Chapter 4 — Prologue IV: Stranger Things

Richard phased into existence. He looked around, scanning the area. “F.R.I.E.N.D., you there?” he called out. “Yes, Richard,” the AI replied. “Where am I?”

“So where were you?” Ellery asked. “I was on Earth-199999,” Richard responded. “That designation is a bit excessive.” “I know. I think it’s a tribute or something.”

“So, how do I get home?” “I do not know,” F.R.I.E.N.D. said, “but there is a surplus of multiversal professions in this universe.” “Where do I find one of these professionals?” “Kathmandu, Nepal.” “Nepal? How do we get there?” “You can use the jetpack supplied by Cisco Ramon. However, it is an approximately eight-thousand-mile journey. Even at your top speed, the journey would take a few hours.” “Okay. I hope you got a food fabricator in there, my F.R.I.E.N.D. This is gonna take a while.” With that, Richard was off. He flew through the skies westward at Mach Five, the suit protecting him from the force that would otherwise tear his body apart. “Woooooooo!” Richard exclaimed in exhilaration as he soared. “This is amazing! Why don’t we have these in my universe?” “It is most likely due to your universe lacking the scientific development required to construct such a technological marvel.” “You didn’t have to be so blunt about it.” “Have you guys even discovered dwarf star alloy? Or Pizzazium Infinionite?” “You’re not being much of a F.R.I.E.N.D. right now. We’re gonna be spending a lot of time together now. You need to lighten up.” “I was programmed with one imperative: to protect you. Nothing more, nothing less. Emotion isn’t part of my purpose.” “Don’t worry. I’ll get through that hardware in no time.”

Hours went by, and Richard finally arrived in Kathmandu. “F.R.I.E.N.D., we’re in Kathmandu. Where now?” Richard asked. “We need to find a sacred temple known as Kamar-Taj,” F.R.I.E.N.D. responded. “Follow the map directions I am currently displaying on your Heads-Up Display.” A holographic trail appeared on the road, guiding Richard to where he needed to go. Richard walked along the trail while taking in the sights: merchants selling produce in the markets, civilians conversing with beggars, children playing in the street as their parents lovingly watched. “This city is so peaceful. Everyone is so connected. You can feel the raw love.” Richard’s mood lowered as he slowed his walking pace and went silent. “I sense an imbalance of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine in your brain,” F.R.I.E.N.D. commented. “Is there something wrong?” “No, it’s just…” Richard started. “This is the third universe hop, and I’m still not home yet. What if I never get back?” “You were bullied constantly every day. Your boss is hunting you down, trying to kill you. What could you miss about your universe?” Richard instantly thought of an answer. At the moment, he had only one person on his mind. “Something you’ll never understand about being human.” Richard kept going, trying to walk off the sombre mood he felt within. The past few days had been a rollercoaster for him, but this was the first time in a while that he had been fully emotionally invested in his situation. Up until that point, Richard had one continuous state: ‘indifferent optimism,’ but now he had a newfound emotional depth he wasn’t ready for. The melancholy was quickly replaced with vigilance when he sensed the ground rumble.

The streets were stormed and raided by creatures stripped right out of a child’s nightmares. These monstrosities of nature had freakish, pale skin: boiled, torn, exposing flesh. Their eyes popped out of their heads, glowing a bloody red. They had wings ripping out of their spines and large fangs. “F.R.I.E.N.D., what are those things?” Richard asked, concerned and alert. “They are demons, Richard,” F.R.I.E.N.D. stated sharply. “Your body is rapidly producing thalamus, glutamate, and hypothalamus. What do you need me to do?” “That’s called thrill, my F.R.I.E.N.D., … and fear. Get ready to fight.” Richard charged into battle. The gauntlets of his armour gathered nanoparticles to form a sword and shield. He rushed the demons, impaling some and slashing their necks. One lunged at him, and he blocked it with his shield before kicking it away. Richard took out about a hundred of them, but hundreds more replaced them. Overwhelmed with enemies, Richard was knocked to the ground and piled on top of. “You are just lying on the ground,” F.R.I.E.N.D. commented. “Well, if you haven’t noticed,” Richard sarcastically stated, “I’m kinda being dog-piled right now.” “Do something then. The suit is being torn apart.” “Do what?! There’s nothing I can do!” “You know what? I’m taking over.” F.R.I.E.N.D. stimulated a particular section of Richard’s brain, forcing him to unleash his powers in one large pulse of energy. Richard screamed in agony as he was pushed to his limits, launching all the demons back, killing them instantly. “What was that?!” “I saved you, Richard.” “First of all, since when could I do that?” “There’s a lot about your powers you don’t know. For example…” F.R.I.E.N.D. continued her puppeteering. In the blink of an eye and a flash of red energy, Richard was suddenly on a rooftop. “Did I just teleport?!” “Your powers have grown exponentially as of late. You can now harness pure energy into constructs, including rifts in spacetime. In short, yes, you can teleport.” “Cool, but that’s not the point! You can’t just hijack my body, and you certainly can’t perform abilities I don’t understand!” “I understand them, and you need to give your all to fight threats like this.” “No, I don’t! I need to give what I can give, and you ‘giving my all’ almost killed me! You shouldn’t be tasked with saving lives because YOU DON’T KNOW THE FIRST THING ABOUT BEING ALIVE! I’M SHUTTING YOU OFF!” “I was trying to—” F.R.I.E.N.D. was cut off by Richard pressing the button on the side of his helmet, powering the AI down.

