PROLOGUE | " HEART OF THE MATTER "

THE DARKEST HOUR STRUCK.

The Earth's sorcerer supreme watched the heavens turning into a menace of pure fury, slowly revolting in the turquoise tint of the rifting havoc of the expanding cracks.

The world was collapsing. Surges of purples and darkest blues swiveled in the whirl of unknown energy coming down from the skies in a tunnel of a distinct light. Fragments of the massive tear detached themselves from a streamlet of the immoral power of the space between each of the universes.

They reappear in small rifts, continuing to torment the lovable town of Bloomsfield — a place that was just like some kind of a magnet for these external forces, its main connection was a hex, that only a proper sorcerer or sorceress with the darkest intentions could cast.

"I gave you two options! Why can't you just decide and leave everyone out of this misery?" A voice echoed above everyone.

Morgan Le Fay, originally imprisoned in the Dark Dimension (Dormammu's empire), was levitating in the air, leisurely absorbing the colorful forces of the universe from the shattering world. Her existence was forgotten by many.

Nevertheless, her story of misunderstanding and betrayal was touched by only one and that was Nicholas Strange.

He brought her back.

With a snap of a finger, she'd been resurrected. Created from the ashes in the realm of death and awaken by a flickering unknown dark mass as an answer to Morgan's helpless callings for help echoing in the subconscious of a one that understood the deepest longings of those who were buried six feet under, thriving on the darkness to give their lost souls a voice.

"Sacrificing my family or entire population never seemed like an option to me," Stephen Strange muttered back at her, watching every bit of movement of hers. "There's always a way."

Stephen Strange of this universe splendid with odds — titled chaosverse by the protectors — had no relation to the boy that thrived in darkness. Although they shared the same name, the home universe was taken from him. Yet he was given the last chance to prove his intentions wrong because all Nicholas knew was chaos after all.

"And what are you going to do then? Use the power of the time stone to travel branches of reality to see multiple endings that could resolve this problem?" Morgan wondered. "I'm so sorry but you certainly cannot do that." She raised the Eye of Agamotto by its chain, gleaming under the iridescent light.

"Everything comes to an end with a collision and rise of my kingdom. No Strange to be found whatsoever. I've seen it with my own eyes."

The beacon of the breach widened, integrating the flaws of reality and turning them into silhouettes of the fallen, crawling back from the void where they were living alongside each other, embracing their oddities thanks to a mutual fallacy.

The light clashed hard with the ground, bumping into left-out cars on the road. Following the hand, the gesture managed to for a moment lift the excessive amount of destructive energy, however it dropped down right after. Blonde was fighting to take a grip of the streamlet.

Milena, a member of the hero assembled called Chaos Force, sighed, stumbling back because of how the surge of energy weakened her. This energy was beyond her understanding, it was defying her gravity, "I can't reflect it!"

The sorceress raised her eyebrows with a proud smile on her lips — seeing that the only and supposedly most powerful gravity magic-user was struggling brought joy and fierceness to her eyes. Morgan's power couldn't be compared to others since she harvested it from those who gave it away as an offering in return for eternal living on a planet they were banished from many years ago and begged for their forgiveness.

The world was roaring, the sound could be described as the doomsday.

The leader of the group Bianca peeked at Nicholas Strange in worry as a ball of electricity hit a newly formed energy being, its silhouette shivering under the pressure from above. He stood there, seemingly lost. He stood there in the eye of the storm, within the madness of his own actions, wherein the darkness there was lurking chaos, patiently waiting for its awakening.

"Nicholas?"

Nicholas. . .

His name turned into distanced mumbles concealed behind dark walls that shrunk from a corridor into a room, shielded by the outside world that was like a fracture of his mind. Mice squeaked, running away to hide as the sobbing got louder followed by Nick collapsing to the ground. He tried his best to wipe the shedding tears, but later he gave up. His knees were bruised as his soul. Stained by the darkness he accidentally summoned. His chest was caught in a repeated movement, unable to fully inhale as if he forgot to breathe. His head was full of thoughts, so overwhelming, it surely was going to explode. He wanted to shroud himself in a corner and never see the reality of chaos again. Maybe if he stayed here, forever, the world outside would be a better place. Maybe. It was a belief he wished to follow.

Thud. He flinched, instantly covering his ears, shivering with death on his mind. Thud. The stairs. Something was going down the stairs although he demanded to be alone. Thud. He knew the feeling. It was time to finally hit the last heartbeat. Thud. He took a glimpse. The same shadow figure was looking at him, observing, as it does when his nightmares became more vivid than the daydreams. He did so many things wrong by preventing the unpreventable. He had to be punished. Nick clenched his eyelids together as the darkness was luring him in, eventually casting the last shadow.

He whined until a warmth touched his back, hearing a sound so distinct, that he instantly didn't think of anything else. A throb in his father's heart. Eyes were wide open. It was beating. Again. After this long time.

