{To the ones who left it all behind... and those who stayed to read. Do Leave a comment below}
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One Year Later:
Bangor, Maine.
Ethan was currently deployed on a subjugation mission targeting an unregistered Cursed Spirit. The reason the Reconnaissance Team had been unable to determine the spirit's grade was unusual, to say the least—which was exactly why he had been called in to intervene.
The Cursed Spirit had deployed a massive Barrier, encasing the entire town of Bangor. While a spirit manifesting a barrier was rare, it wasn't entirely unheard of; after all, nearly every Special Grade possesses at least an Incomplete Domain.
However, the sheer scale of this particular construct would easily categorize it among the most exceptional cases Ethan had ever encountered.
Ethan was well-acquainted with the architecture of this town through the horror film IT.
Although the city of Derry in Stephen King's novel is fictional, it was famously inspired by the atmosphere of Bangor. The author had drawn from the local environment—the sprawling sewer systems and the gothic architecture—while residing there.
In Ethan's previous life, the film was released in 2017. However, in this reality, the fusion of advanced technology and the pervasive horror that plagued the world after the events of May 4th, 2012, had prompted producers to accelerate their plans.
They chose to "strike while the iron was hot," and the gamble paid off; IT became the highest-grossing film of 2013.
Unfortunately, the massive success of the movie came with a dark price. The collective fear of the masses had given birth to numerous Grade 1 and Grade 2 Imaginary Vengeful Cursed Spirits.
That wasn't even touching upon the exponential surge of spirits born in New York following the alien invasion. Earlier this year, Ethan had personally exorcised a Special Grade birthed from the fear of Deep Space itself.
As he looked toward the shrouded town, Ethan felt a grim certainty. By the end of this year, a Special Grade on par with Dagon or Hanami would likely be born from the world's escalating nightmares.
Tora manifested from Ethan's shadow, spending a long minute examining the structural integrity of the barrier before finally speaking.
"You could simply brute-force your way in... shatter the barrier from the outside, or simply use a Sling Ring to port inside. But I assume we're trying to avoid making a grand entrance?" Tora asked.
"Yes. If I shatter it, the spirit might go on a rampage, and we have to assume it can sense the specific fluctuations of dimensional energy within its barrier. It could endanger the civilians the moment it realizes its perimeter has been breached," Ethan answered, his eyes scanning the veil.
While it was entirely possible that the Cursed Spirit lacked the refinement to detect them if they entered via a gateway, they had to operate under the assumption that it could. In this line of work, the stakes were far too high for a gamble.
"Prepare for the worst, hope for the best," he added.
"Hmm... then we could simply bypass it by digging deep underground and passing beneath the foundation," Tora suggested, offering a practical solution.
"Well, if we're going through the earth, there is an easier way—though it's a bit disgusting," Ethan said. He began channeling Reverse Cursed Technique (RCT) through Nue, triggering its Cursed Technique Reversal.
In a swirl of his shadow, the Sand Worm, Jormun, manifested. Though it wasn't it's usual size ,The creature unhinged its massive maw, instantly grasping its master's intent through their shared mental link.
Jormun possessed the unique ability to swim through solid earth as effortlessly as if it were water.
Gazing into the saliva-slicked mouth of the worm, Tora began sinking back into the safety of the Ethan's Shadow.
"Speak for yourself, Ethan. I'll be waiting in the comfort of your shadow," he remarked, completely submerging himself.
"Traitor," Ethan muttered under his breath.
Ethan couldn't simply use shadow manipulation to enter; the fluctuation in cursed energy would likely alert the entity inside.
If the spirit had deployed a barrier of this magnitude solo, it was undoubtedly a Special Grade.
Ethan's plan was calculated: he would first shrink the Sand Worm until it was roughly his own size. Then, he would encase the creature within a layer of Hollow Trace and use its body as a makeshift vessel to slip past the barrier without alerting the spirit. Naturally, he ensured he was fully encased within the Hollow Trace as well, masking their presence entirely as they dove into the dirt.
Hollow Trace can only be deployed for his small shikigamis like Chimera Raiju or Rabbit escape, but Ethan could personally use it on anyone he touches.
Fifteen minutes later, Ethan was tracking the dense Cursed Energy signature of a Special Grade into the depths of the tunnels. The atmosphere was oppressive and dark, thick with a horrid, cloying stench of dead bodies.
Suddenly, the environment around him froze. Color bled from the world, leaving everything in stark black and white, reminiscent of an old film.
A Domain Expansion?!, Ethan thought.
The Cursed Spirit manifested, its form deeply disturbing. It possessed a human body topped with a neck as long as a giraffe's, which dangled limply from left to right, then back again like a damn pendulum.