atrax robustus retaliated, firing a blast of its lethal venom from its fangs. With toxin leaking into his open wounds, Richard watched the creature follow the demons in their siege. He sweated profusely, his muscles spasmed, his nerves screamed in anguish. As his heart rate declined and breathing became difficult, it didn’t take long for Richard to lose grip on his consciousness. As his vision began to blur, something came into view. A woman stood over him. Though the sight lacked clarity, he noticed the distinct blue garments she wore. His visor light turned off, his armour shut down, and his vision went black.

“STEPHEN!” America called out. To her cry came two men. One, Stephen, had short dark hair and a neatly trimmed goatee while wearing an ornate outfit that included a dark blue tunic, a red cloak with a high collar, and a golden amulet at the chest. The other, Wong, had short, closely cropped black hair and a trimmed moustache and goatee, wearing layered robes in deep purples and reds, decorated with embroidered patterns and wrapped in braided leather-like arm pieces. “What’s wrong with him?” Stephen asked frantically. “He was hit with a boulder’s worth of venom from that thing!” America said in a panic. “It’s leaking into his bloodstream, and it’s acting quickly. He’ll be dead soon, an hour if we’re lucky.” “You’re a surgeon, Stephen!” Wong stated. “You can save him!” “I can synthesise an antivenom, but the armour he’s in is locked,” Stephen said. “We need to find a way to get him out before we can take any further action.” “America, get Tina to prepare to extract him!” Wong commanded. “Stephen, keep this man alive!” “What are you gonna do?” Stephen asked. “Our city is under attack,” Wong said. “We must prepare for war.”

Richard awoke. He stood up from the table he was lying on and looked around. He saw some kind of sacred temple, mystic writings on the walls. “Where am I?” Richard called out to whoever might be listening. “Welcome, Richard Cox, to Kamar-Taj,” someone answered. “Who was that?” The figure stepped into the light. She had a bare crown and a fair complexion. Her features were striking and austere. She was seen in a bright, golden-yellow hooded robe with a black sash. Her image was tinted blue with transparency. “I am the Ancient One,” she said, “Or was, anyway.” “Was?” Richard asked. “I died seven years ago, killed by a man named Kaecilius. This is an astral projection of my consciousness.” “So, what happened to me?” “Your bloodstream was contaminated with atraxotoxin: venom from a Sydney funnel-web spider.” “That’s what that thing was?” “Yes, a very dangerous creature. Even more dangerous, enhanced and enlarged with chaos magic. You fell unconscious and were on the brink of death and—” “And you saved me?” “Not quite. We used magic to slow the flow of the neurotoxin in your system while we tried to open your suit of armour so we could apply the antivenom. You’re still very close to death. My former protégé, Stephen Strange, used magic to force your soul out of your physical form. You’re an astral projection as well.” Richard looked at his hands and saw the same blue-tinted transparency that was on her. It was true. “People can still hear and see us like this, right?” “Yes, just no physical contact.” “Of course…” Richard hovered towards his lifeless husk on the table. “Eject!” At his command, the armour opened up, allowing access to his body. “Brilliant!” the Ancient One exclaimed. “But the antivenom could take hours to be formed, extracted and purified, even with magical acceleration.” “Better than six months.” The Ancient One was surprised by his knowledge of medical development. Richard noticed her shock and joked, “What? I know some things.” “You really expect me to believe that you found an organisation of sorcerers that protects the world from cosmic threats?” Ellery remarked sceptically. “So, you can believe me about the multiverse, superpowers and time travel, but you draw the line at magic?” Richard asked. “… Touché…”

