"I'll get straight to the point."
After a fleeting moment of disappointment, Agamotto quickly collected himself, the familiar smile returning to his face as he addressed the two standing before him.
"I need both of your strength."
"?"
Lothar and Hela exchanged a glance, each seeing confusion mirrored in the other's eyes.
"I need you… to help me seal Dormammu."
A familiar name rang out from Agamotto's lips the very next moment.
Dormammu, Lord of the Dark Dimension.
An enigmatic entity so obscure that even Thanos's vast databanks had little information on him.
"I refuse."
Lothar didn't hesitate in the slightest. His rejection was cold, direct, and devoid of courtesy.
This so-called Sorcerer Supreme clearly had a personal grudge with Dormammu. Lothar wasn't some naive do-gooder who would leap to help just because someone asked nicely.
He had more important things to do, like returning with the Flerken to report to his adoptive father that the Reality Stone was back in their possession.
"I'm with him." Hela, her hair now pulled back into her war-ready appearance, also gave a firm refusal.
"And perhaps you should explain who you really are."
It was one thing when she couldn't locate him before. But now that he stood right in front of her, there was no way the future Queen of the Nine Realms was letting this man, who didn't appear in any Asgardian records, slip away without answers.
"I can give you the coordinates you want, Lothar."
As the words left Agamotto's mouth, the calm subspace around them suddenly rippled with energy.
A streak of golden light blurred across the polished ground, leaving afterimages in its wake, yet just as it reached a step away from Agamotto, it froze mid-air.
"You're still no match for me, Lothar. And you too, Hela."
With a flick of his fingers, a magic circle descended from the heavens, binding Hela to the spot just as she was about to unleash her Infinite Blade Formation.
The speed. The power. She didn't even have time to react.
"Tch."
Lothar, pinned in place by invisible magical force, clenched his teeth as veins bulged at his temples. Sparks of electricity danced across his skin, his power continuing to rise.
Crack!
Agamotto slapped his palm directly onto Lothar's chest.
Thud!
Lothar's pupils shrank to pinpoints. In the next instant, he found himself, shockingly, staring at his own body from the outside.
"Lothar!!!"
Hela gasped in disbelief, unable to trust what her eyes were seeing.
What just happened?
Agamotto had slapped Lothar's soul out of his body?!
"Power is the breeding ground of arrogance, Lothar."
"You put too much faith in yourself."
Agamotto withdrew his hand and calmly pointed at the golden-haired body lying unconscious on the ground, identifying the root of Lothar's swift defeat.
Lothar clenched his jaw, throwing punches in frustration, but in soul form, his strength was gone.
His fists passed through Agamotto's body harmlessly, incapable of landing even a scratch.
But Agamotto's counterattacks? Every single one seared his very soul...
Why...?
"You are strong, but not the strongest."
"We could've had a civil conversation, but your first instinct was to use your strength to try to force me into compliance."
Agamotto's smile faded. His face grew solemn.
"Huff..." Lothar's futile struggle finally came to an end. He looked silently at the grey-haired Agamotto.
Pride clouds your vision, Lothar.
Before being grounded, Thanos's stern voice echoed in his memory, blending with Agamotto's words.
Lothar, I wasn't angry because of the Reality Stone. I was angry at your arrogance, and your ignorance.
You need to understand this: you won't always be lucky enough to survive your recklessness.
Your strength is incredible. Your growth has far exceeded my expectations. But that strength... has planted the seeds of pride deep within you.
Lothar closed his eyes. After a long silence, he opened them again, meeting Agamotto's gaze.
"Have you figured it out now?"
Agamotto looked at the unusually young figure before him and asked softly.
"How do you know so much about me?"
Instead of answering, Lothar posed his own question.
"When you arrived in this universe, you didn't exactly sneak in quietly."
Agamotto's gentle smile returned.
"..."
"So, how about a deal, Lothar?"
"I'll give you the coordinates you seek. In return, you help me seal Dormammu. Sound fair?"
Agamotto extended his hand and, with another snap of his fingers, Lothar's soul returned to his body.
"And you, Hela."
"I can create a spell array in Asgard akin to Valhalla itself, so that your fallen warriors, those who never made it to the Great Hall, will have a home to rest in peace. What do you say?"
...
Thirty minutes earlier.
While holding off a demonic incursion from another dimension, Agamotto suddenly sensed a powerful and utterly unfamiliar energy invading the Sanctum.
No one else could've noticed it but him.
"Sorcerer Supreme, Agamotto."
The voice was deep, calm, and resonant. A figure emerged from the void, bathed in the brilliance of golden armor, still stained with the blood of his enemies.
Born of guilt, the last of the Eternal Titans, founder of the Black Quadrant, ruler of the Centauri galaxy, and the one who sought balance in the universe—
Thanos.
"Thanos?"
They'd never met, but as a cosmic powerhouse himself, Agamotto had naturally heard of Thanos's name.
"Is this about your adopted son?"
The Centauri galaxy had no ties to Midgard. If this galactic tyrant had come all the way here, the only possible reason Agamotto could think of was Lothar.
"Let's make a deal, Agamotto."
"Use your magic. Take on the role of a stranger, and teach Lothar a lesson in humility."
"In exchange, I'll help you defeat and seal Dormammu."
Having returned to the Black Quadrant only to discover his rebellious son had run away from home in search of cosmic artifacts, Thanos tracked him via the artificial lifeform Woz and zeroed in on Midgard.
After careful consideration, he chose Agamotto, the reclusive Sorcerer Supreme, to give Lothar a taste of powerlessness.
Fifteen minutes earlier.
Not long after Thanos left, Agamotto felt another surge of familiar power.
Odin, King of Asgard.
Unlike the stranger Thanos, Odin was an old acquaintance. Though it had been ages since his last visit to the Sanctum.
"What's the matter, Odin?"
"Let's make a deal, Agamotto."
"I'm leaving soon. Before I go, I need you to construct a magical array in Asgard, a place akin to Valhalla. That way, Hela can use the Eternal Flame to awaken a legion of warriors completely loyal to her."
Worried that his death was near, Odin needed to ensure that Hela would have an army at her side after he was gone.
"In exchange, I'll help you defeat and seal Dormammu."
Agamotto: "…"
Wait, seriously?
So Dormammu's just… your personal fatherhood flex tool now?
Far away, deep within the Dark Dimension, Dormammu suddenly shuddered with unease.
He didn't know why.
He just felt… like something terrible was about to happen.
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