One of the nine Keyword Reset opportunities was used up.
A seven-hued glowing trail, visible only to Kei Yamanaka, vanished into Ancient One's body.
And at some point, a jade-green time energy bracelet had formed around Ancient One's right wrist, powered by the Time Stone housed within the Eye of Agamotto.
Kei Yamanaka saw it but paid it no mind.
After all, this was their first meeting. He was an unknown entity with a mysterious background, his power signature bearing a disturbing resemblance to that of the Dimensional Demon God.
Had he not been cautious...
The Blue Planet would have already been devoured by the Dark Dimension!
On Ancient One's traits interface, the Black-Tier Trait [Origin Curse] flickered several times before fading away.
Standing in place, Ancient One suddenly spat out a mouthful of black blood.
As the dark curse mark disappeared, a surge of pitch-black, cursed blood erupted violently from her orifices!
The replica Sword of Kusanagi previously stabbed in front of Ancient One was instantly engulfed in dark curses and swiftly melted into a pool of black liquid.
Kei couldn't help but feel a sharp jolt of shock.
This thing's power level was absurdly high!
Just moments ago, he had been considering using [Satellite Devourer] to absorb and test its strength.
Good thing he hadn't tried reaching out after all!
Buzz—
Ancient One tightly shut her eyes as her golden-black robe billowed wildly. A White-Rank Skill [Principle Struggle] briefly appeared on her traits interface before disappearing again.
Then, over half of the skill listings on her interface began flickering rapidly.
"Open your dimension. I need a massive amount of energy."
Ancient One traced her left hand across the time loop chain on her right wrist, wearing a calm smile, as if finally finding liberation etched across her pale face.
The burden she carried originated many years ago—from her conflict and battle with her old friend Kalu.
Back then, she had wished to build her homeland into an ideal paradise, but Kalu sought world domination through wizardry.
This ideological clash inevitably led them to oppose each other.
In the end, she exiled Kalu to another realm, but bore a causal curse rooted in origin herself.
At the time, she lacked the power to undo such a curse.
Later, after gaining enough strength through countless dimensional journeys to confront it,
Too much time had elapsed.
Centuries ago, it was Kalu who, having accidentally discovered magic, generously shared its secrets with her when she was still just an ordinary girl—allowing her to become a witch.
Removing the curse meant losing her magical powers and becoming a normal human once more.
But what defense could an ordinary person mount against centuries of relentless time?
That meant the moment she removed the curse, she would turn to dust with no chance at all of altering the outcome!
Even after observing tens of millions of possible futures with the Eye of Agamotto, the best solution she could find was to become a spiritual guardian—continuing to protect this world in another form.
Who could have imagined...
A Dimensional Demon God, something never seen in any of those tens of millions of possibilities,
Could so easily reshape her future!
"All right!"
Kei Yamanaka lifted the spatial restraints of the Limitless Weapon Domain.
Ancient One's hands drew out a complex magical array, crackling with sparks.
The snow-covered peaks beneath their feet transformed into a mirrored plane, twisting rapidly.
Under the enveloping Mirror Dimension,
a massive surge of dark dimensional energy surged violently forward from the void, drawn by her connection to the dark realm!
Within that overwhelming darkness, Ancient One slowly shut her eyes tightly while maintaining the magic array before her, as a blood-red mark of dark energy formed upon her forehead!
Meanwhile in Kei Yamanaka's eyes, skill listings on her Personal Panel began vanishing and fusing together, generating entirely new skill listings!
This transformation continued uninterrupted for nearly a quarter of an hour before finally stabilizing!
...
Name: Ancient One
Occupation: Wizard
Skill Listings: [Divine Chaos Mage (Chromatic)], [Eternal Companion (Chromatic)], [Multiverse Traveler (Golden)], [Sorcerer Supreme (Golden)], [Demon Hunter (Purple)], [Seven-Aperture Crystal Heart? (Purple)], [Magic Disseminator (Blue)], [Benevolent Selflessness (Blue)], [Serene Mind (Blue)], [Strategist Mindset (Blue)], [Sincere Devotion (Green)], [Playful Stubbornness (White)], [Mentor of Mediocrity (Gray)].
