Marvel: I Wish To Be One Above All

For a moment, all Corvus could do was stare blankly at this woman who would one day hold a position as one of, if not the, strongest and, more than likely, wisest entity on Earth. By the look of her, she couldn't be older than her mid-twenties. There were many things he should be doing right now, greeting her, inquiring about Merlin, wiping the stunned look off his face, anything. But no, no he seemed content to just stare at her face and hair and was stuck on the thought that she looked so much better with it than without it.

Feeling rather awkward at this point. The one-day-to-be Ancient One couldn't help but furrow her brows and be the first to speak. "Excuse me? Art thou the one of whom mine Master spoke? The powerful and wise being 'beyond comprehension'?" If he was, she very much doubted it. He seemed just like any slack-jawed idiot too wrapped up in physical appearance to her. More attractive than most, but still just like the others. Powerful, and mysterious, to be sure. But beyond comprehension seemed a stretch. Wise… well, he did deduce much from what she would consider to be nothing. But the jury is officially out on that call at the moment.

Hearing her speak, same voice, but much more youthful and not as erudite, brought him out of his stupor. Embarrassed, he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I a-apologize for my rudeness. I am probably he. However, I wouldn't call myself beyond comprehension. What I am, well, perhaps may be beyond a normal human's comprehension. But as thou art probably already aware of the multiverse, likely Merlin and thee would be able to comprehend mine existence. However, it appears that I am running off on a tangent. Thus I will end it with, Hello, mine name is Corvus Rigel. Might I have the p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e of knowing thine?" Gathering himself, he crossed his right hand over his left c.h.e.s.t and gave a slight bow.

The woman regarded him for a moment, before brushing off his question and starts to walk in a direction. "Come, Master instructed to bring thee before him without dallying. We will know if thou art the one once we have arrived."

Still in his awkward bow, Corvus sighed and picked himself up, and started to follow after her. 'Well, I wouldn't trust someone I just met either, especially after seeing a display of force like that. There's time though. Hell, I have nothing but time. She doesn't die until late 2016. Thinking on that though, I wonder if she's already contracted with Dormammu?' As he started to get lost in thought he almost tripped over the unconscious knight.

"Excuse me, miss, but whatever should be done with this person?"

Disdain and contempt radiated from her for a moment, and then without sparing the knight a glance she replied. "That pile of scrap can find his own way back, he was never meant to actually be thy escort, just a gauge of thy temperament."

A little taken aback, Corvus figured that she was supposed to be his escort if things turned out well. "And? Have I passed this test?"

"It is yet to be seen, but the verbal lashing thou gave him was well deserved and very satisfying for me so I withhold judgement for now. One question remains on the tip of my mind, however, how did thee know his true colors? He at least acted the part of a courteous knight."

Corvus didn't really feel any need to hide anything, since, what's the point? What could they do even if they knew? "Ah, that. Well, colors is actually partially the answer." She turned to give him an incredulous and confused look. "I mean it. If I wish, I can see the aura of a person and read their surface thoughts. The aura reflects a person's mood and personality and how they feel about the person they are currently perceiving. The knight had contempt and envy coloring him and he was already predisposed to disliking me. Plus his thoughts were less than savory even though his words and actions said otherwise."

"I see… and I suppose this is how you could see me and gauge my reactions within the mirror dimension?"

"Yes."

"Then what am I feeling now?" She stopped as they were about to cross onto a path into the nearby woodlands. Corvus looked upon her and saw several shades of orange dominating her. Showing him interest, anticipation, but also ever present vigilance. Underlying that, there was a golden hue where the knight's grey was, showing that she leaned more towards thinking of him in a positive manner. He smiled and relayed this to her. A light green of amazement colored her but then a pale yellow of acceptance replaced it.

"And mine thoughts?" He once again looked at her and reached out with his mind. However, unlike the knight, there seemed to be a barrier of sorts around her mind. He felt he could break it, easily, but didn't want to. He wanted her to trust him. It wouldn't bode well for him if he just barged into someone's mind whenever he pleased.

"Thine thoughts are thy own. I shall not pry. Thy mind has been ensorcelled with a protection of some kind. I can break it. However, I will not. I don't want to delve where I'm unwelcome, not to a person I have no just cause to do so." He walked ahead, leaving her there. He could see a flash of goldenrod from her as he passed, gratefulness. She caught up after a moment and they walked through the forest path together.

Silence dominated for over an hour as they walked. Corvus was rather comfortable with this. He wanted to talk to her, but unless she brought a topic up he was perfectly alright with just enjoying the atmosphere. The sunlight through the trees, the fresh air, and the sounds of the birds and other animals nearby were all very relaxing. 'The only thing that would make this better would be.' He thought as he flipped his hand and his pipe appeared. He brought it to his lips and began to smoke. It began to wreath him as he walked on.

