Doctor Strange watched Thanos flying straight toward them, and for the first time in a long while, despair crept unmistakably into his eyes.
Within the Time Stone, Deadpool truly wasn't so easy to kill.
Just as the Ancient One had warned—time itself was unreliable. No matter how carefully he calculated, no matter how many futures he watched unfold, there were always variables that slipped through his fingers.
But it was pointless to dwell on that now.
If Thanos couldn't be stopped here, the universe would inevitably march toward its end.
There was only one chance left.
With that thought, Doctor Strange slowly turned his head toward Wanda, who stood beside him clutching the Dark Book. The black cover seemed to absorb the surrounding light, as if even reality itself didn't want to look at it.
A resolute glint flashed through his eyes.
Among millions upon millions of timelines, he had seen another path to victory.
In that future, it was he who picked up the Dark Book.
And from that moment on, he fell into darkness—so completely that there was no return.
That was why that future was labeled utterly hopeless.
Because after absorbing vast, terrifying amounts of energy from the Dark Book and killing Thanos, he would become a second Thanos—cold, absolute, and bent on destroying the world in the name of balance or peace or some twisted sense of necessity.
That future horrified him more than death.
Which was why, the moment he obtained the Dark Book, he handed it to Wanda without hesitation. He hadn't even dared to brush its pages with his fingertips, afraid that the temptation would sink its claws into him.
But now…
He had no choice.
Only this method could defeat Thanos.
Only this path could save the universe.
For the peace of the cosmos. For every living being that still had a future.
He would have to sacrifice himself.
Doctor Strange's expression hardened. Without another word, he raised his hand.
A flash of golden light burst forth.
A magic whip materialized in his grasp and snapped forward, striking Wanda squarely across the shoulder.
"Ah—!"
A delicate, startled cry echoed through the battlefield.
Wanda staggered back, clutching her injured shoulder. Tears instantly welled up in her eyes as she stared at Doctor Strange in utter confusion, her mind completely blank.
She had already been overwhelmed by fear at the sight of Thanos approaching. She never imagined that the attack would come from her own side.
Weren't they teammates?
Weren't they supposed to be fighting Thanos together?
Why… why would Doctor Strange hurt her?
In her shock, she completely forgot that she wielded chaos magic. She didn't even think about retaliating.
Having not yet experienced the tragedy of Sokovia, having just escaped the Hydra base not long ago, her heart was still painfully pure—like a blank sheet of paper that hadn't yet learned how cruel the world could be.
"I'm sorry," Doctor Strange said quietly, his voice heavy. "This is the only way left to save the world."
He had no intention of killing Wanda. All he needed was the Dark Book.
Once he had it, he would leave immediately.
But before he could fully open a portal, a surge of deep purple energy suddenly tore through the air.
His pupils shrank.
He abandoned the portal at once and raised a defensive shield.
A deafening roar shook the battlefield.
World-destroying power collided head-on with golden sorcery, exploding into blinding light that forced everyone nearby to shield their eyes.
It was Thanos.
Seeing Doctor Strange attempt to escape, he had unleashed a devastating energy attack without hesitation.
His power was overwhelming—far stronger than Doctor Strange's magic, even with the Book of Vishanti backing him.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the golden shield.
Just as it was about to shatter completely, the surrounding sorcerers reacted in unison, erecting a second barrier around Doctor Strange and buying him precious seconds.
Thanos was about to finish it all in one decisive blow when a figure suddenly leapt into his path.
A woman in a red-and-blue bodysuit, gripping a round shield, appeared out of nowhere.
Her shield vibrated violently, yet somehow held against his energy blast.
"Thanos!" she shouted, her voice shaking but defiant. "I can fight you—"
She never got to finish.
Thanos brushed past her without even slowing down. The blade in his hand flashed once.
Her vision spun.
In her final moment of awareness, she seemed to glimpse her own lower body collapsing separately from her.
Thanos didn't waste words on nameless soldiers.
After casually killing her, he continued flying toward Doctor Strange—only to see a glowing portal already open, its edges rippling.
Doctor Strange was leaving.
