Ch.13 Cruelty? No, It’s Indifference

At this point, Ronan had already dissected the situation thoroughly. The reason he figured it out so quickly wasn't due to any special insight— it was simply because he knew himself well.

If he had to describe his personality in just a few words, it would be: mind your own business and stay out of trouble.

For someone as lazy— no, cautious— as him, there was no way he would take risks willingly. Ronan understood that in the Marvel Universe, there were far too many powerful beings— always someone stronger, always a bigger world beyond.

The Ancient One had lived as long as she did not just because she could foresee timelines but also because she avoided causing trouble.

She never feared trouble, but she also didn't go looking for it.

Ronan wasn't like Strange, whose curiosity knew no bounds. As Sorcerer Supreme, Strange worried less about otherworldly threats and more about hiding a high schooler's superhero identity.

Whenever Ronan thought of this, he couldn't help but feel the need to mock. It was downright embarrassing for a Sorcerer Supreme.

"Why... Why won't you agree?!"

"Have you always been so cold and heartless from the start?"

"Are you really going to just stand by and watch as countless people—"

"Enough!" Ronan cut off the hooded man's monologue.

This time, the usual playful grin disappeared from Ronan's face.

"I don't want to know what happens in the future, nor do I care what I will become."

"Life brings new surprises— or shocks— every day."

"Whatever the future holds, it has nothing to do with me right now."

For Ronan, that was a hard line. He was fine knowing other people's futures, but he refused to know his own.

Because once you know how your future plays out, what's the point of living each day?

Yes, he was a total hypocrite about this.

But at least he could be honest about that.

"The future... the future..."

"Hahaha, what a joke! You think the future doesn't matter?"

"With that attitude, we lose everything— even our lives!"

"And this is the future you choose?"

The hooded man's anger erupted, and his voice carried a hint of despair, as though the future had mercilessly beaten him down.

Yet Ronan remained unmoved.

"So, you didn't even have a backup plan for me rejecting you?"

"Were you that sure I'd agree?"

"Or was your entire plan to beat me into submission after I said no?"

Ronan crossed his arms, his calm demeanor contrasting sharply with the hooded man's rage.

In the eyes of the hooded man, Ronan's blood must have run cold.

The man froze for a moment, clearly shocked by Ronan's words.

Why would Ronan say such a thing? Did their conversation have anything to do with that?

"Though I don't know how terrible your future is, I'm sure you've heard this phrase before: People are selfish."

"And I wholeheartedly agree."

"You beg me to save your future, and when I refuse, you call me selfish."

"But you never stopped to think that by asking me to save you, you were being selfish too."

Ronan coldly gazed at the hooded man in the distance. His teenage rebellion was kicking in.

If not agreeing made him selfish, then so be it. He was okay with that.

After all, he had already died once. What harm was a little rebellion?

"I'm selfish too?"

"I'm selfish too…"

The hooded man seemed bewildered, his composure shaken. Ronan's words had torn down the noble facade the man had hidden behind.

All that talk about protecting the Earth, all that responsibility of being the Sorcerer Supreme— it was just a ruse to pressure Ronan into agreeing.

In Ronan's eyes, sure, maybe the future would involve an invasion from some cosmic force.

But what did that have to do with him right now?

Sure, they say people who don't worry about the future will soon worry about the present, but if you worry too much about the future, you'll waste the present.

"Forget it. Trying to reason with someone like you is pointless."

"Just think of me as a cold-blooded person."

"No, I am that heartless."

Ronan shook his head, already planning to leave.

Coming here had brought him no benefit, only frustration.

He would've been better off watching Tony Stark and the others try to solve magical problems with science.

"Wait!"

As Ronan prepared to leave, the hooded man called out once again.

Ronan raised an eyebrow, silently asking what the man wanted now.

Did he really want a fight?

"I want to know why you refused me."

"Is it really just because you gain nothing from it?"

The hooded man still seemed unwilling to let go.

Hearing this, Ronan sighed.

"As I thought…"

"Anyone willing to go to such lengths for something has incredible resolve."

"Let me put it this way: the lack of personal benefit is only part of the reason."

Ronan looked at the hooded man and shook his head.

"Do you really think no one ever does anything without gaining something from it?"

The man seemed eager to engage Ronan in some philosophical debate, but Ronan wasn't interested.

"Come on, you're talking to a sixteen-year-old about good and evil, and whether or not people should act without personal gain? Maybe you've got the wrong person."

"Any sane adult, when faced with a situation where there's nothing to gain, will hesitate."

"And most of the time, they'll refuse."

"If you really want to find someone with questionable sanity, go find a doctor named Stephen Strange. He's the Sorcerer Supreme in this world."

"Maybe he'll help you."

Ronan exhaled, clearly growing more frustrated. He didn't even feel like mocking the situation anymore.

"But…"

Before the hooded man could continue, Ronan cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"Let me finish."

"This is just one aspect of it; there's another."

"Maybe you think you can change the future by messing with the timeline and avoiding some tragic fate."

"But have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe…"

"The future version of me who rejected you has already met you before?"

"That he rejected you a long time ago?"

Ronan smiled, subtly stabbing at the man's heart with his words.

But the cutting remarks weren't finished yet.

"Or perhaps… this isn't the first time you've tried."

"Maybe this is the second time, the fifth time, or even the tenth."

"Maybe this is the thousandth or ten-thousandth time."

"Perhaps you've tried every method, every plea, and even succeeded in convincing me…"

"And yet the future remains unchanged."

"Did you ever consider that?"