Apprentice to the Sorcerer Supreme

After washing up, Chen Xiao changed into the plain training robes provided by Kamar-Taj. The fabric was rough, yet surprisingly breathable. He sat cross-legged on a cushion, facing the legendary Sorcerer Supreme—Ancient One.

The rescued Chen Xiao sat cross-legged on a cushion, dressed in the plain training robes provided by Kamar-Taj. The fabric was rough, yet surprisingly breathable. After all, the dirt and pitch-black sweat stains clinging to his body were truly

Tea fragrance curled upward from an antique clay cup, weaving a faint mist between them. Ancient One looked calm, her eyes as deep as still pools. She seemed to be looking at him, yet also seeing through the endless time and space behind him.

Thinking back on what had just happened, Chen Xiao wanted nothing more than to crawl into a crack in the ground. He had been excited upon meeting Ancient One, but terrified she would mistake him for a dimensional invader and eliminate him. Instinctively, he launched a lightning attack, only for Ancient One to disperse the current as casually as if brushing away dust.

Before he could react, the figure before him flashed into view as though teleporting. As a pale palm struck his chest, Chen Xiao's soul drifted free.

Chen Xiao curiously paddled at the air, giving up resistance.

"Well, I guess I got to experience Strange's treatment too."

Ancient One watched in surprise as Chen Xiao's soul performed a breaststroke through the air, looking completely resigned. Lightning occasionally flickered over him. After pondering for a moment, as if understanding what he was thinking, the corner of her lips lifted slightly. She made a small circle with her right hand, and Chen Xiao was sucked away like he had been flushed down a toilet, getting to experience his soul drifting through the universe as well.

When he came back to his senses, he had been tossed through a portal and landed in a bath.

"I thought a bath might help you relax." As the portal closed, a neatly folded set of clothes dropped beside the bath.

His heart was full of what the hell. He wanted to get up and run, but once he remembered that he was already in the Marvel Universe, where could he possibly run? Even if he did escape, getting caught and dragged back seemed like it would be effortless. Depressed, Chen Xiao buried his head underwater.

Forget it, forget it. The dirt and pitch-black sweat stains stuck to him were genuinely uncomfortable. Huh? Wait, wasn't she disgusted by me? Strange looked like a homeless man, and she didn't mind that, but I got treated like this just because I was dirty? The difference between being loved and unloved was way too obvious.

With a crisp clink as the teacup touched the table, Chen Xiao's attention returned to the tea table.

"So," Ancient One spoke first. Her voice was soft, yet every word was clear. "You know which universe this is. You also seem to know certain things."

Chen Xiao's mouth twitched. Facing such overwhelming pressure, even his voice trembled.

"Umm, I know about some major events. Iron Man, the Sorcerer Supreme, Thanos, that sort of thing." Chen Xiao poured out everything he knew like spilling beans. As his excitement faded, panic filled his heart. He could not go home. What was he supposed to do with his future? "You don't seem surprised?"

Ancient One nodded slightly. She neither apologized nor explained herself. She simply lifted her teacup, took a light sip, and slowly said, "I am the Sorcerer Supreme."

Chen Xiao froze, his face flushing slightly. How did I forget that? The Sorcerer Supreme can use the Eye of Agamotto to see the future. She's probably watched countless versions of these events already.

"Everything that happens has a cause." Ancient One set down her cup, her gaze falling on Chen Xiao. Beneath her calmness lay the profound sense that she saw through everything. "Do you think that fruit was an accident? Do you think coming to this place was a coincidence? Do you think surviving until now was merely luck?"

Chen Xiao fell silent, rubbing the Sling Ring in his hand. It had clearly only been a collectible he bought, yet after crossing over, it had all become real.

"My Devil Fruit..." Chen Xiao began hesitantly.

"The barriers between dimensions are filled with energies beyond ordinary comprehension." Ancient One's voice was as steady as though she were describing an utterly ordinary law of physics. "You crossed through time and space. The Sling Ring was a coordinate, while the fruit was dimensional power concentrated within you, manifesting in a form you could understand and accept."

She paused, and her gaze deepened. "Your body has already been reshaped by this energy. The 'lightning ability' you perceive is merely the surface. The deeper change lies in your very existence—you are an unprecedented new variable in this universe."

"A variable?"

"Every life follows its predetermined channel in the river of fate. The Sorcerer Supreme's duty is to see those channels clearly and protect them from being swept away by floods from beyond." Ancient One lightly traced the rim of her teacup with a finger. "But you are different. Your channel does not exist within my foresight. You belong to none of the known rivers—you are a newborn tributary, a path never marked on the map."

She raised her eyes and looked directly at Chen Xiao. "In other words, you are an anomaly."

The word anomaly struck Chen Xiao like a light blow to the chest.

"So..." He swallowed. "You're not planning to drive me out? Or... seal me away or something?"

At that, the corner of Ancient One's lips seemed to move slightly. The curve was so faint that it was impossible to tell whether it was a smile or some other expression.

"Kamar-Taj's duty is to protect this world from the disturbances of dimensional demons," she said. "You are a visitor from another world, but you are not a dimensional demon. You have no intention of corrupting reality, nor any desire to devour souls. Why would I drive you away?"

