JARVIS, leading the way with Wanda, followed by Riley and Xu Shang-Chi, all moved towards the heart of the temple. Only when they arrived at the entrance of this colossal temple, did they discover that the entire structure was levitating in the air.
Upon entering the temple, the group fell silent. The usually lively Riley dared not speak. Xu Shang-Chi, lacking a tongue, could only communicate with sign language, while Wanda was evidently engulfed by an anxious breakdown, unable to do anything.
As they set foot within the temple, they were astounded by its opulence. Beyond the extensive dim corridors, a lavish hall greeted them with gargantuan Eastern sculptures towering on both sides, their firepits ablaze.
Indeed, in the apocalypse, the vast temple in Central Park, New York, ought to harbor many terrifying secrets. As the evening sunlight filtered through the windows, it should impart a hint of eerie ambiance to the scene. But for reasons unknown, they all felt a surprising sense of ease.
"Dong, dong, dong... "
The chimes echoed, issuing forth an illusion-dispelling divine note within the resonation. Continuing forward from the side corridor of the hall, traversing the antechamber, and entering the temple's courtyard, Jarvis noticed a familiar figure, donned in a lengthy yellow robe, ringing the bell.
"Master Ancient One!" Riley exclaimed.
Having Spider-Man's memories, Riley recognized the former Supreme Magician, having at least seen her photograph at the Holy Sanctuary. Riley wanted to rush forward but hesitated, recalling his raised foot. After all, he couldn't ascertain whether the Ancient One in such a terrifyworld is friend or foe.
The apparition of the Ancient One, emerging from behind the grand bell, startled them all. She was meticulously dressed in the robe. Although her face and scalp were covered in black patterns and her sockets were wholly black, her eyes were particularly vibrant.
The group retreated a few steps, preparing to defend themselves. The Ancient One clasped her hands in acknowledgment and addressed them in a somewhat ethereal tone.
"Don't worry, children, I am from the same universe as you and I am not insane."
Despite her assurance, the group remained alert. The Ancient One sighed, "How's the business of the Holy Sanctuary lately? Who has been the most successful this season? Kang, Shiller, or Loki?"
Confounded, Riley didn't respond. However, Jarvis blinked and said, "She really seems to be the Ancient One from our universe. Except for in our universe, none of the Supreme Magicians from any other universe could possess such an abundant energy. Wanda, can you feel it?"
Stunned, Wanda had already moved closer. The immense energy radiating from the Ancient One attracted Miss Witch. It's in a magician's nature to be drawn to pure energy, and the Scarlet Witch was no exception.
"You must be Xu, right? Zhengxian mentioned you to me before I came here. Could I see your jade pendant?"
Having heard of Zhengxian and the jade pendant, Xu Shang-Chi was already somewhat convinced. He removed the jade pendant from his neck, held it in his hand, and presented it to the Ancient One.
Not that he was not cautious, but the energy inside the pendant had long been depleted. It was now just an ordinary piece of jade, worthless and of no use.
The Ancient One took it for a closer look, returned it to Xu Shang-Chi, and invited them, "Follow me. I guess, you haven't rested for a long time."
As soon as he entered the tea room with the Ancient One, Riley couldn't help but ask, "Master Ancient One, what is happening? I mean, this universe, ourselves, and you."
But Jarvis noticed the critical point in question. He looked into the Ancient One's eyes and asked, "Did all the missing monsters come looking for you?"
"I know you have many questions…" The Ancient One began to pour tea, dragged out her words, and then said in a nostalgic tone:
"This all began a long time ago when I heard a cosmic sound during meditation…"
Accompanied by her deep and solemn voice, the Ancient One's thoughts trailed back to a few months ago.
After Strange formally took over the position of Supreme Magician, the Ancient One went to the Temple of Eternity to pay the price for the power she received from Emperor Mount Wey, that is, helping Eternity manage the cosmos.
The Ancient One didn't mind this job, but Eternity did.
Not long after she started working for Eternity, one day, Eternity summoned her to the Temple and delicately expressed the intention of layoffs.
According to Eternity, the cosmic status quo was changing, and they were no longer under the jurisdiction or assistance of those in the Individual Universe. They had shifted from company employees to individual businesses, and thus, needed to cut back expenses in human resources.
Although the actual words from the two of them were not this blunt, the Ancient One understood Eternity's meaning very clearly. Moreover, she wasn't the only one who received the layoff notice. Many other Ancient Ones from the Individual Universe received the same information: the power they once used was now theirs without any cost, nor did they have to keep working.
This was good news for other Ancient Ones from the Individual Universe. However, it could bring a sense of loneliness to the Ancient One from Shiller's Individual Universe. After all, the Supreme Magician of her world already had a good grasp of mystical and economic studies and didn't require her assistance.
Her body had been enhanced by Emperor Mount Wey, and energy was ample, so she didn't have to worry about sickness, aging, or the revenge-seeking Demon Gods. She was somewhat lonely as a victor.
