Future

"Alright, the assessment of your strength is sufficient now."

Just as Wei Xiuming prepared to counter, Ancient One suddenly withdrew her hands. The magic shield and magic sword in her grasp dissipated, and her figure was pulled away by spatial displacement, moving beyond Wei Xiuming's attack range and creating enough buffer distance.

"There is a second future in this World where you exist. You are defeated by a hero from another dimensional world, and everything you've done, all the schemes you've hidden, are exposed. You completely become a supervillain beyond redemption."

I knew that Infinite Flow Male Protagonist wouldn't let me off. I didn't expect that out of the two predetermined futures, him cutting me down to achieve enlightenment would be one of them. You were the one who tried to kill me first.

The sense of crisis he had always felt was now confirmed. Wei Xiuming was instantly consumed by rage. Without exerting any force, the strands of his medium-length black hair stood on end. "Furious and crestfallen" perfectly described his appearance.

Ancient One spoke unhurriedly, "And the biggest divergence between these two outcomes is whether I came to see you after learning of your existence."

"If I am someone who can sacrifice all Life to pave my own path, why would the Sorcerer Supreme facilitate the birth of that future?" Wei Xiuming panted for a moment, calming his emotions, and tore off his tattered white coat.

The riddled and blood-stained coat startled Wei Xiuming. The Sorcerer Supreme was not only peerless in magic but also highly skilled in close combat and with cold weapons. The places he was injured were mostly joints that affected movement and vital spots. Injuries that, even if not fatal, would cripple half his combat power. He hadn't sustained such a severe injury since this body was born.

If it weren't for his dual regenerative abilities stacking to a point nearing time reversal, he would have died countless times over by now.

The Sorcerer Supreme, who wielded the Time Stone, certainly wouldn't be unaware of this. She must have tested Wei Xiuming's limits and discovered his remaining weaknesses—his brain and heart. Yet, she spared his life. From this alone, much was clearly revealed.

Forcing him into a desperate fight and then deliberately holding back—wasn't this just sparring? Still, Wei Xiuming felt a bit uneasy.

Ancient One waved her hand casually, and magic constructed a point, which then suddenly expanded...

"I understand the Big Bang Theory. You don't need to demonstrate it," Wei Xiuming said, waving his hand. "Please, just state your reasoning. I can roughly follow your train of thought."

Ancient One said, "This universe was born 13.8 billion Earth years ago. In this long period, Life has been renewed countless times. Even insignificant Earth, over 4.55 billion years, has seen the succession of Life and civilization as commonplace—to this universe, Life is not important."

"Only Life itself considers Life precious. Just like how people advocate for protecting Earth, it's merely to maintain the fragile ecosystem they depend on for survival. Earth's existence itself is not affected by human activities. In the end, it's just a ball of matter composed of iron, oxygen, silicon, and other substances."

"The workings of The World do not shift according to human will. Even if the universe is destroyed, it will be reborn one day. All that occurs is the migration of matter and the conversion of energy..."

Even though he was impervious to extreme temperatures, Wei Xiuming shivered. Ancient One's simple and easy-to-understand words gave him a chilling sensation—a powerful disconnect born from the vastness of the universe and the insignificance of individual Life.

Perhaps it was a human self-preservation mechanism that made him deliberately forget this memory, but Ancient One's few words now brought it back—the essence of the universe is chaotic and disordered madness. Humble Life measures the scale of the universe by the parts it can comprehend, much like how ungraspable time is represented by the markings on a clock.

"The essence of Life is to constantly seek evolution, to surpass one's own limits and even those of one's race. This is the mainstream of this World and the pursuit of all intelligent species," Ancient One said calmly. "As the Sorcerer Supreme protecting Earth, it's very wrong for me to say this, and I have no right to make decisions for all Life. But becoming a part of God might not be a bad ending."

Am I the one who's crazy, or is this World crazy! Wei Xiuming roared inwardly, having followed Ancient One's line of thought for a while. He had always thought that as a mastermind, his actions had already crossed the bottom line of human morality, but sometimes, passive inaction was even more terrifying.

"The most important reason is that although you come from another dimensional world, you are within the same Great Universe. Our World is equivalent to a parallel world, and there's a possibility of merging in some future. However, that so-called hero has no trace of our Great Universe; he is a complete outsider."

"The entity that gave me this revelation stated that witnessing the birth of another God in the Multiverse is far better than an outsider reaping all the benefits. I am acting according to its revelation."

Rephrasing Ancient One's words, Wei Xiuming roughly clarified his thoughts. His current body, Weapon X, Clark Kent, even as a Gene-Modded Human, was indigenous to the X-Men's World. Although the movie rights had been sold off by the poorly managed Marvel company, it was still a product of a company.

Especially after the Marvel Cinematic Universe's great success and massive global box office revenue, there was a gradual intention to buy back the character rights that had been sold. Especially after being acquired by Daddy Disney, their financial power became even more formidable. In Avengers 4, the initial possibility of the heroes saving The World was brought about by a mouse.

In some future, Mutants would appear in this World. Therefore, being of Mutant origin, he would be family. No matter how heated the fights between family members, they were still family. Magneto and Professor X had fought each other for half a lifetime due to their differing views on the future of Mutants, but when had they ever truly tried to kill each other? Instead, they would feel sorrow at the other's passing.

As for that Infinite Flow Male Protagonist—haha!

After hearing the explanation, Wei Xiuming lowered his guard. If explained according to the comic plot, when he was banished to this World by the Infinite Flow Male Protagonist's Golden Finger, one or several of the five cosmic creator Gods had already sensed his existence. The one who gave Ancient One the revelation was Eternity, representing the sum total of cosmic time.

For Gods who could glimpse infinite dimensions restarting or being destroyed, the Life of one universe was a small price to pay.

Ancient One spun her palm, and the chaotic Mirror Dimension quickly restored itself. When everything calmed down, the two reappeared in Wei Xiuming's dormitory.