Li Yue looked at the hooded person in front of him. There was not a single strand of hair on their head. Their figure was slightly thin, and the shape of their face was somewhat androgynous. They held their hands behind their back and had a strange necklace that looked like an eye. They stared at Li Yue.
Information about this person appeared in Li Yue's mind.
Ancient One, also known as the Sorcerer Supreme. She possessed a powerful magical ability and was the guardian of the Time Stone. She had lived for at least 500 years, protecting Earth from the threat of other dimensions, including the biggest threat from the dark dimension, Dormammu, who wanted to devour Earth.
"Hello, Li Yue! I think we need to talk."
Li Yue was beginning to feel weirded out by the silence when Ancient One finally spoke.
"Venerable Ancient One, why are you looking for me?"
Li Yue secretly sighed in relief when he saw Ancient One speaking instead of attacking him. Li Yue really didn't want to go against Ancient One; she was the only person he couldn't run away from.
Ancient One had clearly pulled Li Yue into the Mirror Dimension. He didn't know if his teleportation ability would still work.
"You really do know me. Looks like you know a lot about this universe."
Ancient One's expression remained unchanged, but her tone contained amusement.
"Eh, Mage Ancient One, you should have known that I came from the Multiverse...," Li Yue said with a guilty tone. He did not know if his words could fool Ancient One, the Sorcerer Supreme.
"Your excuses can't fool me. I once traveled through the various multiverses through astral projection. The 616 universe that I know is not as you say," Ancient One interrupted Li Yue and shot down his lies.
"I already knew about your entrance since your first day, but I decided against immediately expelling you. Instead, I opted to observe your movement," Ancient One said casually as if a normal conversation between friends. But her words made Li Yue feel a chill down his spine.
Li Yue did not expect that Ancient One had discovered him the moment he crossed the dimension. If Ancient One wanted to harm him, he would have died many times over.
"I could not see where you came from, why you came here, and why you came to Earth. So I used the Eye of Agamotto to see your future, but the result shocked me. Your future is blank, as if there is no one like you in the universe,"
Ancient One's expression and tone still hadn't changed—but she was suddenly holding a fan.
"Moreover, I discovered that the moment you arrived on Earth, many of the already established futures underwent an unpredictable change. I had the thought of killing you after discovering all of this, but I decided against it."
Li Yue felt anxious at Ancient One's direct approach; one wrong step, and he would've disappeared before knowing why.
"Your ability piqued my interest. After a period of my observation and your anomalous reaction when you touched the Tesseract—that is, the Space Stone, I have a general idea."
"My ability? Venerable Ancient One, do you know what exactly is going on with my ability?" Li Yue hurriedly asked when Ancient One mentioned his ability. He was curious about it as well; he didn't believe that he obtained it by chance just because he had watched a movie.
Li Yue had understood that Ancient One had no intention of attacking him. She would've done it long ago otherwise. There was no need to explain all this to him.
"When I first saw you use your ability, I only thought that it was a basic use of space energy, just like the portal we mages use. However, after thorough observations and after seeing what happened when you came into contact with the Space Stone, I had a general guess. You did not manipulate space energy, but you have touched a trace of the space origin!"
"Space origin? What is that?" Li Yue asked curiously when he heard this name. It seemed to have appeared in a novel from his previous life.
"The origin of space is close to the fundamental law of space. The power of such law is only held by powerful gods, such as Eternity, Death, Destruction... I don't know why such power manifested within your body. If you fully grasp this power, you will be able to freely command all the space energy in the universe, even within the Space Stone and even between universes," as she spoke, many expressions entered Ancient One's face. There was admiration, yearning, and disbelief.
Li Yue, on the other hand, was confused. So he had transmigrated to Marvel's universe because of the power called the origin of space?
"But, Venerable Ancient One, after I obtained this power, I didn't feel any great power. I could only teleport at will. What's going on?" Li Yue asked curiously.
When he crossed through the dimension, he was almost a passive observer. He had no control nor initiative over it. Since he had obtained such great power, why would this be the case?
"That is because you didn't properly cultivate your ability. Just like us mages, you need to properly train and develop your powers before you can control them.
"Alright, today's conversation ends here. If you want to know how to cultivate your ability, you know where to go. I will send someone to instruct you when you get there.
"Let me remind you one last time. Nothing comes without a price."
Ancient One looked at Li Yue as if she wanted to ask something more, but she ended the conversation without giving Li Yue any chance to ask more questions.
Ancient One drew a circle in the air with her right hand, and a circle made of orange energy appeared in front of her. Ancient One waved her right hand, and the yellow circle rushed toward Li Yue. Before Li Yue could react, he had already passed through the circle.
Li Yue looked around and found that he had returned to normal dimensions. He looked at Ancient One again. He could only catch a glimpse as Ancient One walked through another circle of light before it disappeared along with Ancient One.
Li Yue sighed. The portal spell was not as convenient as his teleportation, but it was certainly cooler.
...
Li Yue fell back to his dilemma. He lost all courage to knock on Louise's door.
After some time, Li Yue finally bit the bullet and bravely knocked on the door.
"Li Yue, you are finally back!"
The one who opened the door was Louise. Her face was pleasantly surprised when she saw Li Yue in front of the door. She threw herself into Li Yue's arms, her tears flowing endlessly.
...
After comforting Louise, Li Yue said his apology and explained that he might disappear again from time to time. He told Louise not to worry. Louise was a little reluctant, but she generously expressed her understanding.
Li Yue returned home after seeing Louise. This was the house that Tony bought for him. It wasn't luxurious, but it was definitely above average.
Li Yue thought about what Ancient One had said to him while lying on his bed. He made up his mind to go to Kamar-Taj tomorrow.
Slowly, Li Yue fell asleep. He dreamed that he had returned to Earth and earned endless money with his superpower. There were many beauties around him...
Li Yue, who was asleep, began to drool.