The Ancient One's days were numbered, and Adam knew it.
It wasn't about whether she could extend her life, it was that, once she'd chosen a successor, she no longer wished to live. She'd shed her mortal coil, wandering the cosmos as a soul, seeking grand cosmic deities.
If this Ancient One played her cards right, she might earn the favor of Eternity or Vishanti's true form, multiversal entities.
"With my old identity, no matter how long I live, I'm just repeating the same cycle. I've endured that for centuries." The Ancient One said, calmly sipping tea.
For short-lived Earth humans, centuries were no small feat.
If she wished, she could persist. A Skyfather Level being without life-extension methods would be a joke. She wouldn't rival the Collector's billions of years, but four or five hundred years wouldn't be her end.
"You've made preparations, chosen a successor? After all this observation, you're finally acting?" Adam asked, taking a sip from his cup, though he preferred plain water to tea.
The Ancient One smiled noncommittally.
She'd always had options for the Sorcerer Supreme. The diverse Sorcerers Supreme across parallel universes proved Strange wasn't her only choice.
Her one relief: Adam hadn't turned all her candidates into Xenomorphs, sparing her that headache.
A Xenomorph as Sorcerer Supreme? The thought chilled her: a Xenomorph enthroned, revered by global mages, delivering an inspiring "hiss!" As a speech.
Terrifying. She'd rather recall Kraglin than hand the role to Adam's creature.
"You siphoned plenty of power from Knull, didn't you? Must be satisfying." Adam said, dropping the successor topic, he didn't care who it was, and shifting gears.
"Not much. Knull was weak, his amassed power paltry compared to other demon gods." The Ancient One replied, smacking her lips as if savoring Knull's essence. A familiar aura, Knull's abyssal darkness, emanated from her.
Per their prior agreement, Adam handled Knull, while the Ancient One siphoned his power, keeping it.
The plan worked flawlessly. Adam couldn't gauge how much divine power she now held.
She'd likely extorted power from every notable entity.
Meeting her gaze, Adam said flatly, "Forget it. I'm not trading with a deadbeat like you."
"Not now, but when you're a Cosmic Being, it'll be trivial to spare me some power." She countered.
"Even as a multiversal god, I won't lend you a drop. By then, you'll probably be long dead." Adam shot back.
They bantered, ignoring the swindled Knull.
As they spoke, the Ancient One radiated various powers, wielding some to suppress others.
The sources of these powers constantly tried to reclaim them, only to be blocked by her borrowed might.
Suddenly, her expression shifted, a rare flicker of doubt. She turned, then stood, visibly shocked.
"What's wrong? Some demon god invading Earth?" Adam asked.
Such emotional intensity from her was rare.
"An anomaly. A Hell demon's appeared…" She murmured.
"If it's Japan, that's normal. The Hand's backed by a demon, low-tier, stripped of Hell's protection, a mass-produced entity across parallel universes." Adam said casually.
Hell, a dimension outside the multiverse, housed demons and souls they'd plundered or deceived from the multiverse.
Barring outliers like Cytorak, a multiversal-tier demon, Hell's affairs were negligible.
Its demons vied ruthlessly for the title of Hell's Lord, "Satan", to gain Hell's power boost.
Indeed, Satan was the title of Hell's conqueror, claimed by each victor.
Among these arch-demons, Mephisto grew stronger by amassing souls, while Nightmare fed on dreams as a dimension's lord.
"Not a minor demon. A great demon, unbound by time, has emerged." The Ancient One said.
Adam's interest surged.
Hell's great demons were Cosmic Being-tier, single-universe-level powerhouses, on par with peak Knull.
For one to visit this uncharted, unnumbered universe from Hell, likely an avatar, not the true body, was astonishing.
Who could it be? The ever-busy Mephisto?
…
Skolchi brought abject terror to the Hand.
These ninjas faced a god rivaling Thor for the first time, their vaunted assassination techniques mere tickles to Skolchi.
Even the Five Fingers, wielding stolen scraps of Kun-Lun's dragon power, could only mildly hinder him, powerless to stop Skolchi's slaughter of the Hand.
Two of the Five Fingers had already been severed by his blade.
"Great Beast, please intervene! Stop this madman destroying everything!" Madame Gao pleaded, turning to their demon.
The Beast's face was grim. What could he do? Nothing!
If he had a choice, he'd have fled the multiverse back to Hell long ago. Too weak to return, he was stuck, a Hell-rule-less demon, replicated across countless parallel universes.
