"Wouldn't this be too vicious?" The Venerable One asked with a frown.
It absolutely was not because the Gothic script was hard to read, nor because the incense burning in the dim meditation chamber made it difficult to keep one's eyes open. It was simply because Salomon's plan was rather complicated and vicious.
"I don't want to end up with a Sorcerer Supreme candidate who hates the world. What if Strange decided to take revenge after learning magic? Or what if he became some sort of superhero, ignoring threats from the Outer Dimensions and spending every day fighting crime in the streets? Neither would be the candidate I wanted. They would be puppets the Vishanti Trinity wanted."
"Virtue unequal to one's position invites disaster. With little virtue yet high rank, little wisdom yet great schemes, little strength yet heavy burdens, few escape misfortune." Salomon took back the proposal that The Venerable One had only skimmed through. After Natasha Romanoff left, he had added an appendix detailing three hundred ways to inflict permanent, irreparable harm upon the target without endangering their life. One hundred and five of them were magical curses, all Dark Magic Salomon could cast.
Salomon said, "If Stephen Strange cannot realize that all his problems stem from his own intelligence, then he was never capable of becoming Sorcerer Supreme in the first place. As it happens, I know someone quite promising. His personality is not all that different from Strange's, but I rather admire that detective living in London. If Stephen Strange cannot be molded, then we may as well change targets. I doubt the Vishanti would mind. After all, the two look rather alike, and they are equally irritating."
"It seems your sense of humor will never disappear, no matter what." The Venerable One glanced sidelong at