The law of alchemy.
It was something the Wizard King who ruled the Wizarding Kingdom often spoke of.
In the Wizarding Kingdom, the Wizard King also stood for fairness.
Hearing his request, the Ancient One fell into thought.
A deal?
She could sense that this Wizard King possessed extraordinary power.
It was not that the Wizard King was stronger than the Sorcerer Supreme, but that his magical system offered something distinct from Kamar-Taj's.
Take opening a safe, for example.
There were two methods.
One was to force it open.
The other was to use the correct combination.
But Wizards had a third option.
Make the safe open itself.
With a single spell, even if they did not know the combination, the safe would enter it on its own.
Aside from certain counterspells, the Unlocking Charm could open every lock in the world.
As long as it was a lock.
The whole thing was like a rule.
When someone set a rule, someone had to obey it.
The rule in the Wizarding World was: I speak this spell, and you must unlock yourself.
Sorcerers, who also used magic, leaned more toward borrowing power and bringing in other rules for temporary use.
The Wizards' rules were bound to work in a world with magic.
During that stretch of time she could not foresee, many unexpected events would arise.
The established course would shift, and it would need to be maintained.
The only person who could help her was this Wizard King.
Because the fact that he could not be observed meant he would not be affected by that chaos.
Having made up her mind, the Ancient One looked at John and asked bluntly, "What do you want?"
John said nothing. He merely opened his right hand before the Ancient One.
A dark, eerie substance resembling smoke wound between his fingers.
At the sight of it, the Ancient One narrowed her eyes.
"This is not something you should be touching, Wizard King."
She recognized what it was and warned him against it.
It was dark energy.
And in the Wizarding World...
It was called an Obscurus.
"Oh?" John leaned back, and a chair in the living room pattered over on its four legs, stopping behind him.
Under the Ancient One's gaze, John's raised hand suddenly turned pale, with black markings rising across it like veins.
The dark energy grew active.
But within a breath, his hand returned to its normal color.
"That's impossible." The Ancient One stared at John, a flicker of shock crossing her eyes.
As a sorceress who had watched over and protected this world for hundreds of years, she knew all too well what happened to those who touched dark energy.
Even when she used that power herself, she had to exercise great caution to avoid being corrupted by it.
John pulled a pendant made from a black reverse scale out from beneath his clothes.
"A Bicorn's reverse scale," the learned Ancient One said gravely, recognizing it. "You've been in contact with darkness all along."
Bicorns were the opposite of pure unicorns. They favored the impure and revered darkness.
This was one of John's alchemical creations. During his school years, certain events had turned him into an Obscurus, and he had brought that power under control.
As he grew stronger, the magic of Hogwarts began to lose its ability to make him any more powerful.
He needed something new to pursue.
"I'm not the only one."
John blew gently on the dark energy, sending it flying toward the Ancient One like a little snake.
As it reached her, a symbol appeared on her forehead.
"I sensed it the instant you walked through the door."
"You're just like me," John said meaningfully.
They were not alike.
The Ancient One needed enough time to protect this world.
John, however... had sought it out of his own accord.
"So, how about making a deal with me?" John gave a mysterious smile.
The method he had worked out on his own for handling it was nowhere near as good as the methods Kamar-Taj had accumulated over the years.
The Ancient One did not lash out in embarrassment at being exposed. She seized that power and swiftly annihilated it.
Ever since she had stepped into this house, the young Wizard King before her had presented her with one mystery after another.
As the Sorcerer Supreme, her wise mind was every bit a match for her power.
Giving up a method of handling dark energy in exchange for a powerful ally.
He would be immensely useful not merely over those five years, but in the days that followed as well.
The next Sorcerer Supreme would understand that too.
"Very well." As the thoughts turned over in her mind, the Ancient One gave a faint smile. "I'm willing to make a deal with you, Wizard King."
"You won't regret it. I can guarantee this is the best deal you've ever made." John floated up from the chair, defying gravity.
He extended his right hand, adorned with the Silver Ring and the Emerald Ring, and smiled. "Then we have a deal."
The Ancient One clasped his hand, wearing the hint of a smile. "I think so too."
For some reason, seeing that smile made John feel that he was in for a great deal of trouble in the future.
The Ancient One raised her left hand, and a black notebook resembling a diary appeared.
It contained the Ancient One's magical knowledge, including a method for drawing energy from the Dark Dimension.
John took the little book, his eyelid twitching.