...
"Holy crap! System! Quick quick quick! Copy [Divine Chaos Mage]! [Eternal Companion]! [Multiverse Traveler]!"
The moment the skill listings stabilized, Kei Yamanaka didn't hesitate at all — immediately exhausting all three Keyword Copy chances!
One Skill Reset opportunity!
He exchanged one Skill Reset opportunity to copy two chromatic skills and one max-level golden skill.
What a steal!
[Keyword Copy successful. Congratulations, Host! You've obtained chromatic skill 'Divine Chaos Mage', chromatic skill 'Eternal Companion', and golden skill 'Multiverse Traveler'.]
Looking at those three skills waiting to be activated in the system interface,
Kei Yamanaka's lips curled into a grin even broader than Ancient One's when she had attained immortality and immense power!
These... these three skills' value...
Wouldn't they instantly elevate his strength yet another level?
"...I feel Eternity's calling. Seems like I must leave early."
Ancient One spoke with a brighter-than-ever smile laced with helplessness.
She swept her hands in a half-circle arc through the air.
The Eye of Agamotto on her chest blazed brilliant green.
Her head also rapidly turned in various directions, checking every possible future.
"Eternity?"
Kei Yamanaka was momentarily stunned, his gaze fixated on the chromatic skill [Eternal Companion].
He clearly remembered this skill being labeled [Eternal's Beloved] just moments ago.
It only differed by a single word.
But normally, 'Beloved' simply meant someone who admired or favored you!
Whereas 'Companion,' when dealing with powerful beings like gods, usually referred to having special connections, intimate relationships, or being a trusted subordinate.
"The contract with one of the Five Primordial Deities cannot be changed. I must go fulfill its terms now — guarding multiple dimensions across the multiverse."
Ancient One smiled as she ceased her foresight activity.
The Eye of Agamotto over her chest closed simultaneously, sealing off the Time Stone's green glow.
"...White p failed?"
Kei Yamanaka furrowed his brows. He never expected this vividly-colored skill description to mean exactly what it implied.
Even the Ancient One hadn't escaped the consequences of fulfilling her contract.
In the original narrative, the Ancient One not only freely tapped into the power of Dormammu's Dark Dimension but also repeatedly drew upon countless other Old Gods and Dimensional Demon Gods.
Half the spells recorded in the Vishanti Codex involved outer dimensions—meaning they required borrowing strength from those dimension-dwelling deities or demon gods.
And within Kamar-Taj's library, numerous spellbooks followed the same pattern.
Though the costs varied, the Ancient One cast them whenever she wished.
Not even a moment's hesitation about the price!
In the original story, after dying, she simply became a spiritual guardian and hooked up with Eternal.
The cost?
If you've got the nerve, try asking Eternal himself!
Yet this time, because of his sudden interference, the conditions of the contract were instantly fulfilled.
Gao hadn't even prepared—and now she had to fulfill her end immediately.
"A fascinating way to phrase it, though next time try a more elegant expression when speaking with other sorcerers."
The Ancient One approached Kei Yamanaka with a helpless smile.
She removed the necklace hanging from her neck—the Eye of Agamotto suspended upon it—
And before Kei could conceal his surprise, placed it around his neck.
"Me? The Sorcerer Supreme?"
"You will have full access to all the spellbooks in Kamar-Taj. All personnel and resources will answer to you. But I will entrust dimensional incursions to you. And should the day come when you tire of this life, just hand it over to Strange."
As she traced the magical patterns on the Eye of Agamotto, her gaze brimmed with trust and hope for Kei.
All of this came so suddenly—utterly out of the blue.
But perhaps… this was fate!
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