Half asleep, Qin Xiao suddenly heard a crisp chime echo beside his ear.
In an instant, his drowsiness vanished — replaced by sheer excitement.
"The Ancient One… has eaten the Devil Fruit!"
Qin Xiao shot up from his bed, eyes gleaming.
He immediately opened his system interface.
[Devil Fruit Transaction System]
1. Self-consumption: Develop powers personally (limited number of fruits)
2. Others' consumption: Absorb abilities from them (unlimited number)
[Fruits Distributed and Hosts]
Swamp Fruit — Frank Castle, The Punisher
Bomb Fruit — Wilson Fisk, The Kingpin
Yomi Fruit — Tony Stark, Iron Man
Age-Age Fruit — The Ancient One, Sorcerer Supreme
[Abilities Absorbed]
Swamp Fruit · Punisher's Weapon Mastery
Bomb Fruit
Yomi Fruit
Age-Age Fruit · Mirror Dimension · Portal Magic
[Fruit Amplification Rate: 0%]
There it was.
The Ancient One's name was now listed under "Consumed Fruits."
And Qin Xiao… had absorbed her power.
Not only that — the moment she ate the fruit, a new ability had been sent back to him through the system.
Portal Magic!
That meant the Ancient One had already begun harmonizing her magic with the Fruit's power.
It was the first time such feedback had ever happened so quickly.
When Kingpin ate the Bomb Fruit and Tony consumed the Yomi Fruit, neither had triggered any return.
Even Frank's "Weapon Mastery" feedback had only appeared after he'd trained with his new ability for quite some time.
But the Ancient One?
She had done it instantly.
Her mastery and understanding were on a completely different level.
Qin Xiao could hardly contain his joy.
Meanwhile, across Kamar-Taj — within a quiet chamber — the Ancient One, who was always calm and composed, finally showed a rare trace of emotion.
She stood before a mirror.
Her reflection shifted and changed like rippling water.
Old.
Young.
A child.
A woman in her prime.
A weathered elder.
One after another, her images flowed and merged.
For centuries, she had looked into mirrors and seen the same unchanging face.
Even with the Time Stone, she could never be certain when the next Sorcerer Supreme would arrive,
nor when the next great calamity would come.
So she had never allowed herself to age.
Never allowed herself to rest.
At every moment, she had to remain at her peak.
She had lived hundreds of years in the mortal world —
and countless more within the timelines she had observed.
Her body, sustained by the dark energies of Dormammu, never withered.
But her soul…
Her soul had drifted through the endless currents of time for far, far too long.
It had its benefits — infinite time to study, to battle, to learn.
But it had also crushed her spirit,
pushing her to the very brink of darkness more times than she could count.
Each time, she clawed her way back.
Each time, she endured — for the sake of this world.
If she had ever had a choice…
Would she really have chosen this endless burden?
Would she really have wanted to live this way forever?
Those countless futures that ended abruptly —
perhaps each one was a version of her that had finally given up.
For so long, she had forgotten what it meant to live.
She no longer remembered the face of the young woman she once was — hair dark, eyes full of hope.
Now, for the first time in centuries, she saw herself again.
Childlike. Innocent.
Youthful. Spirited.
Elegant. Proud.
Mature. Serene.
Aged. Wise.
Each form flashed by, and with it came a flood of long-lost emotion.
For the first time in so long, she felt alive.
Not as the lofty Sorcerer Supreme,
not as the eternal guardian of Earth,
but as a person.
When at last she stabilized her form, her reflection settled into a slightly younger version of herself —
just a little younger, just a little softer.
That faint touch of vanity… that was what made her human.
For the first time in centuries, a trace of warmth flickered in her aura.
She looked into her reflection and smiled faintly.
"Qin Xiao, the so-called Demon Envoy…"
Her voice was calm but curious.
"The Age-Age Fruit is far more mysterious than I imagined.
Only through direct experience can one truly understand these Fruits.
This Fruit hasn't given me destructive power —
but it has given me something greater…
The feeling of being alive again."
"After hundreds of years, I finally feel a spark of desire —
to live, to exist, to be."
She turned away from the mirror, her golden robes flowing softly with her movements.
"Who exactly is your dimensional god, Qin Xiao?
How can it bestow such tailored, perfect power?
How does it choose so precisely who may wield it?"
With those questions lingering on her lips,
the Ancient One pushed open her door and walked out —
heading straight toward Qin Xiao's quarters.
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