Deep beneath the heart of Wakanda, the shadows pulsed.
Alexander's eyes slowly opened, glowing faintly gold. The chamber, buried beneath the vibranium mountain, vibrated softly as the residual pulse from his reawakening rippled through stone and steel. The sarcophagus lid now lay split in half, its engraved markings smoldering faintly. Dust lifted from the floor in swirling eddies, caught in the ambient energy that radiated from his very being.
He inhaled, the air thick with age and power. Every cell in his body buzzed with renewed strength. Sparks of dark energy crawled across his skin before fading into vapor. The silence of the sanctum was absolute, reverent, as if the mountain itself acknowledged his return. His cloak of shadow reformed slowly across his shoulders, sentient and aware, clinging to him like a loyal guardian.
[SYSTEM REBOOT: COMPLETE]
[CURRENT GLOBAL STATUS: INFINITY STONES DETECTED]
[THREAT CLASSIFICATION: COSMIC - LEVEL OMEGA]
Nortis, Noctis, and Vasili stood before him, heads bowed, kneeling in reverence.
"You've returned," Vasili said quietly, voice carrying both relief and expectation. His massive shadow-forged spear was planted at his side, unmoving, as his eyes gleamed with ancient recognition.
"Not by choice," Alexander replied. His voice was calm, but there was a steel edge beneath it. "Time itself woke me. Something beyond mortal reach."
He stepped forward, and the shadows swirled to form a cloak across his back. With each footfall, the chamber responded—lights ignited, ancient glyphs came alive. The ground trembled faintly as if his essence stirred the dormant energies woven into Wakanda's core. The symbols etched into the walls pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat, resonating through the stone.
"Thanos has started his campaign," Nortis muttered, rising. "His presence echoes across the shadow realm. Entire sectors darken in his wake."
"The balance teeters," Noctis added. "His actions fracture fate itself."
Alexander closed his eyes for a brief moment, feeling the vibration of time distortions on his skin.
[SCANNING TEMPORAL THREADS...]
[RESULT: DIVERGENCE IMMINENT — AVENGERS TIME INTERVENTION DETECTED]
"So they're attempting to undo it," he murmured. "Fools... but brave ones."
He opened his eyes again. The light within them flickered with memory—of battles lost, friends dusted, and moments stolen by inevitability. For a second, he felt the burden of the countless souls that had passed through him in death, now echoing in his presence.
Elsewhere within the Wakandan citadel, a secret council convened in a dim war chamber lined with holographic panels and traditional carved murals.
T'Challa stood at the center, arms behind his back, regal and unreadable. Shuri tapped on a hovering projection, scrolling through energy readouts originating from beneath the palace.
"It's him," she confirmed. "The Shadow Warden. He's awake. Power readings off the chart, beyond what we recorded during Ultron."
Okoye's brows furrowed, arms folded across her chest. "Why has he not revealed himself yet? He fought beside us before, then vanished without a word."
"Perhaps because something greater has returned," T'Challa said thoughtfully. "And I suspect he knows more than he lets on."
A low vibration passed beneath their feet. For a moment, the lights flickered.
"He's not hiding," Shuri added. "He's preparing. That much I can tell. And whatever he's preparing for—it's something no one else can stop."
The room fell silent.
"Let him come to us on his terms," T'Challa finally said. "We owe him that much. And if he chooses to walk away again, we will still fight."
Far below, Alexander descended into a deeper layer of the sanctuary—a forgotten sanctum steeped in primal darkness, accessible only through his command. Crystalline obelisks pulsed with shadow energy, casting reflections that danced unnaturally. The floor beneath him rippled with spectral patterns—markings only he could decipher.
He knelt and pressed a palm to the obsidian floor. The stone was cold, but it responded with warmth—a recognition.
[SYSTEM ACCESSING SHADOW RESERVOIR...]
[UNLOCKING: HIGH-RANKED SHADOWS - SUCCESS]
From the floor rose specters—ancient warriors, their armor spectral, their eyes burning like dying stars. They materialized slowly, kneeling as one. The weight of their presence filled the chamber like smoke.
He raised his hand.
"You will scout," he ordered. "From Titan to Vormir, I want to see what Thanos sees. You will not be seen. You will not fail."
They bowed in unison and vanished into the shadows, leaving behind a whisper of frost.
Then he turned to his core trio. "We're outnumbered, outgunned, and disconnected from their timeline. They believe time is their weapon."
"And yet you're awake," Noctis said, stepping forward, his voice ethereal. "Which means there's still a path."
"Yes," Alexander said, rising to his full height. "But we must not act too soon. The timeline is brittle. Too much interference and the collapse will be irreversible."
He turned his gaze upward. "Still, I won't sit idle."
At the Avengers Facility, tension simmered like steam in a pressure valve.
Bruce paced beside a whiteboard filled with quantum equations, mumbling half-finished theories. Rocket sat atop a table, fiddling with a miniature Pym core, tail twitching in annoyance.
Scott stood awkwardly near the platform, arms crossed. "I can't believe I didn't turn into slime this time. That's progress, right?"
"The test worked," Bruce said. "We can send people back—and retrieve them without turning them into kids, animals, or spaghetti."
Steve leaned forward, eyes steeled. "What's next?"
Tony entered, flanked by Clint. "Teams. We hit specific points in the timeline. Places where the Stones were visible, vulnerable. We go in, we grab them, and we return."
"And hope we don't fracture everything beyond repair," Bruce added grimly.
"We still haven't heard from Alexander," Natasha noted quietly, her eyes fixed on the floor.
Carol Danvers hovered at the window, watching the clouds part around the sun. "Are we sure he's even alive? I couldn't sense anything out there. It's like he's sealed himself off."
"He is," Steve said. "I can feel it. We'll see him again. And when we do, I hope he's on our side."
Back in Wakanda, Alexander stood alone atop the sanctuary, gazing out over the city he had once defended. The sun barely touched the edge of the horizon. Smoke rose from a distant forge, and the hum of civilization whispered just above the mountains.
He closed his eyes and meditated, entering the shadow plane.
His mind traveled beyond sight and sound, into a realm of pure essence. Around him were echoes—memories, possibilities, timelines intersecting like veins of fire. He moved between them like a ghost, watching past and future collide.
And then—vision.
He saw the Space Stone glowing in Loki's trembling hand. Saw Thanos crush the Tesseract and claim it. Saw the fall of Xandar in fire and ash. The Mind Stone pried from Vision's head. The final stand in Wakanda.
Only this time, he wasn't there. The world crumbled without his interference. The ashes of the fallen rose into nothingness.
He saw himself.
Not as he was—but twisted. Crowned in shadows. Expressionless. Unfeeling. Sitting on a throne of broken timelines.
The shadow realm whispered.
[CONVERGENCE WARNING: SELF-CORRUPTION POSSIBILITY PRESENT]
[ALTERNATE SELF TRAJECTORY: DOMINION PROTOCOL ACTIVE]
Alexander's eyes snapped open.
He exhaled sharply, sweat lining his brow.
"If I move too early, I become the monster they fear."
He turned toward the chamber exit.
"But if I wait too long..."
The wall behind him cracked with a sudden pulse. A ripple surged through the vibranium base.
[ALERT: TEMPORAL SHIFT — SPACE STONE RETRIEVED BY THANOS]
Alexander's pupils narrowed. He stared into the darkness, voice barely above a whisper.
"It's started."
To be continued.
__________________________
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