Returning to the library, Wong sat at the table by the entrance and casually lowered his gaze.
"What about my notebook?" he muttered.
"Oh, in the back."
He remembered that he had been sitting earlier at the small table in the rear of the library, taking notes. He stood up and headed there.
"Here it is… only, who tore my paper?"
Next to the notebook lay an empty sheet, torn and then strangely rejoined. Wong stared at it in confusion.
"Hm? Who touched book of Cagliostro? Has someone been here?"
He turned his head and looked around, but there was no one. He pulled the heavy book and put it back in its place. His head was full of suspicion, but he found no trace.
At the moment when he wanted to take another book and return to his seat, his gaze fell on the stone platform in the center of the room. The Eye of Agamotto.
Wong suddenly turned pale.
The artifact was gone.
"It's gone!?" He rushed to the platform and quickly searched it with his hands, even though he knew it was useless.
"Did the Sorcerer Supreme take it? No, I must ask her!"
An uneasy thought cut through his mind. He quickly ran out of the library, determined to find the Ancient One and learn the truth.
---
At that time, Alaric had already stepped into the Dark Dimension.
His body was immediately wrapped in a thick veil of dark elements. The sinister energy tried to seep into his pores, to trap him, to turn him into yet another fragment of darkness.
But within his body there was another force. The Power of the God of Magic. Its light repelled the attack, white magic spread around him like armor and held him afloat, inaccessible to corruption.
Still, Alaric, just in case, also summoned temporal protection. A thin veil of green light wrapped him from head to toe. If he were mortally wounded, time would rewind and save him.
He landed on a piece of broken meteorite floating in the endless ocean of darkness. He did not rush forward. Instead, he activated his all-seeing eye and observed the surroundings.
"This place is completely different from Earth," he muttered. "This element of darkness is so dense I can barely breathe."
If Earth was colorful, imbued with all elements like a kaleidoscope of light, then the Dark Dimension was an infinite void, thick ink devouring all colors.
"No wonder that as long as the dark dimension opens a passage to Earth, Dormammu can turn the entire Earth into a part of darkness, that power is truly overwhelming!"
It could only be said that he was worthy of being a dimensional lord, and this was a being with whom Alaric could not possibly contend right now.
In the endless depth of darkness, Dormammu raised his gaze.
"Hm… a small intruder?" His voice echoed like thunder. "This aura…"
A powerful wave of hunger coursed through his being.
"What a soul… pure, shimmering… and wrapped in white magic!"
Dormammu felt a storm of delight. It was rare for something this enticing to step into his world.
"What a morsel… I cannot let it go!"
He had thought he would encounter an ordinary intruder he could crush effortlessly, but instead he discovered a soul shining like a star. In his eyes, Alaric was like a torch in the dark universe.
He was bait, a signal resonating through the dimension.
Dormammu did not hesitate. His shadowy form stirred, rushing through the waves of darkness toward the unknown visitor.
Alaric, unaware of what was coming, stood upright on his meteorite, like a beacon in the sea of blackness, attracting the inevitable storm.
---
Kamar-Taj.
"Sorcerer Supreme!"
Wong burst into the hall and saw the Ancient One, who, as always, was calmly drinking tea.
"Wong, why are you in such a rush?" asked the Ancient One with gentle curiosity.
Such anxiety from Wong was unusual. Could it be possible that Kamar-Taj had been attacked by demons from other dimensions?
Impossible, she was here and had sensed nothing.
"The Eye of Agamotto is gone!"
Wong immediately noticed that the Ancient One was not wearing the Eye, so he didn't waste time asking but directly stated what he had discovered.
"What?!" The Ancient One frowned and set down her cup.
"Someone took it?"
The Eye of Agamotto, in the eyes of everyone in Kamar-Taj, was the symbol of the Sorcerer Supreme and the inherited artifact of Agamotto himself, the first Sorcerer Supreme.
That artifact enjoyed almost divine reverence, and no one dared even think of taking it without permission.
But… wait.
If she thought carefully, was there really anyone besides one who would have such audacity?
"Have you seen Alaric?"
"Alaric? You mean he took it?! But he doesn't know how to use it…" Wong spoke in confusion.
"Check if he's in his room."
The Ancient One opened a portal to Alaric's quarters, and the two of them stepped inside. They looked, but he was not there.
"Besides the Eye of Agamotto, is there anything else missing?" asked the Ancient One.
The moment she saw Alaric was gone, she was certain, it had to be him. Yet her unsettled heart then calmed somewhat. She was convinced that Alaric understood the true nature of the Eye of Agamotto and had, out of mere curiosity, decided to take it. As long as he didn't use it for a greater purpose, she had no reason to be too worried.
Although Alaric was often restless, the Ancient One knew that within him lay restraint.
"If it's really him, then he must have also peeked into Cagliostro's book," added Wong, now a little calmer, since he felt safer in her presence.
Considering the strength of the Sorcerer Supreme, he believed the Ancient One would be able to keep everything under control, no matter what happened.
"Oh, he read that… Damn it!"
The Ancient One suddenly jolted. Until just moments ago, she had been certain that Alaric knew his limits and would not go too far. But when she heard that he had gone as far as Cagliostro, true worry appeared in her eyes.
"What's wrong?!" Wong jerked, terrified by her reaction.
"Could it be that he…"
–––
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