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Hearing this, Strange's expression became even more terrified than when the time-stop anomaly first appeared. He roared, "No! Don't leave me, please don't let go, Christine!"
But Christine's mind was made up. Without her gripping back, Strange's weak strength as an ordinary human was not enough to hold onto her as she was continuously pulled by the black hole. He could only watch helplessly as her hand slowly slipped from his grasp, until...
Christine fell completely into the endless abyss!
"No, no, no, no, no!!!"
At this moment, Strange even wanted to follow Christine and dive into the black hole himself, but as soon as he rushed toward it, he was repelled by an invisible force!
Despairingly, he couldn't even die with her!
Despair—Strange's heart was completely filled with despair!
The next second, something even more devastating happened.
He saw Christine, who was falling into the abyss, suddenly swallowed whole by a massive purple mouth that emerged from the depths!
Immediately after, a large, purple, shoehorn-shaped face abruptly appeared before the black hole. Separated only by the distance of the black hole, it locked eyes with Strange.
Even across the black hole, Strange could feel a wave of pure evil radiating from that massive face!
But now, Strange felt no fear toward this terrifying purple monster. Instead, he scrambled up and rushed at the black hole again, pounding his fists against the invisible barrier at its mouth, screaming frantically at the deep purple monster within:
"You bastard! Give Christine back to me! Give my Christine back! I'm going to kill you!!!"
However, the more pain Strange felt, the happier the purple monster inside the black hole seemed to be. A twisted smile appeared on its hideous face, and it let out an evil, mocking laugh at the Strange outside:
"Jie jie jie! Stephen Strange, remember this: you toy with time, and time will surely toy with you!"
"In another dimension, a version of you used time to trap me, forcing me to give up the delicious meal I was about to consume. I can't do anything to that version of you, but the you in this dimension doesn't have the sacred relic of Kamar-Taj, so you can only watch helplessly as your beloved is taken away by me!"
"Remember, Strange, this is only the beginning of your journey of pain. From now on, I will take away the important things around you one by one, so that you will live in agony forever!"
"Remember my name, for I am the Dark Lord Dormammu, jie jie jie jie jie jie!!!"
After leaving his name, the large purple head didn't care if Strange understood or not and directly closed the black hole.
This left Strange, who had been pounding on the invisible barrier, collapsing miserably to the ground like a dog...
After a long time, Strange finally lifted his head to look at the empty space. His fists were clenched so tightly that his fingernails dug into his palms, causing blood to flow continuously.
At this moment, Strange had never hated his own powerlessness as much as he did today!
The medical skills he was once so proud of, and those exquisite surgeon's hands, were completely useless when facing a real threat!
If he possessed true power, if he were a Superhero, if he were as strong as the 'Spider Monarch' who had saved New York time and again, would he have been able to protect Christine today?
Unfortunately... he wasn't...
Wait, saving New York... Yes, I still have one hope, a hope strong enough to face that monster, even to save Christine!
I need to find the Spider Family for help. I need to find the strongest Superhero on Earth, Spider Monarch, for help!
He is my only hope for saving Christine, or for revenge...
A faint golden light flashed imperceptibly in Strange's eyes, and the frozen time around him unconsciously resumed. The gentle music and applause returned, but Strange no longer had the heart to listen to the sounds that originally represented his happiness.
Strange's blood-stained palm tightly gripped the sapphire necklace that Christine didn't have time to wear. Like a wounded wolf, he left the Sky Restaurant in a wretched state.
As he left, atop the glass dome outside the Sky Restaurant where no one noticed, a silver-gray figure was lying leisurely, playing with three brilliant gems between his fingertips.
The Time Stone, which had stopped the actions and thoughts of everyone except Strange.
The Mind Stone, which influenced everything Strange and Christine saw, including the 'black hole' that appeared later and the 'Dormammu' who came out to take the blame.
The Space Stone, which opened the 'black hole' Strange saw and used a portal to teleport Christine away...
As for where she was teleported, a human girl suddenly appeared in the Frost Palace of Jotunheim...
That's right, all the misfortune Strange faced today was just a calculation Ryan had made on a whim...
There was no suddenly appearing black hole, no descent of Dormammu, and Christine wasn't dead. Everything Strange experienced today was just a conspiracy that was part real and part fake~
"Don't blame me, Strange. If you want to blame someone, blame the you from the other Universe. After all, he was the one who asked me to guide you onto this path early, but he didn't specify the method of guidance~"
"So... I could only choose the method that would make you grow the fastest~"
After murmuring a few words to himself, Ryan stood up from the glass dome, leaped down from the Sky Restaurant, and swung toward home.
He had already completed the villainous task of breaking up a couple about to be together; now, he had to go be Strange's kind-hearted spiritual mentor~
Time soon reached the next day.
Knock knock knock——————
Ryan thought Strange would come knocking that very night, but he didn't expect the knocking to sound until the next morning.
At the dining table, Short-haired Gwen and Silk Cindy stood up at the same time, both wanting to open the door.
As for why they were both here...
Since Short-haired Gwen came from another Universe, it was naturally impossible for her to return to the home of this Universe, especially since the original Gwen had already returned.
If two Gwens went back together, it would probably give the Stacy couple of this Universe a heart attack.
So later, the two Gwens discussed it and decided that until the Quantum Tunnel was built, they would take turns: one living in the original Stacy home and one living in Ryan's home.
In reality, Short-haired Gwen already had the standard-issue Spider-Alliance Parallel Universe Travel Bracelet and could theoretically return to her own Universe.
But perhaps it was because Short-haired Gwen and the Chief Stacy of her Universe were still having a falling out and she didn't want to go back yet.
Or maybe she wanted to stay in this Universe for a while longer to enjoy the complete and harmonious family she had here...
Or maybe she wanted to spend more time with Ryan...
In any case, Short-haired Gwen had no plans to return to her own Universe for the time being.