Kamar Taj's training square was in complete chaos.
The level of destruction was even worse than when Aron had tested his strength.
"Damn it!" Wong muttered through clenched teeth as his eyes swept across the ruined square. "This will cost us a fortune!"
Unlike those who had no idea how much everyday things like firewood, rice, oil, and salt cost, Wong knew the value of everything.
And right now, he was watching as the blue stone tiles of the square, worth tens of thousands, were reduced to rubble.
He was still lost in thought when a beam of pure magical energy struck him from afar, knocking him to the ground. Wong landed heavily on the messy square but quickly got up, even more agitated than before.
"Those were perfectly polished blue tiles… just their price alone was tens of thousands," he muttered angrily.
He didn't have even two seconds to complain.
His gaze suddenly froze on the slender, ghostly figure quietly floating behind Strange. He recognized Ebony Maw.
"Focus your mind!" Wong roared. "Don't listen to anything that guy says!"
He didn't know all the details about Ebony Maw's specific powers, but from experience, he knew he was dangerous. He had already seen many sorcerers lose their sanity in battle just because they had heard a few of his words and then turned on their comrades.
Unfortunately, his warning came a second too late.
Ebony Maw had already wrapped his lifeless, cold hand around Strange's neck from behind. His quiet, piercing voice began to slip into Strange's thoughts like a snake:
"Fight for us, Strange… they are your enemies."
Ebony Maw belonged to an ancient, now-extinct alien race known as the Whisperers. They possessed extraordinary abilities, their words could seduce and control others.
Not even cosmic warriors with strong wills could always resist their suggestions.
Because of this, Ebony Maw had earned the nickname "Black Tongue" in the universe, the infamous dark strategist who spread lies and led others to commit crimes.
His words began to erode Strange's resolve.
"You're right… they are the enemies…" Strange murmured, his eyes becoming clouded and darkened, and the magical whip in his hand suddenly turned toward… Wong.
"Damn it! Not again!" Wong growled. "The third time! Why does this keep happening?"
He wasted no time. In his hand, the soft white blade of the Vishanti sword flared to life.
He stepped onto a glowing magical circle beneath his feet and leapt into the air.
Although he looked stout at first glance, he moved with incredible agility. In just a few jumps he reached Strange and was already prepared to deliver a decisive strike to wake him from the trance.
But suddenly a thunderous roar echoed.
"Rooaar!"
From the crowd of Kamar Taj masters burst forth the gigantic warrior, Black Dwarf. He charged forward like a tank, swinging his massive battle axe straight at Wong.
"Hogg's beard! I've never seen a more annoying guy!" Wong cursed.
He had no choice but to temporarily give up on saving Strange. Almost instantly he summoned the Seraphim Shield, blocked the axe, and then countered with a powerful strike of Bossat's thunder that sent Black Dwarf flying back several meters.
As one of Kamar Taj's rare Archmages, Wong was both the most experienced and the quickest at casting spells, with priceless combat experience.
But Ebony Maw was not a typical sorcerer. His powers were closer to a combination of telekinesis and psychic manipulation, something against which ordinary protective spells were useless.
"Occult Mage," said Ebony Maw in a quiet but piercing voice, floating above the square. "I know your fighting style well. In my former raiding crew there was an insect from the planet Lyme named Krugell. He used the same spells as you. I know them completely."
After seducing Strange, Ebony Maw approached him and removed the Eye of Agamotto from his neck.
Then he moved his hand lightly.
The roof tiles from nearby buildings instantly turned into sharp spikes that rained down on Wong.
Wong wanted to dodge the attack, but Ebony Maw merely cast a cold glance at him.
The ground beneath Wong's feet suddenly collapsed.
The bricks and earth sank like dense mud, wrapping around his feet and pinning him firmly in place.
"Damn it! This costs a fortune!" Wong gritted his teeth, watching as Ebony Maw literally destroyed the tiles and floor slabs of the temple.
Rage flooded him.
He called upon the protection of the Ancient Body of Hoggoth, and his body shone with golden runes.
He stomped sharply on the ground, and the earth along with the bricks that bound him cracked and shattered in all directions.
"Oh? Can't you just quietly wait for your fate?" Ebony Maw raised an eyebrow and showed a hint of unease when he saw Wong break free.
He gripped the Eye of Agamotto tightly in his hand and was already ready to continue his attack.
Suddenly…
As he raised his hands, he felt an unusual resistance, as if something snapped in his palms.
"…?!"
He looked down and froze.
The Eye of Agamotto in his hand was, broken.
Not only the golden frame but even the green gem inside had crumbled into pieces.
What remained in his hand were just two useless things, a cheap plastic shell and a glass marble.
"I told you already!" a voice came from behind him.
"I carry a fake!"
Ebony Maw momentarily lost his composure.
At that moment, Wong, who had just freed himself from the ground, seized the opportunity.
He teleported right in front of Strange and pierced his brow with the Psychic Blade.
The blade of light didn't inflict any physical wound but shattered the illusion and woke Strange from Ebony Maw's control.
"What you snatched with so much effort," said Strange as his consciousness returned, "is just a cheap knockoff we sell in our souvenir shop for pocket change. Didn't you see the shelves full of those fakes when you came in?"
Ebony Maw looked at the glass shard in his hand, his expression turning dark and grim.
"Aaaa!!" he screamed and hurled the broken orb.
He was ready to attack again when suddenly a new figure emerged from the shadows.
The space around them instantly distorted, as if all of reality had frozen and crumpled.
A terrifying, almost tangible killing intent enveloped Ebony Maw and Black Dwarf.
"Who is… what is this…?" Ebony Maw trembled.
He didn't even manage to finish the thought before he felt an irresistible force wrapping around him, breaking space, and dragging him through a tear in reality.
It all happened in a split second.
Ebony Maw and Black Dwarf found themselves in another world, a world filled with bubbling magma.
The temperature around them instantly shot up by dozens of degrees, the air was heavy and scorching.
"Rooaar!"
"Come! You damned sorcerers!"
Black Dwarf, with eyes closed, instinctively swung his massive battle pickaxe in all directions, expecting an attack.
He felt a light touch on his arm and heard Ebony Maw's quiet voice:
"Stop…"
"What now?" Black Dwarf asked gruffly as he opened his eyes.
He fell silent in an instant.
The group of sorcerers they had been fighting was no longer there.
The environment around them no longer resembled Kamar Taj, they were now standing on the searing, fiery ground of a lava world.
"Look up…" Ebony Maw's trembling voice cut through the roar of the scorching air.
Black Dwarf looked up.
His heart almost stopped.
Above them, from the reddish sky filled with smoke and ash, loomed more than a dozen gigantic eyeballs like enormous disks.
Each of those eyes stared directly at them, motionless and cold, like ancient, incomprehensible beings observing tiny intruders.