"Have you learned your lesson?" The Ancient One stepped out of the portal, standing on the edge of the rooftop alongside Zed.
Zed was puzzled.
"What do you mean? Did you know all along?"
The Ancient One smiled serenely.
"I didn't know beforehand, but I guessed it based on experience and insight. I guessed you would get lost in the allure of power, and now you need my help."
Zed looked at the Ancient One, confused, not understanding what she was up to.
Looking at Zed, the Ancient One continued, "Your distorted craving for power is clouding your judgment, making you believe that everything you do is right."
"You wouldn't listen to any of my well-meaning advice. You needed to experience it yourself to truly understand."
Zed looked at the Ancient One in surprise, asking in disbelief:
"That battle… you were acting? Deliberately building me up just to knock me down?"
The Ancient One smiled without answering.
Zed looked at the Ancient One's unfathomable expression and gave a self-deprecating laugh: "The old ones are always the trickiest! But I don't need your help. I've already come to my senses!"
"To be precise, it's not me who wants to help you, but the Trinity," the Ancient One said softly.
"That's even more impossible!" Zed wouldn't dare to face the Trinity right now.
Zed wanted to say something more, but the Ancient One cut him off, "You don't have a choice! Someone has already agreed!"
"Huh? Who can agree for me?"
"Me!"
Zed turned around at the sound and saw a golden portal appear. A man with a watch on his head was looking this way through the portal.
Woz immediately knelt on one knee and shouted:
"Waga Maou!"
"Sougo Tokiwa?" Zed murmured in disbelief, "It's really you? What exactly is going on?"
Sougo, on the other side of the portal, smiled and said:
"Get up! Woz! And ah! I'll just call you Zed. Calling you Tokiwa always feels weird. Right! It's indeed me who agreed!"
Zed was already baffled by Sougo and the Ancient One and looked at them, at a loss.
Sougo continued to explain, "After the other me passed his power onto you, I've been keeping an eye on you.
You and I were the same before, alone and without companions. But later, I had Geiz, Tsukuyomi, and Woz to accompany me. However, after you got the Driver, you shut yourself off, letting no one into your heart.
No one could guide you onto the right path, so I had to resort to this, to let you fall until it hurt."
Zed looked at Sougo, not knowing what to say.
Sougo continued, "You schemed and plotted to gain power, but it's all useless. You need to understand why you want to become king. Becoming king for the sake of being king is meaningless.
The Ancient One and the Vishanti are good people; they'll help you resolve your mental issues. Don't disappoint the other me's expectations.
And, believe in yourself! You can do it!"
After Sougo finished speaking, he nodded to the Ancient One and closed the dimensional door. Zed reached out, wanting to ask more questions, but it was too late.
Zed sighed and turned to the Ancient One.
"When did you two get in touch?"
"Before you entered the Mirror Dimension. Alright, come find me at the New York Sanctum when you're ready!" After saying this, the Ancient One drifted away.
Zed gazed at New York, muttering to himself, "The reason for becoming king, huh? What exactly am I striving for?"
At S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, Nick Fury listened to Coulson's report.
"You're saying Zed Oleg has a mental problem?" Nick Fury stared at Coulson with wide eyes.
Coulson described what he had seen in detail, then said:
"Zed Oleg's mental state has definitely taken a turn, but we don't know if it's good or bad for us."
Nick Fury didn't intend to sit idly by and wanted to take action, but S.H.I.E.L.D. still couldn't find Zed's secret base. He could only sigh and wait to see what happened.
And it wasn't just Zed Oleg who was in a bad mental state; Tony Stark had also been acting strangely recently.
Nick Fury really wanted to assign these guys dedicated psychologists to prevent them from causing trouble.
Skye and Carl returned to Carl's clinic in Miami. For safety, Zed also let Skye take a Golden Eye clone with her, and even sent Shin to protect them.
Zed stayed in Kuroto Dan's laboratory, examining the external product of Genm Corp – the virtual space pod.
"Dumpling, will this set of equipment be enough to defeat our competitors?" Zed asked.
Kuroto Dan crossed his arms and said confidently: "Of course! How could those guys possibly create a better virtual space pod than mine? Doom Corp's orders will definitely be ours!"
"Good! I'll leave everything to you while I'm away treating the illness! And, Woz! Pay more attention! Don't let anything happen to Skye and the others." Zed gave many more instructions before leaving Genm Corp.
Zed rode the Ride Striker Motorcycle, speeding down the street and feeling the wind.
The wind is quite noisy today!
