"This belongs to you." Master Strange took a thick book from behind his back, walked over to Luke, and handed it to him.
"Keep it at Kamar-Taj, as per the rules." Luke looked at the recovered Book of Energy but made no move to accept it. To him, it did not matter where the Book of Energy was or who held it. Anywhere, or in anyone's hands, was better than with him.
"Can you help solve the Abyss?" The girl who had returned with Master Strange stepped forward and asked.
"Dormammu's daughter." Master Strange repeated.
"Of course we can't solve the Abyss." Luke spread his hands and said beneath the girl's disappointed gaze, "We can only temporarily contain its spread."
Luke's sudden reversal sent the girl's emotions soaring and plunging. Her eyes instinctively turned toward Strange, filled with questions.
"I can vouch for that. He really can do it," Strange said.
"If he can contain the Abyss's spread, then Dormammu is willing to discuss the conditions you mentioned." Clea spoke without hesitation. The Abyss had expanded far too quickly. Her father, the Lord of the Dark Dimension, had initially studied it for a while, allowing the Abyssal Energy a period of growth. Like a parasite clinging to bone, it greedily drew upon the Dark Dimension's power and kept growing stronger.
Even though Dormammu had tried every possible method, even sacrificing vast numbers of lives from Dimensional Worlds in an attempt to gradually send away the Abyssal Energy, it had been useless.
That method had actually been quite effective at first. But the Abyssal Energy seemed conscious, constantly evolving, activating, and assimilating everything around it in secret. It had even deceived Dormammu.
By the time Dormammu realized something was wrong, the Abyssal Energy had already expanded to a terrifying extent and