"Dost thou have a pocket dimension?" The young woman asked curiously, breaking the silence that they had maintained. He looked at her, confused. She then gestured at his pipe. Realization showed in his expression. He chuckled and shook his head.

"Nay, I created it." He flipped his other hand and a bird appeared, a European Swallow, who chirped and flew off. After getting to a certain distance he willed it out of existence. Seeing the bird appear and then disappear into nothingness when she sensed no fluctuation of energy whatsoever, dimensional or otherwise, stunned her.

"C-created?"

"Yes. I can bend reality. One would argue not on a large scale, but large enough for me. I've only done some experimentation with my abilities and don't know their full scope yet. In fact, I was in the middle of trying to find my limits before the knight had happened upon me." Vigilance and fear started to surround her once more, noticing this, Corvus continued. "One thing I know for sure, however, is that I am unable to do anything that would be a danger to the fabric of this reality. And even if I could, I would not wish to."

"Oh? And why is that?" She asks, with brow raised.

"Simple. This reality is already so very wondrous. Why would I want to harm it? I'm certain mine parent is loving hearing me say this, but I can't help but admit that what she has made is perfect."

Seeing the questions forming on her face, he smiled. "Thou will know eventually. In fact, if Merlin wishes to know, I can tell thee once we meet with him. I'd rather not explain myself more than once. Now, isn't it about time to utilize thy sling ring to bring us to him?"

Once again surprised, and having not resolved the many other surprises she has witnessed since meeting him, she released an exasperated sigh. He chuckled and turned to face her. "Am I right in assuming that this walk and subsequent conversation was another layer to the test?"

She looked at him with a wry smile and nodded. Then, feeling as there was no point in continuing the conversation, she reached into her sleeve and pulled out a flat piece of bronze with two holes for her fingers. Slipping it on, she got into a stance and started to move her hand into a circle. Gradually, a circle of sparks started to form. As it grew larger, a dark candlelit stone room could be seen on the other side, with a wooden desk in the center. The young woman gestures for Corvus to proceed, so he did. As he stepped through, he could feel the shift in the space and identified that he was somewhere a few kilometers north of where present day London would be. This confused him as he thought Camelot was somewhere else, according to legend, but this could be the error of modern theorists or perhaps Merlin based himself outside of the mythical kingdom after it was established. Besides, this wasn't his Earth and it was in the Marvel Multiverse, there were bound to be differences in history.

As he stepped in and away from the portal so that the lady could enter. He took note of all the texts lining the walls and the bits of paper strewn about. There was an alcove dedicated to what looked like chemistry, judging from the flasks and the scent of herbs. The room looked like a place for research rather than formal meetings, but that was more than fine for him. He didn't care for formality much. Attempting to speak in old English was already a trial and he couldn't imagine trying to figure out court etiquette on top of that.

The next sorcerer supreme entered in behind him and closed the portal. She then stood in front of the desk as Corvus kept looking around. Then, another portal opened behind the desk, and an elderly man in similar robes to him and the young woman stepped out. His robes were colored varying shades of blue with silver stars very stylishly embroidered along the hems of the outer robes. A silvery grey beard reached to his waist. Resting atop this beard was a very familiar artifact to any Marvel fan, the Eye of Agamotto.

He had a wrinkled face, a large hawk nose, small, but bright, sky blue eyes that showed age and wisdom, and a bald head. Liver spots were present on his cheeks and hands. Corvus could see that this man did not have long left to live. Maybe a few more years at best. According to his death prediction, barring any outside influence, the man would live until his one hundred and twenty second year. In these times, reaching that age is a miracle, taking into account the lack of proper public sanitation or adequate medical science. If Merlin was born in the modern era, Corvus estimated that the man could easily live to two hundred.

A living myth. He knew that this would be the second of many encounters with legends made real, the Ancient One being the first. However, due to the deep cultural influence this personage had on his own Earth the sheer weight of actually meeting him had much higher significance to Corvus. He loved Marvel comics, but this was a legend that predated Marvel, as far as he was concerned. He was sure that the legend on his Earth was actually based on Merlin's actual self from these universes just made into myth on his Earth, but it was about the feeling behind it. One was a comic book, modern day mythology, while the other was represented far before the comics were ever published. Hell, his childhood friend had inundated his formative years with stories of the Knights of the Round Table and Merlin. So this was much like meeting his childhood hero. He'd probably react the same way meeting Peter Parker for the first time, as he and his struggles had helped Corvus through much of his teenage years. Well, him, along with the things faced by the young X-Men. But as this was the MCU, he doubted he'd meet them, at least in this universe.

