Marvel: Death Knight

The sky and ground teemed with undead creatures, surging toward their foes like an unrelenting tide. Yet the sentinels were numerous as well, numbering in the thousands. Their mechanical forms filled the air, and their head-mounted heat rays carved through the advancing undead ranks with ruthless efficiency.

The X-Men managed a brief reprieve, as some of the undead intercepted the sentinel forces. However, their gazes toward Garus betrayed unease. The power to command the dead was unsettling, even repugnant to them, as it felt like a desecration of life and death.

Garus maintained the summoning array, struggling to hold back the overwhelming sentinel forces. Through the arcane matrix, his consciousness reached into another realm and touched a presence of immense power—an entity whose soul radiated a strength several magnitudes greater than his own. Like the other undead creatures, this one lacked self-awareness, but its potential was undeniable.

With a heavy sacrifice of souls, the entity answered his call and traversed the summoning portal into the mortal world.

The summoning circle, initially a modest few meters in size, expanded to nearly a hundred meters in diameter. Blinding gray light erupted as a cascade of bone and frost spilled forth. Massive skeletal fragments emerged, each several meters long. Finally, a colossal skull, nearly six meters in diameter, materialized. In its hollow sockets, a flicker of ghostly blue fire ignited, growing steadily brighter.

The bones spiraled and wove together, forming a vast, terrifying figure.

Garus stood frozen in awe. Could it be… a Frost Wyrm?

The undead dragon's skeletal wings stretched wide, spanning close to a hundred meters. Between the bones, a faint glow of soul energy shimmered. As its body finished reassembling, it unleashed a silent roar that reverberated through the air. With a single sweep of its wing, it swatted a cluster of sentinels aside like insects.

Hundreds more sentinels swarmed around the Frost Wyrm, unleashing orange energy beams that scorched its skeletal form. The attacks, however, seemed to do little more than annoy the massive creature.

With a powerful surge upward, the Frost Wyrm inhaled deeply and exhaled a vast plume of icy breath. The frigid torrent engulfed the sentinels, freezing them mid-air. One by one, the machines plummeted to the ground, shattering upon impact.

The sentinels that had been pressing the X-Men reevaluated the threat. Abandoning their current targets, they redirected all their efforts toward the Frost Wyrm.

The sudden shift in focus left Garus and the X-Men momentarily unscathed. Breathing heavily, they collapsed to the ground, watching the battle unfold in the sky.

Ultimately, the undead forces, bolstered by the Frost Wyrm's overwhelming might, gained the upper hand. The sentinels were eradicated, leaving the battlefield littered with shattered machines and the remains of fallen undead.

Yet, unlike the other undead summoned by Garus, the Frost Wyrm did not dissipate. It hovered motionless in the air, a looming presence. Only Garus and Professor Xavier could perceive the streams of souls it was silently absorbing, fueling the flames in its eye sockets until they burned brighter than ever.

Everyone felt the immense aura emanating from the creature. Pietro appeared beside Garus in a blur, whispering, "Garus, what is this thing? Why is it so powerful?"

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Garus muttered, "It's a Frost Wyrm, an undead dragon. I never imagined I could summon something like this… and it's clearly not an ordinary one."

Before Garus could say more, the Frost Wyrm consumed the remaining souls within a hundred-mile radius. Its gaze turned toward him, and it began to descend. The X-Men tensed, readying themselves for a potential attack. Magneto manipulated the wreckage of a jet, forming a massive iron sphere as a makeshift weapon.

Garus, equally unsure of the dragon's intent, braced himself. Was it going to kill him, its summoner?

The Frost Wyrm ignored the others, landing before Garus with a gust of icy wind. Its skeletal wings, somehow, stirred the air with enough force to create a gale. Lowering its massive skull, it gazed at him. A raspy, feminine voice echoed in his mind.

"I am Sindragosa, Frost Wyrm of the north. Little one, I thank you for awakening me. Tell me… is that Frostmourne in your hand? Why does it rest with you?"

Before Garus could respond, a powerful force pulled Sindragosa backward. She growled in frustration.

"Curse it! I cannot remain in this world for long," she lamented. "Little one, grow stronger. When you are ready, find me in the Shadowlands. Free me from that cursed realm."

With those parting words, Sindragosa vanished, leaving the group in stunned silence.

Garus' thoughts raced. Sindragosa… He recalled the battle at Icecrown Citadel, when heroes of Azeroth had faced her to open the path to the Frozen Throne. Countless warriors had fallen to her frost breath and arcane might. Though her spirit was eventually purified, the cost had been immense. Why had she appeared in response to his summoning? And what of these undead creatures—clearly not native to the Marvel universe?

"Boss!" Abomination's gruff voice interrupted his thoughts. He had reverted to his usual grotesque form and stood nearby, calling for Garus' attention.

Garus turned to see the X-Men approaching. Professor Xavier addressed Logan. "Logan, who are these people?"

Logan gestured toward Garus. "They're friends I met in another universe. This is Garus. I spent over a year in his world…"

He recounted their adventures, including the founding of a mutant academy in that parallel universe. The story seemed to soften the X-Men's initial distrust. Even Magneto's gaze carried a hint of approval.

The group also learned of the time discrepancy between the two worlds.

"System," Garus asked internally, "If I stay here for a day, will a year pass in the other universe?"

"No," the system replied. "The timelines are synchronizing."

Relieved, Garus turned his attention back to the battlefield. Though the sentinels had been eliminated, the system had not yet declared the mission complete. He realized the conflict was far from over. The factories producing these mechanical killers were still operational, churning out new threats across the globe.

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