Mogged by Bolas

The voice blasted into Jace's mind with all the subtlety of an avalanche, shredding several of his defenses effortlessly. You have been alive for all of an eye-blink, and because of a thimble of natural talent you presume to touch my mind? And some have called me arrogant. Bolas's laughter was acid, scarring Jace's mind.

He frantically strove to erect stronger psychic shields, shocked at how easily Bolas had penetrated his outer walls. But perhaps, in his arrogance, the dragon had made a mistake. Bolas had left a trail, a metaphysical string connecting his mind to Jace's. Perhaps this was the handhold Jace needed.

He followed the trail, desperate to break through, desperate to save his friends.

It was working! He found a small crevice in the otherwise featureless obsidian shields. He concentrated on opening it wider, he just needed to . . .

If you wanted in, child, you merely needed to ask. Each word from Bolas was like boulders crashing down a mountain.

The obsidian shield disappeared, and Jace fell unexpectedly into Nicol Bolas's mind. There the dragon was waiting, smiling.

Nicol Bolas clutched Jace's mind as he tried to fight him off. He crumpled over with pain, livid with himself at how easily he had fallen for Bolas's ruse. I have to do better. He could still escape this trap, he just needed more time. Seconds, he only needed seconds . . .

Seconds you do not have, Bolas whispered inside his mind. The Multiverse only suffers fools briefly. A useful lesson, if you survive. The dragon held Jace's mind roughly, and squeezed.

Synapses crumbled. Pain blossomed. Insanity beckoned. A towering wave of darkness rose in the distance. Jace knew the crash of that wave meant dissolution. Mind-death. Without conscious thought, he began planeswalking away blindly, not knowing or caring where. He had to avoid that darkness.

He felt himself being pulled across the Blind Eternities as the wave of darkness struck, and then he knew nothing at all.

HOUR OF DEVASTATION