Richard took advantage of his new astral existence. He floated through walls, exploring the complex that was Kamar-Taj. In there, he found a man working with magic and chemicals in a lab. “Hello,” his voice echoed through the room. “Hello there, ghost,” the man sarcastically remarked. “How’s the land of the living?” “My name is Richard Cox, the Weaver.” “Richard Cox? Your parents must’ve really hated you.” “I get that a lot. Is that the atraxotoxin antivenom?” “Oh, so you’re the helpless soul I’m trying to save?” “Yeah.” “Well, I’m Doctor Stephen Strange, Master of the New York Sanctum and the former Sorcerer Supreme.” “Strange?” “Better than Cox.” “Fair,” Richard observed Strange’s attire. “What’s with the cape?” The cloak became agitated and restless at what it was called, its attachment to Stephen being the only thing holding it back. “This is the Cloak of Levitation, a sentient cloak that, as the name entails, allows me to levitate.” “Cool… And the amulet?” “This is the Eye of Agamotto. It used to hold the Time Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones, and allowed me to control time.” “What happened to the Time Stone?” “An evil alien named Thanos stole it and used it, along with the other Stones, to fulfil his self-righteous goal of wiping out half of all life in the universe, including myself, before shredding the stones down to atoms.” “You couldn’t stop him?” “We tried. Some of the most powerful heroes in the universe, we tried.” “I was reading about the universe on the way here. Apparently, you fought this Thanos guy on a planet called Titan, and you tried to remove the gauntlet he had the Stones in?” “Yeah.” “You had the combined forces of ‘Mantis,’ ‘Drax,’ ‘Spider-Man,’ ‘Iron Man,’ ‘Peter Quill,’ and yourself holding him down. How could you not take him?” “Peter Quill jeopardised the plan in rage when he found out Thanos killed his girlfriend, Gamora, in pursuit of the Soul Stone and Tony Stark, Iron Man, had to stop taking off the gauntlet to hold Peter back.” “‘Nebula’ told him, right? Assuming that his impulsive behaviour was normal for him,” Strange nodded in agreement to this statement. “Why did she think telling him that information would end well?” The comment baffled Strange. “More importantly, she wasn’t helping to take the glove off, so couldn’t she have held back Quill rather than Tony having to let go of the gauntlet to do so?” “Well, since you seem to be so smart, why don’t you come help me with this?” “I would, but I’m a bit preoccupied with, you know, dying.” “Right… Anyway, Wong wants to see you outside.” Richard floated out of the room.

Richard drifted through the walls into the courtyard of Kamar-Taj. Hundreds of sorcerers trained for the coming battle, practising their mastery of the golden eldritch magic of the Mystic Arts. Leading them was the Sorcerer Supreme and former librarian, Wong. Wong noticed Richard’s presence and excused himself from his students to tend to the patient. “Greetings, Richard,” Wong said. “Welcome to Kamar-Taj.” “Hi. How do you know who I am?” Richard asked. “I used a spell to listen to your conversation with Strange.” “How much did you hear?” “Enough.” Wong’s demeanour was as blunt as ever. “You said you researched this

