"Everything's too late… it's over…"
Mordo looked at the destroyed Sanctum and the approaching Kaecilius, the last shred of resolve in his heart collapsing. The descent of the Dark Dimension signaled that Earth would soon become another one of Dormammu's trophies—frozen forever at a moment of his choosing.
"Not necessarily."
Strange narrowed his eyes. He had thought of a spell—the one that could reverse time.
Immediately, Strange formed a hand seal, attempting to cast it again. But this time, nothing happened. Only then did he suddenly realize—the Eye of Agamotto wasn't with him. Without it, the spell couldn't work.
"Damn it! I forgot!!"
Frustration surged through him. At this critical moment, the one thing that could save them wasn't even here. Were they truly doomed?
Strange looked up at the sky. Suddenly, two streaks of light entered his vision—one red, one golden—rushing toward them at incredible speed.
At the same time, Kaecilius launched his attack. Several invisible blades shot toward Mordo and Strange. Mordo immediately drew his weapon and deflected some of them—but not all.
"Watch out!!"
Mordo shouted as he turned back to warn Strange.
By the time Strange reacted, the blades were already right in front of him. There was no time to dodge.
Boom!
A massive stone wall suddenly rose up, blocking the blades and saving Strange from certain death.
At the same moment, two figures descended from the sky—it was Karl and Wanda, finally arriving.
Kaecilius naturally saw Karl, but his mind had long since been consumed by Dormammu. To him, Karl was no different from a stranger—he showed no mercy.
More invisible blades shot out, this time aimed at Karl.
Wanda frowned. Chaos energy surged forth, shredding the blades instantly. Then it condensed into spears, piercing straight through several Zealots beside Kaecilius.
The sudden turn of events stunned Kaecilius. He hadn't expected the Zealots—empowered by Dormammu—to be unable to withstand even a single move from Wanda.
Karl paid him no attention. His only opponent was Dormammu.
On the way here, he had already received a system mission: repel Dormammu and stop the Dark Dimension's invasion.
Judging by the system's usual habits, the reward would likely be another summon—just unknown which one.
Karl extended his hand, and the Eye of Agamotto appeared in his palm.
He handed it to Strange.
"This was left for you by the Ancient One. It's her final test."
Strange hesitated as he looked at the Eye. He only wanted to resolve this crisis—he had no desire to become the Sorcerer Supreme.
At that moment, Kaecilius rallied his followers and charged again. Karl had no time to deal with him and turned to Wanda.
"Wanda, hold them off."
Wanda nodded. Chaos energy erupted, forming a deep crimson barrier that slammed down, blocking Kaecilius's advance.
Kaecilius and the Zealots attacked the barrier frantically, but it stood firm like an unbreakable wall.
Karl looked back at Strange. He didn't rush him—he knew Strange would accept it.
And sure enough, after a brief hesitation, Strange resolutely took the Eye of Agamotto and placed it around his neck.
As he formed the hand seals, the Eye opened. Green energy burst forth, instantly enveloping the entire street.
With a wave of his hand, a green spell circle wrapped around his arm. As he rotated his palm, the ruined buildings around them began to restore themselves. Everything—including the fleeing civilians—started reversing, like a film playing backward.
In just over ten seconds, everything returned to its original state—before Kaecilius destroyed the Hong Kong Sanctum.
Strange had deliberately excluded Karl and the others from the time reversal, otherwise they too would have been rewound.
"The spell is working—take this chance!!"
Strange rushed toward the Sanctum, passing right by Kaecilius and the Zealots as they rewound in time.
Suddenly, Kaecilius and his followers twisted unnaturally—then broke free from the effects of the time spell, just like Karl and the others.
Boom!
Kaecilius grabbed a steel beam and hurled it at Strange. Fortunately, Strange turned in time and dodged.
But while he avoided the beam, he couldn't avoid Kaecilius's flying kick. Caught off guard, he was knocked to the ground.
The Eye of Agamotto still glowed green—the time spell remained active. The surroundings continued to rewind.
Amid the reversing buildings, vehicles, and debris, Strange and Kaecilius clashed. Strange had to dodge both Kaecilius's attacks and the constantly shifting environment.
During the fight, Strange noticed a building in the process of reconstructing. An idea struck him.
He grabbed Kaecilius by the waist and hurled him toward it. His timing was perfect—just as the wall finished reforming, Kaecilius slammed into it and was embedded into the concrete and steel.
Finally gaining a brief moment to breathe, Strange saw that the Dark Dimension was also receding due to the time reversal. The Hong Kong Sanctum was restoring as well.
"Wong!"
At that moment, Mordo spotted Wong lying among the rubble, impaled by steel rods. But thanks to the time spell, he had come back to life.
"What… happened?"
Wong looked at his intact body, clearly remembering that he had died from Kaecilius's attack. Then his eyes landed on the Eye of Agamotto hanging on Strange's chest.
"Breaking the natural order—I know."
Strange caught his expression and spoke first.
"No… don't stop now."
Wong wasn't rigid or dogmatic. Instead, he urged Strange to continue.
"Once the Sanctum is restored, they'll come back again. Be ready."
Strange nodded. As the caster, he understood the spell well—time reversal affected everything, including their enemies. Once the Sanctum was fully restored, Dormammu would return.
By now, they had reached the base of the Sanctum. Just as it fully restored—
Boom!
A loud explosion rang out in the distance.
They turned to look.
As expected, Kaecilius had broken free from the wall. Behind him, the structure had been completely pulverized into dust.
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