It shambled slowly toward him as Ethan observed with a steady gaze.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
When the spirit's head finally swung to the center, its eyes locked onto his.
As it drew closer, it morphed, shapeshifting into an incarnation of Pennywise—standing eight feet tall with a single red balloon gripped in its hand.
"WHAT... WHAT SCARES... YOU???" the Cursed Spirit shrieked, its maw distending unnaturally wide.
A Domain that imposes non-violence on both parties until I answer the spirit's question... Ethan analyzed.
Ethan simply smiled. It seemed this spirit utilized illusions to manifest its victim's deepest phobias. "Blind dates," he replied nonchalantly.
Instantly, the non-violence pact shattered. Hundreds of swords materialized inches from Ethan, diving toward him at blinding speed.
Ethan locked eyes with the Pennywise-clown spirit;
SWISH!
In the next heartbeat, the spirit and Ethan had switched places.
After Mahoraga had adapted to the Space Stone's energy, it had provided Ethan with a model for spatial manipulation: teleportation via switching places with both animate and inanimate objects.
It functioned similarly to the Cursed Technique Boogie Woogie, though unlike Todo, Ethan didn't need to clap to trigger the effect. Furthermore, he could switch positions with objects entirely devoid of Cursed Energy.
Ethan observed the struggling spirit with indifference. "You aren't going to die from just that, are you?" he mused, watching the Cursed Spirit flail uselessly, impaled by the blades of its own diverted attack.
Ethan turned his back on the creature, beginning to walk away. "Pathetic. Finish it, Mahoraga."
The Divine General erupted from the shadows directly beneath the spirit. His Sword of Extermination connected with the creature's torso before Mahoraga's head had even fully emerged from the shadow.
In the next heartbeat, the imaginary Special Grade clown spirit was exorcised, its form dissolving into nothingness.
Ethan flickered from his position, reappearing instantly at the tunnel's entrance. He tilted his head back, his gaze piercing the sky.
"The Veil is coming down," he observed.
It seemed the Cursed Spirit had intended to trap the residents of Bangor, preventing them from fleeing once the disappearances became too frequent to ignore.
Empty handed he could tell , the death toll had likely already climbed into the dozens, mostly children.
Just then, Ethan felt a sharp mental tug from one of his marked Kunai—but the sensation wasn't originating from Earth. Thor was signaling him; it seemed the Dark Elves had finally made their move.
After quickly firing off a message to the Reconnaissance Team to confirm the mission's success and notify them of his potential MIA status for the time being, Ethan prepared to depart.
Utilizing Shadow Manipulation, he vanished instantly from the damp entrance of the tunnel.
A heartbeat later, he materialized within the gilded, soaring hallway of the Asgardian Royal Castle.
One Day Ago:
Jane Foster was having a truly terrible couple of days. She, her intern Darcy, and Darcy's own intern, Ian, had detected a localized spatial anomaly. This discovery led Jane directly to the Aether, hidden within the bowels of an abandoned warehouse in London.
She had been drawn to this specific location because her scientific instruments detected a breach in space-time—a signature remarkably similar to the Bifrost's arrival. However, this tear was caused by the approaching Convergence.
While investigating, she was subsequently pulled through a portal to the ancient, hidden resting place of the Aether, where Thor's grandfather, Borr, had originally entombed it.
Thor arrived shortly after and whisked her away to Asgard once the Aether violently repelled the police officers attempting to arrest her. However, the Infinity Stone was effectively killing her; it was defending itself by draining her lifeforce.
Asgard's finest healers were unable to diagnose her condition, concluding only that she could not survive the sheer volume of energy coursing through her. Ultimately, Odin, the King of Asgard, appeared and saw the ruplsion with his eyes and explained the nature of the infection.
He revealed that there are relics that predate the universe itself, and what resided within her was one of them: the Aether. Odin spoke of how the Nine Realms are not eternal—they had a dawn, and they will surely have a dusk.
But before that dawn, the Dark Elves reigned supreme and unchallenged. These ancient beings utilized the very relic now coursing through her veins.
The Aether, as Odin called it, possesses the power to transmute matter into dark matter, fueling its strength by siphoning the life force of its host. Their leader, Malekith, once sought to use this power to plunge the entire universe back into an age of eternal darkness.
Now, as she sat atop the plush cushions of a sofa in a suite reserved for royal guests, staring out at the countless stars of the Asgardian night sky, a cold premonition of something terrible began to take hold.
Though She couldn't shake a single, nagging thought: maybe she should have simply finished her date with Richard and gone home to wallow in a bucket of ice cream instead.
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A/N: So how was the chapter?
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