"Kagura Hitomi—you tricked me!!"
Stephen Strange's voice echoed from the depths of the building, fading into the distance.
"Phew..."
Hands on her hips, Kagura let out a long sigh.
"All done! That takes care of the Ancient One's retirement plan!"
The Ancient One—Earth's current Sorcerer Supreme, the Guardian of Reality and Time.
For centuries, she had protected the Sanctum Sanctorum on Earth, using powerful dimensional sorcery to shield the world from threats like Dormammu, the dark ruler of the Dark Dimension.
From the shadows, she had kept this fragile yet beautiful world safe.
But to maintain her body and power, the Ancient One had crossed a forbidden line:
Drawing power from the very Dark Dimension she protected the Earth against.
Eventually, it would cost her—Dormammu would consume her completely.
Her time as the world's guardian was nearing its end. She needed a worthy successor to take up the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme.
Her former disciple, Kaecilius, once a prodigy with immense potential, had betrayed her.
Seduced by the darkness, he turned to Dormammu and became one of his followers.
With her previous choice lost to corruption, the Ancient One turned her attention to another gifted soul—Stephen Strange.
"Whew! Now that Stephen Strange is delivered safe and sound, training him into the next Sorcerer Supreme is the Ancient One's problem, not mine!"
"Whether he turns out like he did in the MCU or not… well, that's none of my business!"
Kagura muttered to herself.
"Besides, the world is changing. Without being pushed to the edge like in the original timeline, Stephen's journey into dimensional sorcery might turn out completely different."
She gave a big stretch.
"Alright, my job here is done! Time to go home!"
Having mentally gone through her checklist, Kagura realized there was nothing left for her to do in Kamar-Taj. She was ready to head back to New York.
"Yaaaawn… I'm gonna crash the moment I get back. Finally, a proper day off!"
With a carefree turn, the silver-haired girl began walking away.
Her long, silvery-white hair sparkled brilliantly under the sun, casting a breathtaking contrast against the subdued tones of the Nepalese town.
She was like a walking piece of art—so much so that people on the street couldn't help but stare.
'What? Never seen a beautiful girl before?'
Her ego started swelling…
'Vmmmmmm—!'
Just as she was about to take a step, the air around her grew still.
"Hmm?"
Her golden eyes narrowed, alert.
Something was off.
Reality was beginning to distort.
The people vanished. The streets stretched infinitely in all directions.
Mirror images of the buildings multiplied, forming endless clones of the same structures.
The sunlight turned a translucent, glassy hue, bathing the world in a surreal glow.
And then, the city itself began folding in on itself. The distant horizon rose up, twisting like something straight out of Inception.
No doubt about it—this was the Ancient One's doing.
'Seriously?!'
'Hey, Master Ancient One!'
'Strange is your new apprentice, not me! Why are you pulling me into this?!'
'I was on my way back to New York to nap, dammit!'
————————————————————————
The world spun and twisted, space warping like a corkscrew.
And in the blink of an eye, Kagura found herself standing atop that familiar snowy mountain again.
Same classic tea room.
Same majestic snowy vista.
And, sitting calmly as ever, was the Ancient One.
'Sigh…'
'Do all you sorcerers just love bending reality like it's a hobby?'
"Miss Kagura. It's been a while."
The Ancient One finally spoke, seated on the other side of the tea table.
"It's rare for you to come by. You weren't planning to leave without even saying hello, were you?"
"Eheh… I figured you'd be busy."
Kagura flashed an innocent smile.
"You're training your new successor and all, so I thought I'd leave you to it and not be a bother."
"Ouch, that hurts." The Ancient One chuckled.
"I went out of my way to help you, and you can't even drop by to visit? Do you dislike seeing me that much?"
"Of course not!" Kagura quickly waved her hands, then gave a slight bow.
"Well… since this is a rare opportunity, I suppose I should thank you properly. Thank you, Master Ancient One, for helping me get the aid of Asgard and the Dark Elves."
"Now that's more like it. I'll graciously accept your gratitude, little cutie."
The Ancient One smiled again.
"Kagura… I see it's been a while, but from the looks of it, you've started to realize your fate—and your true nature. You've also made your decision, haven't you?"
"Huh?"
Kagura tilted her head. "My fate? My nature? You mean... the Infinity Stones?"
"Exactly."
The Ancient One nodded.
"I used to believe that putting all the eggs in one basket was a terrible risk. And at the time, you weren't ready to face the one who seeks the Stones."
By "eggs," she was referring to the Infinity Stones now residing inside Kagura's body.
And the "seeker"… was none other than the looming threat this world would eventually face:
Thanos.
The Ancient One had clearly discovered long ago that Kagura's energy core was connected to the Infinity Stones.
She must've known that Kagura, bound by this destiny, would inevitably clash with Thanos.
"Yeah… back then, I had a feeling, but I definitely wasn't ready to deal with anything Infinity-Stone-related."