However, the Ancient One's state of mind was always stable. She did not become arrogant because of this. Instead, she felt that she should utilize her advantages, venture into the depths of the cosmos, and pursue further knowledge and mystery.
Although the Ancient One had not risen above the Individual Universe, she could still maintain contact with Eternity and visit other Individual Universes through the Eternity Temple as a transfer station.
From the moment she was laid off until a few months ago, her life was full of excitement and wonders. Traveling across various universes not only broadened her horizons and enriched her knowledge but also enhanced her mastery over powers.
However, every traveler needs a short rest. After experiencing a journey, the Ancient One decided to return to her own universe for a break, by the way, check out how the mysticism on Earth had developed and if Strange needed her help.
She returned to Kamar-Taj and was surprised to find that the development of the magic side was faster than she had imagined. All kinds of magic devices were developed, and the education system had become more comprehensive.
Because of the emergence of magic wands, more young wizards can learn magic more easily. This also gave the Ancient One a reason to stay. Strange was busy doing business in the Sanctum, and the students expanded by Kamar-Taj needed supervision.
So, during this time, the Ancient One stayed in the Himalayas, correcting Kamar-Taj's textbooks with other Grand Mages focused on education, optimizing the structure of magic wands, and participating in research.
Over the years, the Ancient One has always maintained the habit of meditation, and about a few months ago, she heard a mysterious universe voice again during meditation. The reason to use "again" is because she remembered hearing this voice before.
"Answer me... Answer me..."
"Polaris Star System Lake Hally... Calcosa... The dark sun is already high in the sky..."
"The day when stars return, when the old days come back..."
"The stars return..."
"Go..."
The Ancient One remembered that she had heard the same babbling a few years ago, she vaguely remembered the other party was warning her. But the spreading sound was insensible, The Ancient One was busy at that time and didn't have time to investigate.
But a few years apart, the other party came again. Considering the time concept of this group of demon gods is different from humans, this can be considered a frequent warning. And the content of this sound transmission has changed, did he actually say "the stars have returned"?
Even though the Ancient One is calm most of the time, she still felt a bit of tension. Not out of fear, but now they are no longer barefoot.
The future of Earth and the human race is visibly bright, Kamar-Taj is also thriving, and more importantly, the Ancient One has also found the fun of traveling the universe. She believes that she can pursue a longer lifespan and more knowledge.
People are more prone to paranoia when they have concerns. The Ancient One is not a dawdler, she is quite bold, didn't you provide a specific address? Then she will go and see who is playing ghost for the so-called star return.
In short, the Ancient One is ready to roll up her sleeves and beat people. Regardless of the relationship between this weird demon god who sent out the signal and the so-called group of stars, the Ancient One is ready to punch them over, and if one punch doesn't work, she'll throw a few more, if she can't beat them by herself, then she'll call more of herself.
So, the Ancient One came to the Plough constellation system mentioned in the rumor. The Plough is located in Taurus, also known as Taurus Alpha. (Alpha Tauri, abbreviated as α Tau), is a red giant star 65 light-years away from Earth, and the galaxy where the Plough is located is also known as the Plough constellation system.
65 light-years is far from early humans, but for mages at any time, it is not far. The Ancient One opened a portal to the top of the Plough, and then began to search for suspicious planets in Taurus.
She did not find the so-called Lake Hally and the city of Calcosa, but she found some palace ruins on the surface of a small asteroid. It looked like the spires of a Gothic palace were planted on the surface of the asteroid.
The Ancient One found a very strange coordinate there, the last few positions of the coordinate pointed to the Earth, but the front carried some prefixes that the Ancient One could not understand.
Realizing that something might be wrong, the Ancient One chose the simplest and most effective method, which is to find Eternity.
Upon seeing the coordinates, Eternity immediately told the Ancient One that the prefixes in front of these coordinates actually pointed to the universe, meaning that this coordinate referred to the Earth in another individual universe.
The Ancient One didn't hesitate and directly told Eternity all the things, and also revealed to Eternity that she planned to give a pounding to the culprit and the group of stars, asking Eternity to see if there was any danger.
This move can be said to be directly hitting Huanglong. There is nothing in the multiverse that Eternity doesn't know about. No matter how many conspiracies the black hand behind the scenes have arranged, they can't escape Eternity's eyes.
And Eternity indeed did as the Ancient One wished. He closed his eyes and began to trace the course of the event.
And less than a second later, he opened his eyes. The Ancient One swore that she saw a trace of horror on Eternity's face.
Then, Eternity fluently turns out a lot of essential energy, stuffed the Ancient One's backpack filled, stroked her back to send her, or push her to the Temple gate, and said:
"Go do what you want to do, if the energy is not enough, directly contact me, I am always your solid backing."
"But remember, Ancient One, no matter what happens, never, never, never..."
Eternity used several emphasis words, the Ancient One thought he was going to say some important admonition, so she also became serious and listened carefully.
But Eternity looked at the Ancient One's eyes with a sincere and passionate gaze and said:
"…never say you know me!"