Drift Of The Multiverse: [Marvel] [Resident Evil] [DC] [Bleach] [DB] Chapter 348: Supreme Mage Candidate

Tony Stark had never truly t the Ancient One, but he had heard of the Sorcerer Supre who guarded Earth from dinsional invasions through Ethan.

In his mind, the Ancient One should look like rlin or Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings. He had never imagined that the Ancient One would be a bald woman.

That wasn’t the most unacceptable part. What really made him feel defeated was that this woman was taller than him!

He even glanced at the Ancient One’s feet specifically. Although she was wearing a long robe, he could see that she wasn’t wearing high heels, nor were her shoes the type that could conceal height-enhancing insoles.

Looking at Ethan beside him, now significantly taller than him too, Tony felt an unprecedented sense of urgency to develop a special serum to strengthen his body.

"I apologize for overhearing your conversation."

Seeing the two suddenly fall silent, the Ancient One thought they were unhappy about her eavesdropping, so she directly expressed her apology.

"I didn’t an to eavesdrop. I just happened to need to speak with Ethan."

"No, these matters needed to be discussed with you anyway, so this actually saves a lot of trouble." Ethan wasn’t displeased. Instead, he was speculating about the Ancient One’s sudden appearance.

Aside from the first ti he arrived in the Marvel Universe, when the Ancient One caught him red-handed as an interdinsional invader, she had never appeared directly before him again.

Even when she needed to contact him, she would do so through interdiaries.

Her appearing in person like this likely signaled sothing more. Ethan guessed that the Ancient One was preparing to "lay her cards on the table" and explain sothing in full.

As for overhearing his conversation with Tony, Ethan didn’t believe it was a coincidence. If the Ancient One wanted to find him, she would surely determine his location and current status, and naturally know he was talking to Tony.

And she just happened to appear at that mont.

"I know of a space like the one you ntioned. If you need it, I can take you there."

Ethan nodded. It wasn’t surprising that the Ancient One would take the initiative and offer the location he needed. Her timing was perfect for bringing up this matter.

"Do you want to talk to alone?"

Tony quickly realized the two of them needed to speak privately. Though filled with curiosity, he wasn’t completely lacking in tact. He stepped aside on his own and went to chat with Logan.

After Tony walked away, the Ancient One didn’t imdiately state her purpose. Instead, she stood quietly, watching Happy and the others in the distance, where laughter occasionally drifted over.

Ethan didn’t rush her either, just stood silently with the Ancient One, watching them eat, drink, and laugh happily.

"What happy and joyful people."

"Yes."

The Ancient One stood with her hands behind her back, gently turning a very ordinary folding fan in her hand. "Seeing them enjoying their peaceful lives makes feel that I’ve done a decent job over the years."

Always hidden in the shadows, guarding the world from dinsional invasions and evil mystical forces, the Ancient One’s work had been far more than "decent."

Ethan didn’t comnt, knowing she had more to say.

"But I’ve held on too long. I can’t hold out much longer." The Ancient One finally turned her gaze toward Ethan. "You must have already guessed that."

"Pretty much."

Ethan didn’t know what kind of expression to make, and could only do his best to remain calm. Strictly speaking, he hadn’t just guessed it. He had even "seen" the Ancient One’s future with his own eyes.

"Originally, I thought my future was already set."

Kamar-Taj held a treasure called the Eye of Agamotto, whose core was the Ti Stone, one of the Infinity Stones. Using it, the Ancient One could glimpse almost all possible futures.

In the countless futures she had seen, her own ending was never good. The best outco was to die in battle as the Sorcerer Supre before being completely corrupted by dark forces, preserving her final shred of sanity and dignity. That had seed like her best option.

"Until you appeared."

The Ancient One looked at Ethan. His appearance introduced uncertainty into her future. As ti passed, many futures that had once been clear beca blurred, and even with the power of the Eye of Agamotto, she couldn’t see them clearly.

This anomaly surprised her and gave her a faint glimr of hope.

As the saying goes, who would choose death if there’s still a chance to live? Otherwise, why had she used the power of the Dark Dinsion to enhance her strength and prolong her life in the past?

Of course, at the ti she could convince herself it was for Earth’s protection, since she hadn’t yet found a suitable successor for the title of Sorcerer Supre.

