Support Me: https://ko-fi.com/arcaneyes123
Alpheus, the World Forger killed by Barbatos, was responsible for creating the universe in the World Forge. His presence during Luke's removal from the World Forge hinted at something fishy about his death.
The other party had tried to stop him, but failed. They couldn't expel Luke and his companions, nor could they stop Luke from taking the World Forge. Ultimately, they had no choice but to follow Luke into this universe.
After all, for the World Forger, the mission was completed poorly and the World Forge was gone, so his existence would be meaningless.
Luke saw familiar faces like Etri, but he had no desire to engage with them. Besides, the dwarves would be busy for a while. At least they could help by giving the teleportation hall a thorough inspection and maintenance.
Transporting something as massive as the World Crucible consumed an incalculable amount of energy, and that immense amount of energy was pumped out in such a short time that even the dimensional rainbow bridge in the teleportation hall struggled at full power. It was like compressing an entire universe and transporting it in a short period of time.
During this time, the spatial stability of the teleportation hall must be maintained to prevent the escaping energy from affecting the Silent City, and the preparations and responses required are numerous. The summoned dwarven master craftsmen have been preparing for this moment for a long time.
…
Doctor Strange, returning home from a business trip, finally relaxed in his own sanctuary. This trip had been full of twists and turns, but he felt like he'd forgotten something, which troubled him.
Stephen pulled out a cup of lukewarm coffee from the void and sipped it gently while carefully recalling what he had forgotten. Finally, when he saw the enchanted ceiling, a scene of dark clouds and thunder, he remembered what he had forgotten.
Thor!
Yes, he forgot about Thor!
Everything happened so fast after Luke appeared. He didn't even have time to send any message to Thor before he was taken to another dark universe.
He was brought back by Luke, but what about Thor? He couldn't be drinking in Bruce's universe waiting for him to come back, right?
Do you want to pick him up?
It doesn't seem necessary?
Stephen's mind was wavering between accepting and rejecting the call, but he finally gave up. He figured he needed a few days off. Thor wouldn't necessarily want to come back so early to handle things, right?
At the very least, Becky is still here. I can just follow her back when the time comes. If all else fails, I can use my privileges to summon the dimensional rainbow bridge of Silent City from the unlocked data dimension and be pulled back.
In any case, Thor is already a big baby who is almost two thousand years old. No one needs to worry about him, right?
Thinking of this, Stephen's mind, which had given up thinking, instantly wiped out the guilt that had just risen in his heart, and he became at ease with his leisure time.
Sitting on the soft cushions of a high-back chair, Stephen drank tea comfortably while flipping through a forbidden book. This was a rare way for him to relax.
A magical wave appeared in the house, and a chubby figure moved out of the rotating portal. He saw Master Stephen Strange sitting by the fireplace in a relaxed manner.
The Mage King looked at Stephen in astonishment, then turned his head to look behind him and asked, "Wait a minute, when did you come back?"
"Just now, are you surprised to see me?" Stephen smiled and waved to the Mage King as a greeting.
"Actually, do you think I should be surprised?" The Mage King smiled wryly and stepped aside, only to see another Doctor Strange emerge from the portal. Along with Doctor Strange came a familiar girl.
"Wow, this is a bit too surprising." Stephen, who was sitting by the stove, slapped his forehead with a headache, his face bitter. He just wanted to rest. Was that a difficult request? He suspected that someone didn't want him to rest.
"You don't look surprised at all." Master Strange, who came out of the portal, raised his eyebrows slightly when he saw the calm and composed look on his other self.
"You know, it's possible for mages like us to get to know our multiverse selves, or even see another self. I might just have seen too much. Would you like some coffee? I really like it to keep me awake." Stephen raised his cup and gestured. An identical cup, filled with coffee, suddenly appeared in front of Strange, suspended in mid-air.
"No, that might be your taste. I prefer tea." Master Strange shook his head.
"This is consistent with my teacher. Excuse me, is your teacher the Ancient One or Dormammu?" Stephen snapped his fingers and replaced the coffee in front of Strange with tea.
"Of course it's Ancient One! Is your teacher Dormammu?" Strange came to Stephen with a cup of tea and sat down with him by the fireplace.
The nearby Mage King and the girl exchanged a glance. The King shrugged and said to the girl, "It seems they have something to discuss. Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?"
"Just anything will do. I'm not really hungry." The girl shook her head, her eyes still fixed on Strange.
"It was the Ancient One who led me into the world of magic. But when I was on a business trip in the multiverse, I met Doctor Strange, who was a student of Dormammu. His black magic was so amazing that it made my scalp tingle. Although I'm not bad at it either." Stephen closed the Toaru Majutsu no Index beside him and spoke lightly about his experiences.
"I can't imagine what my other self would be like if I learned magic from Dormammu. A villain who destroys the world?" Strange couldn't imagine what he would be like if he learned magic from Dormammu.
"Actually, he's an okay guy, but his style of doing things is a little bit evil. Of course, judging by our moral concepts, he can hardly be considered a companion of the Order camp. But to say that he is completely bad is not the case. He is a guy who is both good and evil and does what he wants." Stephen made his judgment.
"This book looks a bit strange." Strange's eyes fell on the large black leather book in Stephen's hand. He swore that he had read almost all the magic books in Kamar-Taj, but he had never seen such a book.
