"Pop!" The cork flew out, and golden wine poured into several crystal glasses.
Several senior cabinet officials stepped forward and picked up their glasses.
"We owe it all to your unbreakable partnership with Vought, Mr. President," the Secretary of Defense said with a flattering smile.
"Yes. Justice has always been on our side." Ellis raised his glass, ready to toast with the officials.
"Mr. President!" an aide suddenly shouted, his face tense. "Look! Look at the screen! Something's happened in Hong Kong!"
Ellis's smile froze. He turned quickly back to the big screen.
In the live feed, an eerie bank of purple storm clouds had suddenly covered the sky above Hong Kong's quarantine zone.
Deep within the clouds, strange black lightning tore across the sky like giant pythons, unleashing a thunderous roar that chilled the heart.
Then a figure radiating an ominous aura slowly descended from the sky.
Outside the Hong Kong Sanctum.
Wong, who was directing the mages in their defense, recognized the man in midair at a glance.
"Kaecilius." Wong's expression changed sharply. "Everyone, stay alert! Prepare to fight! This man is extremely dangerous!"
Kaecilius hovered in midair, looking down at the superheroes and mages braced for battle below.
A contemptuous smile spread across his cracked face.
"You stubborn fools. Why do you persist in this meaningless resistance?"
"The world you protect is full of decay and death. Time is the tyrant of all things! And I will bring you Dormammu's gift. I will take you beyond time and grant you eternity!"
"Nonsense! You're beyond saving!" Wong shouted.
Kaecilius gave a cold laugh and said no more.
He spread his hands, then pulled them apart.
"Crack! Crack!"
The storm clouds overhead split open, revealing a dimensional rift a hundred meters long across the sky above Hong Kong.
A