Asgard.
Fairy Palace.
Conference hall.
Odin sat on his throne, and standing beside him were his two sons Thor and Loki.
Luke and Nick Fury sat in their seats, and across from them was Mephisto. Unlike previous dimensional energy conferences, the Ancient One did not appear at the meeting this time. Instead, a relatively new face appeared.
"So, the Sorcerer Supreme of Midgard has been replaced?" Mephisto stared at Stephen Strange with the flickering soul fire in his eyes and asked in a long tone.
"This meeting is held to transfer the power of the Ancient One. This is part of the succession of power to the Sorcerer Supreme." Luke tapped the stone tabletop, pointed at Stephen, and said, "This is Master Stephen Strange. You should all be familiar with him."
"He's going to inherit Ancient One's share of the Energy Bank? I don't think so." Mephisto's head spun 360 degrees on his neck several times before he objected. "I recognize Ancient One. Although I hate her, she's certainly capable and has a lot of information we need to know. But him? Has he proven himself?"
Odin remained silent. The Ancient One's death, or rather his retreat from the peak of his powers, had deeply affected him. Although his body had been revitalized by the new energy, and could carry more energy without worrying about it being unable to bear it, he still had to deal with the immense burden that the rising energy would place on his body. For now, he was merely delaying the consequences.
"He expelled Dormammu head-on." Luke dropped a bombshell calmly.
Upon hearing this, Odin and Mephisto looked at Strange with a more serious expression. As the master of the Dark Dimension, Dormammu was renowned throughout the multiverse. Unlike the Ancient One, whose fame was largely confined to the dimensional demons, Dormammu had many fervent followers across the multiverse.
Even Mephisto and Odin at their peak wouldn't dare claim to be able to defeat Dormammu. Regardless of Strange's methods, as long as he truly managed to expel Dormammu head-on, his strength and achievements would be worthy of being shared across multiple dimensions.
"Without Ancient One's help?" Mephisto made no secret of his doubts.
"Master Ancient One died at the hands of Dormammu's fanatics before Dormammu invaded." The Mage King, who was standing behind Strange, answered with a sad expression.
"Come on, I don't believe that Ancient One would die so easily, especially at the hands of Dormammu, which is even more ridiculous." Mephisto snorted twice. He didn't believe that Ancient One would die so silently and unclearly.
At the end of the conversation, Mephisto looked at Odin on the throne and asked, "Do you think the Ancient One is really dead, Odin?"
"It seems that people still care about my life and death." A soul body passed through the wall from outside Asgard and floated directly in. Under the surprised gazes of Strange, the Mage King, and Mordo, as well as the as expected gazes of Mephisto and Odin, it came to the empty seat next to Strange and sat down on a solid energy high seat.
"It seems you are indeed dead." Seeing the Ancient One, now devoid of his physical body, Odin's initial suspicions were confirmed. When people from Asgard and other Nine Realms die, their souls return to Valhalla or Hel.
"What tricks are you playing?" Mephisto looked back and forth between Ancient One and Strange, frowning.
"I just want to change my job." Ancient One gave Strange and the others a soothing look, then looked at Mephisto and said, "We will be working together from now on."
"What do you mean?" Mephisto felt something was wrong.
"Literally. The Ancient One is no longer the Sorcerer Supreme, and matters like the invasion of Midgard and the Dimensional Demons are no longer her responsibility. Her former responsibilities and burdens will be inherited and borne by Master Strange, along with her power within the new energy."
Considering the Ancient One's immense power and connections, I've decided to rehire her as the guardian of the Energy Bank." Luke, his hand supporting his cheek, spoke words that infuriated Mephisto.
"This is dividing my power!" Mephisto slammed the table and stood up. He had always been the one taking advantage of others, so how could he allow anyone to share his power?
"The Energy Bank doesn't belong to you alone, Mephisto. It's our common property! We may have to accept new partners in the future. Your greed of treating it as your own is unacceptable." Luke didn't care about Mephisto whose energy was raging because of his anger. After all, there was Odin to mediate in Asgard, so there would be no fight.
"I object!" Mephisto raised his hand.
"Voting? Since everyone's here, please raise your hands if you agree with my proposal," Luke said, raising his own. As expected, Strange also cast his inherited vote from the Ancient One. Nick Fury, standing beside him, hesitated, unsure if he even had a vote in this situation. He was undoubtedly one of the earliest shareholders, even if his share was minuscule. Back then, the Energy Bank didn't even exist. On the other hand, it seemed no one had ever truly considered him a partner, but in this situation, he raised his hand tentatively.
Odin looked seriously at the calm-looking Ancient One, then at Strange and Luke, and finally at his two sons behind him. He sighed secretly in his heart, raised his hand, and cast his vote.
"Look, four to one." Luke made a four to one gesture to Mephisto, and Mephisto's face instantly wrinkled like a bitter chrysanthemum.
"Okay, let's put the new personnel handover ceremony behind us and talk business. Is my technology useful?" Luke changed his tone and steered the conversation elsewhere without waiting for Mephisto to think of a way to salvage the situation.
Mephisto, who was questioned by Luke, suddenly felt a sudden pause in the myriad thoughts that had just emerged in his mind. He said sullenly, "The technique is good. Although it cannot eradicate the Abyssal Energy, it has successfully curbed its spread."
"Then it seems we can start the next plan?" Luke looked at Odin and Mephisto for confirmation.
