"Wait!"
"What is he trying to do?"
Tony Stark flew to Doctor Strange's side.
However, Strange just stared intently at the spot where Ronan had disappeared, saying nothing.
He could clearly sense how terrifying that dark energy was!
Though it was far from the despairing power of Dormammu, it was still beyond what Strange could handle at the moment.
Up until now, there was one question that continued to trouble him.
How did this woman enter this universe?
With all that dark energy around her, it should have been impossible for her to bypass Earth's defensive wards.
So, was it a failure in the wards, or was there something that Strange didn't know?
Thinking about this, Strange suddenly shook his head.
This wasn't the time to be thinking about that.
Ronan was still...
When he looked up again, he noticed something incredibly bizarre.
The dark energy, which had been constantly leaking outward, suddenly stopped spreading. In fact, it even showed signs of contracting.
What in the world was happening???
Strange looked up at the sky, disbelief written all over his face.
He could vaguely see a hint of golden light.
Buzz!
A sharp, grating sound echoed.
Both Doctor Strange and Tony Stark instinctively covered their ears.
The sound was like a piercing ring in their ears, but even sharper, causing a pain that made one feel like they were going insane.
As this sound rang out, the dark energy, which had stopped expanding, rapidly contracted!
Its speed was even faster than when it had spread!
"The Time Stone?"
"Or..."
Strange, clutching his ears, watched the changes in the sky.
Soon, he dismissed his first guess.
If it were the Time Stone, he would be able to sense the flow of time. Even if it only affected that mass of dark energy, he would still be able to feel it.
Just like when Ronan used the Time Stone to rewind Thanos' self-destruction.
"What on earth..."
"What is going on?"
As the golden light grew brighter, the dark energy could no longer obscure Ronan's form.
At this moment, Strange saw that the dark energy that had spread out was being absorbed entirely by Ronan's left hand!
The golden light was also emanating from Ronan's left hand.
Strange was dumbfounded.
He... he was absorbing the dark energy!!!
That's right, Strange confirmed he hadn't seen wrong.
That terrifying dark energy was retracting, constantly being absorbed by Ronan's location.
In Strange's memory, he had only ever seen someone absorb dark energy once.
That was Kaecilius and his followers.
Oh, and also the Ancient One.
At the time, the Ancient One's absorption of dark energy led Kaecilius to distrust her, leading him to secretly communicate with Dormammu and attempt to help Dormammu invade Earth.
At that time, Strange had resolved Dormammu's invasion using the Time Stone.
But because of that event, Mordo had left Kamar-Taj and disappeared to who knows where.
Ever since that incident, Strange had been extremely wary of the Dark Dimension.
Even though no further invasions had occurred, he still regarded the Dark Dimension as the number one threat.
Although back then, he thought that contracting with Dormammu had bound him, preventing him from invading Earth again.
But as his tenure as the Sorcerer Supreme grew longer and he learned more, he realized just how ridiculous he had been back then.
If Dormammu were so easily restricted, then why had the Ancient One needed to use the power of the Dark Dimension to strengthen herself in order to fight it?
Strange believed that even with his current power, he wasn't even half as strong as the Ancient One.
And now, once again, Strange witnessed someone absorbing dark energy.
He couldn't help but change his view of Ronan.
Could it be that the Ancient One in this other world was really that uninhibited?
Would she allow her disciple to absorb the energy of the Dark Dimension without any restraint?
Strange secretly prepared his spells.
He clearly remembered that anyone who absorbed dark energy would undergo a drastic change in personality.
Not everyone was like the Ancient One, able to draw from that vast power without being overwhelmed.
While Strange was utterly shocked, Ronan, who was surrounded by dark energy, felt abnormally comfortable.
It was as if...
As if...
That indescribable comfort, like running through a forest path and feeling the light rain drift in, or the exhilaration after a wild sprint, that post-exercise bliss.
This was the best description Ronan could think of.
As the dark energy was continually absorbed into his left hand, Ronan could feel that his body was undergoing some changes.
But what exactly was changing, Ronan couldn't quite put into words.
However, his keen spiritual sense told him that there were definitely transformations happening.
"Child..."
"Welcome home..."
As Ronan continued to absorb the dark energy from the Dark Dimension, a voice seemed to echo in his ears!
That voice sounded distant, yet Ronan could hear every word clearly.
Ronan opened his eyes and found himself in a completely unfamiliar place.
The surroundings were pitch black, except for three candles burning not far away.
In the center of the three candles, a dark figure stood, seemingly waiting for Ronan to arrive.
However, Ronan stood in place, arms crossed, staring at the man as if he were examining a piece of art.
Everything around seemed to have quieted down completely, so still that the sound of the candles burning could be heard.
After a long while...
The dark figure finally spoke.
"Why don't you come over?"
"This is where you truly belong."
The voice grated like sandpaper rubbing together, making Ronan involuntarily scratch his ear.
Still, a bad voice might just be due to some strange situation.
Ronan wasn't one to discriminate.
"I gotta say, you Dark Dimension folks are pretty weird."
"When trying to tempt someone, don't you at least research their preferences?"
"Even if you turned into a voluptuous woman, it'd be way better than this pitch-black zero effort."
Ronan flicked his right pinky, his ears still numb from all the screaming women's voices he'd heard earlier.
Now he had to deal with this too.
After fighting so many bosses, couldn't they at least tempt him in a way that he could enjoy?
The dark figure on the opposite side seemed completely thrown off by Ronan's response.
This... this wasn't how the script was supposed to go!
Aren't I supposed to explain the benefits of joining us?
Then you righteously refuse, and I push you off a cliff.
Isn't that the proper script?
"You belong to the darkness."
"Everything about you is tied to it."
"Child... it's time to come home!"