The Ancient One had lived for a considerably long time, and her understanding of magic and the Eye of Agamotto far surpassed that of the future Sorcerer Supreme, Stephen Strange, also known as Doctor Strange.
She could apply the effects of the Time Stone to specific objects and distort their causality. Just like what she was about to do now, changing the outcome of the two Stones being obtained by Ethan and returning them to where they "should be."
If it were the Ethan of the past, he would not have had many ways to deal with this kind of method, mainly relying on interference and evasion.
The current Ethan, however, did not need to do that. The moment the Ancient One used the power of the Time Stone, green energy lit up on Ethan's right hand. He reached out in front of him to block, and it felt as if he had struck something. The green energy on his hand instantly shattered, and almost simultaneously, the light emitted by the Eye of Agamotto also dimmed considerably.
Although the light of the Eye of Agamotto quickly returned to normal, this momentary change was clearly seen by the surrounding sorcerers. And as the user, the Ancient One felt it even more clearly.
"Time?"
"Time!"
"This is impossible!"
The Ancient One, who prided herself on her extensive knowledge, also reacted with disbelief at this moment. Even the greatest sorcerers in history found it difficult to control time. Even the very few great Sorcerer Supremes could only touch a small portion of time's power by relying on the Time Stone. Using this power solely through one's own magic was almost impossible.
Moreover, the time energy released by this young man was very familiar to her, very similar in nature to the power of the Time Stone in her hand. This meant that this person had likely mastered the power of time through the Time Stone.
"Have you come into contact with the Time Stone? Or did you once become the Sorcerer Supreme?"
"I declined."
Ethan had no interest in becoming the Sorcerer Supreme. He also could not stay in one universe for a long time. To avoid being misunderstood by the Ancient One, Ethan added a couple of extra explanations.
"My situation is rather special. I often travel to different universes, so I can't take on this position."
"So that's how it is."
If Ethan had not explained, the Ancient One would have definitely mistaken him for a villain with great ambitions. The fundamental reason Ethan specifically explained was because the person in front of him was the Ancient One, the one who had initially helped him lay the foundation for his training.
Even knowing that the Ancient One in front of him was not the one he knew, this influence still existed. It was not something he could ignore just because he wanted to.
To achieve complete disregard, he would have to completely abandon human emotions, which was something Ethan had always strived to avoid.
He clenched his left fist, and the two Stones floating above his hand disappeared again. The blue spatial energy, however, did not dissipate. Instead, it became stronger and more immense.
Since obtaining the Space Stone, Ethan had been studying its energy properties. The rules of space were also among the first rules he came into contact with and understood. Now, his own divine power carried spatial attributes. It could be said that he was a human-shaped Space Stone, containing even more energy than the original and not limited to a specific universe.
As Ethan clenched his fist, the Ancient One could clearly feel the changes in the surrounding space. Before she could react, a hand had already reached out and touched the Eye of Agamotto she was wearing.
The Ancient One's reaction was incredibly fast. The moment the Eye of Agamotto was touched, she immediately activated the power of the Time Stone, reversing that instant in front of her. Then, before Ethan could reach out "again," she set up a spatial barrier in front of herself.
However, none of this had any effect. The spatial barrier did not impede Ethan for even half a second. The barrier was directly ignored by him, passing through as if it did not exist, and he once again touched the Eye of Agamotto.
The Ancient One realized that spatial magic was ineffective against this person. Compared to his power over time, the opponent had a deeper mastery of space.
"Traveling frequently between different universes?"
Golden magic energy condensed into a shield. After reversing a few seconds again with the help of the Time Stone, the Ancient One chose to meet the attack with pure energy.
Ethan's right hand was blocked by the golden energy shield. Although it instantly shattered the shield, it successfully stopped him.
"Truly formidable."
The Ancient One suddenly had a strange feeling, as if she was facing not a sorcerer, but a dimensional lord like Dormammu.
Just as she was sighing with emotion, she suddenly felt that something was wrong. The Ancient One immediately looked down in front of her. The place where the Eye of Agamotto should have been was now empty.
She looked up at the young man opposite her. His left hand was enveloped in green energy symbolizing the power of time, slowly turning toward his right hand. Then, the Eye of Agamotto, which she was extremely familiar with, appeared in Ethan's hand.
Twisting causality required one to reach the peak of control over one's own magic power and have sufficient understanding of the time power contained within the Eye of Agamotto.
But even the most top-tier Sorcerer Supremes needed to rely on the Eye of Agamotto to do so. To do it barehanded like Ethan...
