I have added this story to my Patreon. You can support me and read the 40 latest and advanced chapters there. It also fed and motivate me to write more chapters!
Link: Patreon.com/Heroicverse
—------------------—
Night fell.
The dormitory area of Kamar-Taj was completely silent.
Strange lay on his bed, clutching a photo of Christine in his hand, tossing and turning.
"I will bring you back." Strange gently rubbed the edge of the photo with his thumb and whispered to himself. "I promise."
Sighing, he rolled out of bed.
Grief and longing made it impossible for him to calm down; he needed a distraction.
Strange put on his wizard robes, snuck out of his room, and came to the library of Kamar-Taj.
The library was deserted in the deep of night.
Strange continued to search for magic books about spirits.
Complex Sanskrit and ancient incantations danced under the lamplight.
He was immersed in those profound theories.
He didn't know how much time had passed.
"Dong—! Dong—! Dong—!"
A burst of urgent alarm bells rang out in the silence.
Not long after, there was another dull, thunderous explosion.
Something happened!
Strange immediately rushed out of the library to check.
There was already a commotion in the corridor outside, and the wizards were moving in a hurry.
Strange stopped a wizard rushing by: "What happened?"
"I don't know!" the wizard replied quickly. "But the alarm came from the London Sanctum! The sound of the explosion came from the Hall of the Gateway!"
"Let's go to the Hall of the Gateway first; that's where the portals connecting the three major Sanctums are!"
Strange followed the wizards as they ran toward the Hall of the Gateway.
As soon as they arrived at the hall, they saw that it was in shambles.
Mordo and Wong were leading several wizards in a fierce confrontation with a group of invaders.
The invaders all had eye sockets as black as a panda's, with scarlet rune marks branded on their foreheads.
Their attacks were ruthless, with every move meant to kill.
Wong used a magic shield bash to repel a Dark Zealot, catching a glimpse of the newly arrived Strange out of the corner of his eye.
"Don't worry about this place!" Wong roared, pointing to a wooden door on the side of the hall. "Go through that door! Go protect the New York Sanctum!"
Wong quickly cast a spell to block an attack and continued shouting: "The London Sanctum has been destroyed! Once the New York Sanctum is destroyed as well, Dormammu and the Dark Dimension will immediately descend and consume Earth!"
Dormammu? The Dark Dimension? What are those?
Strange was bewildered.
But he understood that he needed to go to the New York Sanctum.
He followed the direction of Wong's finger and plunged through the wooden door.
Space shifted.
Strange returned to the New York Sanctum once again.
At this moment, inside the hall, Kaecilius, accompanied by two lackeys, was cornering the Guardian of the New York Sanctum.
The Guardian clutched his wound, kneeling on the ground in pain, having lost the ability to resist.
Kaecilius raised the translucent blade of space in his hand, preparing to deliver the killing blow.
"Don't!" Strange instinctively shouted to stop him.
He regretted it the moment he shouted.
He had only come to learn magic to save his girlfriend, Christine, but now he was inexplicably caught up in this mysterious magical war.
But he absolutely could not watch someone die right in front of him.
"Listen, buddy." Strange raised his hands to show he had no intention of attacking. "Look, he's already knelt down and conceded. You won, let him go."
Kaecilius stopped his movement and turned to look at this uninvited guest. "How long have you been at Kamar-Taj, wizard...?"
"It's Doctor." Strange replied.
"Your name is Doctor? Okay, Doctor Wizard?" Kaecilius tilted his head slightly.
"Actually, I hold dual doctorates in medicine and philosophy, but I am Strange." Strange corrected him, feeling a bit awkward.
"Oh, Strange? Perhaps..." Kaecilius cast him a weird look. "But that won't work."
As he finished speaking, the blade of space mercilessly pierced the Guardian's heart.
The Guardian collapsed into a pool of blood.
Strange's eyes narrowed. He flung his hands outward, and a golden magic whip instantly formed in his palm.
Kaecilius sneered.
The two zealots beside him immediately understood and began stepping on the air.
magic circles flashed beneath their feet as they stepped on the void, rushing toward Strange from the left and right at high speed.
The battle erupted in an instant.
Strange's eyes focused, and a faint blue light flickered along his spine.
"Sandevistan, activate."
The zealots' airborne figures were like slow-motion playback, their trajectories clearly visible.
Strange bent his legs slightly, the power of his reinforced tendons exploding as his figure turned into an afterimage, actively rushing forward to meet them.
"Swish—!"
A monofilament wire emitting red light shot out from the cyberware in his wrist, merging with his magic whip.
Strange had originally just wanted to use the monofilament wire to increase the power of the magic whip and break the artifacts in the zealots' hands.
The monofilament magic whip swept across.
Under the augmentation of magic, it sliced through the two zealots' artifacts without any resistance and then swept across their necks.
The two zealots' movements came to an abrupt halt.
Their heads detached from their bodies, and blood gushed out.
They died on the spot.
Looking at the two gruesome corpses, Strange's hands began to tremble slightly.
He looked at his blood-stained hands in disbelief.
Just as he was distracted, Kaecilius had already closed in.
The blade of space aimed straight for Strange's throat.
Relying on the reaction ability provided by the Sandevistan, Strange narrowly leaned backward.
The sharp blade grazed his neck.
He instinctively whipped the monofilament magic whip out to counterattack; the whip turned into an afterimage, brushing past Kaecilius's neck and leaving a thin, long bloodstain.
Kaecilius was almost decapitated on the spot, breaking out in a cold sweat.
He hadn't expected this guy to be so troublesome, almost causing him to capsize in the gutter.
Kaecilius quickly increased the distance, slamming his hands onto the ground.
The space-folding magic activated!
The gravity and spatial rules of the entire New York Sanctum were instantly overturned.
The corridor began to layer like a kaleidoscope; the ceiling and floor twisted, and countless doors and windows folded and alternated.
Strange felt the ground vanish beneath his feet, and he plummeted downward.
Sandevistan, activate!
The World around him pressed the slow-motion button once again.
Shattered glass and wood chips hung suspended in mid-air.
Strange forcibly twisted his waist, the power of his reinforced tendons erupting.
He kicked off the folding walls, moving like a Ninja Gaiden character, weaving and bouncing back and forth through the constantly shifting geometric space.
Closing in on Kaecilius step by step.
Kaecilius was forced to retreat constantly, his eyes filled with disbelief.
When did such a formidable character appear in Kamar-Taj? Not only was he terrifyingly agile, but his combat power was also astounding.
Seeing the stalemate, Kaecilius began casting spells to block Strange's advance while simultaneously launching a psychological offensive.
"Doctor!" Kaecilius shouted loudly. "Since you are a Doctor who cures the sick and saves lives, you should understand the laws of nature!"
"Everything, birth, aging, sickness, and death, has an end! Time will run out, the golden sun will perish, and this fragile Earth will only move toward extinction!"