Chapter 3

- The temple that is hidden in front of everyone, and you can get here only by invitation, - I said, having examined the nearby territories. There were many barriers here, most of them protective, but they were also there to hide the presence.

"Take it," the Ancient One handed me a cloak. - I don't want you to embarrass my students with your appearance.

- Hmm, and in truth, it's not beautiful to walk naked - if I remember anything about society, it's the ban on nudity. But in ancient times everything was so simple... The cloak sat down like a cast and completely covered the body. The temple turned out to be a small village, and since it was night now, everyone was either asleep or meditating, as the Ancient One herself said.

- How much time do you need? "What is it?" the girl asked, motioning with her hand for me to follow her.

- A couple of days, regardless of the amount of material. It would be better if you just gave me access to the Internet, so I can find all the information much faster - or even better, several laptops at once so that I can use at least three parallel consciousnesses.

"All right," the Ancient One nodded. - I'll provide everything. I take it you know the languages?

- Otherwise I wouldn't be talking to you - even though I have exactly my language, as I call it, "ancient galactic", but I used it only for the first time. At the first meeting, I chose an approximate language that should be world-famous on Earth, namely English. Although, I could have done it in Chinese, there are one and a half billion of them for a reason...

"That's right," she gravely agreed with me. "You came from another world, I already know that. As well as about your goals. You were also talking about some kind of war, it seems that you wanted to continue that conversation. And I remembered this part, although these memories can generally be called "phantom". This is the first time I've encountered such a force, the force of time, so I'm just building theories about exactly how this amulet works.

- I will not mention how this war was later nicknamed, because no one talked about it. - And I wouldn't even call it a world war, because only three factions participated, and only one God. Although there were two more Dragons there, but they died first, as the most dangerous for the Earth. I then arrived on Earth to rest, but got into a war jam, where everyone suddenly regrouped and agreed on an imaginary world against me alone. Thanks to me, as well as my "death", I will not talk about the seals. I may be honest, but I don't want to talk about my weaknesses, you never know what kind of justice they will find for me. I had already underestimated the enemy once, and for that I paid with imprisonment for four hundred years. - They signed the peace and ended the war. There have been many deaths, I do not dispute, even at my hands. But I thought it was the best option to end the bloodshed.

- A difficult choice, either to let the war end with the destruction of all sides and leave a handful of creatures alive, or to become the main opponent for the sake of survival of the majority, - the Ancient One agreed with me. I was also calculating a lot of moves at the time and took exactly this option.

- The main goal, as it was, and remains, to find what is important to me, but I also wanted to hide for a while. No one was waiting for me in that world except my daughters, but... - the daughters are far from small and not weak. As the Dream said, they didn't need compassion and care, and I wanted to feel more human. Raise them as your own children, and then let them fly out of the nest so that they can understand the world for themselves. It's a pity that it turned out differently. As a result, the children themselves teach me...

- Daughters? - the girl decided not to continue the topic, but to ask about the girls.

- Yes, daughters. In my world, I was the first being, but I was eaten up and even now is being eaten up by loneliness and boredom. Perhaps the universe itself took pity on me then and a Dream appeared, a Red Dragon, and after a while the Ouroboros Dragon of Infinity. I'll never forget what they looked like as soon as they appeared," I said with a sad smile, replaying these memories in my head. - Lost ones... like abandoned kittens in this vast world. Those who know nothing and do not understand. I became a father to them because I passed on a lot of knowledge, but I couldn't give them care and love. They didn't need it. Maybe I was still drawn to humanity in some way, and they never had it-unless, of course, I'm just kidding myself, trying to somehow look and sound as human as possible. You never know what kind of mind twists I have? I rarely show any emotions, I can and can speak, but I do not have these feelings. I lost them a long time ago.

- Because you don't have love and care, - the girl who stopped near some house quietly finished. And I could only chuckle softly, because I was thinking the same thing. - Everything you need will be inside. I'll come back in a couple of days and we'll talk about what's going to happen next.

- Thank you, - nodding in response, I opened the wooden door and went inside the house. Well, it will be interesting. I loved knowledge, but in my time, this knowledge was not enough. I used to consider myself a library, not a creator. Otherwise, why would I need this useless immortality?..

***

While I was looking through huge amounts of information, I was also thinking about my new abilities at the same time. And it didn't come out a little, physically I was incredibly strong, but now... I do not even know if it is possible to measure such a level. I became stronger, faster, and also my mental abilities increased in terms of parallel consciousnesses. I used to use three consciousnesses on a regular basis, but now I can safely use all seven. I have not yet been able to fully conclude the nature of my sudden gain. But everything revolves around the emotions of fear, which I began to feel very clearly. On a regular basis, I view the entire planet at their expense, I can do more, but for this I need to connect additional consciousnesses, which are now going to study. Another problem on my mind... Although, it can greatly help in the study of seals. But later.

- Okay, you got all the information you wanted, right? - exactly two days later, the Ancient One came to me. I was sitting in the house, having received a set of clothes in the form of monastic robes in advance and did not go out, I do not need food, like water, and oxygen too... But, it doesn't matter.

- Not all of it, but most of it.

- Then I'll do it myself. It's too early for us to have at least some kind of trusting relationship, I'm already risking the future too much by communicating with you like this - I still don't understand why it's too early. Is she afraid to act on her own and go the way she should? But it's pointless! Unless, of course, in the future there is someone who could destroy everything and everything here, that even the strongest of the world will not be able to do anything. What if...

- Our future is connected, isn't it? The girl looked at me with a strange look. "I know a lot about the power of time, and I also know that knowing the future is a great curse. To know the immutability of your own decisions, because whatever you do, they will still entail the same consequences. Unless, of course, parallel universes are taken into account... Wait, you're not saying that...

"You shouldn't have realized that," the girl stopped me, because I seemed to get to the point. So she looks at the options from all the parallel universes and chooses the best ones! It's not just the power of time, it's something more.

- Then I have to be in all these options, don't I?

- No. The other you, yes, but it's you, no, the other me... damn, parallel Trig.

"Will he be the death of the world?"

- You were not originally in the history of this universe, so I did not see you in the future, but as soon as you appeared, other options went. After each of our conversations, these options changed, there were so many of them that it was easy to get confused," the Ancient One said, rubbing the carrier. - As for the other you, then yes and no. He will, but I do not know what he will do. You will meet him in the future. But this future will be wrong. You'll understand later.

- But in the end? Will there be a terrible battle?

"Perhaps," she replied vaguely.

- You're going to die, I wanted to say, but it's clear from her eyes that she guessed what I wanted to say. - Find a receiver before it's too late.

- On the contrary, it's too early. He'll come by himself, I won't need to do anything. He hasn't gone through the path of pain and loss yet-doesn't he want to change the course of time? Is this the best attempt?

- Then speed it up.

- You can't play with time the way you or I want it. The best option has been found, and I will stick to it," the Ancient One replied, folding her arms at her chest.

- Do I recognize him? "I have to know something about him, about the Earth Defender's receiver.

- We will have a lot of conversations in the future, even where you don't expect it. And I'm not going to be friendly with you, just accept it. And you'll see him, but later. It's time for you to leave, you've learned and solved too much," opening a ring of fire in front of me, which immediately engulfed me. I could have dodged him, but I decided she was right. Playing with time will not lead to good, just like playing with Fate.

Once I was somewhere in an alley of a city, I heard a lot of sounds, of which there were very few in the temple. The Office would probably appreciate that place. Well, now I need to find ordinary clothes, money and documents. It's easy, in a word...