The New York Sanctum was protected by a magical barrier. Ordinary people wouldn't have any desire to look at it even if they passed by, and a perception filter prevented mortals from disturbing the mages' cultivation.
But Zed could feel an invitation hanging on the Sanctum's gate, and after a moment's thought, he walked towards it.
Bystanders and surveillance cameras didn't notice a person disappearing right before their eyes, continuing on their way completely unaware.
After Zed entered, an Asian mage greeted him, "Welcome, Mr. Zed. The Sorcerer Supreme is already waiting for you."
Zed knew he was Wong, the future Sorcerer Supreme's assistant, so he didn't bother asking his name. He followed him towards the inner hall.
As Zed passed by those strange magical objects, he was initially curious if one or two of them would resonate with him. But the cruel reality was that these magical objects didn't care for Zed, who had no magic.
Zed was too lazy to bother with these small objects that didn't recognize talent. Healing his mental problems was the purpose of his visit.
Ancient One, standing on the staircase, opened a portal and said,
"Let's go, Mr. Zed!"
Then, Ancient One stepped through the portal first, and Wong gestured for Zed to follow.
Since the little demon king agreed, I don't have anything to hesitate about, Zed thought, and he also entered the portal.
Exiting the portal, Ancient One and Zed landed in front of the gates of Kamar-Taj. Ancient One led Zed inside, and the sorcerers along the way all bowed to her.
Ancient One returned the greetings one by one and then asked, "What do you think of this place?"
"It's pretty good! I heard you guys have internet access here! Otherwise, I'd be bored to death!" Zed casually blurted out.
Ancient One didn't mind and led Zed to the training ground, stopping there, "You're considered a master of combat. What do you think of their movements?"
Zed examined them carefully, then said with a touch of awkwardness:
"They've spent too much time on martial arts. Are you sure they can all cultivate both magic and martial arts?"
The Ancient One looked at the young mages on the training ground, sweating profusely, and said:
"Our spell system is different from those in storybooks. Our magic comes from borrowing power from other dimensions.
The borrowed power isn't docile, and the mage's body must be strong enough to contain such potent energy.
Furthermore, long-term training can hone their will, keeping them clear-headed."
The Ancient One's implications were clear, causing Zed's lips to twitch: "Is the Ancient One trying to assimilate me?"
"No! We won't interfere with the path you've chosen. We're just helping you resolve your mental issues, helping you understand yourself. This is also the intention of that most benevolent and kind demon king."
The Ancient One didn't hide anything and directly gave the answer, then turned and left the training ground with Zed.
Mordo and Cagliostro on the training ground whispered to each other. The young sorcerer naturally didn't know who Zed was.
But as high-level personnel of Kamar-Taj, Mordo and Cagliostro couldn't not know Zed.
"Isn't that the Demon King? Why did he come to our Kamar-Taj?" Mordo wondered.
Cagliostro, on his path to resurrect his wife, had once considered Zed.
But Cagliostro's wife had been dead for many years, and Zed had exhausted his energy saving someone who had just died. He couldn't possibly help Cagliostro.
Cagliostro could only turn his attention to more powerful, more mysterious forces. Cagliostro was only just beginning to touch the shadow of that power and hadn't been completely seduced yet.
Cagliostro said to Mordo:
"It should be the Ancient One who subdued this guy and brought him back for ideological education!"
"Yeah! I think so too!"
Zed followed the Ancient One to the library. "Didn't you say The Trinity wanted to see me? Why are we in the library?"
With a smile, the Ancient One took down a spellbook and handed it to Zed, saying: "Open the Book of the Vishanti and you'll be able to see The Trinity. They will help you solve your mental problems."
Zed took the ancient book. The cover was grey-white, as if it hadn't been opened for many years, but the whole book was still spotless, revealing a sense of holiness.
Zed took a deep breath and slowly opened the Book of the Vishanti. With the white light shining, Zed's consciousness had already arrived in the vast, boundless starry sky.
Zed looked up at the three towering gods. The bald man in the middle was Agamotto.
Agamotto spoke first, asking: "What do you seek power for?"
A grand voice, deafening, resounded, and Zed instinctively replied:
"To live!"
The female deity Oshtur on the left stared at Zed with bright eyes:
"Even with the power of a demon king?"
"Yes!"
A burst of laughter came from the tiger deity Hoggoth:
"Then! What is a demon king? Is cruelty and ruthlessness what you call a demon king? If you are so shallow, I will have an extra meal today!"
-----------------------
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(End of Chapter)