novelinnhs Chapter 322 Falling into the Dark Dimension
Chapter 322 Falling into the Dark Dimension
Chapter 322 Falling into the Dark Dimension
Doctor Doom's threat did not affect the Ancient One's determination. Under her spell, the dimensional rift that had been cracking in the sky closed instantly, but in its place was another, even more terrifying void.
Energy that penetrates the universe overflows from new rifts, revealing the bizarre and distorted infinite universe within.
In this bizarre phenomenon that would drive any mortal mad with a single glance, a pair of five-colored eyes shone from the darkness. An indescribable being peered through a crack in the heavens, surveying the entire universe, until it saw the culprit behind it all:
"The Ancient One!!!"
Compared to the furious outburst on the other side of the rift, the Ancient One appeared remarkably calm, mentioning the other's real name as if greeting a long-lost friend:
"Long time no see, Dormammu."
Yes, the Ancient One pried open the gate to the Dark Dimension, summoning Dormammu, the ruler of the Dark Dimension:
"Are you ready to collect your interest?"
The will of the Dark Dimension has never been so joyful: "Utterly delighted."
Even a second-rate sorcerer like Voldemort in fictional works knows how to construct Horcruxes to achieve immortality.
The same applies to spellcasters of the Ancient One and Doctor Doom's caliber.
It was already standard practice for the Ancient One to borrow magic from the Outer Gods to maintain her immortality.
That's how the path of magic works. Self-cultivation is one aspect, but borrowing external forces is also an indispensable part. As long as she borrows without repaying, those powerful beings who are usually unable to approach the material world will be helpless against her.
Instead, it's Doctor Doom, who comes from the future and acts recklessly in a parallel universe. Naturally, he has left behind countless contingencies, making it almost impossible to completely destroy him once and for all.
But it's not entirely hopeless.
The Ancient One made his decision: his soul would go to Hell with him, be imprisoned in the Dark Dimension, and be personally guarded by Dormammu.
"Do you know what you're doing?!" The Eye of Agamotto's power began to wane, runes appeared on the Destroyer's body, and the Amordro core was about to detonate, all in an effort to break free from the Ancient One's control:
"I will be the savior of the future, the god of the new world! You can't do this to me!"
But it was too late. Gu Yi simply took his left hand, and he was completely unable to break free.
"You've gone too far down the wrong path, and we all know how it will end up."
Doctor Doom was momentarily unsure whether the Ancient One was referring to his own fate or his ultimate end, but to him it was all the same:
"The future we know is already terrible; heroes turn against each other, the universe collapses, and they know nothing about it, are completely unprepared for it. Even so, do you insist on letting them continue to be blind?"
Haha! The spell is complete, the contract is established, and the unrestrained laughter of the otherworldly demon Dormammu echoes throughout the entire universe.
Without hesitation, they used the few remaining powers they had in the real material world to pull the two of them into the dark dimension.
"You are wrong, my apprentice. Those who know the future can only live in the past and cannot possess the future."
The magic of the Dark Dimension began to erode their magical sources, making their bodies feel as if they were in a mountain of knives and a pool of blood. Even at this moment, the Ancient One still had the composure to contemplate with her 'disciple' whom she had never taught:
"The future can only be created by those who live in the present."
Even if she were to fall into hell, the Ancient One would choose to leave the future to hope.
Seeing that he couldn't refute the Ancient One, Doctor Doom, who had fallen into the Dark Dimension along with her, had no choice but to utter a harsh threat:
"I will go back someday!"
It's just Dormammu; he can't be trapped here forever!
After a burst of maniacal laughter, a whip of malevolent fire lashed out at Doctor Doom, bringing excruciating pain that tore at his very soul.
"Haha, feel free to give it a try!"
As the ruler of the Dark Dimension, Dormammu possesses limitless power within his domain, and no one can defeat him in his Dark Dimension.
