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Chapter 248: The Ecstatic Dormammu
An immense surge of Mystic Energy immediately alerted the master of the Dark Dimension.
When Tony's army had first burst into the Dark Dimension, Dormammu hadn't taken it seriously. It was simple: Tony's Legion posed too small a threat. Dormammu couldn't even be bothered to acknowledge them.
The Dark Dimension was another dimension, unlike the three-dimensional space understood by most. It was boundlessly vast, encompassing an innumerable count of planets.
Occasionally, some lifeforms, or even entire planets, were devoured by the constantly shifting Dark Dimension. This was a perfectly normal occurrence, and Dormammu couldn't be bothered to manage it.
He was the master here, not the nanny. Just as a human wouldn't bother with a few bacteria that might have crept into their home, the great Dormammu would not concern himself with such trivialities.
Besides, the subordinates he had recruited over his long existence, along with the Mindless Ones that periodically wandered into the Dark Dimension, were his best janitors. They would sweep up all the intruding wretches and kill them one by one.
But when the Ancient One appeared in the Dark Dimension, Dormammu was truly shocked.
As mortal enemies who had fought for centuries, he was all too familiar with the magical signature of his old rival. For a fleeting moment, he even thought he was hallucinating.
"Ancient One? That old woman dares to enter my world willingly? Is she seeking death?" Dormammu was both surprised and uncertain.
For the past several hundred years, it had always been him pressing the attack on Earth. After all, Earth was so small, while his Dark Dimension was so large! He could attack Earth from any corner of the planet, but Earth could only defend against the Dark Dimension from fixed locations.
Not to mention, the Dark Dimension was a rare place that existed beyond time, rendering the Ancient One's greatest weapon—the Time Stone—useless.
Although Dormammu had held the upper hand for centuries, he had never managed to gain a true advantage. The fact that Earth remained unharmed had long made him burn with frustration.
But now!
The Ancient One, that despicable thief!
She had willingly entered his Dark Dimension!
"Ancient One, you are courting death, and the great Dark Lord Dormammu shall grant your wish!"
Dormammu was overjoyed. His cunning old rival was delivering herself to him on a silver platter; he was too excited. He felt he would be doing her a disservice if he didn't seize this opportunity to kill her.
His planet-sized body rose abruptly, creating a deafening roar. His eyes, as large as moons, radiated a horrifying, cold light and a greedy desire.
His entire being had fused with the Dark Power here, becoming the very Dark Source of this space.
"Go, my loyal slaves! Go and kill all the invaders! But leave the Ancient One to me!" Dormammu roared, his voice thick with a deep chill and brutality, as he commanded his underlings to besiege the others the Ancient One had brought with her.
Circling around him were numerous decaying and fragmented planets. These worlds had not a single speck of light, appearing dead as they remained fixed in space. The towering skyscrapers or ancient, magic-wreathed structures still visible upon them were testaments to their former glory from ages past.
Perhaps they were once a Technological Civilization from some unknown star system, or a once-powerful magical realm. But now, they had been utterly stripped of all light, left with only endless silence and despair.
They were all planets that had been targeted by the Dark Lord, devoured into the Dark Dimension, and completely annihilated. In the boundless Dark Dimension, there were far, far too many such worlds.
Even Dormammu himself couldn't count how many planets he had destroyed; he simply enjoyed the thrill of devouring and destruction.
If Earth were to lose the Ancient One's protection, it too would end up like these broken planets—dragged into the hostile environment of the Dark Dimension, its Life Flame extinguished, becoming another member of the silent dead.
At Dormammu's words, innumerable black, lumpy masses began to appear on the surfaces of the countless silent planets that were devoid of any Life Aura. These masses varied in form; some were nothing but blobs of what looked like mud, while others had a vaguely humanoid form, with two holes on their heads that resembled eyes.
They were silent and still. Their numbers grew from a few to many, gradually converging. On countless planets, these broken lifeforms, corroded and assimilated by the Dark Power, began to pour forth.
In life, they were the inhabitants of their respective planets. After being dragged into the Dark Dimension, the weak were devoured, while the slightly stronger ones were twisted into this ghastly state, forever stripped of their memories and reason, becoming slaves.
"Another batch of planets has become useless..."
