Space twisted and folded in on itself. Reality shattered like fragile glass.
For sorcerers like the Ancient One and Kaecilius, the very fabric of reality was their weapon.
Much like how ordinary sorcerers manipulate the Mirror Dinsion at will, the Ancient One and Kaecilius, drawing from Dormammu’s power, could command the physical realm itself.
Twisting reality. Controlling it. Dominating it.
This was likely the highest form a dinsional sorcerer could reach.
Against sorcerers of such caliber, conventional weapons and gear beca aningless.
They could launch nearly irresistible assaults through sheer manipulation of space and reality.
That was precisely why Kagura wanted to integrate dinsional mysticism into Rhodes Island’s industrial tech—hoping to adapt it into practical equipnt.
Even if they couldn’t fully match a sorcerer’s terrifying prowess, at the very least, mbers of the Griffin Security Organization and their gear needed the ans to counteract it.
Griffin was a shadow force safeguarding the world. It needed to be prepared for any threat.
If just one dinsional spellcaster could leave Griffin helpless, how was it any different from the fragile and fractured Avengers?
After all, the Avengers had Doctor Strange to rely on.
Griffin? Griffin only had Kagura.
In the library of mystical knowledge, the battle between the Ancient One and Kaecilius raged on—two of the most powerful sorcerers the world had ever known.
Both drew their power from Dormammu, but the Ancient One’s grasp of the dark dinsion was far deeper.
Even wielding the sa energy, Kaecilius couldn’t gain the upper hand.
It was no surprise—after all, the Ancient One had been using Dormammu’s power for centuries.
In terms of skill and combat experience, Kaecilius was a re child in comparison.
In a battle where strength and technique are evenly matched, experience becos the deciding factor.
Just like when Kagura had sparred with Mordo: although her understanding of dinsional sorcery was greater, Mordo’s combat experience balanced the scales and turned the duel into a stalemate.
"Stop this, Kaecilius," the Ancient One said calmly.
She was tolerant, not concerned with past betrayals.
If her once-promising student could still find his way back, there was room for redemption.
"No! You’re a liar. I won’t believe you again, Ancient One!" Kaecilius roared.
He struck with dark power—massive crystal walls erupted from the ground like a gleaming fortress.
The fragnts aligned into bizarre geotric shapes, spinning like a colossal gear ant to shred the Ancient One into pieces.
But she only tilted her head slightly, channeling her own magic to easily dispel the attack.
"The one who deceived you was Dormammu, Kaecilius. His promise of immortality is a cold and endless despair—an empty eternity, not the reward you imagine."
The spinning crystal walls shattered into shimring ice shards under her will.
"Hmph! Easy for you to say," Kaecilius sneered. "Aren’t you using Dormammu’s power too? You’re nothing but a selfish, hypocritical liar!"
’BOOM—’
The clash of sorcery erupted once more, shaking heaven and earth.
Reality trembled. The world warped.
A true clash of the gods.
Though Kaecilius couldn’t defeat the Ancient One, he held his ground.
But as ti passed, the tide began to turn.
"You’ve noticed it, haven’t you, Ancient One?" Kaecilius said with a smirk.
"Dormammu has sensed your presence. If you keep drawing on the dark dinsion, he’ll consu you. Soon, you’ll be nothing but his puppet."
The Ancient One showed no reaction and continued to fight.
"Still resisting?" Kaecilius mocked. "You’re just a selfish coward, clinging to your false righteousness!"
He drew in more dinsional energy, distorting reality further, and launched a fresh wave of attacks.
"How long can you keep this up? One minute? Two? Dormammu will devour you completely. Then you’ll be nothing more than a tool in our hands!"
He wasn’t wrong.
As she fought Kaecilius in the physical realm, the Ancient One’s mind was locked in constant battle against Dormammu in the spiritual dinsion.
That unrelenting ntal assault was slowly wearing her down.
From the mont Kaecilius pledged himself to Dormammu, the Ancient One’s power had begun to erode.
If she kept using dark dinsional magic like this, she would fall—becoming another puppet of Dormammu, turned against the very protectors she once led.
That was Kaecilius’s true strategy.
He didn’t need to defeat the Ancient One—just stall her long enough for Dormammu to break her will and consu her soul.
To guard is to sacrifice.
Sotis, to protect what you cherish most, your own life must beco aningless.
To the Ancient One, her fate didn’t matter.
As long as Earth—the world she’d protected for centuries—remained safe, and soone could carry on her legacy, that was enough.
Second by second, ti ticked away.
Her strength waned. She could no longer keep up both the physical battle and the psychic struggle.
It seed Kaecilius really might win.
"Kagura... Stephen Strange..." she murmured. "This may be as far as I go. From here on, it’s up to you."
"I will seal away all my senses and power—descend into the deepest dream, and sleep. Kagura, I entrust you with the promise you once made—kill completely."
"No!"
At the last mont, orange magical energy lit up before the Ancient One as Kagura and Stephen Strange descended from the sky!
Alongside them ca a fully-ard Mordo.
"Kagura?" the Ancient One blinked, surprised. "Why would you leave the safety of the Mirror Dinsion and co here? You’re not ready to face Kaecilius and Dormammu yet!"
"Soone once said," Kagura smiled, "sotis you have to learn to run before you can walk!"
"The Eye of Agamotto is Kaecilius’s true target. If we lose the Ti Stone, we lose our trump card against Dormammu!"
"Besides..."
She raised her hand—orange light danced across her fingers.
"I will never accept a world... where we lose you."
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