The voice whispering to Kaecilius came from none other than the ruler of the Dark Dimension—Dormammu.
But Dormammu hadn't been born there.
Once, he was just a sorcerer, cast out from his order and left to wander. By chance, he stumbled into the Dark Dimension. There, he slew its reigning monarch and seized the throne for himself.
To gain unimaginable power, Dormammu went further still. He abandoned his mortal body, letting his very form be consumed and remade by living magical flame.
Yet even that wasn't enough. His hunger was endless.
He began conquering other dimensions, devouring their energies and weaving them into his own might.
Until he set his eyes on Earth.
At first, he thought it would be easy prey.
But every attempt to invade ended in defeat at the hands of the Sorcerer Supreme.
On top of that, the three great Sanctums suppressed his reach, barring him from setting foot on the planet directly.
To conquer Earth once and for all—and to grow even stronger—Dormammu turned his gaze upon Kaecilius. Slowly, step by step, he lured him in.
He exploited Kaecilius's growing hatred for Senju Haruto, nudging him toward the Book of Darkness. The sorcerer had long wavered on opening it, but Dormammu's influence pushed him past the edge.
Through its forbidden pages, Kaecilius gained knowledge and magic that bound him closer than ever to the Dark Lord.
Dormammu's true goal, however, remained unchanged: destroy the three Sanctums, kill the Sorcerer Supreme, and Earth would be his.
To him, Haruto had been of little interest.
But fate had other plans.
The scheme had been simple: let Kaecilius uncover the Ancient One's darkest secret—that she herself had drawn power from the Dark Dimension—and then, through Kaecilius's hand, strike her down.
Yet, just as the trap was about to spring, the Ancient One stunned him.
She named Senju Haruto her successor, the new Sorcerer Supreme.
Even Dormammu could not fathom why she would do such a thing. Haruto's strength, no matter how great, couldn't compare to that of someone who had lived for centuries.
Still, it gave Dormammu and Kaecilius a common interest.
Helping Kaecilius kill Haruto meant removing the Sorcerer Supreme.
And without a Sorcerer Supreme, the three Sanctums would be far easier to destroy.
"It seems I must lend Kaecilius more power—enough for him to kill Senju Haruto outright."
Sitting upon his throne of shadows, Dormammu's fiery gaze burned with resolve. As he whispered poison into Kaecilius's ear, he was already weaving a new plan.
This time, Haruto and the Sanctums alike would all be annihilated.
Meanwhile, in Kamar-Taj's library—
With the Infinity Stone entrusted to Haruto, the Ancient One's final burden was gone.
She smiled as she had never smiled before, serene and untroubled, leaving everything in his hands.
Light began to gather at her feet, scattering upward into countless motes of starlight. Her form slowly unraveled, dissolving before Haruto's eyes.
Haruto met her smile with one of his own, watching until she vanished completely.
Her last words lingered with him, sparking inspiration.
"If I could become Hokage in Konoha, uniting the shinobi world, then naturally I can be Sorcerer Supreme here in the Marvel universe."
"To bring together all the heroes of Earth."
"The Avengers, the Illuminati, the Superhuman Registration Act… whatever form it takes, all of it can be brought under my control."
"And then, there are the Infinity Stones."
Haruto drew a deep breath, glancing down at the Time Stone sealed within the Eye of Agamotto.
Its power was nothing less than dominion over time itself.
Yet for him, it held little appeal.
Fast-forwarding through life… what meaning did that hold?
Not when he had the sign-in system at his side. He didn't need training. He only needed to keep appearing at key moments, signing in, and reaping the rewards.
With such a tool, cultivation was pointless.
"Superhuman Registration Act…" Haruto murmured.
He remembered.
In Marvel's comics, it had sparked the Civil War.
In the cinematic universe, it had taken another form—the Sokovia Accords.
The spark was Wanda Maximoff. She had failed to contain an explosion, leading to Crossbones' self-destruction that demolished an entire building.
Countless innocent lives lost.
The world erupted in outrage.
But those who held real power on Earth? They didn't truly care about the dead.
What they feared was unregulated power. Heroes who might threaten them if left unchecked.
To them, "superheroes" were no different from living weapons.
Thor. Hulk.
The military had even once described Hulk as a walking nuclear bomb.
Whoever could control such weapons would hold sway over the world.
And those who refused control… became rebels.
Thus, Civil War.
But from another angle, the Superhuman Registration Act—or Sokovia Accords—were indeed a powerful tool.
For the one doing the controlling, they were a blessing.
"General Ross."
Haruto's lips curled upward.
His knowledge of the comic Civil War wasn't perfect, but in the films, General Ross had been the face of the Accords.
At least on the surface, he was the man in charge.
That was why Haruto hadn't killed him on the spot in front of the crowd.
He needed Ross. Needed his position to play this next move.
"It's time I paid the General a visit."
He lifted his hand and traced a circle in the air.
Scarlet sparks spun to life, swelling outward into a blazing ring of fire.
A portal opened before him, leading straight into a U.S. military base.
He remembered it from The Incredible Hulk. A fleeting glimpse of the installation.
Finding Ross himself was easy enough. He only had to expand his spiritual sense.
Within moments, Haruto locked onto his target.
But then—
He discovered someone else.
Someone who hadn't died on Broadway.
Dr. Samuel Sterns.
The Leader.
"So… they must have moved him before my power could kill him."
Haruto narrowed his eyes.
"It makes sense. Sterns is a brilliant scientist. He also holds the secret to replicating Hulk's blood serum. No way the military would just let someone like that slip away."
"Hmm?"
Haruto's brow furrowed.
At that very moment, the Leader was in the middle of an experiment.
And General Ross himself… was taking part.
"Well, well…" Haruto murmured, amused.
Then he stepped straight through the portal toward them both.
...
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