Ancient One was dying.
Her body was melting away.
She had repaid all her debts.
She had reached eternity.
"Finally, what I want… eternal peace."
Ancient One sat cross-legged, slowly closing her eyes, and at the corner of her lips appeared a peaceful smile.
Finally… retired.
Pop—!
But the moment she closed her eyes, a sound came from above her head, as if someone had slapped her.
It undoubtedly disturbed the peace she sought.
"???"
Ancient One suspiciously opened her eyes, but soon realized eternity was fading.
No! It was she who was being torn away from eternity!
"No, no!"
"Stinking boy!"
"Aron, you dare! Are you insane?!" Ancient One burst out, speaking words she had never used before.
This bizarre scene was so unbelievable that even eternity itself seemed stunned.
"No!"
"No!"
Ancient One unwillingly stretched out her hand, but it was useless. She could only watch as the serenity she sought vanished, drifting farther and farther away.
Soon, eternity disappeared.
The peace she sought was lost forever.
Instead, there was only one smiling face in front of her.
"Supreme Sorcerer, are you awake?" Aron grinned, his expression irritating enough to awaken all her frustrations.
"..."
Ancient One took a deep breath.
With effort, she stood up from the ground.
Around her was a green meadow, like a vast savannah.
"Where are we?"
"..."
"This is Earth, Supreme Sorcerer. We've returned."
"If we hadn't, the Dark Dimension would have been destroyed by your sword. There would have been no place left for us." Aron shrugged, answering as if nothing terrible had happened.
"I'm asking you, where exactly?" Ancient One continued, impatiently.
"Oh, the oriental steppe."
"I thought that if you didn't survive, this place would be a good eternal resting place. It has mountains and water." Aron pointed to a rectangular pit dug nearby.
Obviously, it had been prepared in advance.
"Seriously, Supreme Sorcerer."
"If you hadn't come back, I was ready to return to Kamar-Taj and change the Wi-Fi password." Aron said it half-jokingly, but emphasized it enough to make her blood pressure rise.
"..."
"Which password should I change? hhhhgys1, right?"
Ancient One clenched her fists and struggled to resist the urge to hit him.
"Supreme Sorcerer!"
"You also said you can't read minds!"
...
Ancient One's death and resurrection brought both good and bad news. The good news was that, after she died, she repaid all debts and there was no longer any trace of dark energy in her body.
The bad news was that she had lost her power. Now she was almost equal to Wong.
Back in Kamar-Taj.
Ancient One summoned Strange, Wong, and Mordo to her. Aron, of course, stood to the side.
"Supreme Sorcerer, you…"
Wong stared at the Ancient One in shock.
He knew her secrets better than anyone else.
Now, after she had resurrected with the power of the morning star, she looked exactly the same as before.
But Wong clearly felt something had changed.
The energy in her body had become pure.
Before, Ancient One and Aron had a similar problem, their energy was mixed, colorful, and complex, always haunted by shadows of other dimensional powers.
But now…
Within Ancient One, there was only pure, white magic.
"As you can see, something happened to me."
"These things are the result of my own choices… Don't take the blame upon yourself."
"Wong, I know what you want to say, but I am no longer suitable to be the Sorcerer Supreme."
"This is the decision of the Vishanti."
To resign, Ancient One even withdrew from the Vishanti's lineage.
Whether it was true or false, it no longer mattered. From the moment she renounced the name of the Vishanti, no one dared to question it.
The only one who had never feared the Vishanti was Aron, and he didn't care, he knew the decision was true.
After all, Ancient One, as Sorcerer Supreme of the Vishanti line, had made enough mistakes and compromises during her life.
It wasn't even worth listing…
Suffice to say, she had used the powers of darkness for years.
How could the Vishanti explain that to others?
"The new Sorcerer Supreme, I decide…"
Ancient One paused, her gaze sweeping over everyone present.
First, she looked at Aron.
Aron immediately lowered his head, whistling to himself, as if saying: Don't see me, don't see me.
"…"
Ancient One gritted her teeth.
She looked again toward Wong. Wong was silent, slightly bowing his head.
"???"
Strange then raised his eyebrows, completely confused.
What the hell was going on?
There was no rebellion, no war… and yet, why was the Sorcerer Supreme suddenly preparing to give up the title?
Mordo, on the other hand, barely hid his excitement. His hands trembled behind his back as he shouted inwardly: Choose me! Choose me!
"I have decided… Strange will inherit the title of Sorcerer Supreme."
Ancient One spoke the name almost reluctantly, as if forced.
Strange!
Strange had always been her destined successor, but now, when she said it out loud, she felt uneasy.
"Wong, this child is not ready yet. You will temporarily perform the duties of the Sorcerer Supreme."
"Yes… Archmage Ancient One."
Wong nodded.
The title by which they addressed Ancient One changed. She was no longer the Sorcerer Supreme, now she was Archmage.
"Let's go, boy."
After leaving office, Ancient One felt relieved.
She turned and patted Aron on the shoulder.
"Where to?" Aron was stunned.
"Haven't you always said you didn't want to be the guardian of the New York Temple?"
"Alright. Starting today, I'll guard the New York Temple."
A triumphant smile appeared on her face.
You brat stopped my retirement… fine. Now you'll be seeing me every day!
"…"
Aron muttered to himself.
Had this old woman gone mad?
How did saving her life turn out worse than letting her die?
"Whatever. There's something I need to finish in Hell." Aron shook his head and decided not to argue.
Escape, though cowardly, is sometimes the best choice.
"I've had enough."
Without looking back, he teleported away from Kamar-Taj.
There were still many places he could go… let her guard the temple, while he went to Hell.
...
Aron appeared directly in Mephisto's Flaming Hell.
That's right!
He couldn't let this go.
If it weren't for Mephisto, Dormammu would never have appeared.
If Dormammu hadn't appeared, the Ancient One wouldn't have died.
If the Ancient One hadn't died, his power of the Morning Star wouldn't have been spent.
The conclusion was clear…
"Mephisto!"
"Come out!"
Aron forcefully opened the gate of the Flaming Hell.
At the same time, he summoned Hela, who had been exiled to Helheim.
"Darling, it seems Mephisto is no longer here?" Hela looked at him.
First, she worriedly asked what had happened after he had been exiled.
But then she paused.
Soon, she noticed it too…
In the Flaming Hell there was no longer any trace of Mephisto's breath!
–––
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