The Ancient One, Sorcerer Supreme

Chen Bing turned his gaze toward Lin Hai, who was absently turning the golden card over in his hand, lost in thought. His brows furrowed slightly as he asked with concern, "Did you know that woman? Is there some kind of trouble?"

Lin Hai snapped out of his thoughts and met his master's worried gaze. Warmth stirred in his heart, and he broke into a smile, his tone relaxed yet certain. "Don't worry, Master. It probably isn't a big problem. If there were, with her abilities, she wouldn't have knocked on the door for a visit. She would've broken straight in."

He recalled the profound, unfathomable yet peaceful look in The Ancient One's eyes when they parted. From her words—"Although your existence keeps me from seeing the future clearly, perhaps that may be a good thing"—he could tell that she bore no ill will. Quite the opposite, she had come with goodwill.

Hearing this and seeing his calm expression and clear eyes, Chen Bing knew he was not merely putting on a brave face. He nodded. "You may be a little impulsive sometimes, but you've always known your limits and had your own mind. Since it's nothing, just handle it yourself."

That night, by the time Lin Hai returned to his apartment, the city lights were already beginning to glow outside. The city's clamor had been filtered through the glass into a hazy backdrop of noise. Lin Hai did not turn on the lights, allowing the moonlight to spill across the floor through the window. He sat beside it, looking out over New York at night, while every detail of his encounter with The Ancient One replayed endlessly in his mind.

"The Ancient One, Sorcerer Supreme..." he murmured, savoring the name. A flood of information about her surged through his mind—both the comic and film versions he had known before crossing over, and what Old Chen had told him back in Ta Lo.

The first difference was her appearance. In the comics, The Ancient One was an elderly Eastern man with a flowing white beard, quite possibly descended from Huaxia people, completely unlike the bald female figure portrayed by Tilda Swinton in the films. The Ancient One of this world was clearly the latter, so this female Ancient One was probably closer to the Marvel Cinematic Universe version.

However, the core of her story should have been much the same. Her original name was Yao. She had been born centuries ago in a village near Kamar-Taj and, through a stroke of fate, discovered the mysteries of magic alongside her friend Kaluu.

Lin Hai's fingertips moved unconsciously across the windowpane, as though tracing the threads of memory.

He remembered the split between The Ancient One and Kaluu. She had wanted to build her homeland into a utopian ideal, while Kaluu had wanted to use that power to become a king—ruling not only Kamar-Taj, but conquering the surrounding villages as well. Together, they had eradicated disease and poverty from their village, only to clash over their differing ideals afterward. In the end, they had inevitably become enemies. It was a tragedy born of conflicting beliefs.

He remembered the treasures The Ancient One had acquired over her long years, including but not limited to the Eye of Agamotto, which she had received from Eternity, and the Book of the Vishanti, which recorded the full breadth of white magic. He remembered the sorcerers' assembly, where she had overwhelmed all challengers and won the title of Sorcerer Supreme.

"The three Sanctums... the dimensional defense array..." Lin Hai muttered. New York, London, and Hong Kong—the three Sanctums formed Earth's protective network, designed specifically to guard against invasions by dimensional demons.

After becoming Sorcerer Supreme, The Ancient One devoted herself to protecting Earth. To defend it from the assaults of dimensional demons beyond the planet, she established three Sanctum Sanctorums in New York, London, and Hong Kong. Together, they formed the three nodes of Earth's dimensional defense array.

This defensive formation, which blanketed the entire planet, had only one purpose: dealing with dimensional demons. It allowed no entry, only exit. Once an external dimensional demon attempted to pass through the array and enter Earth, the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj and The Ancient One would discover it immediately and swiftly organize forces to drive it away.

Even as she protected Earth, The Ancient One never gave up her love of exploration. Fond of wandering the cosmos, she soon made a name for herself among the various gods and dimensional demons of the Marvel Universe. She caught the attention of Eternity, the administrator of the Marvel Universe, received the Eye of Agamotto from Eternity, and became one of Eternity's subordinates. Even after death, she would return to Eternity's domain and serve that great deity forever.

