"So, how are you?" Strange asked Itadori as they walked on. He was being considerate, knowing what Itadori had gone through back in the Sanctum. His magic had been taken away in the most horrific way possible.
"Oh-ho. Just like everyone else here. Just like you." Itadori replied. "Happy, content and successful."
"I can see that much." Strange said as his eyes gazed away into the scenery.
"Is this Metropolis?" Strange wondered. "Or New York, or Gotham?"
"Everything is just so... Vibrant!" He noted. "And, magical."
...and different.
The buildings did not look conventional, and to Strange, it all seemed like a bunch of people decided to pull out the canvas and work on it at the same time without consulting each other.
Each and every building seemed to had it's own architectural eccentricity, but somewhat discernible from just looking at it's external appearance.
They came in all sizes and shapes... and colours too! Some were spherical and tall, others rectangular and stretchy, while others just couldn't be described with words.
Some dark and gloomy, while others sparkly and cheerful with the brightest of colours. But no matter how much they contradicted each other, the air in between them became a leveling field.
It distributed a subtle flow of harmony that could make even the most spooky and grotesque structure feel relaxing and normal to anyone.
As they walked, crossing the now not-so-bust streets, something strange caught Strange's eye.
"What is that man doing?" Strange asked Itadori, pointing towards a certain fella going about his business.
Itadori stopped in his tracks and turned to observe the old man who was all by himself on a street woven in between a series of compelling structures.
A bungalow in one place, followed by a condominium, then a tall skyscraper office building. A little further down was a witch's hut alternating with the largest candy factory, and in the middle of the street was a naked old man parading a file of naked ladies.
"But more importantly, why am I comfortable with that..!" Strange ridiculed to himself as he tried so hard to sweat and feel uncomfortable, but that seemed impossible.
"Who? That?" Itadori turned with an expression of surprise towards Doctor Strange.
Peering into Itadori's eyes for a brief moment, Doctor Strange saw a flash of light cruise through the eyeballs, perplexing him further.
"I'm surprised you don't know him." Itadori said. "Are you sure you're alright?"
Doctor Strange noticed a certain hostility in Itadori's words and put his guard up. "I'm okay. I just would like to confirm my suspicions, that's why."
"Oh. Okay." Itadori said, looking completely relaxed and passive just like before. "It would be nuts if you didn't know the President of the United Utopia-616."
Noting the seriousness in Itadori's voice, Strange thought on this for a moment.
"President? Sworn in?" Doctor Strange asked, wondering why no one was attempting to stop the abomination he was seeing. Not even himself.
"Yes." Itadori affirmed. "Recognized by the Only Law, the man in front of us is one of the many presidents we have, and his word is law."
"Right now, he is advocating for nudism, and if we don't walk faster, we might have to abide by his decree." Itadori advised. "My house is just around the corner."
Everything felt right, and Strange didn't know how to react. His thoughts were struggling against it, but he couldn't fight against accepting what was happening before him.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
"I might be going nuts!" Strange said, and before he knew it he was ascending to the skies to observe the world from further away.
His subconscious was telling him to escape the Earth and save himself before he too became a part of this madness. Who knew what else was acceptable in this future?
There seemed to be nothing against anything, and with a bird's eye view of the entire city from the sky, Strange realized so.
"New York!" He gasped as he observed the city he knew by heart once, but not now.
There was a lake in the middle of the city?
Why were the landscapes shifting and changing so rapidly? They were taking in new forms and colors, switching places or completely disappearing.
He soared around the City with the Cloak and observed it more keenly, seeing the people and how they behaved.
Apparently, everyone could own anything they wanted and what was once considered crime was rampant and popular everywhere.
But even so, the city only looked prosperous and calm despite how many deaths kept happening on his route. They all seemed to thrive in this chaos while benefitting from it.
There was no time to deal with all of this things, as there were so many instances of everyone achieving they're desires. He came across names of all presidents and heard all sorts stories on desire fulfillment that should have bothered him, but they didn't.
He changed his course and flew towards the Greenpoint Sanctum, hoping to find sanity.
Was this how all the cities in the world were?
And all those other places too?
"This is not a possibility." Doctor Strange said as he tried to re-orient his internal moral compass. "This is the real deal. It's the future."
"But no matter how good it feels, or fulfilling, or constantly nagging me to give in my desires and help build a perfect world..." Strange stopped his thoughts.
What was that voice in his head?
He stopped his movement midair and listened.
It was far and distant, but he could detect the energy signature trying to break into his mind. He remembered that flash of light in Itadori's eyes from before.
The magic signature was... his.
"For the love of God!" He grunted, shooting out towards the sky. "Please don't be a hive mind."
It didn't take Strange long enough to pull out into space to check for the OmniSight Aegis, this time confirming his suspicions.
The Earth looked as blue and beautiful as ever, and super-compelling to look at. Such that, there was a group of strangers adamantly staring at it mesmerized by its radiating beauty.
Far from the grasp of the OmniSight Aegis now in control of Utopia-616, Strange's brain and thoughts came back together.
It was no longer wrapped around the Earth, but he expected to see the three energies radiating from the three Sanctums.
This future was written in stone, and Strange wanted to stop it from happening by destroying the source, in the future.
The OmniSight Aegis had split apart the infinite flow of time and created a decisive end with a world where everyone got what they wanted.
Of course, it was impossible to get everything they wanted without a little magic, and the OA channeled itself to be shared by everyone on Earth and achieve a Utopia.
Only problem was, the Utopia it so much sought became a catastrophe to the sane eye, and Doctor Strange wasn't about to let that continue (or happen).
He focused his will and started channeling the entire energy from the three Sanctums, hoping that it would cut control of the OmniSight Aegis.
A few of the observers turned their gaze from the planet to Doctor Strange, trying to understand what he was getting at.
"He should be cleaning up his own mess!" Doctor Strange gritted as the energy pulled into his body, as if attracted by the largest magnet. "But I'm the one stuck doing this!"
Three large beams of Eldritch energy were converging in Strange's body, and he was prepared to explode if it meant freeing all those minds under the OA's influence.
"Honestly. How did it come to this?" Strange wondered as the his body felt the lasting impact that made him feel as if his cells were being torn apart.
The onlookers were both amazed and confused at what was going on, uncertain on how to react. Should they have praised him or accused him of something?
That was still a question lingering in the ~~air~~ (void) ~~filled~~ with all kinds of alien crafts that had come to admire Utopia-616.
"Sorcerer Supreme!" Doctor Strange heard a voice in the void of space, a voice that sounded glad to mention that title.
The void before him and a portal opened up before him, and from it stepped none other than Abnegazar, one of the Prime Guardians Razake had appointed.
"Where have you been?" Abnegazar asked tearing up and using his blue cloak to wipe his snort.
"What do you mean?" Doctor Strange asked, not knowing that he had been ripped from the flow of time and sent to the future as a whole.
"One minute you were there with Natasha in the Sanctum, and the next minute, you had disappeared into your eye." Abnegazar said in between sobs.
"Why are you crying?" Doctor Strange asked, honestly surprised. What could make a demon cry this much?
"It's because of what you did to us." The Prime Guardian replied sounding desperate. "Everything changed when you disappeared."
"The entire world changed in your absence, and you cursed us!" Abnegazar accused bursting into a stream of tears. "Please save me and my brothers. We will do anything you ask."
"I know that the world is depraved right now," Strange started, holding it together as much as he could even though it felt like he would blow up from the insides (from the energy), "but what I don't understand is why you're crying so much!"