"Dormammu! I do what I say!"
"If I say you'll regret it, then you will!!"
"Weren't you full of rage just now? Come on! Go ahead!"
"I've got time to deal with you!!"
Alaric endured the pain as his energy drained away, but he didn't stop shouting at Dormammu. There was no fear in his voice, only pure determination and excitement.
Just moments ago, he had been certain it was over, that he would become nothing more than a battery for Dormammu's endless hunger.
But now everything had turned around.
Alaric was back on his feet.
The control was once again in his hands.
"If you're so powerful, then show me!" he shouted. "Use everything you've got, and let's see who's still standing in the end!"
Dormammu trembled with rage, his dark flames erupting once more, and the hands he had lowered rose again.
But he knew, if he stopped now, he would lose.
He couldn't close the energy channel between himself and Alaric. That meant Alaric could draw from his power endlessly.
Dormammu had no choice but to keep attacking, because any hesitation meant Alaric would grow stronger while he weakened.
The only way to regain balance was to continue devouring Alaric's energy.
But what he didn't know, was that Alaric had been using that very same dark power to expand his own dimension and strengthen the God of Black Magic.
Dormammu thought he was consuming Alaric's power, but in truth, Alaric was charging him for every bit of energy, and at a high price.
To Dormammu, it was unnoticeable, a small "fee," but to Alaric, that energy was immense, enough to elevate his dimension to an entirely new level.
"Fine," Dormammu growled. "Let's both stop. I'll let you go, you close the passage."
He tried to understand how Alaric had managed to take control over the channels of power, but every attempt to break them failed.
Everything reminded him of what had already happened, when Alaric blackmailed him using time magic.
Dormammu felt humiliated.
He had fallen into the same trap again.
He thought today he would finally destroy his enemy, but in the end, he was defeated again, by the same trick.
"Damn it," he thought. "Whenever I get involved with this man, it ends in disaster."
He made a decision.
Once Alaric left his dimension, he himself would vanish from it too.
He would leave the Dark World, go to other dimensions, and find a way to break Alaric's time magic, or at least prevent him from sneaking into his domain again.
He couldn't allow this child to catch him off guard once more.
"You want a truce?" he asked.
"Uh-huh!!" answered Alaric with a smile.
"I refuse."
"Don't push it!!" Dormammu snarled, his dark flame trembling with fury.
"You're the one who pushed it too far!" Alaric shot back, not lowering his tone for even a moment.
"Fine!" Dormammu exploded. "Then we'll both perish! I've got nothing to lose anyway!!"
Black energy surged once more, and the power of devouring suddenly intensified.
Alaric felt his soul being pulled from his body, the pain was unbearable, as if every atom of his being was burning.
"If you give up now," growled Dormammu, "I'll release you sooner!"
"I can… endure!" Alaric replied through gritted teeth.
He didn't want to give up. This was a rare opportunity, a chance to seize Dormammu's power without tricks, without deceit, purely through willpower. To perfect his world and become something greater.
Dormammu fell silent for a moment.
He saw the determination in Alaric's eyes.
That human will was almost disturbingly strong.
A few moments of silence passed.
Neither Dormammu nor Alaric spoke again. Every attempt to overpower the other ended in a deadlock.
At that moment, something changed within Alaric.
[Through deep experience and observation, you have gained insight into the nature of energy transfer. You have created a magical energy siphon.]
[Energy Siphon: allows you to absorb another's magical energy, whether it be life force, spiritual energy, or demonic essence.]
[Through purification of magical force and the experience of battle, your body transforms into demonic flame.]
[Demonic Flame Body: formed from terrifying magical fire, allowing you to withstand greater power and use stronger magic.]
At that moment, the space shook.
Black flames erupted from Alaric's body, wrapping him in a vortex of darkness.
"What are you doing?!" roared Dormammu.
Then he realized, Alaric was discarding his physical body.
The dimension echoed as if the heavens had collapsed.
The dark flames devoured everything material within Alaric, leaving behind only pure energy, a body woven from magical fire.
Dormammu was stunned.
The sight was all too familiar, because he himself had done the same once.
To gain absolute power, Dormammu had abandoned his body, turned into pure magic, and become the ruler of the Dark Dimension.
Now he watched as the man before him walked the same path.
"Ha! Alaric!" he laughed thunderously. "You finally understand, don't you? From this moment on, you can stay forever in the Dark World! You will never return to Earth again!"
His laughter echoed like thunder.
He watched the young sorcerer, the Ancient One's disciple, the future Supreme Sorcerer, the protector of Earth, turning into something resembling himself.
A demon of darkness.
A being of pure magic and burning power.
Dormammu was thrilled.
In his mind, he already saw the Ancient One's face when she learned of this, how she would lose her beloved disciple, her successor.
Her successor, whom she had protected and nurtured, had now become a demon.
One day, the two of them would clash, and the thought alone filled Dormammu with joy.
At first, he had regretted that Alaric had refused his offer.
But now, now he was almost proud.
Because Alaric, in the end, had chosen his side.
Still, something gnawed at him.
This mortal… was too much like him.
Too much.
"Hmm." Dormammu lowered his gaze, but Alaric didn't react.
He was too focused.
Now that he had become a body of magical flame, he could withstand even greater power.
The flow of energy between him and Dormammu accelerated, and Alaric felt his Eternal Night World expanding with every passing second.
Dimensional boundaries doubled in size.
His world became twice as vast as before.
His power grew beyond any known measure.
Compared to the rulers of smaller dimensions, Alaric could now crush them with a single gesture.
And his God of Magic, born from darkness, grew alongside him, spreading its dominion over cosmic energy.
"Boy… you actually did it!" growled Dormammu, feeling his power suddenly plummet.
"You seek death!!"
He was furious.
Alaric had abandoned his body just to steal even more of his strength.
The dark god roared, and the dimension shook.
Their powers clashed, and the entire space around them began to collapse.
Black waves consumed everything around them.
"Go die!!" roared Dormammu, unleashing all his might.
The sound of the explosion shattered the silence.
The space around Alaric collapsed, turning into the vortex of a black hole.
Light vanished.
But then, time began to reverse.
The moment trembled, and the entire scene returned to its starting point.
Everything reset.
Alaric took a deep breath.
"So merciless…" he murmured, feeling the pain return to him.
"But now… it's time to run!"