The Negative Zone was chaos made tangible, a swirling expanse of anti-harmony that mocked the laws of creation. Here, up and down meant nothing; time itself flowed in directions mortals could never perceive. It was a universe opposite to the one mankind called home and a realm of negative matter, where energy crackled and decayed in endless loops. The sky, if one could call it that burned with hues of violent emerald and pale violet, streaked with storms of metallic dust. Great fragments of rock and obsidian metal floated like islands adrift in an ocean of gravitational confusion.
Unlike its mirror reflection in the positive realm, this version of the Negative Zone was composed of antimatter and It was worse, it is a paradox of existence, an interdimensional nexus linking all universes together. Here, air was breathable and pressure stable, but only the most brutal organisms endured its storms. Serpentine creatures drifted through the electric haze, their scales reflecting sickly green light. Gigantic insectoid hives pulsed along the cliffs of floating islands, secreting metallic amber that hardened into natural armor.
And at the heart of this dying dimension, the vortex roared. This is the Eye of Oblivion. A cosmic whirlpool of infinite pull, said to be the source of both birth and annihilation for every particle of this forsaken realm. It was worshiped, It was feared and It was dying.
On a colossal throne of jagged carapace sat the Lord of the Zone… Annihilus, the Living Death Who Walks. His immense form pulsed with viridian energy, chitinous armor glinting beneath the sickly light. Wings folded behind his back like blades of steel. In one clawed hand, he held the Cosmic Control Rod, a relic older than the universe itself and a conduit of limitless destruction. The rod hummed with malicious rhythm.
Around him, the skies trembled with the synchronized flight of a billion insectoid soldiers, their carapaces reflecting light like an endless swarm of emerald stars. Ships of organic nature, metallic and horrifyingly alive drifted in organized phalanxes, ready to breach through the dimensional portal hovering before their king.
The Negative Zone was his dominion, and yet even gods faced obstacles.
Annihilus' cold, multifaceted eyes glared at the shimmering portal in front of him. His general, Ravenous, had crossed through hours ago along with a portion of the swarm. But now, the portal pulsed erratically, its energy flow unstable. He could feel resistance not from within his realm, but from beyond it.
He hissed under his breath, the sound metallic and shrill. "Curious..."
The Cosmic Rod flared to life, its core bursting with viridian light. Annihilus raised it high, and a wave of raw cosmic energy shot forth, striking the portal with enough force to shake nearby asteroids to dust. The vortex expanded, stabilized briefly then pulsed again, brighter and louder. His expression twisted into something close to amusement.
Through the blinding light, one of his insectoid dreadnoughts approached, trying to force its way through the shrinking breach. His gaze followed its progress until he saw the ship's structure contort, then collapse inward, piece by piece, vanishing as though devoured by nothingness itself.
He stilled as his mind clicked in thought.
"A… singularity?" His voice was a metallic whisper that echoed through the throne chamber. "How… peculiar."
He rose slowly, his vast body lifting from the throne, cosmic energy streaming from the Rod as he floated toward the portal. "Let us try that again."
Behind him, the skies darkened. His armada trembled as his will spread like wildfire, an instinctive unity that set every wing and weapon humming with anticipation. Millions upon millions of insectoid creatures, from soldier drones to living ships, all turned their gazes to the same point… the breach. A hunger spread among them.
A new world awaited.
Annihilus outstretched his arm, directing his cosmic might into the rift. The portal responded violently, expanding and contracting in rhythmic bursts, crackling with viridian lightning. The surrounding void warped; from the strain. Yet still, resistance held firm from the other side.
The tyrant smiled, a hideous imitation of one. "Defiance? From within? How fascinating."
He poured more energy into the breach. Reality screamed with literal sound emerging from the fabric of existence. The Negative Zone itself seemed to convulse, as if choking on the power he unleashed. The air turned thick with radiation and the smell of ozone.
Finally, the strain reached its limit. The portal pulsed once, twice and then, with the sound of glass shattering, the barrier between realities gave way.
