1. Refusal of the Mantle
"You want me to be Sorcerer Supreme?"
Stephen Strange stared at the Ancient One as though she'd just declared him the next king of the universe.
"No. I fix broken hands. Not guard the whole dimension."
"You've already seen what's coming," Mark said quietly.
Wong added, "And you're the only one who used time against the void and survived."
Strange shook his head. "I'm not him. I'm not you."
But the multiverse doesn't wait for certainty.
2. Kaecilius Strikes
The temple in London fell first.
Cracks split the sky. Cultists in golden robes drew sigils that shimmered with dark energy.
Kaecilius stood at their center—eyes glowing with Dormammu's madness.
"The world doesn't need sorcerers," he growled. "It needs freedom."
Kamar-Taj trembled.
The barriers weakened.
And the Ancient One led them into battle.
3. The Fall of the Master
The sky turned violet above Hong Kong.
Mark and Wong fought side-by-side, weaving spells and barriers.
Strange arrived just in time to see the Ancient One thrown from a rooftop—her body twisting through time and space before hitting the ground, still.
Everything stopped.
Mark let out a breath like his lungs had been carved open.
Wong knelt silently.
Strange trembled, kneeling beside her as her spirit slipped from her body.
"You were never supposed to save me," she whispered. "You were supposed to save them."
Her hand fell. She was gone.
4. The Final Stand
In desperation, the three sorcerers faced Kaecilius at the crumbling Hong Kong Sanctum. The Dark Dimension had begun bleeding through—buildings bent upward, gravity broke, colors ran like ink on wet paper.
Kaecilius raised his arms. "Dormammu is here."
"No," Strange said—and pulled the Eye of Agamotto open.
Time shuddered.
5. The Bargain
Strange hurled himself into the Dark Dimension alone.
Dormammu towered above him—a god without form, flame and void and malice incarnate.
"I've come to bargain," Strange said calmly.
Dormammu obliterated him.
And time reset.
"I've come to bargain."
He died again.
And again.
And again.
Until the being of eternal hunger screamed in frustration.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"
Strange, bleeding but unbowed, smiled.
"Leave Earth. Take your zealots. Never return."
6. Aftermath
Time resumed.
Kaecilius and his cult were sucked into the void, screaming.
The sky cleared. The world was… quiet.
Wong helped Strange to his feet.
Mark stood beside them, tired but proud.
"You did it," Wong said.
"No," Strange replied, eyes distant. "I endured it."
7. The Sorcerer Supreme
Back in Kamar-Taj, the relics bowed to him. The Eye shimmered like a heartbeat.
Strange didn't want the title.
But he was the last line of defense now.
And so the cloak of levitation draped itself across his shoulders.
Wong nodded. "The Sorcerer Supreme."
Mark smirked. "Told you you'd get there. Took you long enough."