"Don't fight, don't fight!"
Before Dormammu could kill him, Alaric raised his hand and commanded the battle to stop.
If it had been earlier, Dormammu would never have agreed.
But now, just to get rid of this bothersome man as quickly as possible, he stopped moving.
"Ugh!" Alaric, who had dispelled the spell, returned to his normal size.
He hadn't expected the consumption of that magic to be so immense.
So immense that his body trembled under the weight of exhaustion.
In any case, he decided to leave, and Dormammu did not want to keep him. Alaric was too tired and too lazy to start the fight again.
"Are you leaving?"
At that moment, Dormammu looked like a host calmly asking a guest if he was preparing to go home.
"Why, do you want to keep me for dinner?" Alaric asked sarcastically.
"I have nothing here that humans could eat," Dormammu replied coldly, staring at him expressionlessly.
He had long since ceased being human. He had stopped eating human food long ago, now feeding on pure dark energy.
"Alright, I've already eaten enough of everything anyway." Alaric spread his arms.
He prepared to use the dimensional shift and open the door to leave, but stopped under Dormammu's expectant gaze.
"By the way, what did you dimensional lords have to do to become lords? Was it just because you were the strongest in your world and no one could stand in your way?" Alaric suddenly asked.
"Of course." Dormammu answered proudly, with a hint of self-confidence.
"That's all?"
"If I were to defeat you, wouldn't I then become the lord of this world?" Alaric asked with sincere curiosity.
"You will never be able to defeat me in this dark dimension!" Dormammu raised his voice.
"So, what then?"
"..."
Dormammu looked at Alaric, realizing that he would not leave until he got an answer. He sighed, then muttered:
"Through the dark dimension, I absorb pure, infinite mystical energy. I transform it into any spell or form of power I wish."
"Oh!" Alaric nodded, finally understanding.
In his memory, he knew that Dormammu had once been a sorcerer.
Discovering the dark dimension, he entered it, and to become the lord of the dimension, he gave up his human body. In return, he gained incomparably powerful dark energy.
Alaric was now looking at Dormammu with eyes shining with curiosity.
"..."
"Aren't you leaving yet?" Dormammu pressed, feeling increasingly uneasy under that gaze.
"That mystical energy of yours... can you give me a little? Just as a souvenir. After all, it's no small thing to come here." Alaric looked at him with a smile, waiting for an answer.
"?"
What? Are you sane?
Dormammu froze.
How can this man be so shameless?!
First he traps him, then he refuses to leave, and now he even asks for his most precious thing?!
Is it possible for a sorcerer to be this brazen?!
Dormammu had existed through countless centuries, but he had never encountered such a man!
And from Kamar-Taj, no less!
Thinking of this made him even angrier.
First, the Ancient One borrowed power from Dormammu, and he never received the price owed to him. Instead, she hid on Earth and didn't dare to step into his world again.
Unexpectedly, her disciples turned out to be even more shameless than her.
One of them, Alaric, came directly to his doorstep and even had the audacity to ask for a gift!
They were all the same, bold enough, not reasonable enough!
"No!" Dormammu did not yield and immediately rejected Alaric's request.
"In that case, I'm not going anywhere. Let it be as it is, I can continue consuming your energy." Alaric said and simply sat down on the ground.
After all, he was not the one in a hurry.
Dormammu squinted and muttered: "Are you sane…"
...
Kamar-Taj.
"Supreme Sorcerer, what will you do now?" Wong asked, watching the Ancient One who was already drinking cup after cup of tea.
At times she appeared calm, but in her posture there was tension.
"I don't know." she answered, standing up and pacing back and forth, fanning the hand that was trembling.
It was obvious that she was disturbed.
From the moment Alaric disappeared until now, much time had passed. Wong had witnessed the most anxious version of the Ancient One he had ever seen.
He had asked her many times where Alaric had gone, but he never received an answer. Still, he knew clearly enough: the place where he ended up was terribly dangerous. Even the Ancient One did not dare to step there without hesitation, otherwise, she would have already gone to find him if it were possible.
"This child…" she whispered, stopping.
"Forget it, I'll go myself!"
She turned to Wong and said firmly: "Remember my words. If something happens to me and I do not return, the position of Supreme Sorcerer belongs to Alaric. His hands will take over Kamar-Taj."
The Ancient One had already decided.
She could not ignore Alaric's safety. She had decided to venture into the dark dimension, even if it meant facing Dormammu and being destroyed there.
In her heart, Alaric represented the future of Kamar-Taj. His life was more important than hers. She was already prepared to bring her days to an end; now she wanted to ensure that a successor would accept the mission of protecting Earth.
Whether it was Strange or Alaric, she was willing to sacrifice herself to set them on the right path.
And Alaric… his talent was incredible. Even greater than Strange's, even greater than her own. Such a gift must not be lost in the dark dimension.
"Supreme Sorcerer!"
When Wong heard her final words, his eyes filled with tears.
Now it was clear to him why she had hesitated for so long. She knew that this journey could be her end.
What could he do?
He had no words with which to stop her. He had no right to decide whether Alaric should be sacrificed just to save the Ancient One. That went against everything he had learned since stepping into Kamar-Taj.
He understood, she was doing the right thing. And because of that, he had to let her go.
"I will be here, waiting for your return!" Wong said and bowed deeply.
In doing so, he expressed the greatest respect a disciple could show the Supreme Sorcerer.
–––
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