Strange: I Really Have Too Many Cards

In the Marvel universe, there were four main sources of magical power.

The first was one's own life energy. Without burning one's life away, the spells that could be cast with that energy alone were very limited, usually just minor spells such as Astral Projection. The second was the natural energy of the material world. Casting spells solely through that energy was also quite limited.

The third was the external energy used by most high-level sorcerers. This kind of energy came from a wide variety of sources, and most of it could harm the caster because it was too vast and overwhelming. Of course, one could find ways to reduce that harm, such as communicating with and asking for help from the powerful entities dwelling in those dimensions—usually their masters, the dimensional demon gods.

Generally speaking, dimensional demon gods would not refuse such requests, because the very act of being invoked granted these abstract entities power. The more their concepts and names were mentioned within a reality, the stronger they became in that reality, and thus the stronger they themselves became. Of course, some dimensional demon gods would make additional demands. For instance, Vishanti required his followers to safeguard reality.

Then there were nasty things like Chthon and Belasco, who demanded the caster's soul as payment.

"So, generally speaking, if you're not a powerful sorcerer, it's best to find another source of power. If you are powerful, you can choose to beat them up and make them switch to the simplest, most ordinary price—or just steal their dimensional energy without mentioning them in reality."

Strange spoke with practiced ease, flipping through the Necronomicon as he chatted with Wanda. Wanda decided to temporarily ignore the phrase "beat up a dimensional demon god," then continued asking, "And then?"

"And then? If Belasco