When Ancient One did not say it was some kind of joke or metaphor, Kakashi was in clear shock after hearing about the incursion. His visible eye was wide. His body felt stiff.
The idea of two entire universes being destroyed was too big to understand quickly.
Seeing Kakashi's shock, the Ancient One spoke in a calm and clear voice.
"An incursion begins after excessive multiverse tampering. When the barriers between realities start to break."
Kakashi listened carefully despite the shock. As she said those words, he realised something important. His own arrival in this reality had affected the barriers. He had come from a completely different reality. That act alone might have weakened something.
He asked in a low voice.
"Me entering this reality awakened this barrier, did it not?"
The Ancient One nodded slowly.
"You entering this reality caused our barrier to weaken. But you are not to blame for this. My battle with Dormammu was the primary reason for that. But even still the reality barriers should have been strong enough to prevent an incursion."
She spoke in a steady tone without any blame in her voice. She wanted Kakashi to understand that his arrival was only a small part of a much larger problem. The real damage was being done by someone else.
She then continued.
"Someone somewhere else noticed the weakening of the reality barrier surrounding our universe and decided to break them in order to try and enter our universe. I do not know what their purpose is. They might be doing it unknowingly or knowingly."
Kakashi thought about those words. Someone was actively trying to destroy the barriers. That person had noticed the weakness and chose to attack it instead of leaving it alone. But who can even see such barriers? He thought only someone well versed in magic could.
The Ancient One added more details.
"My best guess is that they want to leave their universe to enter ours or they want to merge our universes."
She paused for a moment before explaining the worst possibility.
"An incursion happens when two universes collide. For a merging of the universes, instead of one universe being completely destroyed, parts of both universes overlap and people, cities, and even history bleed into each other. Their goal might be to do this."
Kakashi felt a cold feeling in his chest. The idea of two realities smashing together and mixing everything was terrifying. People from one world suddenly appearing in another. Cities overlapping. Histories changing. It would be chaos on a scale he could not imagine.
The Ancient One spoke in a solemn tone.
"But what they do not know is it is more likely that one of the universes or both the universes would be destroyed if the incursion happens."
Kakashi could not believe that two universes or at least one of the universes was going to get destroyed just like that. The words felt too heavy. He had seen villages destroyed. He had seen countries torn apart by war. But entire universes? That was beyond anything he had ever faced.
He was in shock but he still asked in a serious voice.
"Is there any way we can stop this?"
The Ancient One answered without hesitation.
"You can stop this by stopping the people who are trying to weaken the barriers on the other side."
Kakashi frowned. The solution sounded simple but impossible at the same time.
"But how do we find someone who is doing it across an entire universe?" he asked.
The Ancient One looked at him directly.
"I have narrowed it down for you. Whoever is weakening the barriers is doing it from that universe's Earth."
Kakashi processed the information. The threat came from another version of Earth. That made it slightly easier to understand but no less dangerous.
He asked the next logical question.
"And how do we even go to the other reality?"
The Ancient One explained her plan.
"I will use the weakened barrier to send you there. It would take a lot of my energy to do so but with a weakened barrier it might be possible."
Kakashi immediately saw the risk.
"Would that not mean that the barriers would be weakened more?"
The Ancient One nodded.
"Yes but if you manage to stop them that would not matter."
Kakashi thought about the plan. It was dangerous but necessary. He needed more details.
"Why do you want to send me? Not some sorcerers or yourself."
"If I go, I will not have anyone able to cast a spell to return. And whoever is trying to weaken the barriers is going to be strong. My sorcerers would not be able to face them." The Ancient One gave her reason clearly.
"I believe you and some of the Avengers should go in that universe. You would need the Avengers to support you."
Kakashi gave a small sarcastic smile.
"I am sure they would be thrilled to go from a world-ending threat to a universe-ending threat."
The Ancient One smiled back at his dry humour.
"So are you willing to go?" she asked with a smile already knowing his answer.
Kakashi looked at her for a moment. He thought about Earth. He thought about the people he had met here. He thought about the life he had started to build. He could not let two universes be destroyed.
"Do I have a choice? The universe is going to get destroyed. Well, I would have to break out this information to the other Avengers. At least it would be funny to introduce Stark to you and I want to see his reaction when he knows that magic is real."
The Ancient One chuckled softly.
-----Author Notes---------
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