Stephen was still unaware of the impending danger as he stood trial before the Illuminati. At the moment, he was quietly listening to the elderly, bald-headed Charles explain what he called "the truth."
This so-called truth was about the death of the Doctor Strange in Universe-838.
That universe had also faced an invasion by Thanos. The members of the Illuminati had traveled to Titan to confront him head-on, while Strange chose to act alone. He studied the Darkhold and delved into dream-walking sorcery, likely hoping to find a way to defeat Thanos by exploring the multiverse.
Just like Wanda, he believed that every problem had a solution somewhere in the multiverse.
But things spiraled out of control. Strange lost himself—and ended up causing the complete destruction of another universe!
Compared to Thanos, who wiped out half the population with a snap, the Strange of Universe-838 was even more decisive. He annihilated an entire universe, leaving no survivors.
Realizing the immense crime he'd committed, Strange didn't run from it. Instead, he turned himself in to the Illuminati and confessed everything. Although he had made a grave mistake, he also found a way to defeat Thanos—with the Book of the Vishanti.
With the book's power, the Illuminati succeeded in killing Thanos. But they had come to realize there was another looming threat besides him: the corrupted version of Stephen Strange himself.
It was ironic. Just recently, Stephen had acted so righteously in front of Wanda, yet a version of himself in another universe had also studied the Darkhold and fallen into darkness. Different universes or not, variants often shared unsettling similarities.
In a sense, it wasn't wrong to consider them the same person.
This revealed something deeper: no matter the superhero, across different multiverses, facing different trials, a small choice could push them toward corruption and villainy.
At that moment, the Stephen outside the screen came to a quiet realization. He thought to himself, "Maybe I'm in no position to judge Wanda after all…"
Back in the video, Charles finished explaining the truth and used his powers to show Stephen the memory firsthand: on a devastated alien battlefield, the members of the Illuminati stood in a circle.
Stephen knelt before them. In the background, the lifeless body of Thanos lay on the ground, a blade driven straight through his chest. He was dead—undeniably and completely.
Watching this scene, Pietro couldn't help but exclaim, "This Illuminati seems even stronger than the Avengers! They actually managed to kill Thanos just like that!"
In their own Universe-636, the Avengers had paid a heavy price to defeat Thanos—fighting him twice before finally winning.
Especially when Stephen had once said, "There's only one in 14,000,605 outcomes where we win," it had left everyone with a deep sense of how terrifying and oppressive Thanos really was.
But in comparison, the final battle in Universe-838 seemed much easier.
Stephen glanced over at Pietro and shrugged. "The Book of the Vishanti helped a lot. Then again, maybe the Thanos of this universe wasn't as powerful as the one we faced. Still, if we're talking pure strength, maybe their Illuminati really is stronger than our Avengers."
In their final battle, only a few Avengers could go toe-to-toe with Thanos—Cap, Thor, Captain Marvel, Wanda—and even then, none of them could say for certain they'd win one-on-one.
Looking at the members of the Illuminati, it's clear that while this version of Captain Marvel isn't the same person, her strength is undeniable. Given that Mordo respectfully refers to her as the "Guardian of the Universe," her combat abilities are clearly on par with Carol's.
Captain Carter is undoubtedly the counterpart to Captain America, and Mr. Fantastic, with his mastery of advanced technology, fills a role similar to Iron Man. Alongside them is the powerful telepath, Professor X.
Audiences had already witnessed Professor X's formidable abilities in previous future glimpses of the X-Men.
As for Black Bolt, the leader of the Inhumans, his background remains largely unknown. However, the fact that he shares a seat among such powerful figures makes it clear—he's no ordinary individual.
In comparison, the strength of the Illuminati was at least on par with the Avengers—perhaps even stronger in some respects.
In the video, Stephen from Universe 838 knelt on the ground, bruised and bloodied. His expression was calm, but it was clear he was in a dark place emotionally. Attentive viewers noticed that his fingers looked as if they were dipped in ink—his fingertips were pitch black.
This detail, when linked to Agatha and the corrupted version of Wanda, was an obvious sign that he had read the Darkhold and learned the forbidden spells within it.
Although the Illuminati had clearly defeated Thanos, everyone in the scene looked somber. Charles lowered his brows in sorrow and said in a heavy voice, "We will all miss you."
Stephen took a deep breath, still on his knees. "I'm ready," he said, his tone calm, as if he had accepted his fate.
Then Black Bolt stepped forward, the tuning fork on his head glowing softly. He looked at Stephen and said, "I'm sorry…"
In the next instant, a wave of visible sound burst forth in a horn-shaped shockwave. The energy released was beyond what anyone could have imagined. Everything within the blast radius—including Stephen—was disintegrated in a flash.
The audience outside the screen finally understood just how powerful Black Bolt truly was.
Meanwhile, the Stephen from Universe 616 had just watched his own death. Even though it wasn't technically him, it still left him with an odd feeling. He took a deep breath and muttered, "Pure sound waves shouldn't have such destructive power… so that's the leader of the Inhumans, huh?"
On the other side, Charles was reminded of Banshee. After the last round of the quiz game exposed their existence, Banshee, Darwin, and other mutants had come to light. Some were captured by the government, while others were fortunate enough to be helped by Charles and Erik. Banshee was one of the lucky ones.
"Sean's sonic waves are nothing like that Black Bolt guy in the video," Erik said, catching on to what Charles was thinking. He raised an eyebrow and added, "Maybe you should try training him—turn him into someone that strong. Who knows, maybe the you from Universe 838 was their teacher."
Charles shrugged and chuckled. "Well, that would be an honor."
Through the screen, they didn't get a direct feel for Black Bolt's soundwave, but the Stephen from Universe 616 certainly did.
Charles sent the memory directly into his mind. Even if it wasn't quite the same as experiencing his own death firsthand, it was close enough.
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