"Their target is me? What does that mean? Someone from another parallel universe wants to kill me? But who did I offend?" Peter stood there, bewildered, struggling to comprehend what he had just heard.
As he recalled everything that had happened recently, he began to suspect that what the Ancient One had said might actually be true. Ever since he arrived in this universe—where Peter Parker had not become Spider-Man—things had felt off. The string of bizarre events all seemed orchestrated, as if some invisible force had been manipulating everything from behind the scenes.
At first, he believed Kingpin was the mastermind. But after killing Kingpin and following the trail of clues, he uncovered the existence of the Nine-Headed Hydra. So then he assumed they were behind everything.
Now, with the sudden appearance of a Symbiote from another universe, Peter was forced to reconsider everything. The situation was far more complex than he had imagined.
Before Curt Connors died, he had warned Peter to be careful. At the time, Peter thought he meant Kingpin. But maybe it wasn't Kingpin at all—maybe Curt had been referring to another, unknown threat. The problem was, Peter didn't know what that threat was.
And then there was Curt's death itself. The memory of it nagged at him.
With the Lizard's regenerative abilities, even a pierced heart shouldn't have killed him so quickly. Curt should have survived long enough to speak more. That meant his death likely wasn't caused directly by the stab wound. There had to be another, hidden cause—something Peter had missed.
The realization made Peter's scalp tingle. Had he been walking into someone else's trap all along?
Now, the only clue that might help him unravel this mystery was the Symbiote in his hands. Their earlier conversation revealed that the creature knew something. He could feel it.
So, turning to the Ancient One, Peter asked tentatively, "Um... this thing is really important to me. Can I take it back and study it first? Just for a while. Once I've figured it out, I'll give it back. How does that sound?"
The Ancient One stared at him. "Have you heard of the butterfly effect?"
"Of course," Peter replied. "A butterfly flapping its wings on one side of the ocean can trigger a tsunami on the other."
"Then you should understand why you can't take it," she said firmly. "The butterfly effect also applies to the Multiverse—only it's even more dangerous. A small change could throw an entire universe into chaos. As Sorcerer Supreme of Kamar-Taj, I cannot allow that to happen."
"Just give me one day—one day to study it."
"Not even one hour."
Peter's frustration spilled over. "Ancient One, I thought you, as the Sorcerer Supreme, would be at least somewhat reasonable. Why are you being so rigid? You know this thing invaded from another universe, and that I am its target. This has been going on for a while now. If, as you say, even the smallest incident could cause universal destruction, then this crisis is already underway.
And yet you've only just noticed it now? Isn't that negligence? Shouldn't you be responsible? You should be protecting me, the target, and explaining what's really going on.
Only then can we patch the hole—like fixing the fence after the sheep are lost.
And throwing this Symbiote back to its universe? What's the point? If they came once, they can come again. That solves nothing. You should be tracking down the mastermind behind this and eliminating them. Only then will you live up to your title."
Though he knew he was pushing it—speaking so boldly to someone as powerful as the Ancient One—Peter couldn't help himself. He was gambling.
Gambling that the Ancient One, as Earth's protector, still had a strong sense of justice.
If he could appeal to that, maybe—just maybe—she'd let him keep the Symbiote.
He knew force wouldn't work. Words were his only hope.
The Ancient One frowned. Her eyes shimmered with golden magical energy, and Peter felt a chill crawl down his spine.
"It seems you know quite a bit about me," she said. "But since you know I'm the Sorcerer Supreme, and still dare speak to me like this... Aren't you afraid I'll kill you on the spot?"
Peter stiffened. If this bald woman wanted him dead, it wouldn't take her more than a second.
But he couldn't back down now.
"Of course I'm afraid," Peter admitted, "but I also believe that as the Sorcerer Supreme, you wouldn't do such a thing. You stand for justice, right? If you don't have that kind of integrity, how could you call yourself the Sorcerer Supreme?"
"Scared to death, yet still acting brave... You're a funny one, little guy." The Ancient One smirked.
"But you are right," she continued. "As Sorcerer Supreme, I must take responsibility. But due to certain circumstances, I've been occupied. That's the only reason the enemy was able to open tiny space-time rifts undetected and bring this thing into our universe.
I've been tracking this anomaly for a while, but the intruder was careful—always creating rifts too small for me to sense until it was too late.
And now, I have an even more pressing matter to attend to. Soon, all of Kamar-Taj's mages will leave with me. There will be no one left to handle this problem.
But today I met you—a very special individual. And your thoughts align with mine. So, I'm leaving this entire matter to you."
Peter blinked. The more she spoke, the more he realized how wrong he'd been.
His plan had been to trick the Ancient One into letting him keep the Symbiote. But now it felt like he was the one who'd been tricked.
She had wanted him to take it from the very start.
He'd walked straight into a trap. And worse, he'd walked in willingly.
"This... wait, why does it feel like you tricked me?" Peter asked in disbelief. "Didn't you just say this is a butterfly effect?"
"You said so yourself," the Ancient One replied calmly. "And you're right. The butterfly effect has already begun. Isn't this what you asked for?"
Peter was speechless.
"You can keep the Symbiote," she added, "but know this—it's incompatible with our universe. Like an organ transplant from a different species, the Symbiote will be rejected. The Multiverse operates on the same principle. That rejection will accelerate cellular aging and decay.
It will eventually die because of this. So your research had better be quick."
She waved her hand. "Here. This magic ring and beginner magic book are for you. If you have any aptitude for magic, these will help."
Peter's jaw dropped. "Wait... does this mean you're taking me on as a disciple?"
"Only if you can actually learn magic," she said with a faint smile.
As she finished speaking, a glowing magical portal opened behind her. She gave Peter a parting look, smiled, and stepped through.
In an instant, the portal vanished.
Silence returned to the dungeon. It felt like everything that had just happened was a dream.
But the magic ring and beginner book in Peter's hand were tangible proof that it was all real.
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