When Lucas returned to Earth-616, there was still a bright moon in the sky but this was already the next day.
Although they had only stayed in the Flickering Realm for a few short minutes, almost a day had passed in the real world.
"You're back."
Ancient One saw Lucas return and gave him a meaningful look.
This was the Lucas he knew.
Lucas pretended not to see, and chuckled. "I had a friendly exchange with Chthon for a while, which delayed me a bit. Where are Gaea and Atum?"
Ancient One said, "I thought you wouldn't be back so soon, so I let them go back to rest first. After the Sorcerers' Convention ends, we'll visit them again. Anyway, solving Atum's problem doesn't take much more time."
Lucas nodded.
He glanced at the sky outside and said, "Master, then I'll go back to rest first."
"Go, go."
Ancient One waved his hand, a mysterious smile on his lips.
Lucas didn't understand why, but didn't dwell on it.
The older people get, the more children-like they become.
After bidding farewell to the Ancient One, Lucas walked straight towards the guest rooms.
Before long, he returned to the guest room area.
Lucas first passed by Strange's room and found that he was not there. He might have gone to the library or training grounds to tinker with something.
After Strange's room was Gaea's room. The room was brightly lit, and Gaea's murmuring could be heard from time to time.
Lucas had thought Gaea had already left, but he didn't expect she was still here, only having sent Atum back first.
He raised his hand, wanting to knock and go in to comfort Gaea, telling her not to worry about Atum.
Atum's problem might be tricky for many gods. But for Lucas, it was perfectly within his area of expertise.
However, Lucas thought about it and then gave up on that idea.
The day before yesterday, the Ancient One's late-night "secret meeting" with Gaea led to a misunderstanding by the apprentice sorcerer, Madeline.
Lucas didn't want to be misunderstood as well. While it wasn't a big deal, it was still quite awkward.
After that, Lucas again passed by Wanda's room.
Wanda's room was also brightly lit. Not sleeping in the middle of the night, he didn't know what she was troubled by.
Lucas shook his head, walked to his room door, and pushed it open.
He was a person with a regular schedule. Even when he was Sorcerer Spider-Man, he wouldn't be out wandering around in the middle of the night.
Sleep!
Lucas lied down on the bed, pulled up the covers, and immediately fell asleep.
About half an hour after he fell asleep, a shadowy figure stealthily pushed open his door and snuck into the room.
The shadowy figure walked softly and slowly to Lucas's bed. They looked at the sleeping Lucas, took a deep breath, and his chest heaved unsteadily.
Finally, the shadowy figure nodded firmly, seemingly having made some kind of decision.
Lucas hadn't dreamed in a long time. His mental power was too strong. He could easily distinguish reality from dreams, and even control dreams.
But for him, there wasn't much difference between reality and dreams. If he wanted, he could control reality just as he controlled dreams. Therefore, there was even less need to dream.
So, everything before him must not be a dream.
His crisis sense had failed, he had been ambushed and had his lifeline seized.
Lucas looked down at the covers.
The bulging covers couldn't block his gaze. He saw the hair whorl under the covers.
The owner of the hair whorl was his current neighbor.
"Hiss..."
Lucas lightly gasped.
He didn't know who had taught Wanda the "Hawk tuah" technique.
But clearly, she hadn't learned it well. There was a ninety-eight percent chance it was her first time using it. He'd have to sacrifice himself to let her practice more in the future.
But there was something more important right now.
Lucas lightly tapped his finger, and a faint glow silently appeared, enveloping the entire room. The next moment, this room completely disappeared from the space-time of the 616 Universe.
As a master of time management, Lucas always paid attention to protecting his privacy.
Who knows, some old geezer might have a peeping habit.
After that, Lucas continued to feign sleep, letting Wanda have her way. He was feeling a bit conflicted right now and needed to calm down.
He was a good young man with excellent morals, he really didn't want to be a scoundrel. It's just that in this situation, with her holding the handle, he was helpless.
There was much to be said about the night.
The next morning, Wanda woke up early. She tiptoed as she moved Lucas's arm from her chest.
After getting up, she repeated her previous action, moving Lucas's leg away as well. But as soon as she moved Lucas's leg, she found Lucas's arm resting on her waist. Helplessly, she could only move Lucas's arm away again.
At this point, Lucas's leg wrapped around her again.
After several such attempts, Wanda suddenly turned back, her small face flushing crimson.
"Good morning, little Wanda. No, big Wanda." Lucas said with a smile.
He had always known Wanda wasn't small. That was years ago, the second time he saw Wanda.
