As the Dark Dimension's energy flooded the skies above the planet, the very fabric of space began to distort.
Without a sound, the sky split open. A massive rupture appeared midair, as if the universe itself had been torn like paper. From that breach, a torrent of dark, pulsating energy poured through—waves of purple, black, and deep red, stained with a malicious, corrosive aura.
It felt like a beast, cloaked in tendrils, had escaped its cage and was now roaring at the world around it.
The energy was lethal. A single touch would twist any ordinary being into a monster. But Kaecilius and his followers, already steeped in the Dark Dimension's power, welcomed it. They even chanted faster, eager to summon their master.
With every phrase they uttered, the rift widened, letting more of the corruption bleed into the world.
Then, in unison, they whispered the final words: "Great Dormammu…"
From the sky's growing fracture, a giant face emerged.
Dormammu.
His immense, godlike visage stretched across the sky, his features burning with cosmic fire. His eyes alone seemed to contain galaxies, and his mere presence radiated crushing pressure—like a black hole had opened above them.
No one dared speak.
Kaecilius and the others immediately dropped to their knees, chanting his name, hailing him as the Great Master.
But Dormammu's attention wasn't on them. He scanned the planets around the continent with greedy, glowing eyes. For a brief moment, it seemed he was satisfied.
Until he recognized the face beneath him.
"You again... Kaecilius?!"
Dormammu's voice rumbled like a collapsing star, his mood instantly soured.
Even without a physical body, his presence distorted the world. His gaze swept across the barren realm again, searching.
"Where is Strange? Why hasn't he appeared yet!?"
Malrick's lips twitched into a wry smile.
Of course.
Across countless universes, Dormammu was no stranger to defeat. But time and again, it was one man who bested him—Doctor Stephen Strange.
This version of Dormammu, apparently, had been tricked enough that simply seeing Kaecilius now triggered him like a cat recalling a mouse bite.
Kaecilius and the others looked confused.
"Who is Strange?" one whispered.
They had never heard the name.
"Great Dormammu!" Kaecilius began quickly. "This world is unclaimed! I offer it to you. Please, accept us—and the Earth—as part of your Dark Dimension!"
But Dormammu wasn't listening. His mind was still on Strange.
"How can you not know him?" Dormammu snapped, clearly unsettled. "Why would you bring me here, if he's still hiding?"
"This…" Kaecilius hesitated. "Great Dormammu, please forgive me. I… I don't know this 'Strange' you speak of."
Dormammu's glow flickered with irritation.
"He wouldn't know," Malrick cut in, finally stepping forward. "Strange isn't a sorcerer yet in this universe. He's just a civilian."
Dormammu paused.
Then, to everyone's surprise, he laughed—if a cosmic entity could laugh.
"An ordinary man? That means I can devour this world without interference?"
A ripple of delight spread across Dormammu's face.
"Excellent. You've done well."
He assumed, naturally, that Malrick was one of the loyal followers offering the world to him. After all, who else would be here?
"Is your wish to join the Dark Dimension?" Dormammu asked, smiling, his presence like a collapsing sun.
Kaecilius trembled with emotion.
It was happening. The moment he had sacrificed everything for. If he could become part of the Dark Dimension—escape time—he could resurrect his wife and son.
"Yes, Great Dormammu," Kaecilius said, voice unsteady. "That is our deepest wish."
Dormammu nodded. "A noble desire. I grant it."
He paused, then added, "From this moment on, you shall be part of the Dark Dimension—and part of me."
The words rang strangely, but Kaecilius and his followers were too overwhelmed with joy to notice.
They bowed low, sobbing with gratitude.
Then came the pain.
The Dark Dimension marks on their foreheads began to burn.
Crimson runes erupted from their skin like molten veins. They glowed hotter, pulsing violently, until dark energy began pouring from their bodies.
In seconds, their skin started to blacken and crack, the tissue beneath charring as if consumed by invisible flames.
"What's… happening!?"
"My flesh—it's melting!"
"My soul! It's burning—he's burning it!"
"The energy—he's devouring us! Dormammu is devouring us!"
Panic spread as they writhed in agony.
One by one, the truth dawned on them—there was no ascension, no transcendence. The "eternity" Dormammu promised was simply becoming part of him, a mere drop in his endless ocean of power.
Kaecilius screamed as his body fractured like glass, shards of him drawn upward into the rift.
In those final moments, memories of his wife and son filled his mind.
The ones he had wanted to save.
The ones he would never see again.
"This… this isn't what the ritual said," he whispered.
"Of course it didn't," Malrick said calmly, standing nearby. "That page you read left out the cost. Those always come at the end."
Kaecilius looked up, what was left of his eyes now hollow sockets. "You knew… you knew all along."
"I did," Malrick said quietly. "But even if I'd told you, would you have believed me?"
Kaecilius's trembling voice cracked. "Superman… don't let Dormammu invade Earth. Please… stop him."
His voice faded as his body finally crumbled, his essence consumed by the void.
Malrick looked up.
Only one figure remained in the sky—Dormammu.
"You," Dormammu said slowly, confusion rippling through his expression. "You're not one of mine?"
Malrick stepped forward. "No. I'm here to negotiate."
That sentence alone was enough to make Dormammu's expression twist in recognition—and panic.
He had heard those words before.
Too many times.
And always from the same kind of man.
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