The girl aimlessly wandered the halls of Kamar-Taj as Richard followed phantomwise. She eventually reached the rooftop, where she sat on the edge, staring over the now ravaged city of Kathmandu. “Hi there,” Richard said shyly, levitating next to her. “Hey,” the girl replied. “I’m Richard.” “Nice to meet you. I’m America.” “America Chavez?” “You know who I am?” “Yeah! I read a lot about this universe on my way here! You were the one who defeated the Scarlet Witch by punching her into seeing the monster she became!” Richard exclaimed like an excited fangirl. “You’re from another universe?” “Yeah. I’ve been…” Richard’s mood lowered as his sentence continued, “Hopping realities after an accident gave me powers and launched me across the multiverse…” “That is an adventure of a lifetime. Most people would be ecstatic to do something like that…” America commented. “But you don’t seem so keen… Why?” “A person from home…” “Who were they?” “Eliza Nakamura…” “I’m guessing she meant something to you?” Richard nodded. “She meant more than something. She carried a smile everywhere she went, along with spares for everyone around her. She warmed the hearts of everyone who dared to gaze into the infinite ocean of her eyes, especially mine. She was my light in the dark. But—” “But now that you’re here, you worry that you’ll never see her again.” “She was one of the few things I enjoyed about my life. Now she, along with everything else, is gone. There’s no point now.” “I know how you feel. I was born in the Utopian Parallel, a dimension outside the multiverse, to my mothers, Elena and Amalia Chavez. I was born with a special gift.” America snapped her fingers. Next to them opened a blue, star-shaped wormhole. “I can open portals and travel across the multiverse. When I was a child, I was in the flowers, and a bee landed on my shoulder. I was so scared by it that I triggered my powers by myself, and the portal swallowed me and my parents. I never saw them again.” “I’m so sorry. You basically killed your parents. How do you deal with that?” “Hope. I don’t think about the pain. I think about the good that comes with new opportunities. There is a point: for you to keep moving forward, to enjoy every moment of your life, no matter what, to take control of the pain instead of the pain taking control of you. That’s what life is.” “Thanks…” “Anyway, that suit of yours seemed really high-tech,” America said, digressing from the conversation. “Where’d you get it?” “Some guys in another universe made it for me. It has a bunch of experimental technology, light-years ahead of anything my universe is capable of.” “And that experimental technology didn’t include life support?” “It did, but… it was all controlled by the AI, the Functional Reactive Interface for Emergency Neutralisation and Defence.” “That’s cute. Your little F.R.I.E.N.D. couldn’t save you?” “I turned it off.” “Why?” “Because she… it has no soul. It knows nothing about human emotion. It hijacked my body to unleash more of my power than I could handle. It almost killed me.” “And that gave you the right to turn her off?” “Its entire purpose for existing is to protect me. If it’s going to try to kill me, there’s no point for it to exist.” “She may be artificial, but she’s still a life. She has a soul, a thought, a consciousness. You just need to teach her how to use it, no matter how long it takes. Teach her what it means to be alive.” “How are you already so wise? You’ve been here for like a year.” “I learnt a thing or two.”

America escorted Richard’s spirit to his incarnation, lying lifelessly in his tomb of a suit of armour. Connected to him were a heart monitor, IV bags and an oxygen mask. In the room stood Stephen Strange, who was ready with a syringe in his hand. “This syringe contains the antivenom for atraxotoxin,” Stephen stated. “This should neutralise the toxin.” “What’s everything else for?” America asked, pointing out all the extra surgical equipment. “Doesn’t matter right now,” Stephen commented. “I’m ready. Let’s do this.” Richard said confidently as his astral projection fused with his cold, comatose, cataleptic manifestation. Strange steadily reached down as the needle pierced Richard’s skin, penetrating his vein beneath as the antivenom entered the bloodstream. Richard’s heart rate incrementally increased, stabilising. “He’s escaping bradycardia,” Strange commented with hopeful relief. Richard reached a regular eighty-five beats per minute, but there was something… off. His heart rate didn’t stop soaring. “His pulse is way off the charts.” Strange continued to examine Richard’s physical condition: bulges of tissue on his face and neck, hives across his forearm, breath barely distinguishable. He was having an allergic reaction to the antivenom. He was entering tachycardia. America looked up at the heart monitor. “Stephen…” she said, “A hundred and fifty-two is… bad, right?”

Kathmandu was in ruins as the tides turned. The Mystic Arts weren’t enough to protect the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj from the wrath of the hellspawns they were up against. The thick sludge that covered the streets was overlaid with a more dilute red. Not even the civilians were safe. No man, woman, or child was safe from the rage. If they had the mercy of surviving the satanic gremlins, they weren’t given such privileges by the Sydney funnel-web spider. An ordinary pedestrian wasn’t blessed with a mystical safeguard from the spider’s atraxotoxin and was instead graced with mortality. Merciless razors slashed throats, dagger-like appendages pierced hearts, sharp fangs ripped bodies. No one was safe. “We can stop this!” America stated in confident franticness. “Right, Stephen?” “Yes, we can,” Strange said, rushing in with a syringe, “but we need to be fast. Inject this epinephrine into his forearm.” America quickly grabbed the syringe and rapidly stabbed Richard’s lifeless appendage. In the meantime, Stephen grabbed an oxygen mask, covering Richard’s airway, and connected an IV to the vessel in Richard’s wrist. “Okay, what do we do now?” America asked with dread and concern. “Honestly,” Strange sighed, “Wait for an act of God…”

