Strange held the grimoire in his hands and rolled his eyes.
It was not that he did not want to use the magic in this book. It was that he could not bear the price required to use it — those literal acts of kindness required as payment.
To borrow a single lightning spell, he would have to save the lives of everyone in an entire city block.
To someone raised in a capitalist‑minded world, this felt absolutely absurd.
Although the magic in this book could be used on credit, Strange — who had recently lost his status as a top surgeon and suffered the crushing blow of defeat — did not want to taste the bitterness of debt again.
"No matter what you say, I will never use these spells," Strange declared stubbornly.
Wong simply shrugged, his expression neutral. His experience told him that every sorcerer eventually ate those words.
"I hope that a month from now you can repeat those exact same words," Wong said.
As Wong spoke, he glanced toward White Can.
Jarvis had already closed the aerial projection.
Everyone present was still reeling from what they had just witnessed. But all of them were merely observers.
At the center of the event — the one who had triggered it — White Can's expression had drifted far beyond simple shock, as if his soul had momentarily ascended.
He stared blankly at the sky while robots shackled his legs.
When he was pushed into the portal, he offered no resistance, like someone who had lost all purpose.
"He's probably a bit dead inside," someone whispered.
No one answered.
Most were utterly silent.
They were stunned by Malrick's blunt, overwhelming display of power — both destructive and restorative — and none knew how to process it.
They stood as the robots escorted White Can away, disappearing through the portal.
No one knew what awaited him next.
Then, a notification tone sounded on everyone's Dimension Continent access device — a small square crystal that doubled as a travel portal opener and cross‑universal communicator.
A light screen popped up on each device, showing a message from Jarvis, the butler of the Dimension Continent.
["Respected Ladies and Gentlemen."]
["Recently, a visitor from Universe 616‑W manipulated certain TVA employees to plot an act of terror that endangered the peace of the Multiverse…"]
Jarvis briefly outlined the events and offered an apology to other affected visitors.
He then stated that White Can and his accomplices would be punished with long‑term detention.
Based on the severity of the incident, White Can's prison sentence was set at 750 million years. If he died before completing the sentence, his soul would be consigned to Death's embrace to continue serving it.
Finally, Jarvis attached a document outlining new management measures for the Dimension Continent, providing detailed guidelines from Multiversal crime penalties to community regulations.
If this had happened before today, many freedom‑loving heroes would surely have risen to oppose some of the new rules.
But after witnessing White Can's demonstration, everyone silently chose to accept them.
Even the unruliest Guardians of the Galaxy offered no objections.
"Damn it, you can't just pee anywhere in this place anymore," Rocket Raccoon grumbled as he scanned the file.
He curled his lips and adjusted his pants, complaining, "Now Groot's gonna have to hold it."
"I am Groot!" Groot protested, waving his branches emphatically.
"Whew! Good, good," Party Thor said, relief washing over him as he scanned the document for key phrases. "No rules against throwing parties. That's the best news!"
The assorted Asgardians cheered, their worries vanishing at the sound of celebration.
"Everyone, everyone!" Thor called, raising his hands to gather attention. "Tonight, the party continues! We're going to hold a Get Iron Man Drunk Party!"
"Iron Man? Oh right, we won on bets! Let's party, let's party!" another shouted, and the group erupted.
The Asgardian crowd and interstellar allies from the Land of Nihility and Sakaar all pushed toward Tony, tossing him into the air.
"Uh, hey guys, wait… I want to go ask Malrick first. Don't, don't toss me… okay, fine!" Tony called as he was hoisted and dropped in celebration.
But his protests soon dissolved into enthusiasm. As he was tossed upward, Tony shouted with a grin, "Today's victory belongs to —"
"Iron Man!!" the crowd finished loudly, and then again:
"Who is the smartest person in the Multiverse —"
"Tony Stark!!" they shouted back.
Their cheers shot up into the sky.
Most of the Earth heroes stayed at a respectful distance, giving the celebrators room.
A group of Rhodes stood slightly apart.
"He's a fool, isn't he?" one Rhodes from the S‑Universe asked, watching Tony.
The others nodded. "No, he's an idiot," they agreed flatly.
…
Another month passed.
Malrick stood beneath the massive screen in the TVA command room. Beside him were Jarvis and Black Strange.
"Is everything stable after the universes merged?" Malrick asked, studying the display.
The screen showed yellow timelines, each branch marked to show whether rescue teams had been dispatched.
Jarvis analyzed a stream of data and switched the display to charts.
"All regions of the God‑Kingdom Universe have stabilized," Jarvis explained. "Because the most influential and destructive heroes from each universe entered the Dimension Continent, and after the White Can incident, these heroes shared the news, calming others."
"As a result, not only have conflicts within the Dimension Continent dropped by eighty percent, but even inter‑faction conflicts within each universe sector have decreased."
Malrick crossed his arms, pleased with the change.
"The Dimension Continent is finally serving its intended purpose," he said with a satisfied smile.
Jarvis nodded and added, "However, many villains from various universes, especially Thanos, still pursue their plans to collect Infinity Stones. If we allow them to succeed, it might damage certain Star Domains or even threaten the God‑Kingdom Universe."
The Infinity Stones in Marvel canon are among the most powerful artifacts in existence, each controlling a fundamental aspect of reality, and capable of immense destruction when combined.
Black Strange spoke up, eager and serious, "My Lord, should I take action and eliminate all the Thanoses before they can gather more stones?"
Malrick shook his head calmly. "No need. After each universe merges, the Soul Stones are gathered by me. Those Thanoses could search forever and still never collect all six stones. But we cannot leave them alone."
"We'll release them into the Dimension Continent, let them expend themselves against unstable factors, like Iron Man," Malrick concluded.
Black Strange smiled, loyal and approving. "A strategic approach, My Lord."
Then Malrick turned to Jarvis.
"If the God‑Kingdom Universe is stable, then let's put that aside. You summoned me here because something is wrong with the Multiverse?"
"Yes, Young Master," Jarvis said solemnly. "Recently, the pattern of the Multiverse's collapse has suddenly accelerated. Many universes that were previously extremely distant have mysteriously contacted each other and begun colliding."
"I suspect it is the work of the Void Realm or forces from Battleworld acting in secret, trying to seize universes."
===
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