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"Please."
The black-robed mage didn't answer George's question. He simply smiled and stepped aside.
He didn't know who George was, but since Master Ancient One had instructed him to greet someone at the door, he naturally followed her orders.
As for George's question, since the Ancient One hadn't given any instructions on the matter, he felt it was best not to meddle in the conversation.
"Thank you. May I know your name, Master?"
George wasn't expecting much of an answer, so he walked into the Sanctum, following the mage toward the guest lounge.
This New York Sanctum clearly used a spell similar to his Undetectable Extension Charm, though not as exaggerated. The overall interior felt about three to four times larger than the actual size of the building.
The décor was very vintage, with various ornaments and hangings that gave off a mysterious vibe.
Some of the decorations emitted noticeable magical fluctuations, likely enchanted items with special functions.
"You can call me Master Mordo."
The black-robed mage led the way, still smiling.
As they entered the lounge, a middle-aged bald woman in a white robe appeared before George. She was brewing tea and greeted him with a warm smile when she saw him enter.
"This is the Sorcerer Supreme," Master Mordo introduced, then quietly left the room.
"Master George, please sit. Would you like some tea?"
The Ancient One gestured to the seat in front of her and poured George a cup of tea.
George sat down, picking up the cup and saying, "Thank you."
"I know you came here to ask something of me," the Ancient One said, her tone direct and to the point. "I can agree, but there's one condition."
The Ancient One didn't beat around the bush. She had observed George for some time and seen many possible futures, understanding his personality. Direct communication like this was the most appropriate approach.
George put down his cup without immediately responding. He realized that ever since he decided to seek out the Ancient One to learn time magic, she had completely taken control of the situation.
But after a few seconds, he smiled.
"I need to know what the condition is first."
Who held the power didn't matter. What mattered was whether the outcome of the deal would satisfy him.
If the result was favorable, he didn't care who controlled the conversation.
Before coming here, he should have expected this. After all, facing someone who was not only a master of time magic but also possessed the Time Stone—someone who could peer into the future—he could never hope to hold the upper hand.
"People often say the future is unpredictable, but in truth, when our world was created, every story was already set in the flow of time.
Any accidents or changes would be corrected and ultimately return to the original trajectory.
But that was in the past. Now, things are different.
A certain person sacrificed themselves, allowing the stories of every universe to no longer be fixed, giving rise to more possibilities for development."
The Ancient One took a small sip from her cup, gazing at George as she continued.
"My successor, the next Sorcerer Supreme, is named Stephen Strange. You've met him.
Originally, he had an inevitable destiny in this universe, one that would lead to some very unfortunate events if things continued as they were.
I didn't want that outcome, and I wanted to change it.
And you, George, are the person I've seen with the most potential for change. If you're willing, perhaps you can alter that fate."
Upon hearing the Ancient One's words, George froze for a moment, his mind racing. As he recalled everything he knew about the Marvel world from his past life, his eyes suddenly widened in realization.
"So that's how it is!"
He was still a bit surprised—after altering so many events as a transmigrator, no agents from the Time Variance Authority had come knocking to correct him.
Turns out that by this point in time, the Loki from the parallel timeline of the cinematic universe had already taken down that Kang the Conqueror in the TVA and become the God of Stories.
Now, George also had a general idea of which universe he was actually in.
Based on what the Ancient One said, he guessed that he was most likely in the universe of Dark Strange—the one that had been destroyed entirely.
In the Dark Strange universe, back in 2016, Stephen Strange hadn't lost the use of his hands due to a car accident. Instead, it was his girlfriend, Christine, who had died in a crash.
After defeating Dormammu and gaining control over the power of the Time Stone, Strange began contemplating using the stone to go back in time and change her fate. And he did exactly that.
However, no matter how many times he tried to alter the past, Christine's death could not be avoided.
Because it was precisely her death that had led him to seek out the Ancient One at Kamar-Taj, become the Sorcerer Supreme, and gain access to the Time Stone to attempt changing the past.
If Christine had lived, he wouldn't have gone to Kamar-Taj or become the Sorcerer Supreme, and therefore wouldn't have had the means or the motivation to go back and alter the event.
Thus, her death became his nexus point—a key moment of fate that led him to become the Sorcerer Supreme and obtain the power of the Time Stone. It was a past that he could never change, no matter what.
But Dark Strange wasn't willing to accept that. He went to the Lost Library of Cagliostro and found a method to break through his nexus point.
That method was to defeat and absorb monsters summoned from various dimensions—some of them even dimensional gods—in order to gain power that surpassed a single universe.
In the end, he did attain multiversal-level power and forcibly changed his nexus point. But in doing so, he caused his entire universe to collapse.
"If I agree, what exactly do you want me to do?" George asked.
"I won't require anything specific of you. Just by agreeing, the change will begin. It will open the door for things to possibly take a better path."
The Ancient One smiled as she spoke.
George was the person with the most future possibilities she had ever seen. And every time she checked again, there were even more. Because of him, the future of the entire universe was branching into countless new directions.
Though the universe's development was no longer bound by its former constraints, nexus points of fate couldn't be altered by just anyone—especially not those involving key figures tied to the universe's destiny.
Only someone as unique as George had any chance of succeeding.
"Alright, in that case, I agree," George said, nodding without hesitation.
If this truly was the Dark Strange universe, he would have tried to change its fate regardless—even without the Ancient One's guidance on time magic.
There was no way he was going to let Dark Strange destroy the entire universe.
He also understood the Ancient One's point: when she said he had many possibilities, it was because he had avatars in other worlds, and his strength was increasing every moment. Naturally, his influence over this universe was also growing.
Because of his power, the nexus points of many people's fates had already changed.
The most obvious examples were Wolverine and Professor X, who, instead of dying as they should have, were still alive and well.
(End of Chapter)