"Get up, Strange. Get up and fight!" Mordo commanded. "We will finish this."

"You can't fight the inevitable," Kaecilius stated, strolling towards them with his disciples following him.

Stephen got to his knees, blood trickling down his temple.

"Isn't it beautiful? A world beyond time - Beyond death," said Kaecilius.

Stephen's eyebrows furrowed. "Beyond time," he whispered. He glanced up at the night sky. "I'm sorry, Aries."

"Strange!" Mordo shouted.

Stephen touched his middle finger to his thumb on both hands, waving his arms. He launched into the air, flying toward Dormammu.

"He's gone," Kaecilius said. 

Stephen created a time loop on his wrist as he landed on Dormammu's planet.

"Dormammu, I've come to bargain."

"You've come to die," Dormammu retorted. "Your world is now my world." 

Shards of rock were fired at him rapidly. Stephen formed shields, using them to protect himself. Dormammu opened his mouth and a blast of powerful energy came out. Stephen held up his arm, but he was defeated by the blast. Time reversed. Stephen continued to die in order to protect the universe until Dormammu caved.

"Dormammu, I've come to bargain."

"You can't do this forever," Dormammu exasperated.

"Actually, I can," Stephen retorted. "This is how things are now. You can me, trapped in this moment - endlessly."

"Then you will spend eternity dying," Dormammu stated.

"Yes, but everyone on Earth will live. I'm not only fighting for myself. I'm doing this for the person I love."

"But you will suffer."

"Pain's an old friend," Stephen dryly replied. 

Dormammu blasted him with a beam of energy, instantly killing him. However, Stephen kept coming back.

"No! Make this stop!" Dormammu pleaded, killing Stephen a few more times before giving up. "Set me free!"

"No... I've come to bargain," Stephen repeated.

"OH, WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

"Take your zealots from the Earth - and your assault on my world. Never come back! Do it, and I'll break the loop," Stephen promised.

Back on Earth, everything was still.

Mordo stood up. "Get up, Strange. Get up and fight. We will finish this."

"You can't fight the inevitable," Kaecilius stated, strolling towards them with his disciples following him. "Isn't it beautiful? A world beyond time - Beyond death."

Stephen floated down behind them silently. Mordo and Wong gasped. Kaecilius turned around.

"What have you done?" he asked.

"I made a bargain," Stephen replied, raising his eyebrows.

Both of them gazed down to see Kaecilius's hand turn to an ashy color.

"What is this?" Kaecilius asked, raising his hand to examine it.

"It's - uh - everything you've ever wanted," Stephen answered. "Eternal life as part of the One. You're not going to like it." 

Kaecilius and his disciples slowly turned to ashes, flying up toward the night sky where Dormammu waited.

"I think he really should have stolen the whole book because the warnings... The warnings come after the spells," Stephen retorted.

Wong laughed loudly, causing Mordo and Stephen to turn around and look at him. His hands were on his hips.

"Ah... That's funny," Wong muttered.

Stephen reversed time, restoring the sanctum before resuming time. Civilians of Hong Kong walked around them as if nothing had gone wrong in the first place.

"We did it."

"Yes, yes, we did it," Mordo replied darkly, standing in place. "By also violating the natural law."

"Look around you. It's over," Stephen retorted.

"You still think there will be no consequences, Strange? No price to pay? We broke our rules, just like her. The bill comes due. Always," Mordo hissed. "A reckoning. I will follow this path no longer." He walked away.