri warriors, now bound by fel magic, let out a collective, guttural roar. There was no hesitation in their eyes, no trace of their former selves. They were now weapons, fueled by Gul'dan's will alone. Even if it meant turning against their own kind, they didn't care. On their anti-gravity chariots, the undead Chitauri formed ranks again. Above them, the colossal Leviathans began to fall into organized formation. Gul'dan stepped forward toward the nearest fallen Leviathan. With slow, deliberate movements, he climbed atop its armored skull. Standing tall, he raised one clawed foot, and stomped. A pulse of fel energy surged out from his body, sinking deep into the beast beneath him. The Leviathan twitched. Then its entire body convulsed and began mutating. Green tentacles sprouted from its flesh, slithering and coiling like armor over its frame. Razor-sharp bone spurs burst from its back and shoulders. The beast let out a mechanical howl as it transformed into a demonic war machine. Finally, from its back, the tentacles twisted together, forming a dark green throne. Gul'dan climbed onto the throne, staff in hand, and raised it toward the sky. The army responded instantly. Chitauri chariots rose into the air. The Leviathans surged forward. The horde of undead warriors moved as one, their green eyes burning with unholy resolve. They flew toward the portal. ... High above, Loki watched in disbelief. What was supposed to be his glorious conquest had become an unthinkable reversal. He stared frozen from the roof of Stark Tower. "...This wasn't supposed to happen," he whispered. Then, suddenly, his scepter pulsed. A message came through, direct from the other side of the portal. "Loki. Close the portal. Now!" Loki's eyes widened. That voice was trembling. Terrified. Even the Chitauri, ruthless conquerors of entire worlds, were afraid. He staggered backward and collapsed to the rooftop, clutching the scepter tightly. "...They're running," he said, voice hollow. "They're actually running..." The partnership he once thought gave him control now meant nothing. He was just a pawn. And the Chitauri had decided this game wasn't worth playing. ... In the sky, the portal began to shrink. The Chitauri had destroyed their beacon on the other side, cutting the connection manually. Now, the Tesseract could no longer lock onto their location. The gateway to their world began closing slowly, like a wound healing shut. But not fast enough. Half of Gul'dan's undead army had already charged into the portal. From the Earth's side, flashes of green and red flickered within the swirling vortex. Explosions. The battle had already begun on the other side. And then, seeing the portal wouldn't last long enough, Gul'dan moved. He rose from his throne atop the Leviathan, lifting his skeletal staff into the sky. A surge of fel energy gathered at its tip, then fired as a piercing green beam straight into the heart of the closing portal. As the portal finally sealed shut in front of him, the beam vanished into the ether. Left behind were tens of thousands of Gul'dan's fel soldiers, now stranded on Earth. But Gul'dan only smiled. ... Back in the grocery store, Luke stared at the computer screen. "That... was supposed to be the end," he muttered. The bomb closes the portal. The Chitauri are wiped out. Everyone goes home. But now? The war had just changed dimensions. "Doggo," Luke called without looking, "don't eat anything green today." Doggo nodded in agreement. ... On the battlefield, Gul'dan raised a hand. His soldiers turned away from the now-closed portal, and began marching toward another one. The Dark Portal, still standing in the ruins of New York, glowed with eerie green fire. The beam he had fired had been a locator, which he now used to connect the dark portal to the Chitauri's current location. With one final glance at the battlefield, Gul'dan stepped off his Leviathan mount and walked alone. Before entering, he paused. He turned his gaze to the city one last time. And then his eyes landed on the New York Sanctum. He stopped. His pupils narrowed. A faint grin curled on his twisted lips. Two beams of green light shot out from his eyes like spectral spotlights, reaching across the city and landing directly on the Sanctum's rooftop. ... On that rooftop, the Ancient One was already watching him. For the first time in decades, her hands trembled. She had been hesitant to confront Gul'dan directly. Not out of cowardice, but out of caution. 'That kind of power... that kind of energy...' She'd seen corruption. She wielded the energy of the Dark Dimension herself, and it was that exactly what made her vulnerable to this new evil energy. She knew that if that green energy just touched her while her focus was on restraining the darkforce, then she would fall to it instantly, and she couldn't have that. So she had hoped to observe from a distance. To study him, to gauge his limits. But it was too late for that now. Her soul suddenly twitched. A sharp pain bloomed in her chest, not physical, but spiritual. She gasped and went limp, her astral form ripping free of her body in reflex. Floating above herself, she looked down in horror. Right in the middle of her soul's chest... a green rune glowed faintly. "What, what is this?!" Panicked, she tried to grab it, pull it out, erase it, banish it, but her hands passed right through. The rune had taken root in her soul. Her breath caught. 'I didn't even confront him directly... and he still marked me?!' Terrified and furious, the Ancient One re-entered her body and rose into the sky. She had no more time for hesitation. With a single gesture, she split open the Mirror Dimension, folding space and rushing toward Gul'dan. She flew across the city in a blink, bending reality itself as she moved. The moment Gul'dan was in sight, she cast the spell, pulling him into the mirrored world. The city around them fractured and folded, becoming a kaleidoscope of glass and reflection. Here, the Ancient One held the advantage. Here, she was the master. But as her feet touched the mirrored ground and her eyes locked with Gul'dan's, she froze. Because the warlock didn't flinch. He didn't snarl. He didn't even look surprised. Instead, Gul'dan smiled. A slow, patient smile, as if he had been waiting. A chill ran down her spine. 'Something's wrong...' ...