These two prisoners, now in their own hands, await only eternal torment; freedom and death will be the furthest distant dreams they ever have.
"What's going on now?"
Tony's soul looked up as the rift leading to the Dark Dimension slowly closed, along with the Ancient One and Doctor Doom.
Too many things happened in that short hour that he didn't understand.
The whole thing seemed to have started strong but ended weakly, which left Tony with a strange sense of unease: "Is this really over?"
The Ancient One sacrificed her lifelong freedom to drag Doctor Doom into the Dark Dimension. Including the Strange from this universe, in one day, two Sorcerer Supremes sacrificed their lives to deal with this evil version of herself from the future.
"Can we rescue that archmage? Their destination doesn't sound like a good place."
Falling into hell and never being able to be reborn sounds a bit too tragic.
"The actual situation is worse than that."
The Ancient One deliberately dragged Doctor Doom into a one-for-one exchange, which left Joey somewhat bewildered.
For spellcasters who have endless backup plans, this may be the safest solution, but it is also the most costly one.
The "worse" he referred to was multi-layered:
"Firstly, the Dark Dimension operates entirely according to Dormammu's will, making it far more dangerous than Hell, which has its own set of rules."
Secondly, neither of our two universes now has a Sorcerer Supreme!
The Sorcerer Supreme is the barrier between the real world and the chaotic dimension. Without the Ancient One's suppression, more intrusions will arise in the future that are incomprehensible to people like Joey and Iron Man who are not qualified for the task.
They really knew nothing about magic. For example, right now, Joey tried to grab Tony's floating spirit body, but his hand just passed right through it. Tony was still in spirit form, and nobody knew how to put him back in!
"Maybe I need to get closer to my body."
Realizing that the interference of the physical world could not affect him for the time being, Tony slowly floated down from the air toward his physical body on the distant building, pondering the whole story as he floated:
"Don't you think there's a problem with the current cause-and-effect relationship?"
"Indeed." Joey nodded, quietly following Tony and watching the latter painstakingly move sideways using a doggy-paddle motion.
"For example, logically speaking, the Ancient One should be the one who taught you magic, and this is the source of Doctor Doom's magical abilities."
"And now, the Ancient One, along with that future me, has fallen into the Dark Dimension and is forever lost."
The quick-witted Tony picked up the thread, pointing out a broken link in the current causal chain: "If she hadn't taught me magic, how could I have become the Destroyer in the future?"
If Tony hadn't become Doctor Doom in the future, none of what happened today would have happened, and the Ancient One would still be alive and well. Then the future would have led Tony down the path of becoming Doctor Doom again. "But Doctor Doom already exists. Not only does he exist, but he almost killed me today, and who knows, he might have already slaughtered hundreds of universes. How did all this happen?"
This is one of the reasons why time travel requires extreme caution, because most people don't know how this closed black box actually works.
Tony continued to paddle and thrash through the air, his spirit still quite a distance from his physical body: "How much longer will this take!"
However, his mind was already focused on this paradox of cause and effect concerning himself, and he didn't notice that Yang Yi, whose expression was also not relaxed, was staring at him, and he almost couldn't help but laugh.
"Plop!"
The illusions Joey saw while fighting Doctor Doom in the octagon and the sacrifice of the Ancient One had already weighed heavily on his heart, but after watching Tony struggle to get closer to his own body for a long time, Joey finally couldn't help but laugh.
"What are you laughing at? Is there something wrong with my reasoning?"
Tony was confused until Joey finally regained his composure and asked a question that broke Tony's composure: "Is it possible that although I can't touch or move your spirit, I can still touch your physical body?"
This means that Tony didn't need to dog-paddle slowly towards his body; he could have simply had Joey go and bring over the physical Tony Stark.
Why didn't you say so sooner!
Tony, who had been doggy-pawing for a while, was a little overloaded. After realizing that Joey had been laughing at him the whole time, he immediately started cursing:
"Fuck you, Joey!"