Yelling in panic, she ducked as Kaecilius swung his near-invisible weapon at her. Blocking a hit with her forearm, Amber shoved him away, running passed him towards Stephen. "Go! Go!"

The two rounded a corner, fleeing from Kaecilius. Stephen quickly stopped to push a small cabinet over before rejoining Amber in their escape. Kaecilius jumped against the wall momentarily, persuing closely behind.

Skipping up the stairs to the last floor, they turned in time to deflect another attack from Kaecilius. Stephen pushed Amber behind him, grabbing a trophy cup filled with some sort of glowing powder. "Ha!"

Kaecilius paused, casting a sardonic gaze at him. "You don't know how to use that, do you?"

Stephen panted, quickly peering down at it. "Uh..."

Stephen threw the cup at him. Kaecilius easily deflected this, making the golden powder go everywhere. Amber tried to help but got shoved away again.

She watched as the two went at one another fiercely. Kaecilius grabbed a small pilar, swinging himself around to kick Stephen into a glass case, destroying the entire thing.

"Stephen!" Amber yelled, rushing up to Kaecilius and attacking him. Amber was able to punch and hit him a few times with her swollen knuckles, but nevertheless, she was also thrown into another glass case.

Moving for Stephen again, Kaecilius knocked him into another glass case containing the blue and red cloaks.

Kaecilius swung his spear down on Stephen but it got stopped by the red cloak, which shocked both of them.

Stephen dropped to all fours, trying to crawl away. Kaecilius grabbed him, forcing him to stand on his knees. When Kaecilius went to strike him, the cloak absorbed the hit once more.

Kaecilius kneed Stephen in the gut and threw him down. Scrambling to get to his feet, Stephen received two more painful punches as his back met with the railing of the stairs.

Falling backward, the red cape dove after him, silence overtaking everyone.

"You..." Amber panted as she stood on the broken glass, more cuts lining her hands and face. "...piece of shit!" she cried, running at him. She tackled him to the floor, wrestling him.

Straddling his hips, Amber latched one hand around his throat, her other hand clenched in a fist and raised, ready to punch him.

Both caught notice of Stephen suddenly flying in the air by the cloak, his hands conjuring a whip with his orange powers. Winding his arm around his head, he lashed at Kaecilius.

Seeing that the whip was coming their way, Amber rolled off of him.

Kaecilius used his weapon to block the hit, pulling the rope with all his strength. Stephen pulled against him, quickly losing to Kaecilius and getting tossed across the room.

Rolling to his feet, Stephen looked to see Kaecilius swinging at him. When he was about to put his arms up in defence, a forceful tug on his shoulders made Stephen realize that his cloak was pulling in back to safety until his back met with the wall.

He glanced up, seeing an axe on the other wall. Running towards it, he was pulled back abruptly. Trying again, the cloak didn't budge. When Kaecilius neared him, the cloak gave a sharp twirl to Stephen, whipping Kaecilius across the face.

Amber, still at the other side of the room, glancing over her shoulder and the other floating cloak. Giving a sharp whistle with her fingers, she rapidly motioned for it to come.

The royal blue cape flew from its case in a hurry to fit her shoulders. Giving a smirk, she rolled her arms with a sense of authority.

Hearing Stephen and Kaecilius fighting, she watched Stephen grab a foreign contraption off the wall and throw it at him. The machine-like-thing wrapped around Kaecilius and forced him on his knees, staring up at Stephen.

She walked over to Stephen's side, placing a hand on his shoulder in acknowledgment. He nodded, panting loudly.

Kaeclilus' muffled voice spoke from underneath the piece of metal and the two watched, tilting their heading in confusion.

"Huh?" Amber asked, squinting her eyes. She walked over, detaching the piece from his mouth. His eyes were closed as he muttered a sacred ritual.

Stephen shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Oh, stop it. I said stop it!"

"You cannot stop this Mister Doctor."

"I don't even know what this is!"

"It's the end and the beginning," Kaecilius answered, opening his eyes suddenly. "the many becoming the few, becoming the One."

"Look, if you're not going to start not making sense, I can put this thing back on." Amber interjected, holding up the piece of metal.

"Tell me, Mister Doctor—"

"All right, look, my name is Doctor Stephen Strange."

"You are a doctor?" Kaecilius asked, getting a quiet yeah from Stephen.

"You are a doctor? A scientist. You understand the laws of nature. All things age. All things die. In the end, our sun burns out, our universe grows cold and perishes. But the Dark Dimension...it's a place beyond time."

"That's it. I'm putting this thing back on." Amber walked up to him.

"This world doesn't have to die, Amber," said Kaecilius, his eyes following her. "this world can take its rightful place along so many others, as part of the One. The great and beautiful One. We can all live forever."

"Yeah, all hail Dormammu, blah blah blah..." she mocked him, waving her hands.

"What do you have to gain out of this New Age dimensional utopia?" Stephen asked, grabbing the mouthpiece from Amber and wedging it in the mouth of a dragon statue.

Amber turned around with a dumbfounded expression on her face. She let out a scoff, "You're believing this shit?"

"Same as you do, same as everyone," Kaecilius continued on to the aforementioned, watching Stephen pace around with still Amber glaring at him. "Life. Eternal life. People think in terms of good and evil when really time is the true enemy. Time kills everything."

"What about the people you killed?" Stephen shot back.

"Tiny. Momentary specks within an indifferent universe."

Kaecilius noticed the change in Stephen's expression; abating upon thought. 

"You see what were doing? The world is not what it ought to be. Humanity longs for the eternal. A world beyond time because time is what enslaves us. Time is an insult."

Amber's brows knitted together as she inched towards Stephen.

"Doctor...we don't seek to rule this world. We seek to save it, to hand it to Dormammu, who is the intent of all evolution. The why of all existence."

"The Sorcerer Supreme defends existence," Stephen answered him with a stern look.

"What was it that brought you to Kamar-Taj, doctor?" he asked. "Was it enlightenment? Power?"

Amber glanced at Stephen's hand as he clenched his trembling fist. Kaceilius chuckled sinisterly. 

"You came to be healed, as did we all. Kamar-Taj is a place that collects broken things. We all come with the promise of being healed, but instead, the Ancient One gives us parlour tricks. The real magic she keeps to herself. Have you ever wondered how she managed to live this long?"

"I saw the rituals in The Book of Cagliostro," Stephen mumbled, staring at the floor in thought.

Amber gave a squeeze to his hand. "Don't listen to him. He's just trying to get in your head."

"So, you know. The ritual gives me the power to overthrow the Ancient One and tear sanctums down. To let the Dark Dimension in. Because what the Ancient One hoards, Dormammu gives freely. Life everlasting. He's not the destroyer of worlds, doctor. He is the saviour of worlds."

"Bullshit." Amber hissed with a fire of rage in her eyes.