"Shhh, It's me. I'm here. You're safe," Stephen assured him, pulling him into his arms, "Focus only on me."

It took him a moment to have him fall completely to his arms as his body was one big spasm. Nicholas' ear was pressed on his chest. His weak heart followed the pulses as instructions to stop crying. As touch-starved as he was, his head was bluffing with him, but somehow everything seemed so real yet so far away.

"Maybe... Maybe if I just stop trying—" Nick tried to describe his flow of thoughts in between weeping.

"No no no... Don't say that. You never stopped. Why would you stop now?"

"Everything's my fault. I thought that I can be better but everything I touch is instantly broken... I can't do this anymore, dad. I don't want to know what else can I break," Nicholas wanted to continue in his monologue but was interrupted by a caress on his cheek to wipe the tears away for him but they stayed there.

Nick pressed a hand on the back of dad's hand, slightly touching the knuckles. He wanted to feel it better, confirm that he was truly there. He gazed into his icy blue eyes, the fond look Stephen gave him, made him just remember how much he missed him. Of course, he missed everything; the pulse of his heart, even the creasing wrinkles in the corners of his eyes.

"See? I am not broken," Stephen continued, "I never was broken when you touched me in the first place, and neither did the people around you. Sure, I may be gone. Sometimes it may feel like I am not with you, Nicholas, but I am. It never was your fault because you always came. I need you to do it again."

Nicholas was looking at him, quietly, unintentionally grasping his hand until he let go.

"Please put the world back."

"I can't-"

"Nicholas Peter Strange," Stephen's hand was pressed onto his nape, "I've taught you to never use that word. Now, listen to me. . . "

Nick nodded as tears faded. Stephen forced him gently to lean closer. Goosebumps ran down his spine as their foreheads touched. Pressing against his. Delicately.

"You're my heartbeat. I need you to palpitate." Stephen whispered to him, gently caressing his cheek again, only to prove that he meant it, "I want you to put the world back. Can you do that for me?"

Nicholas quivered as the only light bulb shattered into a thousand shards. His father still held him, tightly, although he was crumbling to pieces.

"Put the world back."

"I had been waiting for this moment. Your world is going to crumble to pieces, but mine is just about to be born," Morgan claimed with unlimited power by her side.

In the nick of time, the universal surge dashed into the road, which later on fell apart into either shard of distortion with the light of beams that looked like stars at the first glance, peeking through the crooked surface due to the optical illusion of overflowing light.

The fire shot across the skies like a falling star with the only purpose of destruction, focusing on his current target — the town to claim the first ground of the revolution. Stephen Strange blocked the incoming attack of one of Morgan's puppets with a shield. The descending sparks burnt with determination to fight for tomorrow.

"It's time to end things once and for all."

One of the energy rays separated from the breach and loosen off.

The attack could be successful if the sorcerer supreme wasn't standing in the way of the fire.

The shield expanded with golden sparks leaking on the edge. Stephen Strange's pupils shrank, once he was exposed to the overwhelming radiance. A bright gleam eventually clashed with the barrier with an explosion covering up the shriek of struggle. He couldn't hold it as the energy intensified.

Stephen counted the last seconds of his life, worried about the future of this universe. His hands were shaking due to the growing pressure and urge to keep the shield formed to protect himself.

An invisible force struck him, however, the impact of the moment eased and he let go. Somehow he already felt death calling him. Dazzling light revealed a figure standing in front — grasping the light for him.

A scream of pain resounded in the neighborhood. The heat was getting stronger and stronger, igniting his hands that were made of ice quickly burning down. The blaze carved into his skin, piercing it through like being stabbed by a bunch of knives at once. His clutch weakened, feeling that he could break down any minute due to the direct light touching his bones as it scorched the skin off his fingers.

Nicholas screeched with pain but he walked forward.

A tear was falling down his cheek with his heart pounding in his chest rapidly when the radiance was trying to devour his body. For one moment it looked like he couldn't hold it any second and the light started to consume him whole, imprinting the fright of the future onto his face. Until the screams and suffering went silent.

Only one voice was heard across the skies, a voice, its fury was surprisingly settled down.

"I said no Strange, didn't I?" Morgan declared with no emotions, just watching the horror from above, a horror that soothed her damned soul.

The light pulsed, like an explosion, till it faded away completely.

Stephen waited for the radiance to disappear as he took cover behind the cloak of levitation that protected him from the wild sparks that singed tiny holes onto his attire, "Nicholas?"

"Nicholas!" Stephen blurted out, springing up in hesitation, to catch his weakened body or whatever was left of him, however, he paused in the middle of movement some sort of horrified.

The staggering was gone, followed by a quick heartbeat, as Nick was gazing at his hands in disbelief — they shone. The skin was slowly rebuilding, covering the burns that ate his hands entirely. Dark burnt smudges were pain-free only to stain his fingers a bit. No signs of other damage to be found. He was absorbing the pure energy of light, generating a cure. Adapting.