Dormammu looked at the dilapidated planets that no longer showed any reaction and grumbled in dissatisfaction. With a casual wave of his hand, these planets, which had been devoured long ago and could no longer provide him with a single slave, were tossed out of the Dark Dimension.
As for whether these planets would crash into other inhabited worlds in the outside world? That had nothing to do with the great Dormammu. He didn't care.
"My master, didn't you need these planets as trophies of your conquests?" Kaecilius asked with some confusion, standing before the planet-sized Dormammu.
"This is why you can only be a slave, and never become a Sorcerer Supreme like the Ancient One!" Dormammu's laughter boomed like a landslide and a tsunami, causing the entire space to tremble. "I am about to possess Earth! Why would I care about any other planet!"
"One Earth, and the corpse of the Ancient One—that is the greatest honor!"
What honor could be more pleasing than personally killing your nemesis and then destroying everything she protected?
"Go, Kaecilius, my humble servant. Lead your dark sorcerers and these lowly dark beings, and clear out the minions around the Ancient One for me!" Dormammu roared with laughter. "I permit you to use all your power, including the summoning magic I taught you!"
Kaecilius, the former First Disciple of Kamar-Taj, now humbly bowed his once-proud head, his face a mask of reverence. "As you command, my master."
Although he harbored a trace of fear for the Ancient One, Kaecilius could only brace himself for the confrontation.
In order to remain in the Dark Dimension and obtain Eternity, he could no longer afford to care about anything else.
Even that hypocrite, the Ancient One, stole power from the Dark Dimension behind their backs to extend her life, so what should he care about?! Publicly, the Ancient One preached about the horrors of the Dark Power, but in secret, she was using it to reap the greatest benefits for herself!
Despicable Ancient One!
Kaecilius slowly retreated, his eyes revealing a deep-seated hatred for the Ancient One. He craved Eternity, but not only did the Ancient One secretly extend her own life, she also constantly deceived him with her honeyed words!
Dormammu quietly watched the expressions shift across Kaecilius's face, a scornful smile playing on his lips.
"Just an ignorant wretch..."
In the past, after squeezing every last drop of value from people like Kaecilius, he would have been the first to be disposed of.
In the Dark Dimension, the great Dormammu alone was all that was needed.
(end of chapter)
An immense surge of Mystic Energy immediately alerted the master of the Dark Dimension.
When Tony's army had first burst into the Dark Dimension, Dormammu hadn't taken it seriously. It was simple: Tony's Legion posed too small a threat. Dormammu couldn't even be bothered to acknowledge them.
The Dark Dimension was another dimension, unlike the three-dimensional space understood by most. It was boundlessly vast, encompassing an innumerable count of planets.
Occasionally, some lifeforms, or even entire planets, were devoured by the constantly shifting Dark Dimension. This was a perfectly normal occurrence, and Dormammu couldn't be bothered to manage it.
He was the master here, not the nanny. Just as a human wouldn't bother with a few bacteria that might have crept into their home, the great Dormammu would not concern himself with such trivialities.
Besides, the subordinates he had recruited over his long existence, along with the Mindless Ones that periodically wandered into the Dark Dimension, were his best janitors. They would sweep up all the intruding wretches and kill them one by one.
But when the Ancient One appeared in the Dark Dimension, Dormammu was truly shocked.
As mortal enemies who had fought for centuries, he was all too familiar with the magical signature of his old rival. For a fleeting moment, he even thought he was hallucinating.
"Ancient One? That old woman dares to enter my world willingly? Is she seeking death?" Dormammu was both surprised and uncertain.
For the past several hundred years, it had always been him pressing the attack on Earth. After all, Earth was so small, while his Dark Dimension was so large! He could attack Earth from any corner of the planet, but Earth could only defend against the Dark Dimension from fixed locations.
Not to mention, the Dark Dimension was a rare place that existed beyond time, rendering the Ancient One's greatest weapon—the Time Stone—useless.
Although Dormammu had held the upper hand for centuries, he had never managed to gain a true advantage. The fact that Earth remained unharmed had long made him burn with frustration.
But now!
The Ancient One, that despicable thief!
She had willingly entered his Dark Dimension!
"Ancient One, you are courting death, and the great Dark Lord Dormammu shall grant your wish!"
Dormammu was overjoyed. His cunning old rival was delivering herself to him on a silver platter; he was too excited. He felt he would be doing her a disservice if he didn't seize this opportunity to kill her.
