"Strange, stop the flow of time. We end this here."
Karl looked at Strange. If they didn't deal with Kaecilius and Dormammu now, reversing time would be meaningless. What was meant to happen would still happen—because the past was fixed. They were only rewinding time, not traveling through it.
Hearing this, Strange immediately halted the flow of time. Everything around them froze in an instant, like a paused frame. Meanwhile, Kaecilius and his followers—unbound by time—slowly approached.
"Look at the sky… isn't it beautiful? A realm beyond time and death. This is our true form."
Above them, the Dark Dimension had not fully receded. The dreamy purple hues and the countless lifeless planets within it looked eerie no matter how one saw them—hardly beautiful.
"Heh… Kaecilius, you've really been brainwashed by that noseless, striped-face Dormammu. Just look at yourself—those dark circles… how drained are you?"
Karl chuckled.
Everything around them clearly showed what the Dark Dimension truly was—nothing but destruction.
"Shut up!!"
Kaecilius roared. The warmth he once had with Karl was gone, replaced by icy indifference.
"Hopeless…"
Karl sighed inwardly. Kaecilius was beyond saving.
He then turned to Wanda.
"Wanda, seal this place."
Wanda rose into the air. Chaos energy filled her eyes as countless crimson spell arrays lit up across the Sanctum—hundreds of them forming a massive formation that enclosed everyone within.
"Strange, I'll leave this to you. Until I return, you must hold off Kaecilius. Wanda won't help you—this is the Ancient One's test."
Without waiting for a reply, Karl called over the cloak from Wanda.
"Onion, protect Wanda. I'll be back soon."
He patted Onion's large head and fed it a wild herb. Then, with a flick of his cloak, he shot upward—straight into the Dark Dimension above the Sanctum.
As he entered, the dazzling purple light made Karl dizzy, even nauseous.
"Yeah… this Dark Dimension really doesn't agree with me…"
he muttered.
Inside, the scenery shifted completely. Countless planets of varying sizes filled the space—some as small as basketballs, others so massive they stretched beyond sight. Black-purple tendrils connected them all, like veins.
Every single one shared one trait: absolute lifelessness.
No sound. No movement. Pure, dead silence.
Flying past these deceptively beautiful yet utterly dead worlds, Karl couldn't help but recall scenes from his past life's movies. But reality far surpassed fiction—the films had only shown a tiny, insignificant corner of this place.
After a while, having seen enough, Karl chose a relatively large planet and landed. He knew that the moment he entered, Dormammu was already aware of him. The only reason he hadn't appeared yet was curiosity.
"Dormammu, I know you're here. I've come to negotiate."
Karl stood calmly, waiting.
Sure enough, within seconds, Dormammu's massive face formed above the planet.
"You've come to die! You and your planet will soon belong to me. What is there to negotiate?"
His voice sounded like phlegm stuck in a throat—harsh and grating.
"I don't think so. I believe you'll agree to my terms."
Karl remained composed, showing no fear before a cosmic entity.
"Oh? Now I'm curious. Speak your terms—before I kill you."
Dormammu's interest was piqued.
"The condition is simple…"
Karl suddenly shouted:
"I'm your father!!"
"You dare mock me?!"
Enraged, Dormammu unleashed beams of purple energy from his eyes. Countless blade-like projectiles shot toward Karl.
Boom!!
A burst of orange-red flames erupted like a miniature sun. Every blade that approached was instantly melted by the intense heat.
Dormammu opened his mouth and spewed purple flames, but they dissolved upon contact with the blazing "sun," like snow meeting fire.
"ROAR—!!"
Within the flames, a red silhouette rose like a demon god. Though small compared to Dormammu, its violent aura was enough to unsettle even him.
A claw burst forth from the fire. As the flames receded, a horned beast emerged—its entire body engulfed in blazing orange fire.
Its eyes burned like twin beacons. Each swing of its claws distorted space with scorching heat.
Karl's summoned form—Ifrit.
Boom!
Ifrit leapt upward. The planet beneath its feet shattered like an earthquake from the recoil, while it soared straight toward Dormammu.
"ROAR—!!"
With a furious roar, Ifrit slammed a punch into Dormammu's forehead.
The impact exploded like a missile strike, blasting Dormammu's massive face backward.
But it didn't stop there.
Ifrit kicked off and ran across Dormammu's face, reaching his eye in an instant—
Another punch.
BOOM!
The strike created shockwave ripples like a sonic boom. Dormammu's left eye exploded, purple energy splattering like blood and corroding nearby planets.
But Ifrit was unaffected—the flames around it incinerated the energy before it could touch him.
"I WILL KILL YOU!!"
Dormammu roared. The entire Dark Dimension trembled. Nearby planets shattered into dust from the sheer force of his voice.
Ifrit was blasted backward by the shockwave, crashing through several planets before finally stabilizing itself midair.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For 20 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:
Patreon - Twilight_scribe1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~