Alaric, who was beginning to clearly understand the nature of the dimensional space, suddenly raised his gaze to the horizon. At that moment, from the distance, a powerful dark-purple energy beam roared forth.
"Wait..."
Rumble!
The meteor he was sitting on, along with his body, completely evaporated in a single blast of energy.
"Damn it!"
Alaric, who managed to glance back at that moment, cursed through his teeth.
What the hell happened to this Dormammu?
No greetings, no introduction, straight to annihilation.
This was no longer a battle, this was pure savagery!
He once again summoned a protective layer, strengthened himself with a new BUFF, and descended onto the next meteor.
But this time, Dormammu was already waiting.
"What are you doing?" he asked in a deep voice, glaring at him with his massive eyes.
"An endless time loop."
Dormammu froze for a moment. "A loop?"
It immediately became clear to him. That was why everything seemed familiar! That was why every scene carried a sense of déjà vu. It had really happened already, countless times.
"You can't keep this up forever!"
"Actually, I can," Alaric replied.
"Then you'll die countless times!"
In a surge of rage, Dormammu clenched his fist and struck at him.
"Infinite Ring!"
Boom!
But a physical attack wasn't like energy beams, it didn't have such range advantage.
Rumble!
When he saw that the punch didn't cause enough damage, Dormammu changed tactics. Sharp black vines sprouted from the darkness and pierced Alaric on the spot.
Another cycle...
And another...
All over again.
...
After countless deaths and returns, within Alaric's consciousness a new realization unfolded.
[Through constant dying you have realized the true nature of life and death and created the 'Magical Cycle of Life and Death.']
[Reincarnation – Life and Death: You can transform the death energy of a deceased person into life force and heal any injury. Likewise, you can turn life force into the power of death and take the lives of others.]
Alaric, who had already tasted the end countless times, now grasped magic that transcended the boundary of life and death.
Without hesitation, he summoned a new protective layer and once again stepped toward Dormammu's colossal figure.
"What is it that you seek?" Dormammu roared. "Whatever it is, I will give it to you! Just end this damned cycle!"
His voice echoed throughout the entire Dark Dimension. Even a being like him, who had transcended time and death, could not withstand the endless replays of the same scene.
He was trapped in his own dimension, in his own eternity, with one mere human who forced him to play the same game over and over again.
"Oh... what do I actually want?"
Alaric paused for a moment. So many deaths, so many returns, so much pain, and he had almost forgotten the reason he came here.
At first, he came only to explore the dimension. To see, to learn.
But then he encountered Dormammu. He was forced into battle, into survival. At first, he thought it would be a chance to gain experience, to test the power of the Time Stone.
But the battle dragged on. It became something more.
And Alaric was not a man who gave up. Not even against an invincible enemy.
He would try, and die, and return.
And each time, he would become stronger.
"..."
Hearing Alaric's words, Dormammu was left speechless.
Had this mortal truly not forgotten the reason for coming here?!
Or was it possible he came just for fun, as if this were some kind of hobby?
What an insolent brat!
The sorcerers of Kamar-Taj truly were worse than all others!
"You want to leave?"
"I can let you go," Dormammu said, though inside he had long wanted to get rid of this bothersome intruder. His constant rewinding had become unbearable, but as the lord of darkness, he could not so easily lose his dignity.
"Then, let's finish it one more time," Alaric said firmly. "This will be the last battle."
"Come," Dormammu replied, calmly waiting. He even thought that this young mage might get lucky and truly disappear after this. That was why he didn't bother to attack first but instead waited for Alaric to make a move.
In the end, no matter what magic he used, the outcome could only be one.
"Holy Body!"
Alaric allowed his magical energy to flow through his body, creating his own colossal being, as huge as Dormammu himself.
This spell, known as the Holy Body, was developed by combining knowledge from [Hoggs' Ancient Body] and the teachings of Dharma (originally called 'Faxiang', if you have a better name, write it in the comments). With it, he could condense magical energy and shape a protective, giant body that could withstand devastating force.
When he saw Alaric, now the same size as himself, Dormammu was momentarily stunned.
Had Kamar-Taj become capable of creating such miracles?
He had never seen a similar technique before.
Perhaps, after all, these endless centuries had not been completely wasted.
But in the end, none of it would be enough against his absolute power!
"Thunder!"
Alaric, now gigantic, roared and shaped a spear of pure lightning in his right hand. The light shone through the darkness, and thunder echoed across the dimension.
Dormammu narrowed his eyes. No matter what kind of force it was, he could not deny that this strike was extremely powerful.
"Come on, Dormammu!" Alaric shouted.
"Hm!"
Dormammu raised his own right hand and formed a spear of raw dark energy. At the same moment, their weapons clashed.
Boom!
The impact was so strong that the shockwave shattered the surrounding meteors and turned the space into a chaotic storm of energy.
"Blaze!"
Alaric condensed a massive flame-wreathed sword in his left hand and slashed at his opponent.
Dormammu raised his hand to block the strike, and the fire tangled with his dark power. The dimension shook under their clash.
They were like two gods of war, battling for dominion over the entire dark world. Each strike unleashed new waves, new storms that devoured everything in their path.
In the distance, from within the darkness, a pair of glowing eyes watched the battle.
"So powerful..." a voice was heard.
"Who the hell are you?"
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