Stephen slowly closed his eyes. He could feel the pain of his future self all too clearly. His voice was low and heavy: "He… my future self has no other choice. But no matter what, I will save Christine!"
Thor quickly tried to talk him down. "Don't rush into this. Seriously, there are other ways. You don't have to go down that road!"
Stephen just stared at the glowing screen, murmuring, "What's the consequence if I continue down this path? Why is it that no matter what I do, I still can't save Christine?"
On the screen, the image of Stephen Strange continued devouring mysterious beings one after another. Time passed—sunrises and sunsets, forests withering away, deserts spreading, landscapes completely transforming.
Over time, Stephen devoured countless magical creatures. There was no doubt—he had become far stronger than before.
Now, he finally had the confidence to face the powerful demon Shuma-Gorath once again. This time, Stephen triumphed, utterly defeating and absorbing it, redeeming himself at last.
But at this point, the audience realized: Doctor Strange had fully descended into darkness.
Meanwhile, O'Bengh was near the end of his life. Stephen came to visit him. The once youthful monk now had snow-white hair and beard.
Stephen intended to use the Time Stone to restore O'bengh's youth. He himself had used it to freeze his soul for centuries without aging.
But O'Bengh refused. He accepted death as a natural part of life. To him, it wasn't something to fear.
Stephen, on the other hand, couldn't accept it. He hated death—because death had taken the woman he loved most from him.
Just before dying, O'Bengh shared a shocking secret with him:
The Stephen Strange standing here wasn't complete. In this universe, there was another Stephen Strange—one who had already let go of Christine's death.
Two versions of Doctor Strange, born from two different timelines, coexisting in the same universe.
And it was none other than the Ancient One who caused this anomaly.
When she had cast her spell to stop him in the past, she split Stephen Strange into two halves.
"Oh my god, I've got to say—you sorcerers really know how to spice things up!" Deadpool shouted from outside the screen. "But hey, I love it! It's cool as hell! I wonder if the Ancient One has time to do the same to me? I need a twin bro—can you imagine the chaos?!"
Everyone else looked visibly horrified. One Deadpool was already too much. Two would be the end of sanity.
Hughie frowned. "This is so confusing! The Ancient One warns Strange not to tamper with fixed points in time, but then she splits him into two versions and lets them run on separate timelines in the same universe? Doesn't that mess things up even more?"
Billy Butcher grumbled, "This is what I'm saying. Powers like this? It's only a matter of time before they bring about the end of the world."
Stephen raised a hand. "Can we all please be quiet? The video's not even over yet!"
Back on the screen, the camera focused on the other Stephen Strange—the one who had moved on, who had chosen not to rewind time to save Christine.
But the next day, when he stepped out of the New York Sanctum, he was stunned to find that the entire world was slowly unraveling.
Buildings, cars, people—they were all dissolving, like candles melting into nothingness.
Stephen was horrified. He had no idea what had caused this apocalypse.
That's when the Ancient One appeared again. She had already died in this timeline, but now she showed up in soul form to explain everything.
She told him how she had split him into two—two versions of Stephen Strange existing on separate timelines.
Stephen was stunned. "So, I have an evil twin now?"
"No," the Ancient One replied calmly. "He's not evil. He just lost his way."
Then she revealed the truth: the reason the world was now collapsing was because of the other Stephen Strange.
There was still a sliver of hope—if they could stop the corrupted Stephen from reversing that fixed point in time. If they failed, the world would be destroyed.
So after defeating Dormammu and saving the universe once, Doctor Strange had to step up again.
This time, though, his opponent wasn't a monster or a demon—it was himself. A dark version of himself, consumed by grief and obsession.
He went to Wong for help, only to find Wong was already being erased.
Wong, ever the loyal friend, stayed calm. Even in the face of death, he took time to carve protection runes for Strange.
But he couldn't help but ask, "You're really going to stop him? I mean… didn't you love Christine too?"
This Stephen had moved on. He had let go. But that didn't mean the wound had completely healed.
He just knew what mattered more now. Right now, saving a crumbling world was the most important thing.
Wong asked how he planned to find the corrupted Strange—but before they could act, the other Stephen found him first.
In an instant, the ground beneath him vanished, and Stephen was teleported to face his dark self.
Watching all this, Thor suddenly realized something.
This future looked eerily similar to the last Doctor Strange future video they had seen during the previous round of their quiz game—both showed a corrupted Doctor Strange, both featured a dying world on the verge of collapse.
The difference? In the last video, the focus was on the Stephen Strange who had already moved on. But now, the spotlight was on the version of him still clinging to love, utterly consumed by it.
Thor couldn't help but shake his head. "Stephen, I've gotta say—you're even more obsessed with love than I am. Deadpool was right. You're the real romantic hero here."
Stephen Strange, surprisingly calm, simply replied, "Is it so wrong… to try and save the woman you love?"
Annie countered, "Even if it means destroying the entire world?"
Stephen didn't answer. But his silence was an answer in itself.
Annie sighed. "I envy Christine. She has someone who loves her that deeply. But honestly, if I were Christine, and I saw everything you did for me… I'd be touched—but I'd still ask you to stop. Trust me. Christine would stop you too."
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