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*****
The two of them emerged from the room and, while exchanging information, made their way to the second floor of the New York Sanctum, which was surrounded by a dazzling array of various magical artifacts.
Before long, Fini spotted a familiar splash of red and unconsciously walked over to it.
Inside a glass display case, a red cloak floated motionlessly. Fini stood in place, sizing it up as he recalled the days when he used to have "heart-to-heart" chats in front of it.
Noticing Fini's movements, Ancient One smiled, walked over, and said, "It is an excellent magical artifact, though its personality may not quite match yours."
The moment Ancient One approached, the cloak inside the glass case--which had been playing it cool just a second ago--instantly pressed itself against the glass. Like a little sycophantic puppy, it even formed a bowing gesture with its collar, seemingly greeting Ancient One, leaving Fini dumbfounded.
"Good thing it doesn't match. Wearing that out would be embarrassing!"
Seeing this behavior, Fini couldn't help but comment.
As soon as the words left his mouth, the red cloak immediately turned toward Fini. It used one of its bottom corners to shape itself into a form that protruded in the middle and dipped on the sides, bearing a striking resemblance to a certain universally recognized hand gesture.
Fini was instantly infuriated. Staring intently at it, he immediately activated his Breathing Technique and unleashed the "Golden Great Derivation" with all his might.
"Turn into a pile of crap for me!"
Although the cloak was an ancient and powerful magical item, Fini was no longer the same person it could afford to ignore in the past.
Under the potent effects of the "Golden Great Derivation," the red cloak was forced to assume the shape of a pile of feces, leaving Ancient One looking completely helpless beside them.
Ancient One shook her head, paid no further attention to the boy and the cloak, and turned to head up to the roof to take in the views of New York.
Even though the cloak possessed immense magical and physical resistance, Fini's "Golden Great Derivation" was a spell that altered the rules of reality itself. Furthermore, it was being deployed by Fini at full power while using his Breathing Technique.
Consequently, the cloak ultimately failed to resist and was forced to be played with for quite a while.
However, Fini soon found it boring, realizing that throwing a tantrum at a cloak wasn't worth the effort. Utilizing the Golden Great Derivation on Earth also drained a significant amount of his energy.
Once he ceased the effects of the Golden Great Derivation, the cloak actually grew angry instead, slapping the glass with its corners in rampant provocation.
It was hard to tell whether it was telling Fini to come inside, or claiming that if it weren't for the glass, it would come out and fight him to the death.
Fini looked at the helplessly enraged cloak in front of him, scoffed with disdain, flipped it a universally recognized hand gesture of his own, and turned to go upstairs to find Ancient One.
"Finished arguing?"
Hearing Ancient One's words, Fini felt a bit embarrassed. After coughing twice, he replied, "It started it!"
Ancient One looked at Fini and shook her head helplessly, then continued to gaze out at the New York scenery.
Fini lived in New York every day and couldn't be more familiar with everything here, so he didn't join Ancient One in admiring the view. Instead, after a moment of thought, he asked a question: "Teacher, regarding that Bast--do you know much about her?"
Ancient One turned her head with some confusion and asked back, "In what regard?"
"In terms of dimensions. Her dimensional space seems to rely on Wakanda's faith to sustain its growth. How is that achieved?"
Dimensional expansion was currently the most important matter for Fini, so he didn't want to pass up any possible method. Whether he could achieve it or not, he needed to understand it first.
But Ancient One shook her head. "Dimensions are inherently one of the most mysterious forces. Furthermore, its method of control is likely known to no one but herself."
Hearing this answer, Fini couldn't help but sigh. After pondering for a bit, he continued to ask, "What about in terms of strength? How does my current strength compare to hers?"
When he had entered that dimension back then, he had only witnessed the power of one of Bast's claws and did not truly understand her full strength.
Ancient One's brow furrowed slightly. She glanced at Fini and replied:
"If she were in your dimension, she would probably be no match for you. But if you enter her dimension, you won't be able to defeat her either!"
Fini was somewhat surprised by this result, but at the same time, it felt reasonable. The boost a dimensional space provided to its Dimensional Lord was simply terrifying. Unless there was a massive disparity in inherent strength, it was almost impossible to compensate for.
"Then can I open my dimension inside her dimension?"
Ancient One glanced at Fini and replied, "If you don't want your eye to be plundered, I advise you best not to do so. With your current dimensional power, doing that will only result in being swallowed and assimilated by her dimension!"
Fini shuddered. Although the Evil King True Eye was a system skill, and so far no skill had ever been lost or destroyed, that didn't mean such a possibility could never happen.
After saying this, Ancient One offered another piece of caution: "Your dimension is very unique. You had best try your best not to let others know about your eye, otherwise, it will bring great danger!"
"I understand!"
Fini nodded. Although the Evil King True Eye was his strongest capability right now, his other skills weren't weak either. Even in the wider universe, there shouldn't be many enemies who could force him to use the Evil King True Eye to resist.
Just as Fini was pondering how he could obtain the method of dimensional expansion from that female panther, Ancient One suddenly spoke:
"The Nine Realms are about to align. At that time, Earth's dimensions and space will be greatly weakened. When the time comes, you should come back and help out!"
Fini was instantly stunned, and his expression turned conflicted. Although he really wanted to help, he might not necessarily be able to spare the time on that day, so he could only say in a low voice:
"But I have a very important matter to attend to on that day..."
Seeing the confusion and bewilderment in Ancient One's gaze as she looked over, Fini deliberated for a moment before coming clean: "I want to go find the Reality Stone on that day."
Ancient One's brow furrowed immediately, and she said, "Fini, you must understand that having all the Infinity Stones gathered in one person's hands is not a safe thing."
"There are many people in the universe searching for them. Right now, there are already three Infinity Stones on Earth. In fact, if this news spreads fast enough, you and the entire Earth will already be plunged into endless trouble."
Although Fini understood Ancient One's worries, giving up on the Reality Stone--the one he wanted most--was still a bit difficult. Therefore, he could only look at Ancient One and find a reason to defend his stance:
"But I know someone has been collecting the Infinity Stones, intending to use them to wipe out half the universe. I'm doing this to stop him."
Hearing Fini's words, Ancient One shook her head directly. "It is impossible for him to succeed. To this day, no one in the entire universe has ever collected all the stones. Moreover, protecting the Time Stone is the responsibility of every Sorcerer Supreme."
Fini just looked at Ancient One. In the original plot, Ancient One died when Dormammu approached, and there was still a period of time before Thanos snapped his fingers.
At that time, she had already chosen to lay down her responsibility and hand it over to Doctor Strange, so she likely wouldn't peer into the future beyond that point anymore.
Seeing the stubborn look in Fini's eyes, Ancient One sighed and could only speak slowly: "The Reality Stone was sealed by Asgard, and it is a treasure of the Dark Elves. They will not sit idly by!"