At that time, he was napping in a rocking chair under a tree in the Kamar-Taj courtyard.
Wanda walked up to him and asked him why he saved her. He looked up, and when his vision was blocked, preventing him from seeing Wanda's expression, he knew.
Lucas reached out and pressed, feeling Wanda's heartbeat, and said affectionately, "It's still early. Rest a little longer, it's not too late to leave when the sun is high."
Wanda softly hummed in response.
She lied back down on the bed, pulling the covers over herself. She wiggled a bit, then snuggled into Lucas's embrace.
"When did you wake up?"
"When you were fumbling."
Lucas rested his chin on Wanda's head, enjoying this moment of tenderness with her.
"Little Wanda, can you hear my heartbeat?"
"Mm."
Wanda nodded, bumping Lucas when she lifted her head.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to."
"If apologies worked, what would we need the police for?"
"Lucas, why did you help me in the first place, and so many times?"
"Because of love."
"Cough, and one more thing."
Lucas lightly coughed, and whispered into Wanda's ear, "Because the Sorcerer Supreme is eager to help others."
"Then Lucas, you must always help me."
...
On the fifth day of the Sorcerers' Convention, Ancient One, Strange, and Strange, the three Sorcerer Supremes, jointly attended.
The three Sorcerer Supremes engaged in intense discussions with the many sorcerers present regarding various difficult and complicated issues in the magical world.
By this time, some of the sorcerers present no longer concealed their intentions and frequently challenged Strange.
Since ancient times, the title of Sorcerer Supreme has been held by the most capable.
Why should Strange directly inherit Ancient One's position?
And this was exactly what Strange had hoped for.
He had long known that many sorcerers in the magical world were dissatisfied with his succession to the title of Sorcerer Supreme.
Previously, when he lacked confidence, he went by the name Doctor Strange, not Sorcerer Supreme.
But today was different from the past, it was time for him to reclaim the title of Sorcerer Supreme.
From today onwards, the world would respectfully address him as Sorcerer Supreme Strange.
"Ancient One, where is sorcerer Lucas? Didn't he return yesterday?" Gaea quietly asked Ancient One.
Strange, standing nearby, perked up his ears.
Neither of them was interested in the struggle for the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth-616.
Ancient One said seriously, "Lucas is busy with a very important matter. This matter is of great significance, a matter of life and death. It will take at least three to five days to complete."
— — —
"Last time?"
"Mm, last time."
...
"Last time?"
"Truly the last time."
...
"I promise, this is really the last time."
"Hehe."
The night passed uneventfully.
The next morning, Lucas got up early to prepare breakfast.
After several days of hard work, he needed to eat something good to replenish his body.
Golden sparks flickered, and a portal opened.
Lucas looked through to the other side of the portal.
Noodles, fried dough sticks, clear tea. The main theme was cheap and practical, with large portions to fill one up.
"How come the Sorcerers of Earth-616 eat so poorly? It seems Red Cloak Strange isn't a competent Sorcerer Supreme, he doesn't even secure any benefits for the sorcerers."
Lucas grumbled disdainfully, then waved his hand to close the portal.
Then he pointed his fingers and drew across the void, opening another portal.
Milk, egg tarts, beef balls, steak, boiled egg…
"The sorcerers' food in Earth-404 is better." Lucas mumbled as he moved the breakfast items over.
In no time, the table was laden with various breakfast dishes.
Lucas nodded with satisfaction at the sight.
It was time for Wanda to witness his culinary skills.
However, after a moment's thought, he removed the milk, replacing them with raw coconut water.
"Little Wanda, wake up and eat breakfast." Lucas walked to the bedside and gently nudged Wanda.
Wanda mumbled a response, then curled up again, clinging to the bed.
"Sigh, I told you to use Chaos Magic to recover your body, but you wouldn't listen."
Lucas shook his head regretfully, got up, moved the dining table to the bedside, and started eating himself. As he ate, he occasionally picked up food and dangled it in front of Wanda.
"Look at this steak. It's cooked perfectly and is fresh and delicious."
Wanda sniffed, then said weakly, "Lucas, help me up."
"Alright."
Lucas used both hands to slowly help Wanda up. Then he helped Wanda to the side to wash up.
Throughout the entire process, Wanda hung on him, barely touching the ground.
Lucas, seeing this, asked with concern, "Wanda, are you alright? Do you want me to use magic to help you recover?"
Wanda rolled her eyes at Lucas.
Don't you know the reason why I am unwilling to use magic to recover?