His planet-sized body rose abruptly, creating a deafening roar. His eyes, as large as moons, radiated a horrifying, cold light and a greedy desire.
His entire being had fused with the Dark Power here, becoming the very Dark Source of this space.
"Go, my loyal slaves! Go and kill all the invaders! But leave the Ancient One to me!" Dormammu roared, his voice thick with a deep chill and brutality, as he commanded his underlings to besiege the others the Ancient One had brought with her.
Circling around him were numerous decaying and fragmented planets. These worlds had not a single speck of light, appearing dead as they remained fixed in space. The towering skyscrapers or ancient, magic-wreathed structures still visible upon them were testaments to their former glory from ages past.
Perhaps they were once a Technological Civilization from some unknown star system, or a once-powerful magical realm. But now, they had been utterly stripped of all light, left with only endless silence and despair.
They were all planets that had been targeted by the Dark Lord, devoured into the Dark Dimension, and completely annihilated. In the boundless Dark Dimension, there were far, far too many such worlds.
Even Dormammu himself couldn't count how many planets he had destroyed; he simply enjoyed the thrill of devouring and destruction.
If Earth were to lose the Ancient One's protection, it too would end up like these broken planets—dragged into the hostile environment of the Dark Dimension, its Life Flame extinguished, becoming another member of the silent dead.
At Dormammu's words, innumerable black, lumpy masses began to appear on the surfaces of the countless silent planets that were devoid of any Life Aura. These masses varied in form; some were nothing but blobs of what looked like mud, while others had a vaguely humanoid form, with two holes on their heads that resembled eyes.
They were silent and still. Their numbers grew from a few to many, gradually converging. On countless planets, these broken lifeforms, corroded and assimilated by the Dark Power, began to pour forth.
In life, they were the inhabitants of their respective planets. After being dragged into the Dark Dimension, the weak were devoured, while the slightly stronger ones were twisted into this ghastly state, forever stripped of their memories and reason, becoming slaves.
"Another batch of planets has become useless..."
Dormammu looked at the dilapidated planets that no longer showed any reaction and grumbled in dissatisfaction. With a casual wave of his hand, these planets, which had been devoured long ago and could no longer provide him with a single slave, were tossed out of the Dark Dimension.
As for whether these planets would crash into other inhabited worlds in the outside world? That had nothing to do with the great Dormammu. He didn't care.
"My master, didn't you need these planets as trophies of your conquests?" Kaecilius asked with some confusion, standing before the planet-sized Dormammu.
"This is why you can only be a slave, and never become a Sorcerer Supreme like the Ancient One!" Dormammu's laughter boomed like a landslide and a tsunami, causing the entire space to tremble. "I am about to possess Earth! Why would I care about any other planet!"
"One Earth, and the corpse of the Ancient One—that is the greatest honor!"
What honor could be more pleasing than personally killing your nemesis and then destroying everything she protected?
"Go, Kaecilius, my humble servant. Lead your dark sorcerers and these lowly dark beings, and clear out the minions around the Ancient One for me!" Dormammu roared with laughter. "I permit you to use all your power, including the summoning magic I taught you!"
Kaecilius, the former First Disciple of Kamar-Taj, now humbly bowed his once-proud head, his face a mask of reverence. "As you command, my master."
Although he harbored a trace of fear for the Ancient One, Kaecilius could only brace himself for the confrontation.
In order to remain in the Dark Dimension and obtain Eternity, he could no longer afford to care about anything else.
Even that hypocrite, the Ancient One, stole power from the Dark Dimension behind their backs to extend her life, so what should he care about?! Publicly, the Ancient One preached about the horrors of the Dark Power, but in secret, she was using it to reap the greatest benefits for herself!
Despicable Ancient One!
Kaecilius slowly retreated, his eyes revealing a deep-seated hatred for the Ancient One. He craved Eternity, but not only did the Ancient One secretly extend her own life, she also constantly deceived him with her honeyed words!
Dormammu quietly watched the expressions shift across Kaecilius's face, a scornful smile playing on his lips.
"Just an ignorant wretch..."
In the past, after squeezing every last drop of value from people like Kaecilius, he would have been the first to be disposed of.
In the Dark Dimension, the great Dormammu alone was all that was needed.
(end of chapter)