What concerned Lin Hai most was The Ancient One's relationship with Eternity. As the embodiment of the Marvel Universe, Eternity's choice of The Ancient One as its representative meant that she was not merely Earth's protector, but also a part of the cosmic order.

Lin Hai sank into thought. His identity as a transmigrator had made him an anomaly, someone whose future even The Ancient One could not foresee. To the Sorcerer Supreme, such uncertainty was both a risk and perhaps an opportunity.

A theory gradually took shape. Perhaps The Ancient One had seen some possibility—not a future glimpsed through the Time Stone within the Eye of Agamotto, but a possibility born from the future becoming unclear.

The future she could not see might represent hope for breaking an established tragedy. That was why she had come to find Lin Hai and asked him to visit the New York Sanctum Sanctorum on Saturday. It seemed more like an observation, an assessment, perhaps even an early investment—an investment in him, this "variable" who had made the future unclear.

At that thought, most of the unease in Lin Hai's heart faded, replaced by an intense thrill at being acknowledged by someone powerful. To be recognized by a figure who ranked among the strongest in the entire universe, perhaps even the multiverse—Peter would have been excited for a whole year.

But what would likely follow was enormous responsibility: the future Sorcerer Supreme Strange, The Ancient One's departure, Asgard's Ragnarok, Thanos's snap, and more. All of these events would come to bear directly on Lin Hai.

In the past, Lin Hai had also hoped to take part in the great events of the Marvel Universe and become part of the story, but that had been a choice made from the mindset of an observer.

Now, with The Ancient One's involvement, he might be forced to participate—and perhaps even become a central figure in the story. That brought Lin Hai immense psychological pressure.

Perhaps that was exactly why The Ancient One had come looking for him. After all, without pressure, where would motivation come from? Putting a little pressure on this kid who could make the future unclear might produce unexpected results~

Over the next two days, school life continued as usual, and so did training. Peter still wailed over Gwen's grades, Harry still grimaced whenever the energy waves rattled him during training, and Gwen remained busy shuttling between Professor Connors's laboratory and classes. Looking at his companions, who knew nothing and were enjoying this brief calm, Lin Hai ultimately decided to bury the matter of The Ancient One in his heart for the time being.

What good would telling them do? Other than adding to their worries and confusion, there was no practical benefit at present. Dimensional demons, the Sorcerer Supreme, Earth's survival... those concepts were still too distant and too heavy for them. Since The Ancient One had come for him, Lin Hai should be the first to face this potential danger and responsibility himself.

On Saturday morning, sunlight streamed through the blinds and fell across the floor. Lin Hai left his apartment early and headed to the clinic. He had not made any particular preparations; after all, he was facing the Sorcerer Supreme. Whatever little preparation he could make would hardly matter.

"Master, I'm going to the appointment," Lin Hai said, ready to leave.

Chen Bing glanced at him and did not ask further questions. He merely nodded. "Go early and come back early. Be cautious in all things."

"Okay, don't worry." Lin Hai answered, then turned and left.

With the golden card tucked against his chest—cool to the touch, engraved with mysterious runes that seemed almost alive—Lin Hai's feelings were impossibly complicated. One part of him was uneasy about the unknown, another was lost over the road ahead, but four parts of him were expectant and another four parts excited to step into a legendary place.

Following the address that had appeared on the back of the card, perceptible only to him, he took the subway through slowly awakening Manhattan and eventually arrived on a street steeped in history.

Looking up, he saw the address clearly—177A Bleecker Street. It was a magnificent building utterly unlike the surrounding architecture, filled with Victorian Gothic Revival style. Steady and mysterious, it seemed to stand apart from the river of time itself. It stood there silently, as though it had been waiting for countless years, though unrelated people could not see it.

Lin Hai took a deep breath and felt the card in his chest seem to resonate faintly with the building before him. He straightened his collar, his gaze growing firm, then stepped forward and knocked on the door leading to the unknown and to legend.