The fight for their lives continued. Injuries went from devastating to lethal. Corpses littered oceans, flesh exposed from slashes across the body, heads rolling like bowling balls down the alleys of Kathmandu. The behemoth of a spider extended the tyranny. If the unholy creatures of the underworld did finish the job, the noxious venom definitely would. No one was safe. “Everyone, fall back!” Wong commanded. One of the sorcerers, a Minotaur-like creature, Rintrah, argued in protest: “But sir, half of our soldiers are down! We can’t just let them die!” “If we don’t, Kamar-Taj will fall, and the planet will be left unprotected!” Wong argued. “Let’s go!” As the sorcerers were retreating, a booming voice called out with purpose: “This battle isn’t over yet!” Like a twist of fate, an entire row of aligned lampposts tipped over like a line of dominoes until one fell off course and spun around on the ground, hitting the gremlins all over the place. This caused the lights’ electrical circuits to blow. From the smoke emerged a figure in a suit of armour: metallic black with glowing red highlights, ‘W’ on the chest, one-way visor and ‘74’ on the back. “How’s that for an act of God?” Richard remarked in exhilaration. “Nice to have you back, Weaver,” America said, standing by Richard’s left. “It’s great to be back, America.” Richard looked to his right. “How about you, Strange?” “Let’s save some lives.” At Stephen’s utterance, the three charged into battle. America used her powers to open portals to where each fallen soldier was, using magic to heal them as best she could. Strange flew around the city, cutting up the monsters and pushing the army out of the area. All the remaining sorcerers fought back against the hellish savages, but the Weaver had bigger plans.

Richard activated his jets and soared over rooftops, flying towards the Sydney funnel-web spider. The nanobots in his suit formed a blade that sliced off its bizarrely bushy stick of a leg. One, two, three of them fell off with a splash of blood. His efforts, however, were in vain as the monstrosity again regenerated all of its lost appendages and continued its rampage. “In hindsight, I don’t know why I thought that would work this time.” Richard quipped to himself. “How do I beat this thing?” Richard started thinking, wondering who could help him. Then, he remembered someone. “No! No, not her! She’s just gonna make everything worse!” He wasn’t ready to bring her back, especially after what she did. What more could she do without getting him killed? He then remembered America’s words: ‘She has a soul, a thought, a consciousness. You just need to teach her how to use it, no matter how long it takes.’ He knew deep down that America was right. Reluctantly, Richard pressed the button on the side of his helmet. “Greetings again, Richard,” F.R.I.E.N.D. said, now back online. “How can I be of assistance?” “Hey, F.R.I.E.N.D.,” Richard said shyly. “I need your help to defeat this thing.” “You must first create an imbalance in its stature, then restrain it.” F.R.I.E.N.D. monotonously suggested. “Of course! Thanks!” Richard then looked down at Strange, Wong and America. “Stephen! Wong! America! We need to knock the spider off balance and then hold it down! Can you do that?!” “We’re on it!” America yelled back. “You heard the man,” Stephen said. “America, you know what to do.” America raised her fist and punched the air, opening a star-shaped portal into the air. She hopped through and came crashing down with the full force of gravity, fist glowing with blue dimensional energy as she punched the magnified arachnid, knocking it off-balance. “NOW!” At Wong’s command, he, Strange and six other sorcerers created ropes of eldritch energy, holding onto each of the creature’s legs. “Okay, we got it restrained,” Richard stated to F.R.I.E.N.D. “Now what?” “Deploy the nanobots within your armour to fabricate a—” “Didn’t you say I could manipulate interdimensional energy to create constructs?” “Yes, but you specifically told me you weren’t ready for your complete potential.” “Listen.” Richard began. “I’m sorry about all of that. I was wrong. I focused so much on my life and my situation, and I entirely ignored yours.” “But I am artificial intelligence. I don’t have a life.” “Yes, you do, and I should’ve been more considerate of that and more patient. I’m ready to unlock my full capabilities.” “Well, okay then, sir.” Richard gathered all the strength in his body. Red dimensional energy radiated in his eyes, his body in a glow of a similar hue. Over his head glowed an enormous fist clutching a barbed spear, constructed from this velvet power. With all his might, the Weaver drove the spear through the arthropod Goliath’s iris, tearing the eye out in the exodus. The spider collapsed in demise as the eye, two hundred metres in radius, rolled down the street. The heroes roared, victorious, as all the other vile monsters collapsed in unison. “Congratulations, Richard. You did it.” F.R.I.E.N.D. stated, her usual monotony now replaced with an unusual hint of emotion — pride. “No, F.R.I.E.N.D.…” Richard said, fatigued yet content, “We did it…”

“So, you defeated the demons?” Ellery asked. “Yes,” Richard answered. “That’s it? Seems a bit too easy.” “Yeah, I’m getting to that part.”