And now, these mortals expected him, stripped of Hell's protection, to face a native "god"?
Laughable. He'd lose.
Even if he could defeat Skolchi, the Beast wouldn't try. Behind Skolchi loomed Adam and his cadre of even mightier Xenomorphs.
Without great demon-level power, facing Adam's crew was suicide. They'd toppled true gods.
But that didn't mean he'd sit idle.
"You idiots! Who told you to send Elektra to Adam? Without testing him with her, how could he have recruited her? How did we end up in his sights?" The Beast roared, seething.
He'd kept a low profile, yet still provoked the wrong foe.
Now, unless a Cosmic Level powerhouse intervened with absolute certainty, no one could confidently claim victory over Adam.
Those who thought they could win became part of him, a bloody lesson.
"I'll seek a stronger demon's aid, but whether I can sway him depends on luck." The Beast said grimly.
"A stronger demon… What's the cost?" Madame Gao asked.
"Each great demon has unique tastes, but none refuse human souls, premium ones, the more the better." The Beast said, eyeing the humans venomously.
The Hand's members hesitated, grasping the implication.
A vile sacrificial ritual, costing their own.
The ceremony began swiftly. Delay meant death by Skolchi or the surging Xenomorph horde.
The Beast watched the intricate ritual, its etched runes pulsing with malevolent life.
Which great demon would answer? Hopefully one would respond, but once summoned, dismissing them could be trouble…
Soon, a pungent sulfur stench rose from the ritual.
"A demon summoning me… from a nameless universe I briefly visited." A voice mused.
A figure emerged, an elegant gentleman in a top hat, leaning on a cane, exuding the refined air of a cultured scholar.
"M-Mephisto!" The Beast gasped, his long tongue lolling out in shock, dragging on the floor.
This guy? Yet, it made sense.
Who in demon circles didn't know Mephisto's tireless work ethic?
Mephisto's power grew with the quantity of premium souls he amassed, the more, the stronger.
His presence spanned countless universes, his fame often eclipsing even Cytorak's.
Mephisto chuckled warmly, radiating kindness.
Only flickering candlelight revealed his shadow, a horned demon.
"Lord Mephisto, welcome. We're in trouble." The Beast said deferentially.
The others barely breathed, oppressed by his presence.
Still, they coped, tempered by encounters with Dormammu and Knull, bracing for the worst.
Mephisto, notably, didn't radiate galaxy-quaking, universe-shaking power.
The cunning demon noticed, his level allowing him to passively gather and analyze all nearby data instantly.
"You mortals know me, yet you're calmer than humans in other universes… Why?" Mephisto asked.
He'd dismissed this world as insignificant.
Too remote, obscure, unlikely to birth humans sparking cosmic upheavals. Lingering here was a waste.
Numbered universes like 616 or 1610, multiversal hubs, demanded his attention.
But now, Mephisto felt a spark of intrigue.
No one answered, tension gripping them.
"Heh, I'm a demon, but I'm reasonable. Anyone want to trade, so I can learn about this universe?" Mephisto said jovially.
A ninja, signaled, stepped forward reluctantly.
"The deal: I take intel on this universe from you, and you get intel on me." Mephisto said, doffing his hat respectfully. As the ninja relaxed, Mephisto tapped his cane lightly.
The ninja's soul was ripped out, his body collapsing.
"So, a mundane universe isn't entirely worthless. Occasional visits yield surprises." Mephisto said, savoring the soul, marveling.
A human like this? And Xenomorphs?
Mephisto's interest surged. He recalled no Adam or Xenomorphs in other universes.
"Aided the Ancient One against Dormammu, repeatedly thwarted Knull… Xenomorphs parasitizing Celestials…" The deeper he probed the soul, the more delighted he grew.
A casual act, and such a haul?
Mephisto's praises made the room bow lower.
The Beast marveled internally: classic Mephisto, ever refined, cloaking intel-gathering scams in "trades."
"You've given me a grand surprise. In return, I'll help, starting with that Jotunheim butcher." Mephisto said.
He knew Skolchi. In many universes, Skolchi was Thor's arch-nemesis, a brutal foe.
Yet here, with Jotunheim conquered by Adam, Skolchi was a mere second-tier Xenomorph?
Mephisto itched to capture a Xenomorph, to taste its soul.
"Pity, a unique human like Adam warrants my true self's attention, but I can't act lightly, lest other demons seize the chance. Universe 616 takes precedence." Mephisto mused.
616, the multiverse's core, its timeline shifts rippling across countless worlds.
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