Only the mountains were visible, with seven-colored flowing light surrounding a body.
At some unknown time, on the right wrist of the Ancient One, a green energy bracelet had already formed, created from the energy of the Time Stone in the Eye of Agamotto.
Although Kei noticed this, he did not pay much attention to it. It was everyone's first meeting, and his origins were unclear. The energy within him was highly similar to that of a Dimensional Demon God.
This required caution.
Earth had already been devoured by the Dark Dimension!
On the Ancient One's trait interface, [Rooted Curse] flickered a few times before slowly disappearing. Standing in place, she suddenly coughed up a mouthful of black blood.
As the black trait disappeared, a massive amount of eerie, cursed black energy surged wildly from every opening in her body.
The replica Kusanagi Sword, which had been embedded in front of the Ancient One, was instantly engulfed by the black curse and swiftly melted into a pool of black water.
Kei was secretly shocked. The energy level of this thing was ridiculously high.
He had just been considering whether to try absorbing it with [Satellite Devourer] to see what would happen. Good thing he didn't make a move.
Buzz—
The Ancient One's eyes remained tightly shut, and his black and gold mage robes fluttered continuously. A new white trait [Ideological Struggle] appeared on her interface, but it vanished in an instant.
Immediately afterward, more than half of the traits on her interface began flickering.
"Open your dimension, I need a massive amount of energy."
The Ancient One traced her left hand over the time loop chain on her right wrist, her pale face showing a relieved smile. Her problem originated many years ago, from a conflict with her old friend, Kaluu.
At the time, she wanted to build her homeland into an ideal utopia, but Kaluu sought to use the power of wizards to dominate the world.
This ideological clash inevitably placed them on opposing sides.
In the end, she banished Kaluu to another dimension, but in return, Kaluu cast a root-level karmic curse upon her!
Back then, she couldn't dispel such a curse. Later, as she traveled through different dimensions and gained enough power, too much time had already passed.
Hundreds of years ago, Kaluu, who had accidentally come into contact with magical energy, had selflessly shared his knowledge of magic with her, who was originally just an ordinary person. This was what allowed her to become a wizard.
Lifting the curse would mean losing her magical power and becoming an ordinary person once more. And how could an ordinary person possibly withstand the passage of hundreds of years.
In other words, the moment the curse was lifted, she would turn into a pile of dust, without any chance to reverse the outcome.
Even after using the Eye of Agamotto to witness tens of millions of possible futures, the best solution she found was not to become a holy spirit but to continue guarding this world in another way.
Who could have expected... A Dimensional Demon God, who had never appeared in any of those possibilities, had so easily altered her fate.
"Alright!" Kei lifted the spatial restriction of [Infinite Armory Domain].
The Ancient One raised both hands before her, drawing a complex magical array that emitted shimmering golden starlight. The snowy mountain beneath them twisted like a mirror.
As the mirrored dimension covered them, a massive surge of Dark Dimension energy rushed in wildly from the void, drawn by her connection to the dark plane.
Within the overwhelming torrent of dark energy, the Ancient One, maintaining the magic array before her, slowly closed her eyes. A crimson-dark energy sigil emerged on her forehead.
In Kei's eyes, her personal panel traits also began to disappear, merge, and generate new traits.
This transformation lasted for nearly fifteen minutes before finally stabilizing.
---
[Name: Ancient One]
[Career: Sorcerer]
[Active Traits:
{Rainbow: Chaos Archmage, Eternal Adherent}
{Gold: Multidimensional Voyager, Sorcerer Supreme},
{Purple: Demon-Hunting Sorcerer, Seven Apertures Ingenuity},
{Blue: Magic Disseminator, Benevolence & Selflessness, Tranquility of Mind, Strategist},
{Green: Sincerity},
{White: Mischievous},
{Gray: Master with Flawed Disciples}]
---
Damn! Quick, quick, quick! Duplicate [Chaos Archmage], [Eternal Adherent], and [Multidimensional Voyager]!
The moment the traits were finalized, he didn't hesitate at all and immediately used up all his Trait Duplications!
One Trait Reset! In exchange for the chance to duplicate two rainbow-tier traits and one max-level gold-tier trait.
Huge profit! Big win!
---
[Obtained:
- Chaos Archmage (Rainbow)
- Eternal Adherent (Rainbow)
- Multidimensional Voyager (Gold)]
---
Looking at the three newly acquired traits waiting to be activated on the system interface, his grin was as wide as if he had been reborn. His actual gains were even greater than the Ancient One, who had obtained eternal life.
The sheer value of these three traits… Wouldn't they push his actual strength up another level instantly?
"I can feel the guidance of eternity. It seems I have to leave earlier than expected." The Ancient One smiled radiantly, but there was a hint of helplessness in her expression.
She traced a semicircle with her hands. The Eye of Agamotto on her chest glowed brilliantly with green light. Her head began to turn rapidly in all directions, scanning for all possible future outcomes.
"Eternal?" Kei was momentarily stunned, and his gaze immediately locked onto [Eternal Adherent].
He remembered very clearly, just a moment ago, this trait was [Eternal's Favor].
There was only a one-character difference between the two.
But "Favor" usually just meant that someone held you in high regard and gave you blessings. Whereas "Adherent"—when referring to deities and other powerful beings—typically implied a special connection, a close bond with the divine, or even the status of a highly trusted subordinate.
"My contract with one of the primordial gods is unchangeable. I must fulfill the terms of the contract and protect multiple dimensions across the multiverse." The Ancient One smiled as she ceased her future-seeing efforts. The Eye of Agamotto on her chest also dimmed as she sealed away the green glow of the Time Stone.
"A failed free ride?"
Kei frowned. He truly hadn't expected that this rainbow-tier trait would turn out to have such a meaning.
Even the Ancient One couldn't escape the consequences of paying for a contract. After all, in the original story, she not only freeloaded off Dormammu's Dark Dimension but also took advantage of numerous gods and dimensional demon lords.
Half of the magic recorded in the Book of Vishanti involved summoning or borrowing power from divine or demonic dimensions. Even within the vast library of Kamar-Taj, such magic made up a significant portion of the texts.
The cost of using these spells varied, but the Ancient One never seemed to care, she would use them freely without considering the price.
In the original story, after she died, she directly ascended to become a holy spirit and started following Eternity!
The cost? If you have the guts, go ask Eternity for it!
But this time, because of Kei's unexpected interference, the contract conditions were immediately met.
The Ancient One wasn't even given time to prepare, she had to fulfill the contract right away.
"That's an interesting way to put it, but if you describe it to other sorcerers, try to use a more flattering term."
The Ancient One chuckled helplessly and stepped closer to Kei. She took off the necklace with the Eye of Agamotto from around her neck.
Under Kei's surprised gaze, she placed it around his neck. "Me? The Sorcerer Supreme?"
"All of Kamar-Taj's magical tomes are yours to study. You may command its people and resources as you see fit. However, the dimensional incursions… I'll have to trouble you with handling those. If one day you grow weary of this life, just pass it on to Strange."
The Ancient One's fingers lightly traced the magical engravings on the Eye of Agamotto. Her gaze was filled with trust and expectation as she looked at Kei.
Everything that happened was so sudden, so unexpected. But wasn't this also the best possible arrangement?