"The Confession of Scarlet Witch"

Chapter 5: The Fall of Wanda Maximoff

POV: Wanda Maximoff

The walls of Alterworld were closing in on me, the sky tearing apart like flesh ripped open by a beast. My magic surged out of control, flaring in bursts of crimson energy. No matter how hard I tried to control it, the chaos within me kept spilling over, twisting the very fabric of reality.

I could feel the Scarlet Queen's presence like a whisper in my ear, taunting me, telling me to give in. The temptation was unbearable. My strength was slipping away with every passing second.

You can't hold out forever, she cooed. Soon, you'll be mine completely.

I screamed, my voice echoing through the broken dimension. "NO! I am still Wanda!"

But deep down, I knew she was right. I was fighting a losing battle. My grip on reality was slipping, and I wasn't sure how much longer I could hold on.

A blast of energy tore through the ground beneath me, sending me crashing to my knees. Pain shot through my body, but I forced myself to stand. I wouldn't let her win. I couldn't.

Why do you resist, Wanda? the Queen's voice slithered into my mind again, this time sharper, angrier. It's inevitable. You are me. We are one.

I stumbled forward, my breath ragged. The line between reality and illusion had blurred so much that I couldn't tell what was real anymore. The battlefield of Alterworld shifted around me, becoming fragments of my memories, my nightmares. I saw visions of my brother, Pietro, his face twisted in agony. I saw Vision, shattered like glass, his eyes empty.

And then, I saw myself—standing tall, dressed in the dark, regal robes of the Scarlet Queen, a crown of chaos resting on my head.

This is your future, Wanda. Accept it.

"No," I whispered, tears streaming down my face. "I won't become you."

But as the world around me continued to crumble, I couldn't help but wonder—was there even anything left of me to save?

POV: Doctor Strange

Wanda was teetering on the edge, and I could feel it. The magical disturbances she was causing had reached a level I'd never encountered before. The very fabric of the multiverse was unraveling, slipping between her fingers like grains of sand.

I stood in the Sanctum, surrounded by a circle of arcane symbols I had carved into the floor. Wong and I had been working tirelessly to find a way to sever the link between Wanda and the Scarlet Queen, but every spell I tried only seemed to make things worse. The Queen's hold on her was too strong.

"We're running out of time," Wong said, his voice grim. "If we don't act soon, Wanda won't be able to come back from this."

I nodded, my mind racing through every possible solution. There was only one option left, one spell that might be able to contain the chaos consuming Wanda.

But it was dangerous. Too dangerous.

"If I perform this spell, it could destroy her completely," I muttered, the weight of the decision heavy on my shoulders. "It might be our only chance to save her, but... it could also cost her soul."

Wong met my gaze, his expression resolute. "And if we don't do it, the Scarlet Queen will take her. And then we'll all be lost."

I clenched my fists. There was no easy answer. The spell was forbidden for a reason—it required channeling power from the darkest corners of the multiverse, and the consequences could be catastrophic.

But I didn't have a choice. Wanda was too important to lose, and if we didn't stop the Scarlet Queen now, she would tear the entire multiverse apart.

I closed my eyes, summoning every ounce of magical energy I had left. The room hummed with power, the air crackling with tension. This was it—the final gambit.

"Stand back," I said to Wong. "This could get messy."

With a deep breath, I began the incantation.

POV: The Scarlet Queen

Finally, the moment had arrived.

Wanda was at her breaking point, her soul hanging by a thread. I could feel her resistance fading, her will crumbling under the weight of my power. Soon, she would belong to me entirely.

You've fought long enough, Wanda. It's time to rest.

I watched her stagger through Alterworld, her crimson magic flaring wildly around her. She was so close to falling, so close to surrendering. I only needed one final push.

I reached out, whispering her name through the folds of reality. "Wanda..."

She flinched, clutching her head as if she could block me out. But there was no escape, not anymore. I was inside her mind, inside her soul. She couldn't hide from me.

"Let go," I urged, my voice soft, soothing. "You've done enough. It's time to embrace who you truly are."

She trembled, her body shaking with the effort of resisting me. But I knew the truth—she was weak. Her fight was over.

And when she falls, I will rise.

I raised my hands, summoning the full power of Alterworld. The sky above us darkened, the ground trembled beneath our feet. Reality itself was bending to my will, and soon, Wanda would do the same.

This is it, I thought, my lips curling into a triumphant smile. The Scarlet Witch is mine.

POV: Wanda Maximoff

The ground beneath me cracked, splitting open to reveal a void of endless darkness. I stumbled back, barely able to stand as the weight of the magic surrounding me pressed down on my chest. The Scarlet Queen's voice was everywhere, inside me, outside me, pulling me apart piece by piece.

"Let go," she whispered. "Give in."

I couldn't fight it anymore. My body felt heavy, my mind was fractured, and my soul... my soul was slipping away. I wanted to resist, I wanted to hold on to who I was, but the truth was inescapable.

I was losing.

But then, in the midst of the chaos, I heard a voice—a different voice. A familiar one.

"Wanda!" It was Doctor Strange, his voice cutting through the storm of magic swirling around me.

I looked up, my vision blurry, and saw him standing there, his hands raised in a spell I didn't recognize. Power radiated from him in waves, light and darkness intertwined. Whatever he was doing, it was dangerous. I could feel it in the air, the tension, the risk.

"Stay with me, Wanda!" he shouted. "I'm going to pull you out, but you need to fight!"

Fight.

I had been fighting for so long, and I had nothing left to give. But somehow, hearing his voice, seeing him there, reminded me of who I was. I wasn't just the Scarlet Witch. I wasn't just chaos incarnate.

I was Wanda Maximoff.

"I... I can't..." I whispered, my voice weak.

"You can," he said, his eyes locking with mine. "But you have to choose. Right now."

The ground shook violently beneath me as the Scarlet Queen's power surged, her rage palpable.

Choose.