Silence.
Then came laughter, a deep, deranged, triumphant laughter. It rolled across the Negative Zone, shaking every floating island and hive. The laughter of Annihilus.
Covered in cosmic flame, his wings spread wide as his power surged outward, rippling across the dimension. His armies roared in unison, the symphony of their shrieks resonating with their master's victory. The rift stabilized into a funnel of blinding green which became a doorway to conquest.
Annihilus raised the Cosmic Control Rod high, pointing it at the open wound between worlds. "Now then…" he hissed. The Rod blazed brighter than ever, and a stream of condensed cosmic energy erupted toward the breach and directly aimed at the defenders beyond.
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Within the mirror dimension of Earth's reality. The Ancient One, stood below the vast ripple of the portal, her eyes reflecting the storm of energies. The barrier shimmered like molten glass as cosmic power battered it from beyond. She had been holding it together for hours, her body trembling slightly with the strain. The mages of Kamar-Taj surrounded her. Kaecilius and Mordo among them weaving containment sigils to reinforce her effort.
Each surge of power made the mirror realm quake. Cracks of light spidered through its reflective surfaces like fractures in the world's skin.
"His energy increases," Mordo said quietly, his eyes narrowing. "The realm-lord is forcing his way through."
Yao said nothing, her focus unbroken. Her palms glowed golden, streams of light extending into the portal. Sweat beaded her forehead, though her expression remained calm and almost serene. But the portal pulsed again, violently. She groaned softly.
Behind them, Kaecilius looked out at the city through the fractured reflection and saw a streak of blue light crash through a skyscraper. A heartbeat later, Ravenous was hurled across the skyline, smashing through walls and shattering glass before colliding with the ground below. His armor was in ruins.
And above him, Gojo descended like a specter who was smiling, his eyes blazing as twin beams of searing heat lancing toward the alien invader.
"How reckless," Kaecilius muttered. "There's a crisis unfolding, and that boy treats it like a game."
"At least he's eliminating the immediate threats that emerge each time," Mordo replied, crossing his arms. "Better he vent his power on the invader than shatter the city himself."
Kaecilius sneered. "You sound almost… fond of him."
Mordo looked back at the portal. "No. Just realistic."
The mirror realm trembled again and Yao gasped, she could feel her knees buckling, as a crack of energy burst through the fabric of the dimension. Both men rushed forward to suppress her but it was too late.
A sound like shattering glass filled the air. The ancient one's eyes widened, and she whispered, "He's broken through."
Then came the light.
A blinding surge of yellow energy exploded from the portal, flooding the mirror dimension. It wasn't mere illumination, it was a presence, a force so immense that reality itself screamed in protest. The mages shielded their eyes, their forms outlined in gold as they were bathed in the blinding radiance of the Negative Zone's fury.
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FEW MINUTES EARLIER
On the streets the chaos persisted. The remaining insectoids fought like demons, their mandibles clicking madly for some reason and their limbs lashing against everything in their path in a frenzy. The Avengers and what remained of the Fantastic Four held the line amid burning streets and shattered glass.
Captain America's shield ricocheted through three of the creatures before snapping back into his hand. "We're getting swarmed… again!" he shouted, voice barely audible over the explosions.
Natasha fired into the fray, reloading mid-roll. "I thought Stark and Reed were supposed to be shutting this thing down!"
"They're trying," Clint yelled from a rooftop, loosing arrow after arrow. "But it looks like the universe has other plans!"
Johnny Storm blasted overhead, flames trailing behind him like a comet, burning through the air as he carved through clusters of the insectoids. "If this is just the welcoming party," he shouted, "I really don't wanna meet the guest!"
The ground rumbled beneath them as a low, resonant growl that made their bones vibrate. Somewhere in the distance, the portal pulsed again again, streaked with emerald lightning.
For the first time that day, even the most battle-hardened among them felt it, the weight of something vast approaching .
It was the arrival of a godlike entity.
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