He clutched one of them in a fist which quivered underneath the sudden pressure, even the dark tint from the tips of his fingers was gone. Nicholas exhaled looking up, relieving the painless agony.

The menace uproared as a sign of Morgan's concern. Her raven black hair was flowing in the wind, with an approaching thunderstorm that was forming behind.

Morgan knew that he was back with the madness. You could see the anger in her eyes burst into flames, "No!"

The ground shivered slightly as Morgan let another light streak hit the ground from the spreading out cracks.

Milena gritted her teeth and used the last bits of her strength to change the direction of the energy beam, modifying the gravitational field that was pulling the matter.

Just by perceiving the glance that Bianca gave her, the light sharply turned right. With the thunder growling in her back, Bianca struck with her hand towards the place where the streak was charged, sending forth a bunch of lightning bolts she managed to recall from thin air.

The unexpected surge of electricity entangled around the beam and swooshed right next to Morgan. The two forces separated from each other and trapped the sorceress in the hollow part of the ring of fire. The forces eventually connected back as they clashed with their main target.

The same ring appeared but it wasn't doing it of its own free will. Nicholas Strange moved the light around the silhouette of his body. The shape of light started to flicker a dark mass that started to drip down similarly to the sparks, however, it turned into a dark fog as a hint of the balance of his inner darkness. During the process, he was learning how to use his new ability for the sake of goodness.

When he managed to grasp the light safely, a sharp movement of his hand fired the light back at Morgan in a form of a wave that was slowly rising and building up to the sky, reaching up to the huge tear. In a second Doctor Strange generated and threw in her direction an Eldritch whip that prevented her from attacking.

Everyone that was present tried to hide their sight before the collision as the blaze was flaring with an intense radiance. A burning border formed. Morgan was captured inside a bubble where the energy of light raged. Nicholas stepped back, covered in shivers of exhaustion, attempting to cover his eyes from the glare.

His heart was skipping beats, in anticipation, believing that he did everything correctly. The collision started patching up the tear that was tormenting the town with the breach. Nevertheless, just as soon as the dome fell down, his doubts were confirmed.

The blinding light revealed Morgan descending to the ground in the glare of dousing fracture, "You will pay for the sins."

Doctor Strange stepped forward, leaving the Chaos Force behind as he was analyzing her intentions. They successfully concealed the breach. Was there something he was missing?

"It's over Morgan! You're the only one who's going to pay for what you have done to this world!" Stephen Strange declared aloud.

"More like this universe," Morgan smiled as she corrected him.

"What?" He uttered in confusion.

"Oh, dear... Not only did you temporarily stop the fracture, but you hid it from your sight," she uttered, "who knows what will happen when it's again fully awakened. This universe is doomed and the only thing that could reverse this madness, your brainless mistakes, is now in my possession..." Morgan raised up the artifact stolen from the Sanctum Sanctorum.

Doctor Strange gasped and stepped forward again now in a hesitation. He realized it too late. The Eye of Agamotto was suddenly thrown into the closing vortex, "Good luck."

"No!"

The Eldritch magic sparked from Stephen's fingers yet seeing Morgan disappearing in the crack where all the energies of the space were meeting, he silently gave up.

Yet there was a person that couldn't let this happen. Nicholas didn't hesitate a minute because missing time stone could mess up with the reality that was so precious to him. Unlike Stephen, these forces couldn't do a thing to someone that lost his universe before. And now that Nick was losing it again, he had no other choice.

Bianca approached the fact sooner than anyone else, "Nicholas, no!"

She caught his hand, doing everything to pull him to safety, back to the world he belonged to. Little did she know that his world was watching him from afar, patiently waiting next to a car. As soon as Adrian Phoenix heard the news that included a fracture in the skies, he knew that this was Nicholas' fight and he should be with him. Now that he arrived late, something again stepped between them. At first, it was a pocket dimension taking over the town and now it was the universe's ending.

They locked eyes for a few seconds, as he let go of Bianca's hand. Adrian was given an opportunity to use his mind control abilities and save his beloved, nevertheless, he decided not to. In fact, he made a promise to him to never use his power against him. Even if the vow didn't exist, he couldn't use those powers against someone he loved.

A subtle smile appeared on Adrian's lips. And even if he was far away, Nick knew that the beam was full of aches.

"Please keep an eye on him. He's my everything," Nick whispered and gazed deeply into Bianca's eyes. His last wishes in this universe had intentions to put the world back.

She nodded with a gulp, "I know."

This was the permission to leave. He ran through the fracture that closed at the very last second behind him. Immediately as the breach closed, the mirrored tunnel transformed into a warp that transported excessive energy between the continuum of the Multiverse, only to accomplish his dreams.

To put the world back.