In one of the New York Sanctum's auxiliary chambers, Doctor Strange, Shuri, and Iron Man stood around a newly installed holographic table. Surrounding them through shimmering golden portals were Mordo, Ghost Rider, Celeste, Wong, and the Winter Soldier.
"He's most likely somewhere in China," Wong said, his voice calm and measured. "Celeste encountered Muur in Hong Kong when Dormammu nearly breached our world and dragged it into the Dark Dimension."
"When I last saw him, I sensed something... wrong. A shift," Celeste said, her tone grave. "The power that Kaecilius and his zealots drew from Dormammu—somehow Muur absorbed it as well. But I fear something went catastrophically wrong in the process."
"Great, more ominous foreshadowing." Tony's faceplate retracted as he spoke. "So what do you think happened?"
Celeste considered the question, her mind returning to Hong Kong and that final glimpse of the ancient Sith Lord.
"He captured one of Kaecilius's zealots," the Jedi recalled, visualizing the memory. "He attempted to absorb the Dark Dimension power she'd been granted. Because of his... unorthodox methods of increasing his strength, he's developed a hunger. Not just for power anymore."
"So what happened when he got his hands on this zealot?" Shuri asked.
Celeste hummed thoughtfully. "It's difficult to say with certainty. Everything was chaotic. I can only speculate on various possibilities."
"But what happened when he went for the main course?" Tony pressed.
"He was screaming that his soul was burning, or something to that effect," Celeste revealed. "That was immediately after I destroyed his amulet."
Ghost Rider snorted. "Sounds like he bit off more than he could chew."
"It backfired spectacularly," the Jedi confirmed. "It was as if he was being corrupted from within."
"So now he's essentially a walking dimensional energy time bomb, ready to explode and unleash everything he's been suppressing into our reality," Doctor Strange said, his tone dark. "Not to mention having all those entities he's absorbed ready to break free at any moment."
"Are they sentient?" Tony asked.
"Yes," Mordo said grimly. "And undoubtedly furious at being forced into containment rather than existing in a space of their own choosing."
"Muur will inevitably die," Wong stated, his tone matter-of-fact. "He'll delay that death as long as possible—and he won't care who or what pays the price for his survival."
"So what can we actually do to find him?" Bucky Barnes asked the group.
"You guys specialize in this kind of mystical tracking, right?" Tony asked. "Doesn't that mean you have some way to locate him?"
"The magical energy in question isn't native to this dimension," Shuri added.
"I attempted to track him earlier," Ghost Rider said, slightly surprising the group. "No luck. Either he's cloaking his power, he found another way to hide himself, or—well, the first option's nearly impossible. There's no way someone radiating that much power goes completely undetected. So either he's hiding somewhere we can't reach, or something else is going on."
"What else could it be?" Tony asked.
Ghost Rider simply shrugged.
Tony and Shuri exchanged glances and began examining the holographic display more closely.
"Do you two have something to share?" Mordo inquired.
Shuri pulled up a holographic spectrum showing the energy signatures used by various sorcerers. "I haven't had much time to study your particular brand of magic, but I've been able to extrapolate some working theories. Like most phenomena, mystical energy radiates on detectable frequencies. We simply need to identify the right signal, wavelength, or any anomalous readings."
Doctor Strange's eyes narrowed slightly as he glanced at Mordo and Wong.
Mordo frowned, crossing his arms in contemplation.
"I believe we can safely assume he's still somewhere in Asian territory," Mordo stated. "Given our current state of heightened alert, his appearance at any other Sanctum would trigger an immediate response."
"He fled the Hong Kong Sanctum during our battle with Kaecilius and his zealots, while Stephen used the Eye of Agamotto to reverse the catastrophe that nearly consumed our world," Wong continued. "It provided perfect cover for his escape."
Celeste's eyes widened slightly as she stared at the energy projection Shuri was still displaying.
"It's all energy," Celeste murmured to herself, the Ancient One's voice echoing in her memory from when she'd first begun learning about the greater aspects of the Force she had yet to fully explore.
The power of the universe.
The Force she knew and understood was merely one facet of this all-encompassing cosmic energy.
But there was a connection.
Like so many of her lessons at the Jedi Temples on Coruscant and Ossus—the Force was interconnected with everything.
It surrounded all life, penetrated it, and bound the galaxy together.
Just as Muur could tap into that power, so could she.
"Wait," she said suddenly, drawing everyone's attention.
Closing her eyes, she reached out through the Force with newfound understanding.
"Celeste—" Doctor Strange began, but the Winter Soldier raised his hand, silently requesting he stop. Bucky's eyes remained fixed intently on his girlfriend.
She felt herself relax, her body becoming a conduit as the familiar presence of the Force began flowing through her being.
Only this time... it was so much more powerful.
Celeste nearly gasped from the sensation. She steadied herself, exhaling slowly.
This was incredible.
Was this what it meant to touch the cosmic Force itself?
Celeste shook her head slightly, refocusing on her purpose.
She needed to concentrate.
Muur had been bound to her for millennia through the Talisman. With or without the amulet, she knew that if she focused properly, she could find the corrupted Sith Lord.
The others watched in silence. Tony and Shuri, the two least familiar with mystical phenomena, widened their eyes slightly as a wind seemed to rise from nowhere, swirling around Celeste with increasing intensity.
"What's she doing?" Tony asked quietly.
"Finding our missing Sith Lord," Bucky said with complete confidence.
Celeste kept her eyes closed throughout the entire process, until—
She swayed dangerously and would have fallen if her lover hadn't been right beside her.
"Hey, I've got you," Bucky said in a reassuring voice, steadying her with gentle hands.
She looked up at him with a radiant smile, then turned back to the others with an expression of unmistakable confidence.
"What did you find?" Doctor Strange asked immediately.
"Good news—I may have located Muur's approximate position," the Jedi Shadow announced. "I saw... a vision. A remote village, far from any major urban center. Deep in a forest, from what I could perceive."
"In a twisted way, Muur is being clever," Mordo muttered, nodding. "A location as isolated as the village you describe..."
"Muur will eventually exhaust that area's resources and move on to more populated regions," Doctor Strange stated. "We need to corner him there and neutralize him before he can relocate."
Everyone nodded in agreement, and Tony sent out a general message to all available Avengers, requesting they regroup and prepare for immediate deployment.
Tony's helmet materialized over his head with a soft hiss of servos. "Suit up, people. We've got ourselves a Frankenstein's monster to hunt down."