Thus, with no small amount of excitement, Corvus walked forward to the man, took the man's hand into his own and shook it. "It is an absolute honor to meet thee, sir."

The apprentice, at first defensive at how sudden his motion was, currently was stunned at Corvus' behavior. Meanwhile, Merlin just smiled warmly and returned the gesture with kindness.

"Nay, Absolute One, the p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e is most certainly mine. I take it I am the first Merlin that thou hast met so far?"

'Absolute One?' Merlin's young apprentice mulled over this term of address, she brought her hand up to her chin and thought on it. She started scrutinizing Corvus intently, trying to see what her master was somehow able to see.

"Oh, thou flatters me. I am nowhere near absolute yet. But yes, thou art the first Merlin I have met." Corvus releases Merlin's hand and stepped back to give him some room to breathe. 'Be cool. Remember, although he is THE Merlin, he is also a man. You've met so many actors and celebrities at Comicon, just treat this like that… Dammit, now I wish I had something for him to sign.' He thought about using his abilities for it, but he wasn't sure how long such a thing would last. He was initially shocked that Merlin knew so much about him, but as a holder of the time stone and a seasoned sorcerer supreme, it made sense that he knew as much as he did.

Merlin chuckled warmly. "I see. I suppose thou art correct, thou art rather young for being what thou art, so it stands to reason that thou would not be wholly omnipotent at this point in time. However, I believe we have let young Aife be in the dark long enough. May I do the honors?"

Corvus nodded with a wide smile. 'Finally, I got a name, hahaha, can't wait to rub this in Mordo's and Stephen's faces in the future.'

"Better from thee than from me. She would take thy word over mine for certain."

Losing the warm smile, Merlin turned to his apprentice. "Recount all that thee know about the creation of the universe."

Aife looked between Corvus and Merlin for a moment. Confused at the question, but geared up to answer anyway. She then squared her shoulders and said, "At the beginning there was a world which already existed, the World Before. A being wished for its destruction in order to create something new. In order to create the new phenomenon, it required the energy used to fuel the world. Thus the eight ancient gods, Oblivion, Death, the Phoenix Force, Lord Chaos, Master Order, Infinity, Eternity, and the Living Tribunal came together in order to bring about that being's will. However, there was a man there, in the World Before, who got wind of it, and tried his best to prevent the world's destruction. He tried everything, but he ultimately failed. The world was destroyed, the energy was then harnessed by the ancient gods in order to bring about the Big Bang. This created six singularities.

These singularities each held a piece of what makes up our universe, and were forged by the ancient gods to become solid manifestations of what they represented. They became known as the Infinity Stones: Power, Mind, Soul, Time, Space, and Reality. Thus, the universe, with the backbone that is the Infinity Stones, was born. However, the man who had fought for the World Before's survival was accidentally infused with cosmic energy, becoming something more. The ancient gods forced upon him a purpose, which was to recycle old, energy rich planets in order to perpetuate the universe's existence. And so was Galactus born a lesser god, and he reluctantly continues his mission to this day with the help of his heralds.

The Big Bang also gave birth to many different dimensions of power, and many multidimensional beings, from whence we, as sorcerers, draw power for our magecraft. Hence came the birth of the multiverse."

Merlin nodded and smiled at her knowledge. "Yes, that is indeed what is recorded within the tomes of our library. And is indeed the truth... for OUR universe."

Aife's brows furrowed in confusion. "What dost thou mean, Master?"

"What I mean is that isn't the whole truth. The multiverse does not refer to just the extra dimensions from which we draw power for our spells, and alternate timelines do not account for the multiverse at all. They are just extra parts of our own universe. Nay, the multiverse is much more than that. They are entirely different realities. Almost completely separated from our own. Without the Web of Life we would not even know about their existence. Each of those realities are formed by the ancient gods thee spoke of, but with differences for each one.

However, to get to the point. The being which bade the ancient gods to do their work. That being, known to us only as 'The One Above All,' created the ancient gods and is the vessel which all other universes reside within, including our own."

Feeling a little faint at this new information, Aife began to stumble. She was then caught by Corvus who materialized a chair out of thin air for her. Noticing him, she realized there was an unanswered question. "What does this have to do with sir Corvus?"

"Ah, so that is thy name. I am honored to have heard it." Merlin nodded at him before continuing. "It has everything to do with him, as he is the progeny of The One Above All, the source of our reality and all other realities. And one day far into the future, will be just as powerful."

Now she is more grateful for the chair, as she definitely would have stumbled at that. She looked at Corvus with awe plastered to her face. Corvus smiles wearily in response. She then remembered something he said earlier...

'I'm certain mine parent is loving hearing me say this, but I can't help but admit that what she has made is perfect.'

'Sister Scathach, just what in nine hells have I gotten into?' She lamented.