Spiderweb-like cracks rapidly spread across the mirror-smooth surface of space before shattering with a mournful wail. The resulting shockwave roared like furious thunder, rumbling across the void...
Kaecilius's heart trembled as his black robes fluttered wildly, his ashen hair whipping about in disarray. His hands, positioned before his chest, swiftly traced intricate patterns in the air, and in an instant, his figure vanished.
The fallen sorcerer reappeared to the right, his cold sweat breaking out as he watched the devastating force that had torn through the atmosphere and distorted space itself.
He had always assumed Sean was merely another of the Ancient One's followers, one no different from her top disciple, Mordo, and had thus never taken him seriously.
Even though Sean had appeared during the battle in Bucharest, Kaecilius had never believed this young man possessed the power to stand against a Lord of Hell.
In his eyes, the only one capable of defeating Mephisto, of reducing to nothing that reborn Hell Lord who had shed his infernal shackles to descend upon the material world in human form, was the Sorcerer Supreme.
The Ancient One's strength was beyond question. Even among the lineage of Sorcerers Supreme, she stood as one of the mightiest. Otherwise, how could she alone, with sheer overwhelming power, keep the dark creatures and demonic rulers at bay?
"I admit, I underestimated you. I mistook you for just another of the Ancient One's lackeys." Kaecilius shook his head slightly, his dim eyes suddenly blazing like a kaleidoscope.
As if soaked in fresh blood, The crimson sigil on his forehead grew even more piercing. Gray mist rapidly coalesced, forming a terrifying vortex of storm energy, its destructive force capable of rending everything in its path.
Below, the fallen sorcerers and the iron legion appeared minuscule before this cataclysmic spectacle...
"My God..." Strange stood dumbfounded.
His time at Kamar-Taj had involved only minor skirmishes during training. Never had he witnessed such a scene firsthand.
Kaecilius hovered in the air, his stern face now marred by the Dark Dimension's corruption.
His skin cracked like porcelain, intricate fissures spreading from his eyes across his entire visage as he declared, "This is the power you gain by submitting to Dormammu! The great Dark Lord is far more generous than the Ancient One!"
"That is nothing but a lethal poison to quench a zealot's thirst. Only a fanatic like you would willingly swallow it." Sean scoffed, his eyes brimming with disdain.
Golden energy surged within him, and with a thunderous boom, he vanished from sight.
A beam of energy, thick as a mountain peak, erupted like a bursting dam, annihilating the storm vortex Kaecilius had summoned in the blink of an eye.
A hand clamped onto Kaecilius's forehead, its crushing force mere moments away from reducing his skull to dust.
"Great Dormammu!" Kaecilius directly invoked the Dark Lord's name. Never had he imagined the Ancient One would find such a formidable ally.
The crimson sigil on his forehead erupted in bloody light. The sky darkened abruptly, howling winds sharp as blades tearing through the chaotic currents. Silver lightning pierced the clouds, casting the world in a ghastly pallor.
Sean attempted to tighten his grip, only to find an inexplicable force resisting him, shielding Kaecilius's head.
"Surrender yourself... and I shall grant you boundless power! Eternal life!" A haunting whisper, vibrating through his very soul, coiled around Sean's ears like a breeze, echoing relentlessly.
Sean sneered. Such paltry mental tricks were hardly enough to sway him into becoming one of Dormammu's zealots.
"Unfortunately, you can give me neither." His will sharpened into a blade, striking back fiercely!
A soft pop resounded, as if a bubble had burst. The fabric of space trembled violently, and within the Dark Dimension, a tempest raged.
Through Kaecilius's eyes, Sean glimpsed Dormammu's true form; a colossal nebula of darkness, draped over countless dimensions like an endless ribbon of deep violet, encircling the lightless multidimensional realm.
"Insect." Channeling his presence through Kaecilius, Dormammu manifested in the material world via sheer will, spitting out the word with cold contempt.
"If I'm an insect, then what does that make you? A supreme ruler cowering in the Dark Dimension? Or a coward hiding in a locked room?" In the instant Sean locked eyes with Kaecilius, their minds clashed thousands of times.
The mere sliver of Dormammu's consciousness that surfaced was already comparable to the psychic tempest unleashed by Charles Xavier, the world's most powerful telepath.
"Your world will drown in darkness. This time, do not delude yourself into thinking the Ancient One can turn the tide." Kaecilius's throat strained to produce the words, his body decaying at a visible rate, withering like aged parchment.
"We'll see about that." With brutal efficiency, Sean crushed Kaecilius's skull.
Like a flickering ember, the fallen sorcerer's soul streaked into the Dark Dimension.
It seemed Dormammu had grown weary of Kamar-Taj and the Ancient One's interference. He was now hellbent on dragging Earth into his realm, assimilating it into his being.
"Deal with the remaining zealots." Sean descended, instructing Doctor Doom to eradicate the scattered dark sorcerers.
Without Kaecilius's leadership, the ragtag forces quickly collapsed.
"The Ancient One sent me to find you. Kamar-Taj is under attack." Strange, who had been lingering on the battlefield's periphery, approached cautiously, "I know you, Mr. Cyphers. Umbrella's limb regeneration technology and gene therapies are groundbreaking advancements in medicine!"
Sean glanced at the future Sorcerer Supreme, a faint smile forming on his lips. By now, he no longer bothered concealing his identity.
The Sentinel, Earth's mightiest hero. Sean Cyphers, a titan standing atop the pyramid of power... When these two identities merged into one, they formed an unprecedented force of deterrence.
As Sean had once said, 'Why should Tony Stark be the only one who could be both a billionaire and a superhero?'
"Let's hope we're not too late for the Ancient One's battle."
Sean muttered faintly, glancing at Strange before stepping through a rippling azure portal. Strange ran after him.
When they emerged near the New York Sanctum, the first sight that greeted them was a lone figure in white robes...
Dark clouds churned overhead, lightning splitting the sky. The oppressive atmosphere weighed heavily over the world, yet the Sorcerer Supreme stood unwavering, ascending step by step into the void.
"A thousand years ago, you could not breach this line of defense. A thousand years later, it remains unchanged." her thunderous and resolute voice echoed, piercing through the storm as she locked eyes with the Six Lords of Hell.