Marvel: gojo of the seven sets

The wind whispered through the leaves outside as Gojo stepped into the quiet apartment again after leaving it for the mansion yesterday. The air was quiet… but too quiet.

'Should I get a pet, maybe a cat I mean people love cats plus they are a good company to have?'

He blinked on surprise now noticing the apartment wasn't as empty as he had thought.

"…Back so soon, Yao?"

Standing in the center of his living room, robed in the signature orange monk attire of the Masters of the Mystic Arts, was the Ancient One herself… Again. Her hood was up, her posture calm, hands folded behind her back. She hadn't moved a muscle.

As she slowly turned to face him, Gojo raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't exactly expecting a visit anytime soon, it hasn't even been a week since the last visit."

Her smile was gentle but sharp. "Yes, well… there's been a development that required me to see you personally."

Gojo's posture shifted, tension slipping into his frame. "This about Havelstadt?"

"Yes…" Her voice was mild.

Gojo frowned.

"…And no."

"Huh?"

The Ancient One took a step forward, her tone shifting slightly. "Recently, several sorcerers went rogue. They broke into the secured archives beneath Kamar-Taj and stole one of the most dangerous texts we've ever contained. A book of forbidden instructions… a manual for something that should never be practiced, let alone known."

Gojo moved to the side, leaning against the far wall. "You guys, do you normally get robbed?. Ever thought of just… y'know… burning some those books in like I don't know… fiend fyre?"

She chuckled softly. "If only it were that simple. These books, and the knowledge they contain, can't be destroyed, not permanently. If we were to incinerate them, they would simply… manifest anew. Sometimes in the hands of innocents, other times… in far worse."

She paused, eyes drifting as if remembering something long ago. "Some of these books have a will of their own. They don't just inform the reader… they change them, wrapping their will and replacing it with theirs."

Gojo exhaled through his nose. "So what book are we talking about here?"

Even before she answered, a pit opened in his stomach.

'Please don't say Dormammu… or Mephisto…'

"The book that was stolen," she said solemnly, "is a manual. A guide for summoning and forging a pact with none other than… Annihilus the Great."

Gojo blinked. "Annihilus?"

The name echoed in his memory. 'An insectoid warlord… something from the Negative Zone…'

The Ancient One raised a single finger. A spark burst forth and the air shimmered like heat above asphalt. The living room around them morphed, shifting into a projected landscape of colorless wastelands, jagged floating rocks, and impossible gravity.

An image manifested.

"Annihilus," she began, "He who is the Lord of the Negative Zone."

Before them appeared the monstrous figure in vivid projection Annihilus as he appeared towering, insectoid, plated in armor that gleamed with the faintest sickly-green hue. Four spiked limbs protruded from his back, wings like those of a beetle hung tattered yet menacing. His face was a grotesque fusion of mandibles, pincers, and glowing eyes a perfect embodiment of death's persistence.

"He is known by many names.The Living Death That Walks, The Great Conqueror, Ahmyor to some… and most of all, The One Who conquered Death."

The scene flickered again the planet Arthros, cold and desolate. "An Arthrosian, born in Sector 17A. Annihilus hails from the Negative Zone, a realm of antimatter and entropy where time moves erratically, and survival is war."

The next image showed Annihilus clutching the Cosmic Control Rod a pulsating staff of power. "He discovered the Cosmic Control Rod, a device of impossible power. With it, he attempted to conquer the entire zone and he succeeded… and now seeks to extend his dominion to our dimension."

Gojo watched in silence, his arms folded.

"He's a nihilist, obsessed with extending his own lifeforce. If something threatens his existence, he destroys it. If something might, he obliterates it in advance. To him, peace is weakness. Existence… must be conquered."

The images faded, shimmering away until they were back in Gojo's apartment. Gojo stared ahead, quiet for a moment, before muttering.

"…Why are you telling me this, Yao? How does this connect to Havelstadt?"

The Ancient One's face darkened slightly. "Although the stolen page is only a guide, it requires… power. Immense power. Ordinary magic would not be enough to awaken it."

Her gaze narrowed.

"But chaos energy… that's another story."

Gojo's eyes widened for a fraction of a second.

She caught it.

"Yes," she said, "that girl who attacked you while you fought Magneto."

Gojo's tone dropped. "Wanda."

The Ancient One nodded. "When she attempted to bind you to the Earth… the outburst of chaos energy that erupted could be felt all the way in Kamar-Taj. Even now, we don't fully understand why the reaction was so… volatile."

Gojo's thoughts spiraled. 'Right… that was when I rejected her hold. My body pushed it out violently. That explosion wasn't hers it was the force of my rejection pushing her magic away from me.'

"The rogue sorcerer," the Ancient One continued, "traveled to Havelstadt. He was the one who absorbed that residual chaos energy using the page. With that… he now has the means to open a gateway between our reality and the Negative Zone. A passage for Annihilus to emerge."

Gojo exhaled slowly. "So why tell me this now?"

She turned toward the center of the room and drew a perfect circle with her sling ring. A golden portal sparked to life.

She glanced back at him and smiled. "Well… you did have a slight hand in it, boy."

She stepped toward the portal but stopped just before stepping through.

"And should we fail… the world may need your help to stop Annihilus from emerging."

As she disappeared into the spinning vortex and the sparks sealed shut behind her, Gojo stared at the now-empty room.

"…Right. No pressure," he muttered sarcastically. "It's not like I haven't fought people with the literal power of the fundamental forces of the universe before…"

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"Why can't I ever just fight someone normal for once?"

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