After three hours of fitful sleep, the sorcerer supreme gave up the hope of getting a good night's rest. Too many thoughts kept him awake, and the knowledge that he was unable to get home caused him so much anxiety, that it was impossible for him to find the rest he desperately needed.

After he had tried to mediate –which didn't work– he went for a walk through Kamar-Taj. He wandered around aimlessly for a while until he stood in front of the building where they held Mordo captive.

Strange hesitated for a moment before he broke the magic seal which locked the door. Inside was a sparsely furnished room with a bed, a desk, and a window. Mordo sat on the bed and looked at the unexpected visitor.

"What do you want, Strange? Are you here to bask in your victory?"

"No. I'm here to bargain," Stephen answered and smiled at the joke only he understood.

"Bargain?"

"Yes. I want to negotiate a truce between you and the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj."

"Are you even authorized to do that? Do they accept you as the sorcerer supreme?" Mordo taunts.

"It doesn't matter if they do. The Vishanti did. That's all I'm concerned about."

Mordo snickered and shook his head. "I know you well enough to realize this is not true. It annoys you that they don't accept your authority without questioning every word of you."

"You don't know me at all. Technically you've never met me before." Strange drew the rune Wong showed them earlier and immediately started to emit blue light.

"What does that mean?" Mordo asked bewildered.

"I'm not the Stephen Strange you know. Peter and I came by accident from a parallel universe. One that is much better than this one, as far as I'm concerned."

"Then, why don't you return to your universe, if that one is so much better, Strange?"

Stephen didn't answer.

"Oh, I see... You cannot. Is it too difficult for the great sorcerer supreme to find the universe he belongs to again?" Mordo flashed him a predatory smile.

"No! I know exactly where to go! Something blocks me. I can't reach it."

"Are you sure about that, Strange? Couldn't it be your own mind that blocks your way home?" Mordo tilted his head. "Is it your fear that traps you here? Or does something else hold you back? Something that is missing in your oh so much better universe?"

Stephen felt caught and exposed, but he tried his best to hide it. He put on a mask of indifference and sat on the table. "I'm not here to let you taunt me," he said calmly.

"Then why are you here, great sorcerer supreme?"

"To ask for your help," Strange admitted.

Mordo's mocking smile turned serious. "I cannot help you, Strange. I would never be able to find the right universe in the endlessness of the multiverse. You are the only one who can do that because only you know where you belong."

Stephen was taken aback by Mordo's sudden compassion. "That is not what I want to ask of you," he explained slowly. "I wanted to ask you to take my place as keeper of the Sanctum Sanctorum."

"Why me? Why give me a second chance?"

"Because I owe you. Without you, I would have died in the streets of Kathmandu years ago. I don't want you to think that I'll ever forget that. The path you chose is wrong, and the things you have done since our ways parted are cruel, but I don't think you are beyond redemption. Right now every sorcerer is needed to keep the world safe and a substantial part of the blame why there are so few left these days is on you. What is your answer?"

"Why would you trust me, Strange?"

"Who says I do? I trust Wong to keep an eye on you."

"Fair enough," Mordo mumbled. "In this case, I accept your offer. I will guard the New York Sanctum in your absence."

"Good!" Strange hopped off the table and tugged his robes in order. "I'll discuss the rest of the details with Wong."

He was already at the door when Mordo called after him, "I hope you'll find whatever it is you are looking for."

Stephen didn't answer. He just nodded and left.