Though Stephen felt today's events were somewhat bewildering, he eventually brought the Book of Cagliostro, given by Wong, back to his room.
Since Wong had suggested that the answers he sought were in this book, Stephen examined it thoroughly.
...
Back in his room, Stephen eagerly opened the unique-looking book. The contents were as Wong described, most detailing the usage of time magic.
Compared to other types of magic, the spells for time magic were more obscure and complex, with exceptionally long incantations. If not for Stephen's photographic memory, he doubted he could remember them all.
Even though he memorized the spells, he couldn't practice time magic without the Eye of Agamotto.
"Using the power of time on a target allows one to freely manipulate and observe the entire process from birth to demise."
...
Stephen focused on carefully reading the various time magic spells in the book. As he learned more about the secrets of time magic, he couldn't resist the urge to try it out.
He remembered Wong saying that the Eye of Agamotto could only be used by the Supreme Sorcerer of Kamar-Taj. Thus, he needed to be qualified to use it.
"Better not risk it. If they find out, I might get expelled from Kamar-Taj, which would be a huge loss," Stephen thought, shaking his head to dismiss the tempting idea.
Although he didn't consider himself a stickler for rules, the thought of being barred from Kamar-Taj and unable to learn fascinating magic was a regret he didn't want to experience.
After finally suppressing his curiosity, Stephen returned his focus to the book. Despite its thickness, he quickly read through most of its content with his intense concentration.
He was amazed at how powerful time magic was, far exceeding his expectations. Each spell was compelling and often invincible: time stop, time reversal, acceleration, time loops, and even future predictions.
Some spells affected a single target, while others could influence the entire universe.
"Wait, could the green glow in my mind be someone casting a time-stop spell?" Stephen pondered, revisiting the bizarre visions in his mind.
It seemed likely that someone had cast a time-stop spell, causing everything around him to freeze. But why was he the only one with memories of the event, unlike others?
...
"I'll ask Li Yue about this tomorrow. As the Supreme Sorcerer, he should know all about it," Stephen decided, unable to conclude on his own.
He then resumed reading the book. While he had finished the time magic section, a small portion still needed to be read. He wondered what it contained.
As he turned the page, he was again shocked by the contents, which described other dimensions.
Stephen was excited to learn about the multiverse and the existence of other dimensions. The book mentioned several, including multiple hell-like dimensions led by entities like Mephisto, Lucifer, Hades, and Cytorrak, as well as Nightmare's Dimension and the Dark Dimension.
But what caught his attention was the detailed description of harnessing energies from these dimensions.
Among these, the Dark Dimension felt incredibly familiar to him.
"The Dark Dimension ruled by Dormammu, using dark energy to consume other planets—this matches the vision in my mind perfectly!"
Recalling the dark sky from his visions, Stephen realized he now had answers to many of his questions, but also new ones arose.
"Why is the next part missing?" he muttered, finding that crucial pages had been torn out.
"Dammit!" Stephen cursed, frustrated as if a book he was avidly reading had suddenly cut off at a critical moment.
...
"Wait, what if I use time magic to restore this book to its original state?" A bold idea sprang to his mind.
"Yes, that's it!"
The thought he had earlier dismissed resurfaced and grew stronger under his overwhelming curiosity.
...