Stephen stopped to push a cabinet over before rushing after Aries. Skipping up the stairs, they turned in time to deflect a hit from Kaecilius. Stephen pushed Aries behind him, grabbing a trophy cup filled with a sort of glowing powder.

"Ha!"

Kaecilius stopped, looking at Stephen with amusement. "You don't know how to use that, do you?"

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

He threw the cup at him. Kaecilius easily deflected this, causing the powder go everywhere. She watched as the two fought fiercely. She wasn't good at fighting, and she couldn't use her abilities to throw items at Kaecilius because of the charmed items in the room. Kaecilius grabbed a pole, swinging himself around to kick Stephen into a glass case.

"Stephen!" Aries exclaimed.

Kaecilius knocked him into another glass case containing a red cloak. He swung his spear down on Stephen, but it was stopped by the red cloak. Stephen dropped to all fours, trying to crawl away. Kaecilius grabbed him, forcing him to stand on his knees. When he went to strike Stephen, the cloak absorbed the hit once more. Aries stared at the cloak in shock.

"Dude, really? Of all worthy people, Stephen got picked?" she muttered. Aries ran forward and dragged Stephen away as the cloak distracted Kaecilius. "Come on, buddy."

She hoisted him up and put his arm around her shoulders. They began to clumsily walk down the stairs. They only needed to get away from Kaecilius. From behind, Kaecilius formed a rope with his hands and threw it, wrapping it around Aries's waist and throwing her down the stairs with Stephen falling right beside her. Stephen winced and pulled the rope with all his strength. Aries gripped the rope tightly and yanked it off her. The cloak flew onto Stephen's shoulders and tugged, attempting to pull him back to safety, but Stephen shook his head.

"No - not without her."

As if the cloak was rolling its eyes, it roughly tugged Stephen over to Aries. Stephen grabbed Aries's hand, then the cloak tugged both of them to a wall with an axe on it. Running towards it, he was pulled back abruptly. Trying again, the cloak didn't budge. Then, without a weapon, Kaecilius attacked him. Aries watched in fear for her best friend's - and possibly her crush's - life. Aries grabbed a foreign contraption off the wall and threw it at Kaecilius. The machine-like contraption wrapped around him and forced him onto his knees.

Stephen looked over his shoulder, panting. "Thanks."

"What are friends for?" she asked.

Kaeclilus's muffled voice spoke from underneath the piece of metal. Aries and Stephen turned around. He walked over, detaching the piece from Kaeclilus's mouth. His eyes were closed as he muttered a sacred ritual. Stephen shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"Oh, stop it. Stop it!" Stephen demanded.

"You cannot stop this, Mr. Doctor."

"I don't even know what this is!" Stephen exclaimed.

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

"Can we put the thing back onto his mouth?" Aries asked.

"Tell me, Mr. Doctor - "

"Alright, look, my name is Dr. Stephen Strange."

"You are a doctor?" Kaecilius asked.

"Yeah."

"And you, his nurse?" Kaecilius asked.

Aries crosses her arms over her chest. "Why am I a nurse? I can't be a doctor too? That's sexist."

"Are you a doctor?"

"No, I'm a florist," she muttered.

"A florist and a doctor. Quite the odd pair, but both require the knowing of science. You understand the laws of nature. All things age, all things die - like flowers and people. In the end, our sun burns out, our universe grows cold and perishes. But the Dark Dimension... It's a place beyond time," Kaecilius explained. "This world doesn't have to die, Doctor, Florist. This world can take its rightful place among so many others, as part of the One. The great and beautiful One and we can all live forever."

"Really? What do you have to gain out of this New Age dimensional utopia?" Stephen asked.

"The same as you. The same as everyone. Life - External life. People think in terms of good and evil, but really, time is our true enemy. Time kills everything."

"What about the people you killed?" Stephen retorted

"Tiny, momentary specks within an indifferent universe. You see - you see what we do? The world is not what it ought to be. Humanity longs for the eternal - for a world beyond time because time is what enslaves us. Time is an insult. Death is an insult. Doctor, Florist, 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 corrected.

"What was it that brought you to Kamar-Taj?" he asked. "Was it enlightenment? Power? 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 parlor tricks. The real magic she keeps to herself. Have you ever wondered how she lives so long?" Kaecilius asked.

"I saw the rituals in The Book of Cagliostro," Stephen said.

"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 faiths."