Everything seemed to slow down.
But Strange did not feel that time was passing slowly. On the contrary, he felt he did not have enough time! There was too much fascinating knowledge before him, leaving him so absorbed that he forgot to eat and sleep.
Even with King giving him private lessons, organizing and summarizing key connections between different pieces of knowledge, Strange still felt that every day was far too short. He had forgotten everything else and devoted himself entirely to his thirst for magical knowledge. If no one disturbed him, he felt he could remain immersed in it forever without distraction.
But that was impossible.
"Alright, alright. Looks like I have a mission, don't I?" Seeing Stephen before him—another version of himself from another universe, one so powerful that even he found him mysterious now—Strange closed the thick black book in his hands with some resignation.
"This is trouble caused by you and the Scarlet Witch, so naturally, the two of you should deal with it first. But she is still a patient even now, so it can only be left to you," Stephen's magical projection said with a shrug.
"Let me hear it. What kind of trouble has appeared? Did some universe suffer a temporal or spatial catastrophe?" Though Strange regretted having to interrupt this wonderful period of study, he would not refuse the responsibility he ought to bear. Since this universe's version of himself had come to him as agreed, it was obvious that he had observed trouble caused by him. Strange could not, and did not wish to, refuse to handle it.
"Your violent traversal exposed a universe to the eyes of a powerful civilization, leading to an invasion. That universe is not currently within our jurisdiction, so we cannot spare any additional strength to