Delusions of Happiness

Earth-???

He hadn't been this bone-deep exhausted since med school. He supposed that's what happens when you harness the world's entire supply of magic to defeat your enemy, only for them to win anyway. The Empirikul had drained magic from Stephen's world like water in a tub. Well, more like funneled out the drain, considering Stephen all but gave them what they wanted in one fell swoop. The only magic that remained was the scarce few relics that managed to be hidden away.

He was Sorcerer Supreme of a world now incapable of sorcery. But at least he still had his friends?

Mordo had taken a vow to kill him for Stephen's final act. It was his decision that stripped all magic users of their power so Stephen could channel the energy into a massive spell to "defeat" the Empirikul. It was his decision that let the Empirikul boil the magic right out of his veins. It was his decision to betray, well, everyone.

Christine... Christine Palmer. She was always an enigma, that woman. She was always claiming she wanted nothing to do with Stephen's new life, and yet they still had lunch together every other Friday. She was always intuitive; it didn't take long for her to reason out why the world was crumbling around them. She was always confident in her friendships, and when those friendships should end...

Wong couldn't look him in the eye anymore. He had warned Stephen about the impending threat, but his arrogance and ego in his title left the threat unchecked. He had warned Stephen against calling upon all magic into his being, slowly frying him from the inside out, because it would give the Empirikul direct access. He had warned Stephen that he couldn't couch surf at his new home anymore, else Mordo would find him.

The world was, in a word, sucky. That was why you could often find Stephen, when not running for his life from vengeful ex-sorcerers, either searching for the remaining relics or flipping through the carcasses of dead books. That was where you could find him that fateful night, petting the lifeless Cloak he couldn't bare to leave behind while reading on a couch. It wasn't a very comfortable couch, all stains and springs, lower than trash compared to the name-brand furniture Doctor Strange had owned, but to Stephen, it had been the softest place he's had to sleep on in months.

It was on that fateful night he felt a presence, barely there, but a presence all the same.

"Hello?"

The presence, it had the sensation of something he hadn't felt in almost a year... it was magic. Though, not his magic. His magic felt like the buzzing sensation you get in your legs after a long car ride. This magic felt off somehow. It felt chaotic.

well youre not wrong

"Who's there?" Stephen exclaimed, bracing a broken broom handle against the harsh whisper, as if that would protect him against the invisible threat.

no one but you and your shadow

Now that the voice had mentioned it, Stephen noticed his shadow wasn't moving the same as his body. It was moving of its own accord, yet stiff like a puppet under a puppeteer's influence. "I'll ask this once. Who. Are. You?"

your saving grace

"What's that supposed to mean?" Stephen asked his shadow. His shadow titled its head in contemplation.

are you happy stephen

Was he happy? In a world that actively hated him and sought to make him feel the pain they did as if he didn't already have to fight to wake up every morning. In a world where he dreamt of dying every night? In a world where he didn't recognize the reflection of a broken man with black streaks coursing under his skin? In a world that he had single-handedly caused?

"Yes."

liar

"No," Stephen relented.

let me

"Let you what?"

set you free

The presence was stronger now. In fact, he could feel it trying to enter his mind. "This doesn't feel like freedom."

im doing you a favor

Stephen screamed and clutched his head in agony. With no magic left, he had nothing to protect himself but his own feeble willpower. The presence snapped it like a spaghetti noodle.

there we are

the sinister strange variant took over with relative ease

"What is this? How did you-"

the not stephen glanced around the abandoned apartment for something lethal
i promise i'm doing this for your own good

"You've taken over my body! How is this for good!"

don't worry no one will miss you

"What? What're you going to do?"

sinister faced the shadow of stephen
setting you free as i said
this world has nothing for you
i'm doing you a favor just as i have the others

"You're the one I see in my dreams... you're going to kill me..."

sinister smiled at the shadow and resumed his search
so you do recognize my work
i thought i was going to have to spell it out to you for a second there

"Why? What did I ever do to you?"

you said you werent happy

"I'm not happy, that's true. How could I be? But I'm not suicidal!"

why wouldnt you be
youve given your all to this world for nothing in return

"Wong has been checking in on me. I've seen the way the other Wongs have reacted to their Stephens' suicides. I can't do that to my Wong. I can't."

would you rather have wong find you dead or the rats find you half alive
your choice

"You're insane."

i know
sinister picked up a knife and held it against his wrist
pick one or i will

"I don't want to die."

the rats it is then

The moment after Sinister ran the knife across Stephen's wrist, he left. The presence was gone. Stephen choked on a sob as he clutched at his bleeding wrist. Even if his doctor years had been lifetimes ago, he could still know a lethal wound when he saw, or rather felt one. This cut wasn't deep enough to kill him immediately, but it would kill him within the day without medical interference. How convenient he was miles away from the closest city, let alone the hospital. He almost wishes his variant had stuck around, just so that he wouldn't have to die alone.

Wong had to step around the rats to find the remains of what used to be his best friend, curled up on the couch with the Cloak clutched tightly to his chest. Blood and tear stains added to the couch's grotesque pattern.