Author's note: Guys, please… if you can spare some power stones, I'd really appreciate it.
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"I assume something unexpected has happened, perhaps concerning Tom?"
It did not take long. The moment Dumbledore received Maverick's message, he made his way to the office, where he found him sitting at his desk, staring ahead absentmindedly, as if lost in deep thought.
"Oh... Headmaster... that was quick." Maverick dismissed the system interface, rose to his feet, and stepped around the desk. "Nothing has changed with Voldemort's movements, and that is not why I called you." As he spoke, he traced a slow circle with his hand, and a portal edged with bright orange sparks bloomed into existence within the office.
Dumbledore studied the familiar portal, his earlier concern about Tom already gone, replaced by a quiet curiosity in his eyes. "I take it I am to follow?"
Maverick nodded, humming. "If you're not busy..." He offered no further explanation and simply stepped through the portal.
The old wizard especially loved nosing around, so Maverick did not doubt he would follow. Sure enough, not long after, with an obviously arched brow of curiosity, Dumbledore stepped through the portal as well, and the office became empty once again.
On the other side, the sun still hung in the sky, making it clear they were no longer in Scotland.
"The air is quite chilly. We must be rather far north?" Cold wind brushed against the light blue long coat Dumbledore had just transfigured his clothes into as he took in the surroundings.
"You're an Archmage, Headmaster. Stop complaining about the weather."
Maverick paid no mind to the old man's theatrics. The portal had been placed perfectly, leaving only a short walk ahead. Side by side, one old and one young, talking, they soon arrived at the highest point of the open, grassy, otherwise empty field and came to a stop.
"...somewhere in Japan?"
Perhaps bringing along this nosy old man, or at least bringing him first, was not such a good idea. Dumbledore was trying to guess where they were like a blabbering child, and Maverick shook his head for the seventh time and sighed.
Fortunately, the next party he was expecting did not take long.
The air muffled just then, and both of them turned at the dull thump of space folding. Edward Garling apparated nearby, completely ignoring Dumbledore as he gave his student an inquisitive look.
"Don't tell me this... 'good stuff' you wanted me to see so urgently is him?"
Maverick's message to his teacher a little earlier had indeed been just that, quite literally, saying he had "good stuff" and wanted him to come. And Edward obviously did not doubt his student. After all, occasionally, from time to time, his student did indeed share "good stuff" from who knows where with him.
"Pleasure seeing you again as well, my friend," Dumbledore chuckled as he greeted him.
Maverick still had no idea what kind of, Merlin forbid, negative history these two had in the past. They were clearly not the best of friends, but fortunately, they were not exactly enemies either.
He decided to get straight to the point before their exchange, or rather his teacher's verbal attacks, got out of hand. He glanced at the two of them and cleared his throat. "Well... what do you both think about the chance to observe an Archmage break through into Warlock rank? That counts as good stuff, right?"
The two older men were taken aback for a moment, not knowing how to respond. Forget about the last part, that was not even in the list of their guesses for why they had come here.
A moment later, it was Dumbledore who first grasped the meaning behind Maverick's words. But even his usually composed expression faltered this time, and with a look of complete disbelief, without even thinking to ask first, he enveloped Maverick with his magic.
"Oh, don't bother, Headmaster... now, unless I allow it, even you cannot sense anything from me."
"You never seem to fail to surprise, my boy... and my apologies for that. Bad habits I am trying my best to correct." It was indeed rather rude to use magical sense on someone else without asking.
"Wait..." Edward finally came out of his stupor and looked at his student, just like Dumbledore, his expression filled with disbelief. "Are you... little Rick... are you serious?"
Maverick glanced at his teacher and smiled. "Absolutely..."
"Son of..."
Chuckling, Maverick continued, "Actually, apart from letting you two observe my breakthrough, I also need your help setting up a magical fortress, something strong enough to shield an entire island. It is going to cause a disturbance no matter where I do it, but if there is external magic powerful enough to contain everything, I am hoping to keep the breakthrough quiet."
The last thing he wanted was for some unknown ancient old things to get curious and crawl out of their interdimensional caves or whatever and come knocking while he was in the middle of it.
"I see..." the wise old wizard replied instead, inclining his head. He was only stunned for a moment, and by now his expression had returned to normal. Brushing his beard, he considered Maverick's words, then turned to Edward. "What do you think?"
"You..." Edward wanted to ask how Dumbledore could be so calm, but then he remembered that nothing about his student had ever been normal from the very beginning, so perhaps this situation was no exception. He let out a wry sigh, swallowing his thoughts, and turned, at least outwardly, calm as well.
Looking at his student, he could not help but wear a complicated expression.
Was he surprised? One thousand percent yes. Did he believe him? More then less.
How long had it been? He wondered, thinking back to when he first came to London at the call of his friend Michael to meet this kid.
Sigh. He sighed again.
For half an hour or so they talked, mostly the two older men asking Maverick all sorts of questions. At this point, Maverick was practically a grandmaster in the art of bullshittery, so it was not difficult for him to "answer" their doubts. Whether they believed him or not, well, that was a whole other matter.
"...on the bright side, Garling, you can expect some rather remarkable grandchildren," Dumbledore said, looking at the burly man with a sheepish smile.