Later, her acceptance of death wasn’t just resignation, but also because she had found Stephen Strange, an excellent successor.

But now, with a new chance at life before her, she found she couldn’t truly ignore it.

"After all, I’m just a person."

To give in to the desire to survive might seem like a great failure for the Ancient One, who had practiced in solitude at Kamar-Taj for years.

But in Ethan’s eyes, this was nothing unusual. It was completely normal.

"Even gods don’t want to fall."

"I’m glad to hear you say that."

Ethan’s words made her feel his stance. He was willing to help the Ancient One live on.

He hadn’t said much. In fact, he was considering how to make it happen.

The Ancient One’s intentions weren’t hard to guess. From the start, he had thought of several possibilities.

To survive, she might hope Ethan could help her deal with the dark forces’ corruption while retaining her current ability to use Dark Dinsion magic.

Or, she might want to sever the connection to the Dark Dinsion entirely, then, after losing that near-infinite power, survive the crisis of her body weakening or dying.

Or, most drastically, she could abandon everything she currently had, preserve her soul after death, and be brought back through special ans.

Ethan thought the third possibility unlikely because the Ancient One probably didn’t know he had the ans to resurrect soone. Mages in the Marvel Universe didn’t seem to have researched such spells either.

So the most likely were the first two.

The first option was too difficult. The power of the Dark Dinsion was nearly infinite. As long as the Ancient One was connected to it and drew from it, corruption from that infinite power was almost inevitable.

The solution was simple in theory. If the Ancient One could master equally powerful magic to counterbalance it, she might be saved. But that thod would’ve worked better when the power of the Dark Dinsion within her wasn’t so deeply rooted. Now, it had ford a near-symbiotic bond with her. Trying to remove it was no different from killing her outright.

Furthermore, the Dark Dinsion’s power ca from an entire dinsion. It wasn’t easily countered.

"So severing the connection to the Dark Dinsion is the only option?"

Cutting off the connection would remove her source of power. The magic still inside her could sustain her for a while. If she could survive that period, the dark magic within her would gradually weaken, and the risk of corruption would naturally disappear.

What the Ancient One most likely hoped was that Ethan could help her accomplish this.

Ethan’s guess was mostly accurate. The Ancient One didn’t expect miracles. If Ethan could simply help her stay alive, that would be enough.

She could deal with the remaining issues of dark magic herself.

"Even so, there are still risks, right?"

There were always risks. Severing the connection with the Dark Dinsion wasn’t like shutting off a water valve. It could provoke Dormammu, the ruler of the Dark Dinsion, to react violently.

Even the Ancient One herself likely didn’t believe she had been able to draw from the Dark Dinsion without Dormammu noticing.

She believed that her eventual fall was part of Dormammu’s sche. If the Sorcerer Supre were to fall into darkness, Earth would be his.

So Dormammu absolutely wouldn’t stand by and watch the Ancient One escape his grasp. Once the connection was cut, he would surely act.

And due to how closely the Ancient One was linked with the Dark Dinsion, Ethan might not even have ti to react before she was completely annihilated. Her soul might not even be preserved.

In fact, among the countless futures the Ancient One had seen, she had made this choice before, and the outcos had never been good. Only with Ethan’s arrival did a new variable appear, which made her want to try again.

"You don’t need to feel pressured. It’s okay if it fails. If it does, I’ll just ask one favor."

The Ancient One didn’t try to leverage the help she’d given Ethan in the past to pressure him. In her eyes, if he could help, it was her fortune. If he couldn’t, it was her destiny.

"What favor?"

"If I die, I hope you can take on the role of Sorcerer Supre and protect this world from mystical threats."

"Uh..."

Ethan hadn’t expected that. But he had absolutely no interest in the title of Sorcerer Supre. Once that responsibility was accepted, it would be very difficult to let go.

"You only need to serve temporarily. Although Kamar-Taj currently lacks a suitable successor, I can see that several very qualified candidates have already begun their destined paths. A new Sorcerer Supre will erge from Kamar-Taj soon."

As she said this, the Ancient One specifically glanced into the distance. Following her gaze, Ethan saw Tony Stark chatting and laughing with Logan.

Wait a minute. Is there sothing wrong with how this plot is developing?

(To be continued.)

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