As Dormammu spoke, he reached into the void, grabbed hold of something, and gave it a flick.
The next second, everything around them began to rewind. The shattered dimension started to reassemble. He had actually manipulated the timeline, trying to turn back time.
At once, the Ancient One's form began to flicker. Clearly, if time reversed, she would no longer be able to keep sealing Dormammu.
But just then, the Ancient One's flickering form suddenly stabilized, and the magical seal that had been about to vanish became solid again.
At the sight, Dormammu's eyes bulged. He could no longer contain his horror.
"Impossible! You've transcended time!"
At last, the Ancient One, who had remained silent all this time, spoke. "Didn't you say it yourself? I've improved quite a bit over the years. Well? Are you satisfied?"
The Ancient One spoke calmly, but to Dormammu, her words were dripping with mockery.
"Damn it!"
Dormammu cursed. This time, he was genuinely starting to panic.
Although the Ancient One could not kill him, being sealed away again was equally unacceptable.
But as things stood, he could not break through the Ancient One's magical seal on his own. His thoughts raced as he searched for a way out.
He had few options available to him-next to none, really. His safest bet was to ask for help.
After all, just because he could not break the seal from inside the Magic Circle did not mean it could not be broken from outside. In fact, there was no need to break it at all. All he needed was someone to interfere with the Ancient One, and the Magic Circle would collapse on its own.
So asking for help was his best option.
That raised another question: whom could he ask? He did not exactly have friends.