Chapter 55 55: A New Group Quest

— — — — — — — This Ancient One. It was the male Ancient One from the original Marvel comics. (Image) Because after watching Doctor Strange, where the female Ancient One was elegantly badass, Veyron had gone online to look up the comic version out of curiosity. First off, regardless of gender, the Ancient One is recognized throughout Marvel's mystic side as Earth's Sorcerer Supreme—a top-tier guardian of the planet against magical and multiversal threats. As long as the Ancient One is alive, even those big-shot entities from other dimensions wouldn't dare do more than poke around the edges. But the main difference? In the MCU, the Eye of Agamotto contains the Time Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones. Though the Ancient One didn't use it often, it was her trump card—especially when faced with powerful invaders like dimension lords. In contrast, the comic version of the Eye of Agamotto is more like a mystical amulet, housing the power of Agamotto, one of the trinity Vishanti. So yeah, in the comics, the Ancient One held the fort with sheer skill, powerful magic, and a tiny bit of unfathomable backup. If it really came down to a fight, Veyron figured Merlin wasn't a match for this Ancient One. Still, since the Ancient One hadn't done anything drastic right after her arrival—despite supposedly monitoring the planet—it seemed like he only showed up after Merlin literally knocked on his door. So maybe he wasn't hostile? — — — "You travelers from another world, there's no need to be on guard. I mean no harm." With Gwen, Merlin, and five livestream viewers watching, the Ancient One spoke calmly. "I just figured someone should at least give you an explanation. This young mage happened to reach out to me, so here I am." "So... what exactly is going on here? And—wait, I don't even know your name!" Gwen had been holding in a million questions ever since she landed in this world, and they came tumbling out. "You can just call me the Ancient One," he replied. "As for how you ended up in this world, I'm not entirely sure myself. But what I can tell you is that you can treat this world as your own now. Do whatever you want to do here." He continued, "The reason I could tell you weren't from this world is because I'm one of its current guardians. Without that connection, I probably wouldn't have noticed. And as for those even higher up than me..." The Ancient One paused and looked up at the sky. "Before I came, the cosmic entity Eternity had already spoken. On their level—you really don't have to worry." "Who said I was worried about that?!" Gwen twitched in frustration. "I'm more concerned about how I'm supposed to get back!" "That... I'm afraid is beyond me." He raised a hand, and an endless stream of multiverse images flashed within his palm. Each frame shifted thousands of times per second, yet somehow, it wasn't overwhelming—just mesmerizing and magical. "The moment I sensed your presence, I tried tracing your origin across the multiverse. But no matter how many paths I followed, they all looped back to this world." Multiverse-level searches...Gwen, who knew what the multiverse was, couldn't help but twitch again. Still, the hope of going home kept her clinging on. "If you couldn't find it, what about that Eternity guy you mentioned?" "You'll have to ask him yourself when you meet him." "And how exactly do I find... Him?" "No idea." The Ancient One shrugged. "...So basically, you popped up just to tell me I'm stuck here forever and should just deal with it?" Gwen took a deep breath, trying not to curse. "That's part of it. But not the whole reason I came." He lifted a hand again, summoning a glowing orange magic circle in front of Gwen. "This is a dual-purpose spell circle. It can be used to contact or summon me. As long as you're somewhere in this multiverse, activate it, and I'll come to you instantly to help." His beard twitched. "Even if I'm dead, my soul will still respond." Gwen had just reached out to accept what she thought was a lifeline—then froze mid-action. "...Don't worry," he said with a smile. "At the level of a Sorcerer Supreme, things like death or soul loss aren't a big deal." Merlin chimed in, "So as long as your 'true self' exists, body, soul, or anything else is just a change in form. Isn't that how it works, Ancient One?" "Indeed," he nodded. Gwen felt a subtle pull from the spell—like it wanted to imprint itself on her hand or wrist. Instead, she just uploaded it straight into the group store. The Ancient One blinked. He couldn't sense where the spell had gone. "...I was this close to retirement. How'd I get dragged into overtime?" He sighed. "Well, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave. Feel free to do whatever you want." As he spoke, the space behind him began to crack and shatter—just like when he arrived. "Wait!" Gwen called out. "You told me to treat this world as my own and do whatever I want—but what exactly can I do? Can't you give me a little more direction?" "How should I know what you want to do?" He waved a hand without even looking back, walking into the broken space. "Be a superhero? Anti-hero? Villain? Or just a passive observer? It's your choice. Do what you want." His voice echoed through the clocktower as he disappeared. "...Now what?" Gwen turned to Merlin for help. "Like he said—do what you want." Merlin shrugged. "Sure, he wasn't exactly clear on the details, but his point was pretty solid." "You've got total freedom here. Go wherever, do whatever. Worst case, if you mess with the wrong person or thing, just summon him to take the hit for you." She grinned. "And if you're still worried, why not take Veyron's advice? Since we can't touch the real enemy right now, let's head to other worlds and power up like crazy first. Then we'll come back and do what needs to be done." "Hmm..." Gwen lowered her head, seriously considering it—along with which group members might let her crash long-term. The next second— [Group Announcement: A new commission has been detected from █████. The task has been added to the mission board.] [Group Announcement: A new commission has been detected from █████. The task has been added to the mission board.] . . .