Chen Xiao thought about it and felt that the logic did seem sound.

"However," Ancient One changed direction, "precisely because you are an anomaly, your existence itself is unstable. I have already helped you ward off the people from the Time Variance Authority."

She said it casually, but Chen Xiao felt a chill run down his back. He recalled the TVA from the Marvel spin-off series. Either they would treat him as a time criminal and prune him, or wipe his memories and make him join the Time Variance Authority.

"Then I should..." he asked tentatively.

"Stay." Ancient One said those three words as calmly as if she were saying, "The weather is nice today."

Chen Xiao blinked.

"Stay and learn to control your power." Ancient One continued, "Kamar-Taj does not lack seekers of knowledge, nor does it lack fighters. But it lacks an eye from beyond the rules. You can see what I cannot see and sense anomalies that cannot be calculated—this in itself is valuable."

She paused, her gaze carrying a meaningful depth. "Of course, that is provided you are willing."

Chen Xiao made his decision in just 0.3 seconds.

"Master, please accept me!" He practically sprang off the cushion on instinct, cupping his fists before him and bowing lower than a Japanese businessman. "Please accept this disciple's bow!"

Ancient One watched the young man before her, whose salute was a complete mess but whose sincerity was beyond reproach. A faint smile flashed through her eyes.

"All right, rise." Her voice was calm and distant, as though she had seen through the vicissitudes of countless ages—profound and imposing.

"There are not so many messy rules, but you must remember three commandments:

First: secrecy. You must not reveal the existence of this place or its secret arts.

Second: no darkness. Never touch dark magic or dimensional evil power.

Third: protect the realm. Take it as your duty to protect the mortal world and resist invasions from beyond."

"Magic is a shield, not a blade; it is for protection, not personal desire. This place accepts neither frivolous people nor those without strength of will."

"From this day onward, I will guide you, and you will prove your own path. Your training begins now."

"Yes! I will heed Master's teachings!"

Chen Xiao straightened up, his face full of the relief of surviving a disaster and excitement he could not hide.

Ancient One did not look at him again. She lowered her eyes slightly, raised her right hand, and slowly drew a circular golden magic formation in the air with her index and middle fingers together. The formation spun and expanded, emitting a soft hum. Its light reflected across her calm face, flickering between brightness and shadow.

"Your power and this world's magical system do not share the same origin," she said while casting the spell. "As you know, Kamar-Taj's methods essentially borrow the power of dimensional masters. What is borrowed must be repaid. If you casually borrow dimensional power, I fear your own lightning power may draw covetous attention."

Chen Xiao watched the formation nervously. "Then what should I do?"

"Two paths." Ancient One's voice carried no emotion, as if she were solving a precise calculation problem. "First, abandon the power of the Devil Fruit within you and devote yourself to Kamar-Taj's methods."

She paused, and the light of the formation seemed to freeze for an instant.

"Second," she said, "seek enlightenment from the Vishanti. Those supreme beings, united as three, possess wisdom encompassing the known and the unknown. Though your power falls outside the ordinary, the Vishanti may allow you to use the Devil Fruit's power in place of borrowing the power of dimensional masters, opening a new path for you."

Chen Xiao was completely lost, but he caught the key point. "You mean we need to call in outside help?"

Ancient One gave him a look containing the subtle feeling of, "That term isn't accurate, but I can't be bothered to correct you."

"Either path will require time." Ancient One drew her fingers together, and the formation dissolved into the air. Golden motes drifted slowly down like fireflies. "Before then, I will first teach you the basics of meditation and perception. No matter how unusual your power is, it must ultimately be released through you—the first step in controlling power is always controlling yourself."

Chen Xiao nodded solemnly.

The tea had grown slightly cold.

The light outside the window seemed to have dimmed somewhat. Perhaps clouds had covered the sun, or perhaps they had spoken far longer than Chen Xiao realized.

"Go." Ancient One waved a hand. "Mordo will help get you settled."

Chen Xiao rose and, imitating what he had seen in the movies, gave another proper salute before turning to leave. At the door, he suddenly stopped. After hesitating for a moment, he turned back and asked, "Master, um... what if I change the course of the future?"

Ancient One did not answer. She picked up her teacup again, her gaze resting on the tea within. Her expression was calm as water.

But Chen Xiao clearly saw the faintest curve rise at the corner of her lips.

That curve held the composure of "heavenly secrets must not be revealed," the certainty that "everything is under control"—and perhaps, though Chen Xiao might have imagined it, a subtle curiosity toward the future.

After Chen Xiao left.

Ancient One sat alone on the cushion. The tea in her cup was gone, yet she did not rise.

She lightly tapped the air with her right index finger, and a golden magic formation silently appeared. It was smaller and more precise than the one from before, like some kind of intricate instrument panel, with densely packed runes flowing across it that he could not understand.

She stared at the flickering wisp of light at the center of the formation—that light did not belong to any known energy spectrum. Its color lay somewhere between deep blue and silver-white, and each pulse came with an incredibly faint tremor, like distant thunder.

"An anomaly..." she murmured, so quietly that only she could hear it.

Then she raised her eyes. Her gaze passed through walls, through valleys, through layer upon layer of veils of time and space, and landed upon an uncertain distance.

"It is also hope."