"This is a rare and unique work in the entire universe, a work by the Ancient One that can only be found in this universe." Stephen stroked the cover of the book and said in a light tone, "If I were to give it an evaluation, as her masterpiece after ascending to godhood, this book should be compared with the Book of Vishanti or the Book of Darkness. They should be considered on the same level."
"Apotheosis?" Strange frowned at Stephen's words. With his current experience, he certainly understood that the Ancient One's death was a self-directed drama. She'd had enough of that boring and torturous life, and after finding a worthy successor like him, she'd decisively committed suicide and fled. But apotheosis? He didn't know that. Especially since Stephen mentioned a work that belonged only to this universe, it clearly pointed out that this universe's Ancient One was completely different from those in other multiverses.
"You can understand it as her becoming a dimensional demon like Vishanti. Well, on the side of goodness and order." Stephen admitted without any psychological burden.
"Can I see her?" Strange's eyes lit up and he looked a little anxious.
"She's not here. She has her own dimensional universe to manage. If nothing unexpected happens, she's very busy right now. Even her clone in this universe has its own responsibilities and a lot of affairs to deal with." Stephen looked at Strange, whose face suddenly darkened. He leaned sideways, his arm supporting half of his cheek on the armrest, and said thoughtfully, "It seems you've run into some big trouble, trouble that even you can't handle. So were you trying to ask Master Ancient One for help just now?"
"Wait a minute, you just said you've seen yourself in many different multiverses. Do you have the ability to travel through them?" The girl next to her finally couldn't help but interject. The Mage King had gone to prepare food for her, and although she was far away, the space was open, and the two Stephens didn't shy away from their conversation, so she listened in on the entire thing.
Seeing that the topic between the two of them never got to what she was focusing on and wanted to know, she finally saw an opportunity and couldn't help but interrupt and ask.
"America?" Stephen looked at her with a complicated expression. This familiar face reminded him of his troubled daughter.
"You know me?" The girl raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Have you seen me from another universe? Does she also have the ability to speak about the multiverse and dimensions? Where is she? Can I meet her?"
"Of course I've seen another you. Even more, my relationship with the other you is quite complicated! I'm the guardian of her universe! The parent!" Stephen covered his eyes in distress. If there was anyone else who could give him a headache, America, who had directly knocked Steve out of the Rainbow Bridge, must be one of them.
"As for meeting her? Sorry, she's currently serving as an apprentice to Ancient One. I can't disturb her studies!" Stephen rejected the girl's request. He could certainly summon her back, but that would only cause him trouble.
"You seem a little reluctant to see the other her? Is it that you have a bad relationship with her? Or?" Strange seemed to have telepathic connection and sensitively sensed Stephen's helplessness and avoidance.
"Have you ever been a father? Have you ever experienced the torment of a daughter's rebellious phase? I'm in a worse situation. When I adopted her, she was almost an adult! We barely had that sweet childhood sweet period. If you ask me to master a certain magic, even if it's difficult, I have no problem doing it. But being a father who can get along well with my daughter, that's too difficult." Stephen reached out to stop Strange. He didn't want to continue talking about this topic that was giving him a headache. It's not like he hadn't sought advice from his father friends, but he could only say that every family has its own opinions. At least the Stark family has a very close relationship with Tony, so close that even Pepper is jealous.
"Okay, I can drop the subject."
"Don't ask me for help either."
As soon as Strange said that they could skip this topic, Stephen stopped him from saying anything else.
"It seems you are well aware that we are in trouble." Strange smiled.
"You and that girl have both been infected by some powerful force, and it's locked onto you." Stephen didn't hide anything. He glanced at Strange and the girl before affirming, "I noticed it the moment you arrived. Let me think, what is that familiar feeling? It's the power of Chaos! This is a rather troublesome energy, and whoever can drive it must be a rather troublesome being. Honestly, I've been traveling quite a lot lately, and the high intensity of the business trips has made it a bit too much for me. I want to rest and not be disturbed."
"I'm afraid I can't. The owner of this power is hunting us across the universe. At least eight, if not ten, Doctor Strange have died at her hands, or even more. I don't think you can stay out of it." Strange smiled bitterly.
"She? Looks like a woman. If I'm not mistaken, is it Wanda Maxime?" Stephen deduced the source of the trouble from Strange's words without surprise. After all, the power of Chaos and her obvious clues were hard to ignore.
"Or perhaps it's more appropriate to call her the Scarlet Witch. You know, the successive wars have taken a toll on her spirit. She's lost so much. So, she's a little crazy now." Strange accepted Stephen's guess and took the initiative to say, "A mad person isn't scary. What's scary is that this mad person possesses unparalleled and invincible power. Many of my universes have tried to stop her, but none of them have been able to do so."
"Whoever caused the problem should handle it." Stephen had made up his mind to rest, ignoring Strange's various signals. He'd once been a diligent worker, deeply concerned for the safety of this planet. But those careless people at the Energy Bank had actually expanded his boundaries to encompass more than one universe. Even if he was a hardworking man, facing endless tasks, he'd be nauseous.
"My suggestion is to go meet Wanda here. She's pretty easy to talk to. If you can convince her to help you, then maybe your troubles won't be a problem anymore. If that doesn't work out, you and her can settle down here. Even if they come knocking on your door, she won't be able to cause any trouble. What's there to worry about?
Just crazy? There are many doctors here who specialize in treating this kind of mental illness. As long as you come, even if you are crazy enough to have multiple personalities, you can walk out healthy after treatment."