Seeing Death Again

"How did you get here, Strange?" Xiwen asked curiously. "Let me see. You should also be in Soul Body now. Traveling through the universe in this state is not easy. Did you learn the Master's Astral Projection?"

"I wouldn't say I've completely mastered it, but projecting it into your universe through this Space-Time Rift shouldn't be a problem," Strange said with a slight smugness.

Strange was quite happy to show off a little in front of the Ancient One's prized student, who was younger than him but always acted like a senior.

Then he suddenly realized that Xiwen had steered the conversation off-topic, so he steered it back. "Don't try to change the subject! Tell me, what do you mean by calling yourself by my name here?"

"Hey, don't be so heartless, junior brother." Xiwen patted Strange on the shoulder and said to him, "When I first arrived here, I needed to introduce myself to others. I needed an English name, and you were the first person I thought of. See how good I am to you!"

Strange's eyes twitched as he looked at Xiwen's "come and thank me" attitude, and he even felt an urge to fight him.

Suddenly, Helena asked from behind the Dimensional Gate behind Xiwen, "So your name comes from him?"

"That's right, Helena." Xiwen shrugged casually, turning to Helena with a smile. "Of course, it's fine if you keep calling him that. His physical body is extremely fragile in the state of Astral Projection; he can't stay here for long. Once he's gone, that name will be mine again!"

"So you two really have a pretty good relationship," Helena said with a light laugh.

"Xiwen, have you forgotten I'm still here..." Strange clenched his fists silently and said through gritted teeth.

"Alright, stop being so stingy. Don't tell me you don't have anyone with the same name as you on your side." Xiwen completely ignored Strange's gritted teeth, looking him up and down with a click of his tongue in amazement. "Did Master even give you the Eye of Agamotto?"

At this point, Strange's mood suddenly dipped, and his expression became hesitant.

"What's wrong? Didn't the Eye of Agamotto belong to the teacher?" Xiwen frowned slightly, noticing the change in Strange's expression, and asked. "Or has something happened to the teacher?"

"Well, I don't really know if I should tell you this," Strange sighed and said softly. "The Ancient One is indeed in trouble."

"Demon God from another dimension, the Eye Demon, is attempting to invade Earth. He has established a connection with the Ancient One's mind and is preparing to descend through the Ancient One's body."

"The Ancient One, of course, wouldn't let the Eye Demon succeed, so she bound him within her. And I personally killed both the Ancient One and the Eye Demon," Strange said in a low voice. "If you want to blame me, I have no reason to argue."

Xiwen stroked his chin, remaining silent for a moment in thought.

He then asked, "So, you are now the Sorcerer Supreme, is that right?"

"That's right." Strange nodded, then said strangely, "You don't blame me for killing the Ancient One?"

Xiwen raised his eyes and glanced at him, then asked in return, "Do you think someone as powerful as Master Yao could die so easily?"

"I know you might not be able to accept this right now," Strange said. "But I really did kill him. He showed no signs of life at all."

"To be honest, sealing the Eye Demon within himself was probably part of his plan." Xiwen shook his head with a smile. "When I was very young, he wanted to pass on the responsibility of the Sorcerer Supreme to someone else. His physical body can die, but his powerful soul will not perish; he can roam freely in all dimensions."

"So, passing the position of Sorcerer Supreme to you was something he had planned long ago."

Strange paused for a moment, then suddenly swore.

"Damn it, I've been tricked!" he said angrily. "He went out to have some fun, leaving me alone to deal with Dormammu. I don't know how long Dormammu has tormented me in the time loop!"

"Alright, tell me what you're doing Astral Projection into my world for?" Xiwen chuckled. "It can't just be to deliver a message."

Strange nodded solemnly, his expression turning serious.

"To be honest, I made some mistakes and opened a window to the Multiverse," he told Xiwen. "And while I was repairing those windows, I also took the opportunity to observe other universes and discovered that a powerful Demon God is sealed here."

"This Demon God's strength is definitely no less than that of the Eye Demon!"

Meanwhile, in a cabin on the Hogwarts Express, Trelawney took out a stack of Ta Lo and laid them out in front of Xiwen.

"You pick one," she said evasively.

"Do I only need to choose one?" Xiwen asked.

He remembered that during his last Ta Lo Divination, he had chosen three cards, which seemed to represent the past, present, and future respectively.

"That's right, today you only need to pick one card. This card represents the situation you will face next," Trelawney said.

"Can you really predict what I'll be facing? Is it really that amazing?" Xiwen looked at Trelawney with disbelief, then casually picked up a Ta Lo card from the spread-out deck and flipped it over onto the table.

Upon seeing the Ta Lo he had chosen, Xiwen's expression immediately hardened.

"Death..." he murmured.

Xiwen remembered that he had drawn the Death during his last Divination, Trelawney said that card represented his future.

"Let me think, what is the meaning of the Death card?" Xiwen pondered, recalling Trelawney's explanation.

"After the old world is destroyed, new life is born, vibrantly welcoming the new phase. 'Death' brings death, but it also gives hope for reconstruction, because destruction creates space for construction. Is that the meaning?" Xiwen asked. "That doesn't seem to reflect the future situation, does it?"

However, Trelawney did not answer Xiwen's question; she simply stared blankly at the card, a silver light shimmering in her eyes.

"Do you think this card might not represent the meaning of the Ta Lo itself...?" Her tone became even more ethereal, as if it came from another world.

Is it possible that it represents the literal meaning?