After all, merely possessing the Dark Book didn't instantly grant power. One had to study it, learn its dark magic, and fully absorb its corruption to grow stronger.
He intended to flee to a deserted place, master the forbidden arts, then return to kill Thanos and save the universe.
As Thanos closed in, Doctor Strange used magic to shove Wanda aside, buying himself just a little more time.
"I'm sorry," he said again, his voice barely audible. "I did this for the universe."
Then he stepped into the portal without looking back.
"No! Help—!"
A red-haired woman came flying helplessly toward Thanos, screaming in terror.
Thanos paused midair, his sword raised.
In her eyes, he saw fear—but also helplessness, sadness, and deep confusion.
What he didn't see was hatred.
She was still someone untouched by the ugliness of the world, someone whose heart hadn't yet learned how to harden.
He lowered his blade and reached out, gripping her by the neck instead.
"Ahhh! Don't kill me—please! Waaah—!"
Wanda sobbed uncontrollably, completely terrified.
According to Doctor Strange, Thanos was a monster who ate people just to sleep, someone who delighted in slaughtering entire planets for fun—an embodiment of pure, irredeemable evil.
And now… she was right in his grasp.
Now that I'm in their hands… are they going to bite off my pretty little head?
Wanda's thoughts spiraled wildly. Maybe I should start eating myself from the bottom up. That way it won't hurt as much… right?
Just as she was sinking deeper into her own panic, a deep, thunderous voice suddenly echoed beside her, heavy enough to make her ears ring.
"Mortal," the voice demanded, calm yet overwhelming. "What is your name?"
Startled, Wanda flinched. Almost on instinct, she answered in a small, trembling voice, "W-Wanda~"
"Oh?"
Thanos reached down and lifted her up like a helpless little chick, holding her in front of his face as he studied her with open curiosity.
He remembered the plot of Doctor Strange 2 all too clearly.
This girl—this Scarlet Witch—was supposed to use the Darkhold to dreamwalk across the multiverse and slaughter the Illuminati without mercy.
Yet no matter how he looked at her, the ruthless, world-ending witch from his memory felt completely disconnected from the frightened little creature trembling in his hand.
Definitely not the Wanda of this universe, he concluded.
At that moment, tears pooled in Wanda's eyes. She looked utterly wronged, terrified, and on the verge of breaking down. With a shaky sniffle, she stammered,"Um… Mr. Thanos… if you're going to eat me, could you maybe let me wash up first? I think I'm kind of dirty…"
For a split second, silence fell.
Then—astonishingly—a rare smile tugged at the corners of Thanos's purple, fearsome face.
"Little one," he said slowly, releasing her, "war is not meant for you."
With that, he let her go, clearly no longer interested in killing her.
Just then, a woman with long black hair and a sleek black bodysuit flew in with several subordinates close behind her.
"Captain Carter!"
Their voices cracked when they saw it—the shield shattered cleanly in two, Captain Carter's body torn apart.
"Captain Daisy, what do we do now?" one of them asked in panic."So many people are dead. Professor X has gone insane.""Have we… failed?""Even Doctor Strange ran away."
Before they could exchange more than a few words, Daisy's team noticed Thanos turning his gaze toward them from afar.
Fear instantly gripped their hearts.
After such a short but brutal massacre, everyone present had been utterly crushed by Thanos's overwhelming power. Calling it terrifying didn't even begin to cover it.
At this point, killing a superhero seemed no harder than killing a chicken.
The once-proud, domineering heroes were nowhere to be seen. None of them dared to provoke Thanos directly. Instead, they stayed on the sidelines, cautiously picking off members of the Black Order when they could.
Just as despair began to swallow what little hope remained, brilliant lights suddenly flared in the distance.
Beams of energy rained down, slamming into Thanos's forces and erupting in violent explosions.
"Rumble—!"
Thanos turned his head.
Far away, hundreds of thousands of bizarre, alien warships surged forward like a tidal wave.
At the very front of the formation flew a familiar figure, lightning crackling around him—Thor, gripping Stormbreaker, charging straight toward the battlefield.
.....
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