After all, besides the Ancient One, no one else could stop Dormammu's Dark Dimension from descending now...
"Li Yue, what's going on with the Ancient One?"
Watching the Ancient One's shadow return to the Dark Dimension, everyone present was a bit confused.
Didn't she just come out? Why did she go back in?
Annie couldn't help but come to Li Yue's side and ask curiously.
Meanwhile, Wong and Master Mordo, observing the Eye of Agamotto in Li Yue's hand, seemed to be deep in thought.
The Eye of Agamotto had always been controlled by the Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One, but now she had personally handed it to Li Yue.
Mordo and Wong couldn't help but feel a bad premonition!
"The Ancient One... she's probably going to sacrifice herself to resolve this disaster!"
Mordo's voice suddenly reached everyone's ears, filled with sadness, respect, reluctance, and many other emotions.
For Mordo, the Ancient One was not only his magic mentor but also the guide who led him into the fantastical world of magic.
His respect for the Ancient One was almost bordering on worship.
It was precisely because of this that in the movie, when he learned that the Ancient One maintained her life with dark energy, he felt his worldview collapse and ultimately embarked on the path of a villain.
"What did you say? She's..."
Everyone was instantly shocked upon hearing Mordo's words.
Among them, Tony's shock was the most profound, because from beginning to end, he had always suspected that the woman who had lived for hundreds of years had ulterior motives.
"Sacrifice herself to save the world?"
At this moment, Tony felt that the Iron Man armor on his body was no longer just his toy or a means to show off to others, but a heavy burden weighing on him.
He was no longer the playboy who spent his days in revelry and idleness.
Instead, he was a superhero, Iron Man, whose goal was to protect the world!
"Li Yue, are these the superheroes in your world? They really are different from those in ours!"
Annie said softly, as if asking Li Yue, and also as if talking to herself.
Captain America and Thor, too, felt genuine respect for the Ancient One's actions.
They couldn't help but look towards where the Ancient One's shadow had disappeared, even though there was nothing to be seen there anymore!
..."Everyone, look! Is the dark space in the sky shrinking?"
About a few minutes after the Ancient One's shadow disappeared, a cry of surprise broke everyone's contemplation.
It was Tony's voice!
And everyone's gaze couldn't help but turn towards the sky.
They saw the Dark Dimension in the sky slowly changing, but it wasn't expanding outwards; instead, it was slowly shrinking, as if being forcibly pulled together by some power!
It would probably disappear within a minute.
Of course, currently, they were in a time-paused state, so time had no meaning.
However, for Li Yue and the others, their minds hadn't stopped thinking, so they still had a concept of time.
"It seems the Ancient One has succeeded!"
Watching the Dark Dimension in the sky slowly shrink and fade, Mordo murmured softly.
He was happy that Earth was saved, yet also saddened by the Ancient One's sacrifice.
About a minute passed in the blink of an eye, and everyone was pleasantly surprised to find that, as expected, the Dark Dimension in the sky, which had resembled a gaping maw trying to swallow the entire Earth, had completely vanished, with not a trace of its presence remaining.
The sun reappeared in the sky, and its warm rays dispelled the last vestiges of darkness, re-illuminating the streets of New York!
"What's that? Annie, help me!"
Li Yue also saw the disappearance of the Dark Dimension in the sky, and his eyes could even see a faint shadow above the now normal sky, a shadow Li Yue was very familiar with.
He didn't wait for Annie's reply after speaking to her beside him, and immediately used the method of soul-separation, his soul leaving his body.
His soulless body fell straight to the ground, but fortunately, Annie, with her quick reflexes, managed to catch him!
"Li Yue, what's wrong?"
Annie called out to Li Yue anxiously.
"Madam, you don't need to worry.
He should have separated his soul from his body.
And to separate so urgently, it seems he sensed the Ancient One's aura!"
Mordo understood Li Yue's situation at a glance and comforted Annie.
...And Li Yue, at the moment his soul left his body, felt a pang of regret.
He remembered that in the novels he read before gaining superpowers, it was said that souls should not be exposed to sunlight, otherwise they would be burned by ultraviolet rays, and in severe cases, they would directly turn to ashes and vanish.
However, Li Yue, whose soul was directly exposed to sunlight, didn't feel any burning sensation.
Instead, he felt a very comfortable warmth as the sunlight shone on his soul body!
Li Yue couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and he didn't think too much about what was going on.
He directly floated towards the illusory soul body that greatly resembled the Ancient One.
However, the soul body in the sky, seeing Li Yue floating towards it, didn't stop to wait for Li Yue's arrival but floated directly upwards.
Li Yue didn't know what the Ancient One's soul intended to do, but he had many questions to ask her, so he followed her upwards.
In his soul state, Li Yue followed the Ancient One's soul upwards until they reached outer space.
Only then did the Ancient One stop, turn around, and smile as she waited for Li Yue's arrival.
"Ancient One, why are you here?"
Finally catching up to the Ancient One, Li Yue secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Of course, in his soul state, he didn't need to breathe, so there was no such thing as sighing with relief.
"Look, this is our Earth.
Isn't she beautiful?"
The Ancient One gazed at the azure planet and spoke softly.
"Of course, she's very beautiful!"
At this moment, Li Yue no longer felt impatient.
Standing side by side with the Ancient One, he quietly gazed at the Earth before them, remaining silent for a long time...
"Unknowingly, I have protected her for hundreds of years.
Although I have successfully resolved countless disasters, other calamities always follow.
And my life has already reached its end."
"To continue protecting her, I drew energy from the Dark Dimension to sustain my physical existence.
Now, I have finally fulfilled my mission."
"Taking advantage of you scattering Dormammu's body, Dormammu's control over the Dark Dimension also decreased countless times, allowing me to successfully expel it from Earth.
Although I paid the price of my life for this, it was all worth it!"
"Dormammu has also suffered significant damage this time.
It will be unable to invade Earth again for a very long time.
This time is sufficient for a new Sorcerer Supreme on Earth to grow and take on the important task of protecting the Earth."
"Stephen Strange is the next Sorcerer Supreme, I believe you already know that.
And I am now unable to personally guide his growth, so I hope you can help me guide him!"
"But I'm not very proficient in magic, how should I teach him?"
Li Yue asked the Ancient One helplessly, "You're asking someone who hasn't even graduated from elementary school to be a teacher, isn't that a bit..."
"Strange is one of the most outstanding Sorcerer Supremes we've ever had, both in his study of magic and his application of it, he has his own unique insights."
"So, you only need to successfully lead him onto the path of magic, and the rest will depend on his own efforts."
The Ancient One seemed to have anticipated Li Yue's question and answered him unhurriedly.
"Okay, I agree to your request.
I will lead him onto the path of magic."
Li Yue understood the Ancient One's meaning.
Isn't this the ancient Chinese saying, "The master leads you to the door, but cultivation is up to the individual"?
"My time is running out.
Li Yue, do you have any other questions for me?"
After saying this, the Ancient One finally stopped gazing at Earth, turned to look at Li Yue, and spoke!