The downside in question was simple. Edward could no longer give Maverick a proper challenge, something Maverick had made clear just moments ago by merely flexing his ocean of magic. It was not that he was not happy seeing Maverick surpass him, but how fast it had happened. He was Maverick's teacher, regardless, but how long had it been before he was left behind? And that alone gave him an uncomfortable ache.
Of course, more than that, Edward was happy for Maverick. Like Dumbledore said, Maverick was his son-in-law as well.
Edward gave the annoying old wizard an unimpressed look, then turned back to Maverick again. "Very well then..." he said, resigning himself to reality.
His expression turned thoughtful next, then he looked back at Dumbledore. The discussion then turned to what magic to use for this... peculiar situation. None of them had experienced it themselves, only read about it. Maverick and Dumbledore were perhaps more knowledgeable, as they had heard from Merlin and the founders what to expect and of their personal experiences. In any case, both sources indicated the noise would not be small.
"...how about the two of us execute a Praesidium Maxima..."
"Praesidium Maxima..." Dumbledore said, humming thoughtfully as well. "With our magic combined, it should be able to contain..." he paused, then rephrased, "well, let us hope it can contain the reaction from mother magic."
The spell in question was a highly advanced barrier, designed to contain large-scale magical disturbances. It was not something a single caster could sustain.
At minimum, it required two mages of Archmage level to cast and maintain it properly, while ten great magi could achieve the same result through precise synchronization. It was an extremely demanding spell, draining a constant flow of magic, but in return, it was one of the most effective methods for containing violent outbursts of power.
Maverick was, of course, familiar with the spell. In fact, he had once seen it being executed a few years ago when he dueled against Morvain. He was not sure it alone would be enough for this situation, but he also did not know any better magic for this particular case.
The three parties tacitly agreed and quickly took their positions. The island they were at was close to his teacher's secret headquarters in Alaska, United States of America, roughly the same size.
Maverick positioned himself at the center of the island, while Dumbledore and Edward took positions at opposite ends, about a kilometer above the island. Not long after, when Maverick sensed a dense layer of magic had covered the island, his attention focused on the system screen again.
[ Magical Energy: 49,990+ ]
He took a long exhale, sat down on the grassy ground, relaxed his body and mind as much as he could, then finally willed the number to go up.
49,995... 49,999... 50,000
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Kamar-Taj. Inside her private study, the Sorcerer Supreme was in the middle of instructing her disciples when her perception of eldritch energy suddenly flared, bringing her words to a halt. Her head turned instinctively toward the west, where rows of ancient books lined the shelves, though her gaze was not meant for them.
In an instant, her awareness pushed outward, slipping past walls, beyond the sanctuary, across the country, and over the continent, until it finally locked onto the source of the disturbance.
Her eyes widened instinctively at what she saw, of course not because of its peculiarity, nor the violent, overwhelming energy she was sensing, but... simply put, it was something only she seemed to understand, or more precisely, how early it was happening.
"Master..."
One of her disciples called out. In the middle of her lecture, she had suddenly stopped, and the next moment her expression had changed to shock.
Had something happened? Was some otherworldly existence invading their plane?
Everyone's thoughts raced, some even already preparing for battle. But the Ancient One was called ancient for a reason. She masked her momentary shock just as quickly and turned back to them, her serene, always in control expression returning.
"Class dismissed," she said calmly, then addressed the most senior sorcerer, instructing him to look after the sanctuary. Despite her calm tone, something big had clearly happened, big enough for the Sorcerer Supreme to handle personally.
"Master, is something the matter?" one of the children, a recent disciple of hers, asked.
"It is not an invasion from another dimension, young Mordo," she said, as if she could read his thoughts. However, that was all she explained.
With a gentle smile, she dismissed him as well, and once everyone had left, she first reinforced the room with a powerful enchantment, knowing what to expect, then opened a portal and disappeared to the other side.
To most, it would seem as though nothing had happened. However, those who were particularly sensitive to eldritch magic could sense that, in the instant between the portal opening and closing, there had been a slight tremor in the enchanted barrier within her room.
At the same time, somewhere in Rome, Italy, Supreme Mage Merlin, who was in his study meditating with his eyes closed, also opened them suddenly as his magical senses flared, and likewise turned toward the same direction.
For beings of their caliber, as long as their extraordinary senses were triggered, it was easy to locate the source no matter the distance, as long as it was on Earth and within their reality.
Like his counterpart, the Sorcerer Supreme, he too showed a shocked expression at first, and just as he was about to warp to the location, four signals flared in his senses again, as if asking for permission, and his actions paused.
Soon, at his acquiescence, four figures materialized into the room, their expressions solemn, just like his moments ago.
"Supreme..."
"I know," Merlin interrupted the loudest of his students with a raised hand, and with his other hand gestured in a circular motion. The talking could be done later. A familiar portal formed beside him, and immediately the room was hit with a violent wave of pure energy, but it was neutralized just as quickly with nothing but a simple furrow of the old man's brows.
"Come," he ordered without explanation, and the four, after exchanging solemn glances, followed him inside.
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Author's Note:
🔥 Drop those Power Stones! 🔥
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