While they were relishing their recent win, Stephen noticed something was off. The bodies of all the monsters started to glow a deep red, a hue he was way too familiar with. “Chaos magic…” Strange muttered in revelation. In a poof of particles, the menaces had dematerialised in front of their very eyes. “What the—” Richard was baffled by the sight, but his exclamation was cut off by Rintrah’s warning: “Up there!” He pointed out an ominous smoke sprouting from the horizon, painting over the natural blue of the sky. Thunder crackled across this new monochrome blanket as a familiar figure emerged from its parting. Richard spat her name out like poison as she drifted closer: “Clara Vance…” “If it isn’t the pathetic Richard Cox…” Vance mocked. As she levitated in the air, Strange, Wong and America noticed an interesting object hovering, open, in front of her — a book. “The Darkhold?” they sharply exclaimed in unison. “That’s what that is?” Richard asked, confused, before turning back to Vance. “You’re getting into literature now?” “They say knowledge is power.” Vance quipped. “What better knowledge is there than an ancient book of evil spells?” “You’re annoying enough with the power suit. Now you have witchcraft? What did I do to hurt you?” Richard asked in frustrated humour. “Your powers. I want them.” “Like Wanda with my powers…” America commented. “You could’ve just asked for them nicely.” Richard quipped. “Can I have your powers?” Vance asked. “You didn’t say ‘please’.” “Can I have your powers, please?” “No! I like my powers!” “It’s settled then.”

With a wave of her hands, Vance shot Richard with a blast of chaos magic. “Your life force has decreased by four per cent,” F.R.I.E.N.D. said. “You can measure that?” Richard questioned. “Vance is using chaos magic to drain your life force and steal your powers.” “Well, we can’t let that happen.” Richard flew up at Vance, constructing an energy fist around his incarnate one, hitting Vance with a right hook into the ground. Vance got back onto her feet and hit Richard with a blast of dimensional energy. “Oh, it’s on,” Richard said before flying at Vance, soaring through the air as they engaged in combat. “Should we help him?” America asked, concerned. “No, he’s got this,” Stephen reassured. “Besides, we need to help rebuild the city,” Wong added.

The Weaver and Clara Vance continued their aerial tussle: a punch here, an energy blast there. Their battle raged across the Asian continent. Richard charged up one final attack before being backhanded onto the border of Siberia, falling towards the glistening sparkle of the sheets of white reflecting the sunlight. Richard crashed through the trees, the leaves tranquilly rustling in the wind. The jets on Vance’s armour melted the snow where she landed, looking down on an injured Weaver on the ground. “I’m impressed you survived this long,” Vance mocked, “but now you must die. Don’t worry. Consider your body… donated to science.” Vance put all the energy she had into a concentrated blast. Richard cried in acute anguish; his fair skin began to darken and rot. His skin tightened around his bones as all the nutrients were drained from his system. “Your life force is at fifty-two per cent,” F.R.I.E.N.D. commented. “Vance is draining you at a rapid rate. Soon, you’ll die.” “Thanks for the concern, F.R.I.E.N.D., but I think I figured that out,” Richard remarked, both in humour and in pain. “The magic comes from that book. Destroy the Darkhold, and you’ll regain your strength.” F.R.I.E.N.D. suggested. “Forty-seven per cent.” “Didn’t the last person who tried to destroy the Darkhold die?” “Thirty-nine per cent.” “The countdown isn’t helping!” “Listen to me, Richard! You can’t give up. You have to try… I believe in you…” Those four words, so simple, yet had infinite gravity in Richard’s mind. His seemingly emotionless artificial companion… believed in him. Knowing that gave him all the confidence he needed to gather all the strength he had left into one single pulse of energy, knocking Vance backwards into the trees, tangled in the snowy branches and frosty foliage. This separated her from the book of the damned. He saw an opportunity. Richard leapt, creating a spear of interdimensional energy, and impaled the Darkhold through its centre. He immediately let go as his construct disintegrated along with the book. This disintegration was followed by a pulse of mystic energy that sent Richard’s powers into overdrive. His form glowed with sparks of red, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished. “Wow,” Vance exclaimed with menacing enthusiasm, “That did not go as expected. Anyway, phase one continues.”