American comics: Damn it, I’m surrounded by those who worry about their fathers!.

Chapter 1076 The Ancient One and the Absolute Time Point
Doctor Strange felt a series of sharp pains.

This pain does not originate from the body.

This minor physical pain is insignificant to the Supreme Master, who has long transcended the mundane world, and is even healing itself at an unsettling pace.

The real pain originated from the depths of his soul, as if a carefully constructed barrier had been shattered, and countless forgotten fragments of memory surged forth, piercing through his consciousness.

Stephen clutched his head, letting out a suppressed groan of pain, and knelt heavily beside Christine's still-warm but lifeless body.

The cold rain mixed with mud soaked through his clothes, but he was completely unaware.

The shattered images, the distorted flow of time, the despair of countless hopes being ignited and extinguished in an instant... all the buried memories are frantically assaulting his perception.

He remembered.

He was no longer the highly skilled doctor Stephen Vincent Strange.

He is the Sorcerer Supreme, who negotiated infinitely with Dormammu, guarded the Eye of Agamotto, participated in the earth-shattering final battle, and witnessed half of all life return to the world.

The cold corpse of Christine before him, this tragedy that had repeated countless times, was not an unfortunate accident, but a reality that he had repeatedly failed to shake despite using the Time Stone to reverse the flow of time time and time again.

On that rainy night, in the silent library of the Sanctuary, he finally could not resist the desire in his heart and the agonizing longing, and tremblingly put on the Eye of Agamotto once again.

An emerald light shone forth, and the torrent of time unfolded before his eyes.

He thought he had found the crux of the problem—the first car accident was caused by his arrogant overtaking, which killed Christine, and could have been avoided if he had just behaved properly.

He succeeded by using the Eye of Agamotto.

Stephen returned to the very beginning.

He resisted the urge to step on the gas and drove smoothly through the traffic.

He even looked at Christine, who was smiling at him from the passenger seat, with a hint of relief that he had survived a close call.

Then, an out-of-control heavy truck crashed into us from behind.

The world spun around, and the shrill, twisting sound of metal tore at my eardrums.

When he regained consciousness, all he saw was Christine being crushed by the deformed car body and losing her breath.

Stephen refused to believe it; something must have gone wrong.

The Time Stone shines once more.

The second time, he chose a completely different route, bypassing that damn highway.

The windshield wipers were whirring wildly, while Christine was still quietly recounting the amusing stories from the dinner party.

Then, at an intersection, a huge container truck with failed brakes ran over their sports car from the side... The outcome remained unchanged.

The third time, the fourth time, the fifth time... He was like a gambler who had lost everything, frantically betting everything in an attempt to find the timeline that would allow her to survive.

But no matter what he did, fate seemed like the most skillful master of irony, always managing to take Christine's life away from him time and time again in all sorts of bizarre yet "logical" ways.

Time goes to the present.

Just as Stephen was falling into despair, the surrounding rain seemed to be blocked by an invisible force.

A figure dressed in a yellow robe, bald, and with an extraordinary aura quietly appeared before him.

"Stephen, stop. You can't change this outcome."

Stephen looked up, staring at the Ancient One with pain in his eyes: "Why?"

The Ancient One calmly said to him, "Because Christine Palmer's death is an absolute point in time on this timeline that cannot be shaken. Its existence is the foundation of the reality that 'you became the Sorcerer Supreme.' Trying to change it is to shake the foundation of your own existence, and may even cause the collapse of the entire reality structure."

"I do not care!"

Stephen suddenly looked up, his eyes bloodshot and filled with obsessive madness. "What's the point of me becoming the Sorcerer Supreme without her? I must save her, no matter what!"

"Obsession is the fastest path to darkness."

The Ancient One sighed, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes.

The next second, she suddenly raised her hand and slapped Stephen on the forehead.

Stephen was taken aback and was about to retaliate when the Ancient One moved even faster.

“Buzz——!!!”

The blinding light engulfed Stephen.

Caught off guard, Stephen suddenly felt dizzy, as if he had been thrown into a time tunnel.

When he regained his vision, he found himself deep in an ancient and dense primeval forest.

The Ancient One has disappeared.

A mysterious man wearing a straw hat, whose face was obscured, appeared silently in front of him and made a "follow" gesture.

In desperation, Stephen grasped at the last straw and followed the man through the labyrinthine forest.

Finally, the two arrived at an entrance hidden by giant vines and a barrier.

As he passed through the entrance, a breathtaking view suddenly appeared before him—a vast, ancient castle, seemingly constructed from knowledge and time itself, lay out before him.

The air was filled with the scent of ancient parchment and magic.

“I’m Auburn, the librarian here.”