Kagura remembered her last conversation with the Ancient One. At the time, the Infinity Stones had felt like some far-off concept—completely unrelated to her.
"But now… I think I've found a way to help this world survive the coming Infinity War."
"Is that so? I'm glad to hear that."
The Ancient One smiled warmly.
"No matter what your body is made of, no matter where you came from, you have a radiant, kind soul, Kagura. I believe… if it's you, the future seen through the Eye of Agamotto will be filled with light and hope."
"The Eye of Agamotto…"
Kagura whispered to herself.
"So you already knew what I planned to do, huh?"
"Of course," the Ancient One replied with her usual calm.
"Even I occasionally take a peek into the future using the Eye of Agamotto."
The Eye of Agamotto, guarded by the Ancient One and her fellow Masters of the Mystic Arts, was their most sacred artifact—capable of seeing the past and future, and manipulating time itself.
It housed one of the six Infinity Stones:
The Time Stone.
"Kagura," she continued, "when you absorbed the second Infinity Stone—the Reality Stone—your path was set."
"What was once a chaotic future suddenly gained clarity. Even in the Eye of Agamotto, where the haze never truly lifts, a brilliant light finally broke through."
"I've seen what lies ahead for you… but I can't tell you what it is. Just know this—your path is the right one. And you must gather all the Infinity Stones."
"Well, now—that's some good news." Kagura smiled. "Because that's exactly what I was planning to do anyway."
If her body had the ability to store and harness the power of the Infinity Stones, then why not beat Thanos to the punch? Collect all six stones first, and then snap—erase Thanos from existence.
Collect all the Infinity Stones.
Snap Thanos out of the universe.
That's right—this was Phase Four of Rhodes Industries' Global Defense Initiative: the Anti-Thanos Protocol.
Of course, collecting all the Infinity Stones was no easy feat.
These primordial sources of infinite power were scattered across the universe, and each one was nearly impossible to find on its own.
But Kagura was different.
For her, locating the stones wasn't that hard—because she had knowledge of the MCU universe and remembered where each stone would appear.
That was her intelligence advantage.
Taking a moment to review, she went over the whereabouts of each stone:
The Space Stone was sealed within the Tesseract and currently stored in Asgard's vault.
The Power Stone, according to the timeline, had already been secured on Xandar. Unless Thanos arrived early to decimate the planet and the Nova Corps guarding it, that one was safe for now.
(P.S. The events of Guardians of the Galaxy and Vol. 2 happened only three months apart, both in 2014.)
The Reality Stone and Mind Stone were already collected—currently residing within Kagura's body.
The Time Stone was sealed within the Eye of Agamotto, in the Ancient One's possession—Kagura's next target.
As for the Soul Stone…
Before she could think further, the Ancient One suddenly spoke.
"Kagura Hitomi, do you want to know what your core energy really is?"
The question pulled Kagura back to reality.
"The time has come," the Ancient One continued. "It's time you learned the truth I've seen."
"But before that…" The Ancient One's tone softened into a mischievous smile. "You'll have to agree to one thing first."
"What is it?"
"I want you to help me train Stephen Strange—help him become a worthy Sorcerer Supreme. He needs to be prepared to face Dormammu and stop the coming invasion of the Dark Dimension."
The Ancient One's voice grew serious. "Time is running out. Dormammu's threat is drawing closer. If you agree to help us, I will give you the Time Stone once the job is done."
"Ugh—so it's the Time Stone, huh?" Kagura frowned slightly. "That's… one tempting offer. Hard to say no."
The Ancient One smiled. "Right? I don't make people work for free. I like to think this is a fair trade."
"You make a very compelling argument." Kagura nodded slowly.
"But isn't training your successor and stopping Dormammu kind of… the job of a sorcerer? Shouldn't your people be handling that?"
The Ancient One tilted her head slightly.
"The world is changing, Kagura. As I've told you before, this world has already diverged from the one you know. I need your help—truly. The fate of this world is at stake."
She paused, then let out a gentle sigh.
"Kagura… I'll be honest with you. This isn't just a transaction. It's a personal plea. Without your power, I fear our sorcerers alone may not be enough. And if we fail… Dormammu will destroy this world."
Kagura's brows furrowed. "Are you serious?"
"Yes," the Ancient One replied solemnly. "The crisis we face in this world isn't the same as the one in your memories. Without your help, we won't win."
Kagura thought for a moment.
"If that's true… if the world is destroyed, then my peaceful life plan goes up in smoke, too."
She exhaled and crossed her arms. "Alright. Since our interests align—and the stakes are my personal truth and the priceless Time Stone—I'll accept your offer."
"Excellent."
The Ancient One smiled with satisfaction. "You're a wise girl, Kagura. I'm growing more fond of you by the day."
She placed her hands neatly on her lap.
"As promised, I'll now tell you the truth—about your core energy… and your origin."