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
—------------------—
"But in the Dark Dimension, nothing is controlled by time."
Kaecilius grew more fanatical as he spoke.
"As long as Earth becomes a part of Dormammu, relying on Dormammu's power, we will all embrace the life of Eternity!"
"Time is our true enemy!"
"Death is a disgrace imposed upon humanity!"
Strange tilted his head to dodge a flying piece of wood and coldly retorted: "Death is a disgrace? Then what about the people you killed?"
"Irrelevant." Kaecilius pouted dismissively, "For all of humanity to attain the life of Eternity, those are just insignificant sacrifices."
"Doctor, my goal is not to destroy the World, but to save the common people."
The anger in Strange's heart was burning.
He couldn't listen to any of Kaecilius's grandiose cult rhetoric.
He only knew that he had just broken his oath as a Doctor, having killed two people with his own hands, and the inner turmoil made him just want to end this damn fight quickly.
Strange pretended to be moved by Kaecilius's words, deliberately slowing down his movements.
Kaecilius, seeing Strange's attack rhythm slowing down, thought his words had worked.
He continued to drop a bombshell: "Even the Ancient One is drawing power from the Dark Dimension to sustain her life. She is a liar; she uses lies to maintain her rule."
Strange's eyes flickered, and he stopped attacking, appearing to have fallen into great shock and hesitation.
Seeing this, Kaecilius also stopped casting spells.
Space stopped twisting, and the two landed back on the ground.
Kaecilius extended his hand towards Strange from a distance, his tone sincere.
"Join us, Doctor. Give everything to Dormammu; he is the Lord of All Things, the Source of Birth! Rely on him, believe in him, merge with him!"
Strange lowered his hands and hung his head in silence for a few seconds.
Kaecilius couldn't see Strange's expression, only hearing him speak unhurriedly.
"My teacher, Homelander, once taught me a phrase..."
Kaecilius was slightly stunned, waiting for what would follow.
"People must rely on themselves!"
At the same time he spoke, Strange suddenly exploded into action.
The Sandevistan was activated again, even though he was already suffering from an unbearable headache.
The tendons in his right leg were tensed to the limit, and with a sharp, straight kick, he struck Kaecilius's abdomen.
"Bang!"
Kaecilius couldn't react in time and was kicked away solidly by the terrifying kinetic energy contained in that kick.
"Crash—!"
He smashed through the glass window of the New York Sanctum, and with glass shards flying everywhere, he landed heavily on Bleecker Street.
Kaecilius clutched his abdomen, vomiting a mouthful of blood; the intense pain left him unable to stand up for a moment.
And just as he looked up, he saw Strange had already chased him out from the broken window.
In a panic, Kaecilius's eyes turned completely black, and he borrowed power from the Dark Dimension with all his might, slamming into the ground.
"Rumble!"
The streets of Manhattan began to undergo terrifying deformations.
The flat road undulated like ocean waves, pedestrians and vehicles were thrown high by the distorted surface, and screams rose one after another.
Seeing this, Strange had no choice but to give up chasing Kaecilius.
He waved his hands, and the golden magic energy turned into large nets, accurately catching the civilians falling from high places and placing them safely in an unaffected area.
Seeing that the attack was effective, Kaecilius was preparing to continue casting spells to ambush Strange.
Suddenly, his movements froze, and his face turned deathly pale.
Without the slightest hesitation, he quickly drew a portal and dove into it.
The portal had just closed.
"Boom—!!!"
In the sky, a red and blue figure landed in the center of the street in a Superhero landing.
He stood with his hands on his hips, his expression arrogant.
The Sorcerer Ancient One also followed closely behind, stepping out from a portal and onto the street.
She looked at the surrounding distorted streets, quickly formed seals with her hands, and pressed them forcefully onto the ground.
The tilted buildings stood upright again, and the flipped roads returned to being flat.
It was as if nothing had ever happened; only those shaken civilians proved the disaster that had just occurred.
The shaken crowd on both sides of the street were stunned for a few seconds.
People didn't know who the bald woman in the yellow robe was, but since she was with Homelander, she must be a Vought Superhero!
Then, a burst of enthusiastic applause erupted from the crowd.
"It's Homelander!"
"Vought saved us again!"
Cheers rose one after another.
People took out their mobile phones to record, and uploaded it to Twitter with the hashtag #HomelanderSavesNewYorkAgain#.
The Sorcerer Ancient One did not like this noisy scene and walked into the New York Sanctum on her own.
While Homelander smiled and walked towards the media reporters who had rushed to the scene.
He put his arm around Strange's shoulder and pushed him, still a bit dazed, in front of the camera.
"Citizens, please do not panic; the threat has been neutralized."
"Today, I would like to grandly introduce a new friend to everyone. He is not only Vought's top prosthetic Doctor, but also Vought's newest S-Rank Superhero..."
"Doctor Strange!"
"Double Dr.!" Strange added, facing the endless flashes.
Next, after Homelander kindly fulfilled the photo requests of the fans present, he took Strange away from the crowd and returned inside the New York Sanctum.
The door of the Sanctum closed, shutting out the noise from outside.
Inside the hall, Strange could no longer hold back the questions in his heart.
"What exactly is going on? Who were those people?" he asked eagerly.
Homelander put on an equally puzzled expression and looked at the Ancient One.
Facing Strange's full heart of questions and Homelander's face full of "puzzlement".
The Ancient One's gaze was heavy as she spoke slowly.
"That was Kaecilius, once my most prized student."
"When he first arrived at Kamar-Taj, his soul was already shattered. The immense grief of losing his wife and child had blinded him."
The Ancient One looked deeply at Strange and said: "He didn't come to Kamar-Taj to seek the truth, but to seek a cure; he attempted to cure... death."
"In the end, he was blinded by immortality. He betrayed Kamar-Taj and defected to the ruler of the Dark Dimension, Dormammu."
"Dormammu?" Strange didn't notice the Ancient One's gaze and continued to ask.
"An ancient entity that exists outside of time and space, he devours other dimensions to strengthen himself. Earth is his next target."
The Ancient One pointed to the ancient defensive magic array of the New York Sanctum.
"Thousands of years ago, the first Sorcerer Supreme, Agamotto, established three Sanctums on Earth. London, Hong Kong, and the New York Sanctum where we are now."
"These three Sanctums together form a global energy shield, blocking threats from other dimensions outside of Earth."
"The purpose of Kamar-Taj is to train sorcerers to protect these three Sanctums."
"Now, the London Sanctum has been destroyed by Kaecilius, and there is a breach in the shield."
"If the New York Sanctum also falls, Earth will be completely exposed to the Dark Dimension. By then, everything will cease to exist."