Driven by curiosity, Syd's thoughts shifted, and with a flash of red light, the Cosmic Sphere opened, and the purple Power Stone floated out.
As he grasped it, a surge of violent power attempted to overwhelm him.
Suppressing the backlash from the Power Stone, Syd channeled a sliver of its purple energy through his body to neutralize it, then transmitted it to the black stone artifact.
In an instant, the black stone began to emanate a faint black light.
Soon, the black light intensified, and the familiar strange fluctuations appeared.
"It's starting!"
Syd's eyes lit up with anticipation.
The next moment, the scene before him blurred, and a strange vision appeared in his view.
Syd's gaze fixed on the figure in the death scene.
Earth.
Under the bright sun on a sunny day, a figure dressed in black was slowly walking across an endless green prairie.
The black-clad Syd seemed to sense something and looked up at the sky.
At the same time, Syd, observing from the outside, also felt something and pondered the sky.
"The Sanctum has a problem?"
A series of memories flashed through his mind.
Heroes like the Avengers protect the world from physical harm, while the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj defend the world from magical or supernatural threats.
The first Sorcerer Supreme, Agamotto, the creator of the Eye of Agamotto, was not only the pioneer of magic but also known as an omnipotent deity, one of the Trinity of the Vashanti.
He had built three sanctums—one of which was in New York.
These sanctums together formed a protective shield for the world.
The sanctums protected the world, while the sorcerers protected the sanctums.
During the Battle of New York, the Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One, guarded the New York Sanctum to prevent the Chitauri from damaging it and compromising the protective barrier.
This protective net shielded Earth from other dimensions, like Dormammu.
Dormammu existed in the Dark Dimension, transcended time, and possessed infinite energy and ambition, most desirous of devouring Earth.
Dormammu's power was far greater than what was shown in the movies, and was only partially demonstrated before being outwitted by Doctor Strange with the Time Stone.
Doctor Strange repeatedly reset time with the Time Stone, which Dormammu, existing beyond time, could remember.
Faced with this annoying and inescapable situation, Dormammu was naturally repelled.
This struggle showed little of Dormammu's true power due to the Time Stone's inherent flaws.
Indeed, the battle occurred in the Dark Dimension, and had it been in the real world, repeated time resets could have posed unknown issues.
The Time Stone, though seemingly cost-free, carried the greatest risks!
The previous invasion by Dormammu had succeeded because the Sanctum's protection had failed, allowing him to breach reality and nearly devour Earth.
At this moment, Syd sharply noticed that something had disappeared in the sky.
Given the change in the death scene and the possibility of facing the Old God, he guessed that the Sanctum had encountered a problem, and the protective net was damaged.
Just as he thought this, the bright sky suddenly darkened as if it had turned into night in an instant.
A void appeared in the sky, revealing a bleak and desolate space.
Both the black-clad Syd in the death scene and the observing Syd heard whispers in their ears.
"Ehehe…"
It was as if countless voices were whispering, trying to convey something, but it was unintelligible.
Since Syd was merely observing the death scene, he didn't experience it deeply.
However, in the death scene, the black-clad Syd began to show signs of distress.
He clutched his head, showing signs of irritation as if trying to dispel the noise.
Just as he was about to succumb to the cacophony, a soft light emanated from him, and his barely perceptible divinity flared up, trying to ward off the external influence.
Unfortunately, due to his divinity being only at level four, the whispers' mental distortion wasn't fully dispelled, only temporarily suppressed.
His body, thanks to his divine form, didn't undergo distortion.
Before he could adjust, a black tendril emerged from the dark sky.
The tendril was entirely black, covered with red eyes and gaping mouths, with a darkness within its mouths and countless teeth. It was unknown where these led.
The red eyes twisted around, and the mouths opened and closed erratically, making the tendril unsettling.
The sight of this black tendril made the black-clad Syd's mental state twist further.
The malicious, erratically moving red eyes suddenly focused on the black-clad Syd standing on the grass.
He felt a shift in reality, and some illusions appeared.
At this moment, he seemed to awaken, hearing clearly the previously unintelligible whispers.
"Ehehe…"
The eerie voice pervaded the air, a strange chant of praise filled the void as if countless beings were loudly worshipping.
"Wretched creatures, offer your faith, give your body and soul to the great master…"
"Great master, your will encompasses the stars and all things…"
"Ehehe, you pitiful mortals, come, come, become one with the master…"
It was as if countless voices were murmuring in his ear, trying to lead him into the great world of the master.
The divinity of the black-clad Syd struggled. Even the originally soft white light around him dimmed and turned yellowish, appearing somewhat strange.
From afar, it looked as though he was draped in yellow garments.
"Ants… dare to defy me… obediently become my puppet; this is your honor…"
The strange, celestial voice echoed from the dark void.
As this voice resonated, the black-clad Syd saw the world before him split into two—a normal world and a distorted one.
The mental pollution he experienced intensified abruptly.
Fortunately, his level four divinity barely held his consciousness together, allowing him to retain some semblance of clarity.
In the distance.
Watching this unfold, Syd frowned.