Ready to Begin

Time flowed on like a river. The days passed one by one, and before he knew it, the old year had given way to the new. Feeney had turned another year older and entered the dangerous year of 2010. Without his intervention, the world would begin its Chaos Era that year.

Iron Man Battle, Norse Mythology Descends, the Alien Army's invasion, Intelligent Life to Extinguish Humanity—one crisis after another would suddenly emerge.

It was April. Feeney had been at Kamar-Taj for nearly a year, and the peaceful routine had steadily strengthened him. He was even close to his Fourth Draw.

Just as he was beginning to lose himself in this life, a piece of news shattered his peace. It even caused a spark of a portal to appear while he was practicing magic.

"It's been a whole year, and Iron Man has already gone missing. How come I still can't open a stupid portal?"

Looking at the Eye of Agamotto in his hand, Feeney felt utterly embarrassed. Over the past year, he had practically given up learning every other spell to focus on this one, and he still hadn't succeeded. He felt that the Ancient One had greatly exaggerated when she'd called his talent average.

The news that Tony Stark's whereabouts were unknown meant Feeney could no longer stay at Kamar-Taj in comfort. He had to start thinking about his family's safety.

Ever since the new year began, he'd been urging his increasingly elderly parents to retire, but the two of them still considered themselves young and refused to agree. They kept putting it off.

Now that Iron Man was about to make his debut, how could Feeney let them keep working in New York without a care? A nuclear bomb might come flying their way any day.

If they absolutely refused to leave New York, Feeney would at least make them move. After going to great lengths over the past year, he had finally bought a house next to the New York Sanctum.

There was nowhere else in all of New York where he could feel even a little at ease.

"Why do we have to quit our jobs and move there?"

Feeney's parents couldn't understand his request at all. Even Skye didn't get why he insisted that the whole family move.

Feeney hesitated again and again over how to answer their questions. In the end, he gritted his teeth and explained, "New York is going to be dangerous in the future, and that place will be safe for a long time!"

Feeney's father, Eli, thought he was worried about them getting old. He laughed and said, "You brat, we were living in New York before you were even born. I know this city better than you do."

Feeney sighed. Helplessly, he conjured Raggadorr's Ring, which he'd become much more practiced at using, and said to his stunned parents, "Believe me. You might not know this city as well as I do. The world is about to become more dangerous than you can imagine."

"Oh, and I forgot to tell you: I'm a sorcerer!"

After all these years together, Feeney was completely certain that his parents wouldn't distance themselves from him or think he was a monster because he was a sorcerer.

That was why he told them frankly and directly. There was no need to make up some well-intentioned lie.

"When did you learn to do that?" Eli stared blankly at the ring in Feeney's hand and reached out to touch it, but Feeney dodged him.

"Over the past year, I guess. Skye knows too." Feeney thought for a moment. He only needed to convince them; there was no reason to explain everything in detail. Besides, he really had only started learning magic last year.

Eli and Vera turned to look at Skye, who was also still struggling to process everything. They opened their mouths, then seemed unsure what to say.

"But what does this have to do with danger?"

Eli asked in a deep voice. As a lawyer, he was good at noticing the crucial details. He was worried that the danger might have something to do with Feeney.

"Do you believe in aliens?"

Feeney understood what his father meant and explained, "Sorcerers are responsible for protecting Earth from invasion, and there are many beings in outer space who have had their eyes on Earth for a long time."

"They're likely to make a move in the next few years. The place I want you to go is a Sanctum built by sorcerers. If anything dangerous happens, they'll protect you."

"What about you?"

At this, Feeney's mother was worried about him before she thought of herself. She asked anxiously, "Are you going to fight those aliens too? Could you be in danger? Should we notify the military?"

"Don't worry. I'm actually pretty strong. As for the government, they should have an organization of their own." Feeney smiled reassuringly before replying, "If necessary, I'll have to go. If Earth is gone, we're all finished."

At the very least, if he could stop Dormammu, Feeney wouldn't let him descend. He certainly wouldn't put all his hopes in "negotiating."

Though Feeney made it sound easy, his parents couldn't help worrying. Still, they finally agreed to move. After that, they asked him all sorts of questions about Kamar-Taj.

With his parents' safety taken care of, Feeney finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was on fairly good terms with Master Daniel at the New York Sanctum, and had already told him that his parents might move there.

As the youngest sorcerer at Kamar-Taj, the Sorcerer Breeder, and the Ancient One's Most Favored Disciple, Feeney had enough standing to earn the favor of many sorcerers.

There was a reason Feeney was so eager to take care of his parents. Though his strength seemed to have grown rapidly over the past year, he was still nowhere near the level of heavy hitters like Dormammu, Thanos, and Ego.

Never mind Hulk and Thor, who was afraid of electricity—even Iron Man, who was about to emerge, might be more than Feeney could handle with complete confidence.

So Feeney needed to get stronger, and fighting was the best way to do that. Once Iron Man made his debut, Earth would have no shortage of enemies. Feeney needed to take care of his family first so he could focus wholeheartedly on growing stronger.

In truth, over the past year at Kamar-Taj, Feeney's greatest improvement hadn't been in Possessed by Evil Spirit, but in the Golden Great Deduction Technique, which he rarely used.

The power of the sorcerers and the Sanctums that protected Earth from invasion were what limited the effects of the Golden Great Deduction Technique.

After becoming a sorcerer, Feeney had gained a deep understanding of this power. It was like studying his enemy. That didn't necessarily mean he could defeat them, but it helped him understand how to do so more effectively.

That was how the Golden Great Deduction Technique worked. Though he hadn't practiced it desperately, it had naturally improved as he learned how sorcerers' power interfered with its effects.

The Ancient One had once warned him that the power of the Golden Great Deduction Technique was dangerous. But in truth, she had never restricted his use of it; she had even helped him once.

However, the more Feeney understood the Golden Great Deduction Technique, the more he understood what the Ancient One had meant.

"Magic that changes reality according to one's thoughts"—it truly was a terrifying power. Perhaps as Feeney grew stronger, a moment's distraction could cause all sorts of consequences.

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