Egypt, the Pyramids.
Pharaoh Menis, clutching the Eye of Horus, eyed the young man in white warily. His instincts screamed that this man was dangerous, even though he wore the face of someone serene and harmless.
"Who are you?!"
"I am Cuba, a devoted servant of the great Dark God Dormammu."
The handsome young man smiled softly as he raised his hand, splaying his fingers toward Menis, The Other, and Woz.
"Dormammu? Didn't you say earlier that you were some disciple of the Sorcerer Supreme?"
Woz, who had just set down his bucket of machine oil after finishing a magical analysis of Cuba's aura, raised an eyebrow and asked calmly.
"The age of the Sorcerer Supreme is over. Only Lord Dormammu is worthy to rule this world for all eternity."
"Darkness, that is the true future for humanity."
His gentle voice, his soft smile… If not for the madness in his words, Menis might have thought this charming, angel-faced man could have been a close friend.
Looks always ruled the world, no matter the era.
"So, would you kindly step aside?"
"The son of Thanos and the daughter of Odin, I must take them with me."
These two, according to Lord Dormammu's vision, were the key to his ultimate victory.
"No one disturbs His Highness Lothar!"
"No one lays a hand on the Savior!"
With a silent nod of mutual understanding, The Other, wielding the Mind Stone scepter, and Menis, bearing the Eye of Horus on his chest, stood shoulder-to-shoulder to shield the sacred ground.
"That's right. Just like that!"
Having spent more time analyzing Cuba's internal energy composition, Woz lagged slightly behind but gave a solemn nod, asserting his presence.
Then, casually, he reached into the pocket on his abdomen and pulled out an energy cannon, its black muzzle aimed squarely at Cuba, still smiling sweetly.
"In that case... I have no choice."
Having shown the proper courtesy, Cuba's smile vanished. As his body surged with magical waves, his slight frame transformed into a monstrous white creature, something utterly inhuman.
A golden crown adorned his head, and a pitch-black belt cinched his waist, together gleaming blindingly under Egypt's scorching sun.
"What the—?!"
"This… this is the power bestowed upon me by the great Dark God Dormammu!"
"I shall be the one to lead Midgard into eternal darkness!"
"Ha!"
He extended his right hand and let out a mighty roar. The atoms in the air, reshaped by magical force, burst into blinding flames that engulfed Menis, The Other, and Woz.
"?!!?!?"
What was this?!
Spontaneous combustion?!
No matter how they thrashed, the flames wouldn't go out. The Other screamed in agony, he could even smell the seared flesh of his remaining organic half.
"With the nuisances taken care of… it's time to crack open that subspace the old fool created."
With Dormammu's blessing, Cuba, now the vessel of ultimate darkness, formed a long-lost mystic seal, and the subspace forged by Agamotto gradually shimmered into view.
"Huff..."
A masterpiece of his former master lay before him. Cuba closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
When he opened them again, concentrated darkness surged around his right fist.
"Ha!"
A blast of pure Dormammu's essence tore across the subspace's outer wall, riddling it with fractures!
One punch wasn't enough? Then he'd punch again.
...
Inside the Time Training Ground.
Still testing how much of Hela's power he could absorb without disrupting their fragile balance, Lothar frowned as the ground quaked beneath him.
"What now?"
"Is it someone else from your 'memory' again?"
Drawing from past experiences, Hela immediately pinned the blame on Lothar, whether it was his fault or not.
"Shut up."
Lothar growled, fed up. The sky above split with lightning, the ground cracked like shattered glass.
All signs pointed to apocalypse.
Just like the time he annihilated U40, or nearly razed Svartalfheim, the world was falling apart.
"This world... is ending."
Face grim, Lothar cast aside his quarrel with Hela. He hoisted her onto his shoulder like a living battery and shot off toward the place where his body lay.
"What are you doing?!"
"Put me down!"
Thrown over his shoulder like garbage, Hela's frosty expression turned murderous as she felt Lothar's hand brace against her rear for balance.
"If you don't want to die, then shut it!"
Even with Hela's divine power of death fueling him, and even though he hadn't yet transformed into a Super Saiyan in soul form, the cracks in Lothar's body continued to deepen as he burned through power.
BOOM!!!
A deafening thunderclap split the sky as Cuba, now a monstrous white entity, descended upon the Sanctuary.
"Hmm?"
"No soul?"
Cuba blinked at the two bodies sealed to stone pillars by Agamotto's magic.
"Their souls must be somewhere inside this subspace…"
After some effort, Cuba unraveled Agamotto's seal flawlessly. Gripping Lothar and Hela's physical bodies, one in each hand, he vanished the Time Training Ground in an instant, disappearing without a trace.
Whoosh!
Still flying toward the Sanctuary, Lothar suddenly saw the world blur. In an instant, the apocalyptic sky shattered into a vibrant scene: the Pyramid, filled with panicked shouting and the scent of charred meat.
What?!
The sudden shift darkened Lothar's expression, especially when he saw The Other, Menis, and Woz collapsed on the ground, smoldering and barely conscious.
"P-Prince Lothar?!"
"Lord Savior?!"
Just as Menis finished purging the mysterious fire with the Eye of Horus, he looked up to see Lothar, Hela slung over his shoulder, emerge like a storm.
"Something terrible has happened, my lord!"
"A monstrous fiend just stole both your bodies!"
Still recovering, Menis wiped the soot from his face, his voice thick with regret and desperation.
"It was that young human we met earlier, the one who claimed to be a disciple of the Sorcerer Supreme. He's actually a disciple of Dormammu, Prince Lothar."
The Other winced, pale as a ghost, especially under the icy glares of Lothar and Hela's soul forms.
"Prince Lothar, Woz has successfully tracked Cuba's trajectory!"
Woz, ever the pragmatic battle support, offered what little good news he could muster.
However...
"Prince Lothar, your soul integrity is down to 32%. If you continue using your powers, your soul may suffer irreparable damage."
Seeing the cracks spiderwebbing across Lothar's form, Woz furrowed his brow with grave concern.
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