While Tony reminisced with his parents, Ethan and the Ancient One were chatting about magic in the vast underground space.
For Ethan, these casual conversations were incredibly helpful. Many of the theories the Ancient One casually mentioned unintentionally provided him with significant insight.
After all, the Ancient One was a master who had studied magic for a long time. Many things that came as naturally to her as eating and drinking were difficult problems that younger mages like Ethan—who had only studied magic for a short time—had pondered for ages.
Unfortunately, much of the knowledge the Ancient One shared could now only serve as reference.
As Ethan's strength increased, the gap between his training method and the system used by Kamar-Taj mages grew larger. The amount of experience he could directly use was becoming less and less, and much of the content could only broaden his horizons.
"Although the path you've chosen is difficult, if you can persevere, your future achievements will be nearly limitless."
Ethan hadn't deliberately hidden the path he was on: focusing on training his mental power, using that as the core to condense and nurture magic that belonged solely to him. This magic would slowly grow from a spring into a pool, then a stream, a river, a lake, and eventually an ocean of magic.
Besides the fact that this magic was entirely nurtured from within—free of side effects and easily used with just a thought—the Ancient One also keenly sensed that the ocean of magic was not the endpoint.
Once enough magic had accumulated, would he trigger a Big Bang with it, allowing his mental world to infinitely expand and evolve like the real universe?
Or perhaps he would expand the ocean into the size of a planet, then condense new magic planets, ultimately forming a galaxy of countless magic planets?
"I definitely won't choose the first option."
That first path sounded appealing. His strength would instantly leap to a high level, his mental world would directly become a spiritual universe, and the magic infused throughout it by the explosion would gradually take on various forms, enriching the composition of that universe and granting Ethan more abundant and diverse magic.
It would be equivalent to Ethan personally owning the magic of an entire universal space—one that constantly regenerated and grew.
But this approach was too extreme. He couldn't recklessly apply such a purely theoretical concept like the Big Bang to himself.
He felt that if he really tried triggering a Big Bang in his mental world, it wouldn't create a universe. It would more likely blow his soul to pieces.
So he would almost certainly choose the more stable second path: first accumulate enough magic, then gradually let the magic ocean form into a planet. After that, he would strive to turn the planet into a star, then slowly construct new planets, forming a structure similar to a solar system with one star and several planets orbiting it.
Then, little by little, he would increase the number of "stars" until a massive galaxy was formed.
He estimated that once his mental world reached the planetary stage, he could go head-to-head with Thanos.
If the magic planet reached the level of a star, he should be able to suppress even Thanos with the Infinity Gauntlet.
If he went a step further and formed a solar system-like structure—one star plus several planets—he was confident he could easily defeat Thor wielding Stormbreaker.
At that point, his strength would be at least on par with peak Odin-level.
Of course, these were just Ethan's rough estimates. The actual outcome would certainly vary. It was also possible that once he developed his magic planet to the stellar level, he would already have reached Odin's level.
After all, he had no way of measuring his strength precisely at that stage, nor did he know Odin's exact combat power.
As for reaching the distant galaxy level—something like the Milky Way, composed of countless stars—he didn't dare imagine it yet.
And as for truly evolving a universe... if he could reach that level, even he didn't know what state or form that would take. Maybe by then, he could achieve eternal life through magic alone.
However, he faintly realized that with just the magic attributes he currently possessed, no matter how much his magic grew, he still couldn't transform his mental world into a planet.
This wasn't just a question of quantity.
In addition to vast amounts of magic, he also needed high enough quality and the right properties to complete such an evolution. After all, the composition of a planet was incredibly complex.
"It looks like I need to accelerate my research and mastery of various attributes."
Putting other things aside, Ethan felt he first needed to master natural elements from traditional magic systems. Then, he also had to understand and control unique concepts from specific schools—like Aether, Nature, and other energy types.
After all, his ultimate goal was to construct a universe, and a universe includes everything.
"From that perspective, I still have a long road ahead."
"You don't need to worry about lifespan."
"That's true."
Having taken enhancement serum, obtained divinity, and also having knowledge of the Fountain of Life and special magic circles that could gather life force, Ethan didn't need to worry about his lifespan for at least a thousand years.
