To be honest, Noah's Ninth Rank strength was something he had only just obtained.
He was still stabilizing it.
At this level, if he encountered a mid-to-late Ninth Rank opponent, he would probably have to activate his domain and use the Space Stone just to escape.
And now, the Ancient One was telling him that he might be able to defeat a Tenth Rank Thanos from another universe?
That sounded like a joke.
But unfortunately, based on Noah's understanding of the Ancient One, she wasn't joking.
She never joked about things like this.
What made it worse was that, for some reason, the Ancient One had started to resemble Odin.
Perhaps it was because both of them had completed divine transformation.
Either way, they had the same habit.
Speaking in riddles.
Leaving the rest for you to figure out.
That made Noah extremely uncomfortable.
Although Noah vaguely guessed that this possibility might be related to the intensity of the universe itself, without a concrete answer, he didn't dare to speculate too much.
But there was one thing he understood very clearly.
He had to be careful.
Extremely careful.
He needed to avoid any unknown variables that might cause him to die there for no reason at all.
Noah valued his life.
Especially now.
He had achieved too much to die inexplicably.
"Since you're ready, let's go."
The Ancient One looked at him and suddenly smiled.
"This trip may take you some time, so prepare yourself mentally, Noah."
"...Hm?"
Noah nodded casually, then immediately felt something was wrong.
"Wait, Teacher. Did you just say it would take some time?"
What was that supposed to mean?
In movies, wasn't this kind of trip always instantaneous?
Even if people spent a long time doing things outside, didn't it only take a second or ten seconds in their original universe?
Why was it different for him?
"Yes. It will take some time."
The Ancient One nodded calmly.
"Because of time flow issues, my mastery is only average. I've only just entered the Eleventh Rank. I can't adjust the time flow between two universes unless I reach the Thirteenth Rank-or higher."
"..."
At that moment, Noah genuinely wanted to say that he wasn't ready.
An undefined trip was completely outside his plans.
According to what he'd imagined, shouldn't he leave and return the same day?
Now who knew how long he'd be gone?
After wandering around for a day over there, when would he come back?
For the first time in a long while, Noah deeply regretted not letting Tony steal-or forcibly take-something from Hank Pym.
At worst, Noah could have stepped in himself.
There might still have been room to maneuver.
Hank was terrified of him anyway. Taking a bit of Pym Particles wouldn't have been a big deal.
But now, there was no room left.
Noah knew that very clearly.
With a sigh, he nodded.
Things had already reached this point.
There was nothing left to hesitate about.
"Teacher," Noah asked after thinking for a moment, "roughly speaking... where will this time be spent? When can I expect to return?"
"Most of the time will be spent on the inter-universal traversal," the Ancient One replied after a brief pause. "Once you arrive, time will be frozen on both sides. No matter what you do there, time here will not change."
"Is that so?"
Noah stroked his chin.
If that was the case, then it was acceptable.
He nodded again.
"Alright. Staying in the cosmic void for that long would've been... unpleasant."
"No."
For once, the Ancient One rolled her eyes.
"For you, it will be an instant. I'm the one who'll be busy."
Noah tilted his head.
Then he understood.
No matter how long he stayed there, time for him would essentially be frozen.
The only one who would truly feel the passage of time was the Ancient One, since she was the one locating the coordinates she had left behind.
Shaking his head, Noah accepted it.
At least he wouldn't have to drift through cosmic turbulence for an unknown length of time.
That would have been a truly miserable experience.
He absolutely didn't want that.
"Then... how do I come back, Teacher?"
Noah felt a little awkward, but this was his final question.
"And who's going with me this time?"
"I'll leave a trace of magic on you. Activate it when you want to return."
The Ancient One had already considered this.
Noah didn't need to worry.
"Two people will accompany you. Thor and Loki."
"Loki?"
Noah tilted his head.
"King Odin agreed? How is that possible?"
"They need a battlefield to temper themselves," the Ancient One said calmly. "And you've chosen one for them. Their emotions are high, so King Odin agreed."
"But what if something happens to them-"
"Nothing will happen. Not to them. Not to you."
The explanation was immediate.
Noah felt a little awkward.
But after a brief thought, he understood why.
Compared to Thor and Loki-who were still somewhat naive-Noah looked more like a sly fox in the eyes of the Ancient One and Odin.
High-ranking mages tended to see things very clearly.
And once they saw through something, they often used the loopholes to do things that weren't exactly nice.
Not that Noah would do something like deliberately injuring Thor to force Odin or the Ancient One to intervene.
But if he had malicious intentions-or even just explained things to Thor and Loki-the situation could easily spiral.
So telling him everything in advance was the best option.
It stopped overthinking.
And let him focus on what needed to be done.
That was the optimal choice.
"Alright," Noah nodded. "I understand now."
"This is a trial."
"A desperate one."
"A clever wizard," the Ancient One smiled. "So, shall we go to Asgard?"
"Of course. But let me leave a message first. Who knows how long I'll be gone."
"Of course," she replied. "Though I estimate it will be about half a year."
-
Banner felt nothing but a splitting headache as he traveled through the Quantum Realm.
The scene he had just witnessed refused to leave his mind.
That faint golden halo that appeared in the sky.
Those scattered yet solemn wizard troops.
More than once, Banner thought-
If his world had possessed beings like that back then, would they really have lost so miserably?
And if you added that destructive giant dragon who still retained clear consciousness...
No.
A wizard.
Perhaps five years ago, they could have defeated Thanos outright.
They wouldn't have had to wait until now.
With a sigh, Banner forced himself to stop thinking.
He knew he had entered a parallel universe.
One completely different from his own.
He didn't know why it happened.
But it had.
In a sense, his mission had failed.
He hadn't obtained the Time Stone.
That seemingly powerful bald female mage had said she would help and send her disciple over.
But honestly, Banner felt she was just placating him.
Unfortunately, he had no alternatives.
She seemed approachable, but there was an unmistakable dominance beneath it.
There were two choices.
But in reality, only one.
Accept.
Or don't.
As for getting more Pym Particles?
A joke.
They didn't exist.
You do as I say.
That was it.
With no other options, Banner could only accept it.
What else could he do?
Just as his mood sank to its lowest point, a bright light suddenly appeared before his eyes.
In the next moment, Banner realized-
He was back.
Back in the real world.
He removed the helmet automatically and looked up.
Tony.
Steve.
And... Scott?
They were standing nearby.
"Hey, Banner," Tony said, rubbing his eye, which was swollen from being punched by another Hulk in another universe. "You know what? I got punched by you. Hard. Where did you go? We couldn't find you anywhere."
"Uh... there was a bit of an accident."
Banner touched his head.
But before he could continue, he noticed Barton kneeling on the ground.
Sobbing.
Everyone froze.
Something was wrong.
Looking around, they immediately realized who was missing.
Natasha.
The woman who had stayed at the Avengers Compound.
Who had truly made it her home.
"Clint..."
Banner's voice trembled.
"Where's Natasha?"
Barton didn't answer.
He lowered his head.
Silence.
In that moment, everyone understood.
Something terrible had happened.
And then-
At the very center of the space-time return point-
A strange, glowing ring suddenly appeared.
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