Ancient One

Xiwen stared in astonishment at the white-bearded old man in the purple robe, his eyes involuntarily welling up with tears.

"Teacher..." he murmured. "Are you really a teacher?"

Master Yao, or rather, the Ancient One, smiled and slowly asked, "How are you doing in the other universe, Xiao Wen?"

When Xiwen heard Ancient One's familiar tone and saw the familiar smile on his face, he finally dared to be sure that this was Yao Shi, who had raised him for twenty years and was both his teacher and father, and who had truly crossed space to appear in front of him!

"I'm doing very well. Thank you for giving me this chance to be reborn!" Xiwen nodded heavily, sharing with his teacher the story of his fifteen years living in this world.

He began by recounting how he possessed a cursed infant whose soul had been extinguished, how he encountered a dark wizard who attacked him at birth, and how he used a protective spell on his soul to destroy the attackers... all the way to his three years learning spells at Hogwarts.

Xiwen recounted all his joyful, thrilling, sad, and awe-inspiring feelings and experiences.

Ancient One smiled faintly as he listened to Xiwen's passionate narration.

"It seems you're having a fulfilling and happy time in this world!" he said with a kind smile. "However, I suspect you've overlooked something. Why didn't you tell me about the Demon God who has been trying to invade your universe for thousands of years?"

"I just didn't want you to worry!" Xiwen chuckled somewhat sheepishly and said to the Ancient One. "Besides, Death isn't a problem. I've basically figured out a way to deal with Death, and I'll definitely be able to take him down within two years!"

Then, he subtly changed the subject, asking, "By the way, teacher, how did you find me in this world? Was it Astral Projection?"

"Also, my junior brother Strange once projected into my universe. I heard him say that you sacrificed yourself when you were possessed by the Eye Demon, but I don't quite believe it. I think you only chose to abandon your body and didn't actually die."

The Ancient One didn't dwell on the previous issue, chuckling as she said, "As expected, you can fool Strange, but not you, Xiwen."

"That's right. I have indeed been the Sorcerer Supreme for far too long, and I'm exhausted. I want to find someone to take my place. Actually, I was very happy when I found you, thinking I had finally found a child with the talent of the Sorcerer Supreme. Who knew that your soul would be rejected by the universe?"

"Fortunately, I later discovered Strange through the Time Stone; he will be the best among us."

"So you just lied to him and said you were dead, leaving him there to shoulder the responsibility of the Sorcerer Supreme by himself?" Xiwen asked, somewhat amused. "I heard from Strange that he was killed by Dormammu countless times in the time loop; he was completely bewildered."

Upon hearing Xiwen recount Strange's ordeal, the Ancient One couldn't help but chuckle, "But he also honed his abilities through countless time loops. If it weren't for his countless battles with Demon God, Strange simply couldn't have developed the magical abilities required to become a Sorcerer Supreme in such a short time."

"Looking at it this way, he can't possibly be at a disadvantage."

Xiwen also laughed and said, "So, he actually benefited from this misfortune?"

"Of course," Ancient One said with a smile.

"Now, let me answer your other question." He then temporarily suppressed his smile and continued, "To be honest, it was just a coincidence that I found you this time. I discovered that someone had just borrowed the power of Eternity, and out of curiosity, I traced it back to its source."

Upon hearing about the power of Eternity, Xiwen was suddenly startled, realizing that he seemed to have forgotten something.

"Wait, teacher, what is my body doing right now? Without the control of Soul Body, is the power of Eternity about to go out of control?!" he said anxiously.

"Don't worry, time is frozen in this space," Ancient One shook her head and said to Xiwen. "Also, I didn't pull your entire Soul Body into this space; I only projected a wisp of your spirit into it."

Xiwen breathed a sigh of relief, then began to curiously examine this strange space.

Seeing that Xiwen was relieved, Ancient One continued her explanation, "After relinquishing my physical body, I transformed into a Holy Spirit and followed the Eternity, traversing the universe and time to continue my unfinished cultivation. Today, while I was cultivating, I accidentally discovered someone borrowing the power of Eternity. Out of curiosity, I traced the source of this borrowed power."

"It's strange, but after tracing back to the source, I actually discovered the disciple I personally sent to this world, and I also found that you were in some trouble, so I pulled a wisp of your spirit over!"

Xiwen nodded, seemingly understanding, and asked, "So, where is this place?"

"This space is now an Eternity space, and every transparent membrane you see is a universe in the eyes of Eternity!"

Just then, a violent explosion suddenly occurred to Xiwen's left, startling him.

"What's going on?" Xiwen asked, still shaken.

"I think you should know what this is?" Ancient One looked at him encouragingly and said.

Xiwen frowned and turned to look at the traces of the explosion, which had been slowed down countless times.

The flames from the explosion lingered for a long time, forming a blinding curtain of light, yet it was contained by a transparent film and did not cause any harm to Xiwen.

The explosion blasted apart countless tiny particles, like a tiny bullet spewing out the sand fragments, squeezing the transparent membrane until it grew larger and larger.

The larger the transparent film is stretched, the more familiar it becomes.

Looking at the thin membranes on the other side that held the entire universe, Xiwen's eyes widened suddenly.

"This is... the Big Bang?!" he exclaimed.

Ancient One nodded approvingly.

After receiving an affirmative answer, Xiwen immediately turned to look at the sky filled with countless universes, trying to find the existence of another unique state.

Sure enough, after a moment of searching, he discovered a transparent membrane that was constantly shrinking. In the center of the membrane was an enormous cavity, and all the matter inside the membrane was flowing into that cavity, so much so that even light could not escape its pursuit.

Ultimately, all matter coalesced, merging into an invisible singularity, which dissipated into this space along with the transparent membrane.

"Is the end of the universe completely swallowed by a black hole?" Xiwen paused for a moment before asking.

"Or rather, the universe has no end," the Ancient One said in her uniquely deep voice. "The meaning of the universe lies in its endless cycle and recurrence."

In the beginning, a singularity with infinitely small volume and infinitely large density exploded, propelling the expansion of the universe. After expanding to its limit, the singularity transformed into the largest black hole in the universe, sucking in all the matter in the universe, and finally turned back into an infinitely small singularity, and the cycle began again.

Xiwen frowned deeply and looked at the Ancient One, asking, "I don't understand. Aren't we sorcerers? Why are we discussing scientific matters?"

"Do you really think that science isn't a kind of magic?" the Ancient One smiled.

"And isn't magic also a kind of science?"