"You'll see soon enough ? Hah! You all will falling in the darkness!"
Kaecilius roared confidently unleashing a barrage of Dark Arts spells.
Waves of searing energy pulses of dark power and thousands of terrifying demonic beasts surged forth transforming the battlefield into a living nightmare a twisted illusion and vision of doomsday
Mordo Wong and other Masters with many disciples of Kamar-Taj struggled against the dark army.
I unleashed Vishanti's offensive spells including the Holy Charkram but they had little effect.
The one who had unleashed these demonic beasts had once been a devotee of Vishanti's light and some vestige of goodness remained within his demonic form.
I couldn't tell if the creators of Vishanti's magic had intentionally imbued it with mercy or if these creatures possessed some trick that rendered the spells less effective than they should be.
It's time to unleash my trump card the first one
I thought to myself as I stopped controlling the Holy Charkram that had just decapitated the tenth Dark Dimension Dragon.
The spectacle drew the attention of Wong and Mordo who stood beside me
as well as Kaecilius who had transformed into a colossal giant dozens of meters tall.
His head was covered in hundreds of eyes and dozens of mouths filled with fangs from which serpentine necks slithered out like multi-headed snakes.
His body was equally grotesque a jumbled mass of indistinguishable organs from countless demonic beasts fused into a single incomprehensible form.
"Heh you've finally given up Strange? Join me and you'll gain immense power!"
"I'm just changing my tactics not surrendering"
I replied loudly trying to boost the confidence of everyone watching me.
I was the recipient of the Ancient One's final two legacies making me the de facto Supreme Sorcerer even without the formal ceremony of appointment investiture and public announcement.
If I gave up the faint hope they clung to would vanish completely. And if I remained silent it would breed misunderstandings that would crush their spirits. So I had to shout a response even if it cost me precious time.
While I spoke I telepathically contacted the entity with whom I had made a pact
The feast has begun!
"Crimson Band of Cyttorak!"
Dozens of thin silken strands of crimson energy shot from my right palm each seeking out and binding the eleventh Dark Dragon—a serpentine creature resembling a Chinese dragon long and limbless.
The Crimson Band of Cyttorak didn't stop there.
It surged forward seizing more demonic beasts and deflecting a barrage of energy blasts with lightning speed. Within five seconds the first captured Dark Dragon a massive creature over ten meters long dissolved into black mist and vanished into the band.
Anyone who glanced at it could immediately tell...
The Crimson Band of Cyttorak had completely devoured the demonic beast's physical form and magical essence!
"This Crimson Band... it shouldn't have the ability to devour its target like this!" Kaecilius roared in fury relentlessly firing waves of energy attacks.
"I don't have time to explain. Dormammu is about to fully invade Earth. I need to stop him now."
"You can't stop the collapse! You can't even get past me! Hah! This Crimson Band can't contain me!"
"If a single spell from Citoret isn't enough... then I'll borrow the power of others to deal with you."
The Winds of Watoomb!
The Serpents of Valtor!
Bal'takk's Lightning!
The Image of Ikonn!
The storm carried by the winds of magic coalesced into a vortex shielding us from the onslaught of demonic beasts. It was a massive tempest that had materialized without warning without any sign that such a cataclysmic storm was about to erupt.
The wind's force had no effect on me or the disciples of Kamar-Taj Monastery. Only our enemies were shredded by the gale like bread thrown into a high-speed blender.
Thanks to the dark power Dormammu had bestowed upon them the disciples who had betrayed the Order to worship the Lord of the Dark Dimension didn't die instantly.
Their grotesque bodies continued to regenerate endlessly.
But the Serpents of Valtor manifesting as snakes of various sizes and venomous insects swooped down to bite sink their fangs and inject their poison.
Normal protein and enzyme-based venom would have been ineffective against them but this was Magical Poison capable of inflicting searing pain and burning agony.
Following this Bal'takk's Lightning transformed an ordinary windstorm into a tempest of golden lightning unleashing bolts of charged energy infused with magical shock properties.
Finally I separated my essence from the Iconne's power creating hundreds of Stephen Strange clones who soared across the battlefield with their newly acquired cloaks working to contain the conflict and prevent it from spreading further.
"Master Mordo... I understand how you must feel.. .. ..
It must be like having your trust betrayed especially since we sorcerers are supposed to oppose the Dark Arts. But the Ancient One had her reasons for drawing power from the darkness to sustain herself.
It was to prolong her life and protect this world for as long as possible.
Until today when her body and spirit were too weary to endure any longer.
She chose to die... She could have resisted but she let go so that we could take up the mantle of protecting this world.
You don't need to understand it now but please consider this. . .
Yin and Yang black and white darkness and light sun and moon—the balance of all things isn't just about goodness.
Evil is also an essential part of life.
Darkness isn't inherently vile and meant to be eradicated.
Without it the world would be trapped in perpetual daylight without the soothing night that lulls us to sleep.
We'd be forced to endure the blinding glare unable to rest."
I left Mordo the rigid and inflexible a voice message reminding him to understand the Ancient One as she truly was not through the lens of his own preconceived notions. Despite her use of dark energy she was not an evil sorcerer. She had always taught her disciples that...
"Where there is light there is darkness. If you wield the Power of Darkness you must ensure you remain firmly rooted in the light of righteousness."
This was a phrase I remembered well much like the Devil Fruit Powers used by pirates to wreak havoc plunder and kill yet also wielded by Marines to protect homes buildings and save lives.
Power itself has no inherent will; it is the user who determines its purpose and the outcomes they seek.
Just as I am doing now flying alongside the clone Iconne is controlling to deceive people on both sides as I infiltrate the Dark Dimension...
To deal with the source of the problem that is trying to tear through the dimensional barrier!