"Negotiation?"
Dormammu paused, momentarily stunned.
That word—how irritatingly familiar it was.
Every version of Strange across the multiverse opened with the same smug phrase: "Negotiation, negotiation, and fucking negotiation."
It was as if that was all they knew.
A flood of memories surged through Dormammu's mind, each one crystal clear. Being a timeless entity, every detail remained etched into his memory—like a high-definition reel endlessly looping. He could recall Strange's expressions, down to the micro-movements of the mites crawling in his pores.
It made Dormammu sick.
The confident, righteous tone. The smug grin. The absurd persistence.
He despised it all.
He wanted to crush every Strange in every reality into spheres of silence.
And now, this ordinary little insect below him—this human shielded by a bio-force field—dared to bring up negotiation again?
It sparked a fury.
Dormammu's massive, flame-shaped head erupted with a burst of purple-red energy that crackled and condensed into raw matter. It rose like fire, consuming the space around him, threatening to incinerate the world.
This was the energy of the Dark Dimension, infinite and violent.
Malrick, hovering below in the protection of his shields, felt a cold shiver run down his spine. Dormammu, in his own realm, radiated the power of a universe-level being.
And yet, Malrick remained calm. This was all part of the plan.
He even found himself mentally mocking Dormammu's appearance. "He really does look like Ghost Rider's angry big brother," Malrick mused dryly.
"Negotiation?" Dormammu repeated in a low, deadly growl. "How dare you! You're here to die."
He attacked instantly.
Dozens of jagged spears formed from solidified dark energy shot toward Malrick like missiles, aiming to skewer him where he floated.
But Malrick was ready.
With a swift motion, his fingers traced intricate sigils in the air, and massive golden Shields of the Seraphim emerged around him, rotating and overlapping with seamless precision. The spears struck—thudding heavily or shattering on impact.
The crimson cloak on his back lifted him gently, letting him hover midair like a seasoned Master of the Mystic Arts.
Dormammu's expression flickered in surprise.
"A mage?" he growled. "I sensed no arcane signature on you."
Malrick held his hand steady, forming a new seal.
"I am the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth in this dimension," he said evenly. "And this is your last chance to leave."
Dormammu's form pulsed with wrath. "Another Sorcerer Supreme? How shameless."
His mouth gaped open, and a beam of pure condensed energy—blazing and unstable—erupted toward Malrick. The blast's power, even diminished by the barrier between realms, could easily obliterate a star.
Malrick didn't flinch.
He didn't even use his own power. Instead, he called upon the might of the Vishanti, drawing energy from the dimension of Hoggoth, invoking the authority of the Ancient Lords of Order.
The cataclysmic beam slammed into his defenses—only to unravel into a cloud of emerald butterflies that filled the sky, radiant and untouchable.
Dormammu's attacks didn't stop. Blast after blast poured out, but each one dissolved, breaking apart into more of the glowing swarm.
"You can't keep this up forever!" Dormammu snapped after minutes of bombardment.
Malrick smirked. "You're wasting your strength. Dimensional energy doesn't cross into this realm easily—and certainly not enough to beat me."
Dormammu gritted his teeth.
"You borrowed the power of the Vishanti. Fine. But even Strange couldn't sustain this kind of spell for long—wait." He narrowed his eyes. "Are you using the Time Stone to recover?!"
Malrick blinked, playing along.
"The Time Stone? Wasn't that destroyed by Thanos five years ago?"
Dormammu froze. His twisted grin slowly returned.
"Hah. So this universe has already passed the point of extinction!"
No Time Stone.
No threat of being trapped in a time loop.
Dormammu laughed loudly, a deep and terrible sound that echoed through dimensions.
Malrick offered himself a mental thumbs-up.
Most believed Dormammu transcended time. Kaecilius had believed it. But that wasn't quite true.
Time simply didn't exist in the Dark Dimension. It never had.
So when Dormammu had first met Strange, he couldn't even comprehend what a time loop was. In his realm, the Time Stone was as useless as a pebble.
But whenever he attacked Earth—especially in the convergence zones between dimensions—time would bleed through. That's where Strange trapped him in loops. Not because Dormammu couldn't escape, but because time functioned there.
Eventually, Dormammu realized the loops only applied to Strange and Earth. He himself could leave any time.
So in every universe after that, where Kaecilius tried to sacrifice himself again, Dormammu simply turned around and left.
It wasn't strategy.
It was just annoyance.
But now—no loop. No Stone. No Strange.
Just a strange, alternate world… and a defiant Sorcerer Supreme.
"I like this universe," Dormammu sneered. "No gems. No tricks. How do you plan to stop me now?"
Malrick's hands moved again, faster than before. "With or without the Time Stone, I'll stop you all the same."
Twin Vishanti Swords shimmered into existence in his palms. A moment later, they multiplied, becoming hundreds—then thousands—of glowing blades that launched toward Dormammu in a dazzling storm.
Dormammu opened his mouth and exhaled another beam, shredding them midair with contemptuous ease.
"Hmph. A decent trick. Not many Stranges could pull that off."
But his tone shifted. The memory of Strange still gnawed at him.
"You, however, are a fool if you think you can stop me."
Suddenly, two massive hands emerged from the void.
Dormammu tore through the dimensional veil, ripping apart the space between worlds like paper. His enormous form emerged from the gap—towering, flaming, surrounded by writhing tendrils of dark energy.
He crossed over.
His aura dipped drastically—dropping from universe-level to the power of an upper-tier god—but now, fully present in the pocket dimension, Dormammu could fight without restraint.
"I've arrived," he said darkly. "Now, how can you possibly stop me?"
Malrick looked up, a slow smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Stop you?" he repeated. "No, Dormammu. I'm welcoming you."
He raised his hand, and the sky shifted.
"Welcome to my world."
---
Milestones
100 Power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
200 Power stones = 3 Bonus Chapters
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