219 West 47th Avenue, New York.
S.H.I.E.L.D.. headquarters.
"I'm so sorry, sir! It was my negligence that led to the theft of the Cosmic Cube!"
Hawkeye's dejected apology came through the phone.
" Agent Barton, don't rush to apologize..."
Nick Fury received a surveillance video transmitted from Hawkeye with a dark expression.
In the brightly lit, Secret Chamber, a crimson flash suddenly appeared, and the Cosmic Cube had been shimmering with blue light on the only shelf, vanished abruptly.
"Marefake!"
Even though Nick Fury had already received news that the Cosmic Cube was missing, he still couldn't help but curse.
He slowed down the playback speed by ten times and watched the video of the Cosmic Cube disappearing again.
In another sudden flash, the shelf was completely empty!
Slowed down by twenty times...
Slowed down by thirty times...
Finally, it was played almost frame by frame: the Cosmic Cube on the shelf turned into a mosaic and flew away, and it was still impossible to see what had stolen it.
Nick Fury paused the video call, swiveled in his office chair, and stood up. He rubbed his nose and paced back and forth irritably. " Agent Barton, did the Energy Monitor sound an alarm when this happened?"
On the phone, Hawkeye replied immediately, "No, sir!"
Nick Fury frowned. "Judging from the surveillance footage, the person who stole the Cosmic Cube might be Superpowered Individual..."
Then he added, "Invisibility or some other similar ability..."
"I'm sorry, sir. After discovering the theft of the Cosmic Cube, we immediately used the Energy Monitor to check the entire Secret Chamber, but there was only residual energy from the Cosmic Cube at the scene."
"Damn it!" Nick Fury muttered irritably. "Then let's go find it!"
"Whoever stole it must want to sell it for a high price!"
"Closely monitor transactions between governments and all black markets, with particular attention to the Five Powers..."
"Listen up! Agent Barton, the Cosmic Cube must... and can only be in the hands of S.H.I.E.L.D..!"
"Yes, sir!"
After hanging up the phone, Nick Fury stopped, lowered his head, thought for a moment, and dialed Black Widow's special number.
'Beep beep, beep beep, beep beep~'
Hearing the beeping sound from his phone, he angrily smashed it.
"Fuck you!"
Snap
Kamar-Taj Main Hall.
Mordo clasped his hands together and respectfully bowed to Ancient One.
"Good day, Sorcerer Supreme!"
Ancient One returned the greeting and said, "Good day, Sorcerer Mordo."
Richard walked over and punched him on the shoulder, grinning as he said, " Senior Brother Mordo, I called you here because I need your help with something good..."
Upon hearing the term 'senior brother', Mordo subconsciously raised an eyebrow.
"Good news?" He glanced sideways at Richard, swatting away the hand that was hooked around his shoulder, and said irritably, "The moment I hear you call me 'Senior Brother,' it's never good news..."
"Hahaha..." Richard laughed shamelessly, "How could that be? I've always respected my senior brother!"
Mordo glanced at the Ancient One and Kaecilius, thinking that even Kaecilius had come; this matter must be quite serious.
So he asked, "What exactly happened?"
"We're going to set a trap for Dormammu ..." Richard explained in detail his and Kaecilius's plan to trap Dormammu.
Upon hearing this, Mordo's eyes widened in shock, and he exclaimed, "Are you all crazy?!"
He turned to look at Kaecilius and said urgently, " Sorcerer Kaecilius, Richard has always been unreliable, how could you join him in his nonsense?!"
Kaecilius calmly replied, "No, Sorcerer Mordo, the plan is very meticulous, and we've almost finished the preliminary work..."
"However, the opportunity to directly target the Dimensional Deity is far too rare. Sorcerer Richard wanted the other Sorcerer of Kamar-Taj to gain more experience, which is why he selected other participants..."
In truth, Kaecilius had one more thought he didn't voice: 'With your abilities, you're simply incapable of joining the battle'...
"Why are you suddenly targeting Dormammu?" Mordo asked, somewhat puzzled.
Kaecilius replied directly, " Dormammu planted a trace of Dark Force within me, attempting to silently corrupt me."
Richard added, "We also discovered a hidden Spatial Rift, which, according to the Sorcerer Supreme's assessment, was likely left behind by Dormammu..."
"Oh, right, he also deliberately set up a confusing Secret Art at the entrance of the Spatial Rift."
"It was precisely because of this Secret Art that Dormammu's identity was exposed..."
"Furthermore, that Spatial Rift also connects to an abandoned Dimensional Space."
"We suspect that old bastard Dormammu is definitely plotting something big!"
"So after discussing it with the Sorcerer Supreme, we decided to strike first and set a trap for Dormammu before he could carry out his grand scheme."
" Dark Force?!" Mordo looked at Kaecilius in surprise, his hand instinctively reaching behind him, only to grasp at empty air.
Kaecilius said helplessly, " Sorcerer Mordo, I haven't fallen yet."
Mordo looked nervously at the Ancient One: " Your Sorcerer Supreme, the Sorcerer Kaecilius..."
Before he could finish speaking, the Ancient One smiled, and a Dormammu's mark suddenly appeared on her forehead.
"???"
"That is..."
" Vishanti, ascend once more!"
Mordo cried out in disbelief, "You... you've become a follower of Dormammu?"
Richard quickly explained, " The Sorcerer Supreme uses Dark Force, but he is definitely not a follower of Dormammu!"
Mordo shook his head, his eyes filled with shock and disappointment. "You taught us to follow order and pursue the principles of nature, but what have you done now?"
"You have violated the principles of Kamar-Taj!"
"You have betrayed Vishanti!"
"They betrayed Kamar-Taj!"
" Deceit! A hypocrite!"
Mordo felt dizzy and the world seemed so unfamiliar to him; he even began to waver in his beliefs about cultivation.
Richard shrugged at the Ancient One and complained, " Sorcerer Supreme, I told you not to invite Senior Brother Mordo. He's too stubborn and inflexible; he simply can't accept this reality..."
"So, it's up to you now, the clever and capable Richard Archmage..." Ancient One winked mischievously, and the Dormammu mark on her forehead disappeared.
Kaecilius sighed inwardly. Even if Mordo had been persuaded by Richard, the moment he saw the Dormammu mark appear on the Ancient One's forehead, he felt a sense of his beliefs crumbling...
Richard put his arm around Mordo's shoulder, looked at his dazed state, and said, "I understand how you feel, Senior Brother Mordo."
" The Sorcerer Supreme used the power of the Dark Dimension, which indeed violates the laws that Kamar-Taj has always upheld. From the perspective of the rules themselves, this is indeed 'hypocrisy'."
"But have you ever thought about...?"
"The universe is not black and white!"
" What If...? you are a doctor. Faced with a child who will die immediately without amputation, would you strictly adhere to the oath of 'never harm the body' and watch him die? Or would you break the oath, amputate his limb, and save his life?"
" His Sorcerer Supreme faces a more complex and challenging choice than this..."