~Material World, Mirror New York~
The Sanctum sorcerers were clearing out the remaining hellish creatures, with Mordo leading the charge...
His Wand of Watoomb crackled with thunderous energy, unleashing devastating spells that reduced skeletal wraiths, flame demons, and nightmares alike to ashes.
Strange hovered mid-air, supported by the Levitation Cloak, wielding one of Kamar-Taj's most powerful relics, the Book of the Vishanti, to cast large-scale spells such as the Shield of the Seraphim.
The Book of the Vishanti, which recorded countless spells of Kamar-Taj, enhanced Strange's abilities to an astonishing degree, allowing him to effortlessly unleash formidable magic.
Not long ago, the Ancient One had emerged from the gates of Hell, barely pausing before plunging into the Dark Dimension. The six mighty Lords of Hell, who had arrived with their legions in tow, were repelled single-handedly by the Sorcerer Supreme.
The elemental demon Zarathos was imprisoned in a time loop; Samael, the Crimson Dragon of the Apocalypse, was beheaded; and Abaddon was grievously wounded.
This overwhelming display of power sent the remaining dark monarchs fleeing in terror. In their panic, the supreme rulers of Hell abandoned their minions in the Mirror Dimension without a second thought, sealing the gates behind them like frightened strays scurrying back into the depths of molten fire.
They were reminded once more of how the Sorcerer Supreme's fearsome reputation had been forged. From Agamotto of the past to the Ancient One of the present, both had instilled dread in the hearts of Hell's monarchs.
Witnessing the Sorcerer Supreme's decisive victory, the battle-weary Sanctum sorcerers felt a surge of renewed morale, their fighting spirit burning brighter than ever.
Only Mordo and Strange remained troubled.
The fall of the New York Sanctum meant the material world's last line of defense had crumbled. The Dark Dimension was eroding the Mirror Dimension, and now, nothing stood in Dormammu's way.
"If this is the end, then we fight until the world itself is no more." Mordo gazed at the expanding vortex of darkness in the gloomy sky, his face set with determination. Unlike the other sorcerers, he was not optimistic.
The Dark Dimension's corruption was intensifying, and the Mirror Dimension, fragile as glass, was already fracturing under the pressure, its surface splitting into horrifying fissures.
"If even the Sorcerer Supreme cannot save this world…" Strange's eyes dimmed as the Cloak of Levitation gently lowered him to the ground.
He closed the Book of the Vishanti.
If even the Sorcerer Supreme of Kamar-Taj could not prevent the world from plunging into destruction, then who could?
He looked around. The Mirror New York lay in ruins, practically reduced to rubble. The Statue of Liberty had collapsed on its face and was missing an arm, the World Trade Center was pierced clean through, and Times Square was reduced to rubble.
In this brutal war against the forces of darkness, countless sorcerers, Sanctum knights, and nameless monster hunters had paid a heavy price.
Among the sorcerers tending to the wounded, Strange spotted Wong, Kamar-Taj's librarian, covered in dust and slumped on the ground, gasping as if relieved just to be alive.
All eyes turned to the disintegrating Mirror Dimension. The dark vortex loomed like a cold unfeeling pupil, staring down at these insignificant humans as they awaited their doom, their inevitable descent into darkness.
"It's stopping… The Dark Dimension's power is fading?!" Mordo suddenly shouted, his voice tinged with disbelief and hope.
Time itself seemed to freeze in that moment. The Dark Dimension, which had been relentlessly consuming the Mirror Dimension, was now receding from the material world.
The dark vortex in the sky shrank visibly, its malevolent presence diminishing.
This inexplicable phenomenon filled the sorcerers with elation. Strange's eyes widened. He had been ready to embrace death, yet now, against all odds, there was hope.
"Did the Ancient One defeat Dormammu?" Asked a baffled Mordo.
The Ancient One and Dormammu had been locked in a stalemate for years, with the material world's laws barely keeping the balance.
"Is that… Mr. Cyphers?" Strange spotted a lone figure standing within the rapidly shrinking vortex. He was unmistakably prominent amidst the chaos.
...
"So this is the Time Stone?" Sean murmured, tightening his grip on the Eye of Agamotto.
The golden casing that was engraved with intricate spellwork shattered into fine dust. The translucent emerald gemstone lay exposed in his palm, pulsing with quiet power.
"Past… present… future…" He clenched the Time Stone, and a verdant radiance burst forth, casting ripples of hazy light.
In his eyes, the world's outer layers peeled away, revealing countless interwoven threads that converged into a vast rushing river with no end in sight.
The energy of the Time Stone surged forth like a fulcrum prying open the laws of reality, allowing Sean to grasp the elusive flow of time itself.
He stood upon the river's edge. On one side lay the immutable past, events already set in motion, like the first domino in a chain. To alter it would trigger unforeseen consequences.
On the other side stretched the infinite possibilities of the future, branching endlessly from the present. Every droplet in the river held unknowns, converging into an unpredictable destiny.
Sean focused. The true power of the Time Stone lay in its ability to revisit the past, observe the future, or even anchor a point in time to influence outcomes.
But every alteration of the timeline carried unpredictable repercussions, which was why the Sorcerer Supreme rarely interfered with time's natural flow.
"My past and future… Rewind!" Sean's body trembled subtly at first, then faster, until his form blurred into flickering afterimages.
To Mordo and Strange, he seemed on the verge of vanishing entirely. His figure faded, becoming increasingly indistinct, shrouded in a veil of emerald light.
"What's he doing?" Strange asked, bewildered.
"He's performing temporal regression." Mordo said, his expression grave.
As the Ancient One's foremost disciple, he knew some of the secrets of the Eye of Agamotto. Sean was using the Time Stone to trace his own past and glimpse his future.
The river of time rippled faintly. Different versions of himself, some youthful, some smiling, flashed before his eyes, only to dissolve like bubbles.
Fragments of his past, like buildings stripped of their foundations, crumbled away.
"In the infinite river of time, a human life is but the smallest of ripples." Sean whispered to himself.
Standing firmly in the present, he used the Time Stone's power to sever all ties to his past. The versions of himself that existed in those fragments were erased like chalk marks wiped from a board.
The flickering afterimages merged into one. Sean smiled as the Time Stone flared once more. Having erased his past, he now anchored himself in the present, ready to cut away his future.
Across the vast expanse of time and space, across infinite parallel worlds, there would be only one of him. Past or future, there is only one...