"The technology is fine, but what about the final selection?" Mephisto let go of those troubling thoughts for now. He couldn't possibly expel the Ancient One anytime soon. Even as cunning as he was, he understood that with the Energy Bank slowly becoming a legitimate behemoth, Luke and the others wouldn't let him reign supreme. The previous personnel had been tests, but now the Ancient One was the clear winner. Perhaps even that old Odin wouldn't enter Valhalla in the future, but instead, like the Ancient One, come to the Energy Bank to contribute to its remaining power.
Although he had a premonition of this when he was building the energy bank, he had assumed it would take hundreds or even thousands of years to reach this point. He hadn't expected that only a few years had passed, and they were already eagerly starting to stake their claim!
"How about Dormammu?" Luke and Ancient One looked at each other and gave an unexpected but not so surprising choice.
"The dark dimension is indeed a good choice. It is the connecting hub of many dimensional universes and has the characteristics of being connected to many dimensional fields. It is not difficult to do something with it." Mephisto nodded and approved of the candidate proposed by Luke.
The Dark Dimension, under Dormammu's control, is itself an expanding dimension. It's only natural for it to encounter tough or bizarre creatures as it expands and consumes other dimensional realms and universes. It's clear that Luke did his homework in selecting the right characters.
The target volume is large enough.
There are many weaknesses and loopholes.
Even if they did have to fight in the end, the four of them would have a clear chance of victory against Dormammu. Killing Dormammu might be difficult, but being the victor would certainly give them some spoils.
"I can give you a squad of Abyssal Demons for free," Mephisto said openly. He already had a strong dislike for those demons infected by the power of the Abyss. Sooner or later, they would be expelled and left to fend for themselves, so he might as well make use of them and give them to Dormammu, letting him experience the same suffering he had endured.
"It doesn't matter, but if nothing unexpected happens, the abyss energy should have begun to take root in the dark dimension." Luke did not reject Mephisto's proposal, but simply stated a piece of news that made Odin and him look at each other in surprise.
"Have you done it?" Mephisto leaned forward and asked Luke tentatively. Odin, sitting on the throne, also cast a probing glance. Both were surprised by Luke's quickness of action.
"Yeah, the opportunity was so good that I couldn't resist." Luke spread his hands and sighed.
"Won't there be any hidden dangers?" Mephisto asked.
"The other party took the trouble on his own initiative. What hidden dangers could there be?" Luke gave Mephisto a strange look and explained it to him.
After listening to Luke's explanation, Mephisto and Odin, as well as Nick and Strange who heard it for the first time, all opened their eyes wide and cursed in their hearts.
"So, you did something to Dormammu's fanatical followers, and Dormammu finally took the initiative to absorb those fanatics into his dark dimension?" Mephisto's face was full of disbelief, and he felt that this way of being attacked was extremely familiar. Isn't this a replica of what he did back then?
Dormammu was simply a replica of himself! He didn't know whether to gloat or feel sympathy for a moment.
"How can you say it was my doing? It's obvious that his fanatics themselves are infected with the energy of the Abyss. It's just that the energy properties are similar to the energy of the dark dimension, so his fanatics don't care about it or distinguish it." Luke shook his head and denied Mephisto's slander: "As for the loss, my energy book was also taken away by Dormammu. This is a huge loss!"
Odin and Mephisto looked at each other again. Wow, there was no need to even look for an excuse for subsequent contact and development!
It's normal to discover the energy of the abyss in the process of asking for the Book of Energy and to communicate and negotiate with Dormammu, right?
In terms of energy properties, Dormammu's Dark Dimension is even more suited to Abyssal energy than Mephisto's Hell Dimension. The two dimensions share similar energy properties and possess a higher affinity. This makes it an ideal breeding ground for Abyssal energy. This means that Abyssal energy diffuses and assimilates more rapidly than in the Hell Dimension, making it more difficult to handle.
"When will you proceed?" Mephisto mourned Dormammu for a moment, then imagined the beauty of cutting leeks. In the past, how could he have gotten Dormammu to willingly surrender leeks? If he dared to even think about it, it would be strange if Dormammu didn't give him a hard collision.
Mephisto couldn't wait to go forward and negotiate with Dormammu.
"Don't worry. By now, he should have discovered the abnormalities in his fanatics and discovered the existence of Abyssal energy. Based on Master Ancient One's understanding of Dormammu, Dormammu may think that this is the energy of a new dimension. He may be interested in this new dimension and use the characteristics of the Dark Dimension to find it. Then he discovered Nidavellir, the mobile portal to the Abyss.
Of course, during the process he would also try to control the energy of the abyss. After all, the characteristic of the Falting race was to devour all kinds of energy. Although he and his sister were aliens, they were more interested in matter than energy.
If we approach him under these circumstances, not only will we fail to achieve our goal, but we will also arouse his suspicion and resistance."
Luke clearly had a comprehensive plan. He spoke to Mephisto and Odin with gusto, "When he gets sick and finds himself powerless against the Abyssal energy, no matter how hard he tries. Even when the Abyssal energy becomes a serious threat to his control over the Dark Dimension, leaving him at a loss and feeling overwhelmed, that's when we should contact and negotiate. That's also the best time for him to fully agree to our demands. You can then make the conditions more demanding and ask for more. Amidst internal and external troubles, I believe Dormammu is very sensible. After all, he's like you, a rational dimensional demon with the ability to think and analyze pros and cons."
Of course, Luke wouldn't explain this, but he could use this opportunity to get more out of the Dark Dimension. After all, his Energy Book was in their hands, so charging a storage fee beforehand wouldn't be a problem, right?
Odin and Mephisto had no objection to Luke's suggestion. It was simply a matter of waiting, and they had plenty of time. As for how long? Time in the Dark Dimension might differ from that in the universe. The time for these negotiations might not be far off.
"Let's pick a few more options." Mephisto suggested with full motivation.