Ethan had come into contact with the Eye of Agamotto, but his understanding and mastery of the rules of time were far inferior to his understanding of space. If he were somewhere else, it would be difficult for him to achieve this level.
There was one world that was an exception, and that was the Marvel Universe.
Specifically, the Marvel Cinematic Universe!
In this universe, his understanding and mastery of time power, or rather, the rules of time, were absolutely top-notch. Even without the Time Stone, he could still utilize the rules of time to some extent.
What's more, when he first "contacted" the Time Stone, he could "borrow" the power of this Stone.
In other words, when Ethan touched the Time Stone, he "connected" to the time rules of this universe. Even if the Ancient One used the Eye of Agamotto to twist, rewrite, and erase this event, it could not change the fact that Ethan "had" connected to the time rules of this universe.
Looking at the Eye of Agamotto in his hand, Ethan did not hesitate. He squeezed it forcefully, and the intricate pendant was directly crushed into powder by Ethan, revealing the Time Stone inside.
Besides being a casting tool, the Eye of Agamotto was also a defensive item that protected the Time Stone from being forcefully taken. Most people, even if they managed to snatch the Eye of Agamotto, would have no way to remove the Time Stone from it.
Unfortunately, these methods were useless against Ethan. Not to mention that his strength was enough to break the spells on it. More importantly, Ethan was someone recognized by the Ancient One back then, and he knew how to remove the defensive spells on it.
Seeing this scene, the Ancient One could only shake her head helplessly.
At this point, even she could not change any of this.
The sorcerers watching from outside were very anxious, but the battle inside was not something they could participate in. Just watching from outside felt incredible. If they went in, they probably would not even know how they died.
When Ethan casually destroyed the Eye of Agamotto and obtained the Time Stone, Mordo looked completely disbelieving. The great Ancient One had failed! And could the Eye of Agamotto be destroyed so easily? What about the defensive magic attached to it?
Many sorcerers were filled with despair, but the Ancient One inside did not have so many thoughts. She was just troubled by the question of where Earth's future would go after losing the Time Stone. She could no longer be sure.
And without the Time Stone, she had no way to glimpse the various possibilities of the future.
Ethan looked at the Stone in his hand. With the Time Stone in hand, he could have left immediately, but the person opposite him was the Ancient One, and he could not just walk away like that.
Others did not know, but didn't he?
The Ancient One was about to face a dead end. Without the cheat that was the Time Stone, Doctor Strange would not be able to negotiate with Dormammu, and in that case, this universe would be finished.
The green Stone disappeared with a flick of Ethan's hand. The next second, he appeared in front of the Ancient One, easily blocking the attack she instinctively launched, and reached out to lightly press on her forehead.
"Don't worry. I'm helping you solve a problem that has troubled you for many years."
The Ancient One had "signed a work contract" with Dormammu of the Dark Dimension. She was able to freely use that immense power and avoid falling into darkness by relying on her extraordinary mental will.
This was ultimately a hidden danger. What Ethan wanted to do was dissolve this work contract.
The past him, even if he had this idea, could not do it! Now he could, but the Ancient One he knew had already changed into a new body and embarked on a different path, so she did not need his help to "breach the contract."
"Without the Time Stone, Strange won't be able to quickly take on the heavy responsibility of Sorcerer Supreme. This universe needs you to do more."
He retracted his right hand, and Ethan took a step back.
At this moment, the Ancient One had already realized what Ethan had done. She had not expected this person to possess such a level of strength.
"Although you won't be able to 'borrow' power from Dormammu in the future, this shouldn't be too big of a problem for you."
After saying this, Ethan turned and directly activated spatial transfer, leaving Kamar-Taj.
The moment he left, the Mirror Dimension Ethan had set up was also dispelled, and Kamar-Taj returned to its quiet and peaceful state... Just kidding. With the sacred artifact, the Eye of Agamotto, destroyed and the Time Stone stolen, how could Kamar-Taj be peaceful?
Although the Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One, had eliminated the biggest hidden danger, her strength had inevitably decreased, and the issue of finding a successor was also very troublesome.
In short, Kamar-Taj was definitely in chaos, but this had nothing to do with Ethan.
Having successfully obtained three Infinity Stones, Ethan set his next target on the Power Stone.
"If I remember correctly, the Power Stone should be gathering dust on a barren planet. It should be easy to get."
Compared to the easily obtainable Power Stone and Reality Stone, he was still troubled about how to get the Soul Stone.
(To be continued.)