As his life level continued to rise, his lifespan limit would also increase. This would become a virtuous cycle, and by the time he finished constructing his mental universe, the concept of lifespan might already be meaningless to him.
"A truly bright path."
The Ancient One's path as a mage was the very orthodox one taught by Kamar-Taj.
Tempering the will, mastering mental strength, manipulating special energies that exist in the world, and using unique methods to channel these energies to achieve one's goals.
From this, it could be seen that the magic used by Kamar-Taj mages primarily came from external sources.
Throughout history, every Sorcerer Supreme had drawn the magic they needed from a specific dimension. Only the Ancient One was different—she chose the extremely dangerous Dark Dimension.
At this moment, Ethan suddenly thought of something.
The Ancient One had already decided to cut ties with the Dark Dimension. So after she was reborn, even though she wouldn't need to worry about being corrupted by dark power, she would also lose her formidable strength.
"After you're reborn, how do you plan to regain your power?"
"I just want to be a happy, ordinary mage."
She could never reconnect with the Dark Dimension. Though with her vast experience and unchanged soul, she could easily reestablish that link.
But if she did, Dormammu would realize he had been fooled and would certainly make trouble for her.
Finding a new power source was no simple matter either. Most mages in Kamar-Taj couldn't find an alternate dimension rich enough in magic to serve as their magic source. The few who could basically became Sorcerer Supremes—and even then, they usually had only one such magic source until the end of their lives.
If the Ancient One had found a magic source that could rival the Dark Dimension back then, she wouldn't have risked tapping into the Dark Dimension for all those years.
"Someone who has stood at the peak can't settle for an ordinary life."
Ethan believed in the Ancient One's character. He didn't think she would do anything bad just because she had 'returned to the mundane world.' However, he also didn't believe she could truly be a 'happy' ordinary mage—because she wouldn't be happy.
"As for magic sources, I do know a few. You can try them later."
He had access to powers like Holy Light and Arcane energy. Although he didn't know how compatible the Ancient One would be with them, with her capabilities, she could forcibly wield them if necessary.
"Then I'll thank you in advance."
The Ancient One didn't decline out of politeness. She knew Ethan was right—someone who had once stood at the summit couldn't possibly be content with being ordinary. Even if she couldn't tap the Dark Dimension again, she hadn't given up on growing stronger. She'd even considered taking the path Ethan was currently on.
Though the path wasn't easy, the Ancient One had full confidence in her talent and comprehension. She believed that with enough time, she could also achieve remarkable results.
Of course, she wasn't planning to ask Ethan for his methods. Instead, she intended to explore the path herself based on what she'd seen.
She believed that if she asked, Ethan wouldn't refuse. But as a mage revered across the multiverse, the Ancient One felt too embarrassed to ask for help.
Unknowingly, quite a bit of time had passed. After chatting with Ethan for a while longer, the Ancient One left.
Her goal in meeting Ethan today had been achieved. Next, she would begin making arrangements for her successor, and at the same time, she needed to think seriously about how to train Tony Stark into an outstanding mage.
Not long after the Ancient One left, Tony finally came out of the room.
Ethan saw that Tony's eyes were red. He must have cried earlier. However, Ethan didn't make a sarcastic remark this time. He simply asked calmly:
"Finished reminiscing?"
"My father has some things he wants to ask you."
Ethan nodded. He figured that after Howard understood the situation, he would definitely want to talk to him. That was why he had been waiting here. The only uncertainty was how long the family reunion would last. If it dragged on all day and night, and he just waited here awkwardly, it would be a bit silly.
Fortunately, Howard had a clear mind. After understanding everything, he immediately sent Tony out to find Ethan.
When Ethan returned to the room, he saw the Stark couple again. This time, Howard Stark greeted him warmly, immediately stepping forward and giving him a hug.
"Thank you so much for everything you've done for Tony."
It had to be said—compared to Tony, Howard was not only a top-tier inventor but also far better at social interactions.
"You're welcome. Tony's helped me quite a bit too."
With just these two sentences, both sides felt a deeper connection. It laid the foundation for the conversation to come.
(To be continued.)