The man in the straw hat finally spoke, his voice hoarse, "This place holds the world's lost and forbidden knowledge."

Stephen was taken aback when he heard what the other person said.

Are there any methods in these books that challenge the so-called "absolute time point"?

Upon thinking about this, Stephen immediately became excited.

He plunged into the vast, misty sea of ​​forbidden books as if possessed.

He pored over countless books containing distorted and dark knowledge, working tirelessly through sleepless nights.

Finally, he found what he was looking for in a huge black book bound in human skin and written in the language of demons.

"To break free from the constraints of absolute time, one needs unimaginable power capable of distorting the very essence of reality, and the fastest way to acquire such power is... to absorb and devour other powerful life forms."

Stephen's hope was rekindled.

Devouring dark creatures?
This method could potentially grant immense power and allow one to break through absolute time limits.

He couldn't wait to try it.

On a dark altar, he summoned the first creature from the dark dimension—a colossal octopus monster with countless slimy tentacles.

However, he underestimated the backlash of forbidden magic and the power of his target.

Stephen not only failed to absorb the opponent, but was also nearly torn to pieces by the raging octopus monster.

"Okay, this time it's an accident, let's start with a weaker creature."

Stephen took a deep breath and calmed down.

He started with the small magical creatures of the forest—the moonlit deer, the rock elementals, the water sprites at the bottom of the lake…

Stephen used dark magic to extract their life force and magic power for his own use.

Power, like an addiction, nourished his body and soul, but also eroded his heart.

His mage robes gradually darkened, and his eyes became cold and greedy.

Shifting stars.

He devoured almost all the powerful creatures in the forest.

His power swelled to an extremely terrifying level.

So Stephen began to extend his reach to even more powerful beings—sleeping ancient dragons, sealed swamp liches, and even low-level demon gods lured from other dimensions…

……

Meanwhile, in the real world of this universe, in New York.

Doctor Strange, who escaped from Mordo and accidentally fell into this place, is staggering down a neon-lit back alley, enduring the excruciating pain in his shoulder caused by dark magic.

He was trying to find the New York Sanctuary of this universe. But soon, a strong sense of incongruity seized him.

The streets were bustling with pedestrians and traffic, looking no different from New York in its own universe.

However, their movements occasionally exhibit extremely subtle, almost imperceptible stutters or repetitions, much like the frame skipping that occurs when playing old videotapes.

The neon signs on the street, the reflections in the windows, and even the raindrops falling from the sky sometimes flicker for a very brief moment, revealing the unsettling, ethereal, pixelated undertones behind them.

The whole world seemed like a vast and sophisticated virtual program, but it was running out of memory and about to crash.

"What exactly happened in this universe?"

Alarm bells rang in Stephen's mind, and his body, whose magic had not fully recovered, felt a chill.

Doesn't the universe itself protect this world?
What is Doctor Strange doing in this universe?
Just as he was concentrating on sensing the abnormal energy fluctuations in the surrounding space, trying to find clues, he heard a "whoosh" sound coming from behind him.

A silent metal dart shot out from the shadows behind him, heading straight for his back.

Although Stephen was seriously injured and his magic had not yet subsided, his fighting instincts, honed through countless life-or-death battles, remained.

A sense of crisis surged through his spine like an electric current, and he almost instinctively rolled forward awkwardly, relying on muscle memory.

At the same time, he struggled to turn halfway while rolling, and his hands hastily sketched an incomplete Seraphine Ring.

"Oh!"

The metal dart collided violently with the slightly dim golden magic circle, producing a muffled thud.

"Who's there?! Show yourself!"

Stephen shouted sharply, his wary gaze fixed on the direction from which the metal dart had come.

A figure wearing a bat mask and a black cloak slowly emerged, as if coalescing from darkness itself.

"Batman?"

Stephen was taken aback when he saw Bruce appear.

Previously, Stephen, Raven, Bruce, America, Wanda, and Azu jumped into the multiverse portal together.

As a result, Azu, America, and himself were sent to the Illuminati universe 838.

The whereabouts of Raven, Batman, and Wanda are unknown.

Has Batman been sent to this strange universe?

Before Stephen could even attempt to negotiate or ask questions, a very subtle ripple appeared in the air behind him.

Another familiar voice rang out from behind him: "Dr. Strange, it's been a long time."

Stephen turned around abruptly.

Behind him, Raven was standing on top of a trash can, watching him.

She looked as if she had gone through a difficult journey or even a battle; there were several tears in her cloak and some dirt on her face, but her eyes remained as sharp as ever, and her body was faintly surging with her unique, powerful energy fluctuations that were somewhere between demonic and magical.

"Raven?! What are you doing here?!"

Stephen was utterly shocked and could hardly believe his eyes.

