The moment I returned to Atlantis, I didn't rest.
I didn't celebrate.
I didn't hesitate.
I began studying.
The texts I had taken from Kamar-Taj weren't merely forbidden—they were dangerous. Not because they were difficult to understand, but because they revealed truths most sorcerers weren't willing to face.
And among them…
One stood above the rest.
The Book of Cagliostro.
I sat alone within a sealed chamber deep beneath the palace, the air heavy with layered wards of my own design. Not to keep others out—
But to contain what I was about to unleash.
The book hovered before me, its pages turning slowly without touch.
Time.
Dimension.
Energy.
The foundations of reality themselves, broken down into something… usable.
To most, it would take decades to even begin understanding it.
To me?
Days.
My eyes moved across the pages, my mind processing everything instantly.
Every formula.
Every principle.
Every hidden implication between the lines.
And as I read…
I smiled.
Because this—
This was what I had been waiting for.
The Dark Dimension.
A realm of endless energy.
A domain ruled by Dormammu.
To others, it was a source to borrow from.
To bargain with.
To fear.
To me?
It was a resource.
I began the ritual without hesitation.
Magic circles unfolded beneath my feet, layered with precision far beyond what the original text described. I didn't follow the instructions exactly.
I improved them.
Optimized them.
Perfected them.
Space bent.
Reality thinned.
And then—
It opened.
A tear in existence.
Beyond it…
Darkness.
Endless.
Hungry.
Powerful.
The Dark Dimension.
I felt it immediately.
That overwhelming, suffocating energy pressing against reality itself.
And within it—
Him.
Dormammu.
Watching.
For a brief moment…
There was silence.
A pause.
As if the dimension itself was acknowledging my presence.
Then I reached out.
And took.
Energy surged through the connection, flooding into my Soul Gem in a torrent so vast it would have annihilated any normal being instantly.
But I wasn't normal.
The moment that power entered my Soul Gem—
It changed.
Purified.
Refined.
Made mine.
No corruption.
No influence.
No cost.
Just power.
Endless power.
My entire being trembled—not from strain, but from growth.
The reserves I already possessed expanded even further, my control tightening as my Six Eyes processed and stabilized the influx at a subatomic level.
I wasn't just absorbing it.
I was perfecting it.
Then—
The reaction came.
The Dark Dimension shifted violently.
Awareness sharpened.
Focus narrowed.
Dormammu had noticed.
A presence vast and incomprehensible turned toward me fully.
Not curious anymore.
Angry.
The flow of energy stuttered—
Then stopped.
Cut off completely.
I tilted my head slightly.
"…Already?"
A faint disappointment crept into my voice.
I had taken a significant amount.
But I could have taken more.
Much more.
On the other side of the tear, I felt his intent.
Not negotiation.
Not curiosity.
Recognition.
He understood what I had done.
That I hadn't borrowed.
Hadn't bargained.
Hadn't offered anything in return.
I had stolen from him.
And worse—
I had taken his power…
And made it my own.
The tear began to destabilize.
Not because I couldn't hold it—
But because he was forcing it closed.
I let it happen.
For now.
The connection snapped.
Silence returned.
I stood there for a moment, my Soul Gem glowing brighter than before, saturated with newly acquired power.
Then I exhaled softly.
"…That was worth it."
My strength had increased dramatically.
Not slightly.
Not marginally.
Significantly.
The difference was immediate.
Clear.
Absolute.
I rolled my shoulder slightly, testing the flow of energy within me.
Smooth.
Perfect.
Completely under my control.
A small smile formed on my lips.
"Next time…"
I murmured quietly.
"…I'll take more."
Because now, I understood something important.
Even beings like Dormammu—
Weren't beyond me.
They were just…
Future targets.
And eventually—
I would take everything.