For some inexplicable reason, the black diary reminded him of a certain noseless fellow.
"I have a question for you. It's a little presumptuous, so just consider it a minor personal curiosity."
Studying the Ancient One's face, John asked, "How old are you?"
"That really is a presumptuous question. Asking a woman her age hardly seems like British manners."
The Ancient One smiled slightly. "Let me think. I should be over five hundred."
"That really is a long time. My teacher, Nicolas Flamel, lived to be 665. He could have lived even longer."
As John mentioned the teacher who had first guided him, his tone grew subdued.
"The Elixir of Life could sustain his life, but it couldn't stop him from aging."
A body that kept aging and a life that kept going-it was a form of torment.
Though Nicolas Flamel could have continued living, he had ultimately chosen to stop taking the Elixir of Life.
Just as Dumbledore had once said, death, for him, was merely being able to go to bed at last after a busy day.
"Sorry for letting my mood affect you," John said apologetically as he came back to himself. "I'm just a little melancholy about the future."
"Living too long can sometimes feel more like a curse." The Ancient One gave John a long look, noting what made him unusual.
She opened a portal leading to Kamar-Taj and told John, "You are always welcome at Kamar-Taj, Wizard King."
"Perhaps I'll travel there one day. I'll bring you a bottle of mead. An old friend of mine was fond of it." John offered the Sorcerer Supreme the respect she deserved. "Goodbye, Sorcerer Supreme."
The portal closed.
"Immortality, huh? Living too long doesn't necessarily make you happy," John murmured to himself.
Friends died one after another, young children became old people, and beloved family members turned to bones.
After that, one became more like a traveler.
All sorts of people passed through one's life, but in the end, none could stay.
"Forget it. That's still too far away for me."
He cast his negative feelings aside.
Never mind anything else-with aliens coming here to fight in the future, John thought even surviving to the end of his natural lifespan was in question.
Better to cherish the present.
John turned and began looking around his home.
He called it home, but this was actually only his second visit.
Affairs in the Wizarding Kingdom kept him busy, and he usually communicated by owl.
Wandering through this unfamiliar home, he pushed open a door.
A little golden ball inside darted toward the exit, but John swiftly caught it.
The ball struggled in his hand for a while before falling still.
This was a Hall of Glory.
There was no need to misunderstand-John was not that narcissistic.
It belonged to his dad.
Although his dad was a Muggle, he was utterly obsessed with things from the Wizarding World.
From various editions of the Daily Prophet to balls used in Quidditch matches, he collected them all.
John returned the escaped Golden Snitch to its display case, frowning at the dust on the glass.
With his dad's habit of cleaning the room every day, there was no way dust should have gathered here.
"They've been gone for a while."
What could have kept them away for so long?
He could not rule out his parents having taken a spontaneous trip.
John shut the door and headed for the next room.
Going upstairs, he approached the door decorated with a little bear.
He knocked, but no one was inside.
He opened the door and entered. There was a large, soft, comfortable bed with enough room to roll around on.
Near the windowsill, a plump stuffed bear sat quietly propped up.
Three picture frames stood on the desk.
John picked up one of the moving photographs. It had been taken with a magical camera.
In it was an angelic girl with blond hair and blue eyes, wearing a princess-like white dress and a jasmine wreath. On her wrist was a bracelet shaped like a diadem.
The girl was fifteen. One hand held that of the young black-haired man beside her, while her other arm cradled Brown Teddy Bear.
He smiled tenderly at the photograph.
This was his younger sister, Ariana Wick.
There was also a moving family portrait on the desk.
The final photograph appeared to be his sister's graduation picture. It was not a magical photograph and did not move.
John's gaze swept over it, then stopped. He picked it up and stared at the person beside his sister, who had grown into a beautiful young woman.
It was a red-haired girl, also wearing graduation robes, who seemed very close to his sister.
He recognized that face.
Just that morning, this woman had been the pitiful office worker abducted and trafficked by a pimp.
Why was that female agent with his sister?
On Long Island, where every inch of land cost a fortune.
Tony Stark, poisoned and nearing death, stared at the screen.
JARVIS had hacked into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database. Information related to the search kept flashing across the screen.
He did not want his problems to remain after his death and end up harming others.
"Found you."
The screen settled on Manhattan. Tony stood, and mechanical arms fitted him with his Armor.
From his mansion on Long Island, Iron Man launched into action!
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