Raven has also fallen into this obviously strange universe?
"I'd like to ask you, Dr. Strange, why are you here?"

Raven leaped lightly off the dumpster, her purple eyes filled with obvious surprise and confusion as she looked at the slightly disheveled Doctor Strange.

She brushed the dust off her cloak and added, "Bruce and I were dropped into this strange universe together, trying to find a way back or contact my father, but I didn't expect to run into you first."

She glanced at Batman beside her. "And you know us, so you really are the Dr. Strange we know, right?"

Stephen really wanted to give the other person the middle finger.

Did you attack me because you wanted to confirm if I was the Doctor Strange you knew?

After taking a deep breath, Stephen nodded. "Unfortunately, yes, I am the Stephen Strange you all know. As for why I'm here... it's a long story, and a terrible one."

He briefly recounted his previous experiences.

This includes the scene where he and America fall into Universe 838, encounter the Illuminati of Universe 838, witness Wanda controlling the Wanda body in that universe, slaughtering Black Bolt with overwhelming force, turning Mr. Fantastic into noodles, and easily defeating Captain Carter and Captain Marvel.

"...Modu ambushed me and kicked me into the tunnel. I woke up here."

Stephen's voice was weary. "And Wanda... I don't know where her real body is now, but she controls the body of Wanda in Universe 838. Her power is beyond imagination, and her goal is very clear—to capture America and take away her ability to travel between universes."

Raven listened, her brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

Hearing that Wanda had so easily destroyed the Illuminati, she felt a pang of fear.

"Could the Dark Book really have enhanced her power to this extent?"

She muttered to herself, then looked up, her eyes turning serious. "No, the situation is worse than I thought. Apart from Dad, I doubt anyone can stop or wake Wanda now. We must contact Dad as soon as possible."

Bruce, who had been silently observing his surroundings, spoke to the two of them.

His voice remained calm as always. “There’s no need to be overly anxious, Raven. The master will not stand idly by. Since Wanda’s target is America, and America and we have been caught up in the multiverse turbulence, he will definitely try to locate and enter the most critical core battlefield. What we need to do now is to gather enough intelligence and get out of here.”

Raven nodded as she listened to Bruce's words, her anxiety easing considerably.

Stephen caught his breath slightly and, enduring the pain, continued to ask, "So, what about this universe? You arrived before me, did you discover anything unusual? And what about the 'me' in this universe...?"

He looked around at the environment that occasionally flickered slightly, and his unease grew stronger.

Raven sighed, a complex emotion flickering in her eyes.

"After we landed in this universe, we sensed a strong anomaly. This world... is very unstable, and something seems to be wrong. In order to understand the situation and protect ourselves, we conducted some preliminary investigations."

She paused, gathering her thoughts: "As for Stephen Strange in this universe... he did become a powerful sorcerer, but his path was completely different from what we know. He also suffered a terrible car accident, but..."

Raven's voice lowered: "In that car accident, he didn't lose his precious hands as a surgeon."

Stephen was suddenly startled.

What does it mean?
Raven looked at him and continued, "What he lost was Christine Palmer; he watched his girlfriend die in that car accident."

"what?!"

Stephen was completely distraught after hearing Raven's words.

Why do I feel like I've heard Peter mention these things before?
Raven didn't stop and continued, "Later, his life trajectory seemed to be the same as yours. He became the Sorcerer Supreme, protected Earth, and defeated Thanos. Of course, in this universe, defeating Thanos didn't require a father's help."

Stephen stood there, completely stunned.

The words Peter had spoken to him echoed in his mind.

"If you lost Christine instead of your hands in a car accident, what would you do?"

He still doesn't know the answer.

What kind of answer would he give from another universe?
Also, does Peter know what's happening in this universe?
Seeing that Stephen's expression was a little off, Raven couldn't help but ask with concern, "Dr. Strange? Are you... alright?"

Stephen snapped out of his reverie, shook his head, and forced himself to suppress the bad feeling in his heart.

"Cough cough, I...I'm fine."

His voice was a little hoarse as he tried to make his tone normal.

"But... I didn't expect it to be like this. We must find Doctor Strange in this universe, because only he can help us go back."

Just as he was about to continue discussing the next steps with Raven and Bruce,

Suddenly, the surrounding space seemed to be paused, instantly stabilizing.

Even the raindrops falling from the sky seemed to freeze in mid-air.

A calm and gentle voice quietly sounded behind the three of them.

"Stephen Strange, Raven Patrick, Bruce Wayne, are these your names?"

The three of them turned around abruptly when they heard someone call their names.

Suddenly, a figure dressed in a bright yellow robe, bald, and with an extraordinary aura, stood quietly there, as if he had always existed in this space.

"The Ancient One?!"

(End of this chapter)