The three of them continued down the corridor. Broken and mottled walls and floors stretched endlessly before them. It seemed no part of the Time Variance Authority remained intact.
In the eerie silence, their footsteps echoed with a steady rhythm. Lights flickered intermittently, casting their shadows along the corridor, as if three ghosts were moving through the ruins. Any ordinary person would have been terrified, expecting some unseen monster to leap from the next corner. But Malrick, Jarvis, and Dark Strange were no ordinary people. Their strength and experience made them fearless.
They moved from one sealed or damaged office to another. Inside, cubicles varied—some were destroyed, others almost untouched. Despite the destruction, no dust had settled on any of the desks. Yet in a place outside of time, the lack of dust did not indicate recent activity. Decay and wear do not follow the same rules here.
The TVA was vast, yet they moved through it swiftly. Even after searching every corner, they found no living person, nor a single corpse. The place resembled a haunted version of Silent Hill, as if everyone had vanished overnight without a trace.
But this absence did not imply mass killing. Whoever had occupied the TVA had no intent to destroy its personnel. This meant the vanished employees might still be alive—likely taken elsewhere. The realization gave Jarvis a moment of relief.
Finally, they arrived at the TVA's command center. Its layout was familiar, yet the devastation was far worse. The world Tree mural on the wall was shattered, and the main control equipment flickered with sparks, clearly deprecated.
"The intruder deliberately severed the TVA's connection with the outside world," Jarvis noted. "This shows they were cautious. They knew if we arrived in time, their invasion might have been thwarted. In other words, their power may not be overwhelming."
Dark Strange nodded. "Then all we need is to find them and correct this situation."
Jarvis shook his head. "The challenge is locating them. The Multiverse is vast. If they hide in a doomsday world, finding them could be nearly impossible."
Malrick placed his hands on the main console, disagreeing. "You're thinking too small. The main trunk of the timeline has already been disturbed. The intruder's purpose in entering the TVA has largely been achieved. Locating them won't be difficult. The real challenge is correcting the changes in the main timeline to resolve the Universe collision crisis completely."
His words caused Jarvis and Dark Strange to fall silent. The Multiverse was already in peril. Finding the mastermind alone would not save it—it would only reveal how the catastrophe began.
Jarvis, after calculations, suggested, "Young Master, my sub‑entity is stored within the TVA's internal network. It might not have been cleared. We should repair the TVA's data system first. If my sub‑entity remains, we could discover exactly what happened here."
Malrick nodded and extended his hand over the console. As he passed his hand across the flickering equipment, the electrical sparks vanished. Cracks in the machinery and damaged circuits repaired themselves in an instant.
He pressed several buttons. The main screen flared back to life with a sharp whine. On it was the familiar orange-yellow map of timeline branches. TVA technology had been restored.
Malrick worked swiftly, checking the timelines. His earlier discovery was confirmed: the source of the timeline had contracted, causing world collisions across the Multiverse. If left unchecked, the Marvel Cinematic Universe itself would be destroyed.
Jarvis extended a data cable from his arm, linking to the main console. Streams of information poured before his eyes like a torrent. After a few moments, he shuddered, disbelief written across his face.
"Did you find anything?" Dark Strange asked.
"It appears my sub-entity wasn't erased," Malrick confirmed, glancing at Jarvis.
Jarvis nodded. "I located the sub-entity in the remaining data fragments and merged it back. The intruder deleted all TVA data and destroyed advanced equipment, but my sub-entity had hidden within the remnants."
Dark Strange tilted his head. "You said 'he'?" He began to suspect the intruder might be another Strange variant.
Jarvis shook his head. "No, Mr. Strange. The intruder is not another version of you—it is Doctor Doom."
Doctor Doom. Dark Strange recalled the name but had no strong memory of the individual. Malrick, however, displayed a knowing expression. After witnessing the TVA's condition, he had already suspected Doom might be involved. Hearing Jarvis confirm it gave him a slight headache. No wonder the mastermind looked so similar to Tony Stark—Doom had been preparing to destabilize the Multiverse.
"Did your sub-entity record Doom's actions?" Malrick asked.
Jarvis nodded and plunged his fingers into the console, pulling up a surveillance feed.
"Doctor Doom's behavior aligns closely with the TVA's mission," Jarvis explained. "After joining, he was extremely active in executing assignments, always stressing the importance of protecting the Multiverse. He pursued Kang variants relentlessly. Whenever the TVA discovered a Kang Council meeting, Doom would intervene immediately. Until recently—for Young Master and us—he annihilated all the Kang variants at their gathering site. None survived."
The screen displayed Doom executing the Kang Council, an arena of carnage. Countless Kang variants were trapped in the arena, screaming in terror as Doom struck with ruthless precision.