After Adam had launched the Anvil-II ASM which slammed into Malekith, he had used the Mind Gem, to make Malekith believe that the Aether was calling out for him. Adam knew the missile wouldn't be able to kill Malekith, he wasn't your average Dark Elf, he was strong enough to wield an infinity stone without the Power Stone for years.
Malekith wasn't the main target, his army was, but Adam knew that it would also distract Malekith, allowing Adam to use the mind stone to implant the location he wanted Malekith to come to without him knowing it was a trick.
Adam was unsure and not overly confident in his ability to use the gems in his possession, he would need time and practice. Adam knew he needed to get around his own stigma of using the Mind Gem, he wasn't one to enjoy mind control, he himself was almost subjected to such things. Or at least his body was, he had seen the original programming that was meant for his body, he was highly thankful that it never uploaded.
Seeing that it worked, Adam quickly left, he knew Frigga's fate would be changed now that Malekith wouldn't continue his assault further. Malekith had killed Frigga to hurt Odin and Thor the most, he killed her after the Aether was kept from him, so this was why Adam had to ensure Malekith didn't meet up with Frigga.
After gaining some distance from Asgard, Adam used the Space Gem to teleport the Prometheus back to Midgard, just as he appeared he had a bad feeling that began to creep into his mind. A feeling of danger, but not of an immediate one, but one that was nearer than he would like.
Using the Space, Mind and Power Gem's together, Adam began to search for the danger, Adams mind was flooded with information. He was almost lost completely in the realm he now found himself in, no longer was he on his ship, his mind was everywhere at once, the thoughts and voices of every living being flooded his mind.
It was like being in a crowded subway station, the crowd being rowdy and loud, creating a noisy and chaotic mess, making it hard to focus. Adam held firm, ignoring the pain from the overload to his senses and tried his best to gain control, to focus on what he wanted.
Among the shouts and screams, people who was near death was the loudest within the realm Adam found himself in, the mind was strongest near death for most individuals, it struggled to live, so this made it difficult to control the flow of information.
Soon Adam felt a clue, over the multitude of sounds and cries, he heard whispers, whispers of darkness and death, he focused on those whispers. As he focused, the scenery around Adam began to shift and move, images that represented the many minds that surrounded Adam began to shift and swirl.
The chaotic jumble of various voices and shouts soon faded, replaced by a cryptic chant, one that sent chills down Adam's spine as he heard the ceremony that was being carried out.
Six dark figures stood hidden within a place near his position, closer than he liked, as Adam focused more on the area he slowly recognized the area as being within the mirror dimension. This explained how they were able to be close and not be detected by his ship or other sensors.
The figures were shadows, covered in dark hooded cloaks, they stood in a circle, five of the figures surrounding one in the middle, they chanted and used magic to draw symbols upon the ground. As the chant continued, all the hairs on Adams body stood up, he recognized the power they were trying to utilize as the Darkhold.
Adam's eye narrowed at this realization, then the Gems did something unexpected, unknown to Adam the other Gems, especially the Space Gem, called to the Time Stone, Space and Time Gem are intricately connected to one another, and used their connection to each other to show Adam what the Ancient One had seen, the Mind Gem wasn't able to fully show within Ancient One's mind since she herself was extremely powerful, however it was able to pull something specific and something shown directly by the stone.
The vision soon played within his mind, the same seen by the Ancient One, but unlike the Ancient One, Adam didn't get flustered. Even though Ancient One also knew, same as Adam, that the future is always in motion, ever changing, you must remember, since Adam's arrival the timeline has been in a constant state of flux.
So she has been under pressure, from not only the activities of beings such as Dormammu and Mephisto, but also the attacks and changes that Kang was making. She was a little upset with Adam, she knew he was the cause, by the time she had decided to step in and warn Adam of the dangers he was bringing about, it was already too late.
So she had been focusing mostly on minimizing Kang's intervention, she knew she couldn't stop Kang's actions in merging universes, but what she could do was help the mergers along, since it would reduce the chaos that could be caused had she not integrated these universes into their own.
Adam saw this more for what it was, an intersection event, an event with multiple outcomes, even as he watched and witnessed Yelena sacrifice herself, although it did anger him to see, he kept his mind clear, focused on the task at hand.
As Adam did this, his connection and ability to utilize the gems increased rapidly, thanks to his increased intelligence and processing speed of his brain, he was able to learn extremely fast.
Seeing himself destroy Kamar-Taj actually brought a smile to his face, not because he really wished to do so, but because he now knew he could. The Time Stone was definitely within reach, he was hesitant before because he was unsure of himself in being able to win.
Ancient One was not a simple person, just because Adam had more stones than her meant nothing, she was wise and experienced. Adam knew Thanos felt the same. Even though Thanos had possession of the Mind Stone, he still waited till her death before launching an attack himself, he even gave Loki the stone and sent him over.
So just having a stone or two didn't mean absolute victory, but now he knew if he really wanted, he could win, and seeing it play out he had inspiration on how he did it.
'Could this be considered self taught I wonder.' Adam thought to himself as images flooded his mind, he was able to wade through the ocean of minds better and better. He saw Ancient One and Mordo searching for the person cloaked in darkness.
Suddenly, Ancient One stopped what she was doing and looked directly at Adam, the Eye of Agamotto began to glow with a faint green light.
This stunned Adam at first, but then he had quickly realized just who it was before him, so that surprise quickly faded, remaining calm he eyed Ancient One and recognized her from the movie.
"Hello Adam, we finally meet. Although I am a little surprised by your appearance now, I have been looking forward to our talk for some time now." Ancient One said as she placed her hands behind her back and stepped out from the magical device her and Mordo were using to locate Kaecilius.
Adam looked at her and noticed that Ancient One had left her physical body, it continued to search as her astral project moved towards Adam.
"I see your trying to do your best to stop the calamity you witnessed using the stone that hangs on your neck. Always trying to interfere with events, wanting it to lead to one end, your end. I'm curious, you want to die and yet, you are actively looking for this figure," Adam, with a thought, used the Reality Gem to display the shadowy figures and what they were doing, "to stop the event it could possibly lead to. Why?" Adam asked curiously. He knew she had every event lead directly to her death in the movie, she too had tired of her long life. Her true name long forgotten.
Ancient One shook her head, and pondered a bit on Adam's words before answering, as she gazed at the five shadowy figures and saw the figure in the middle holding a large dark book as he was reading a passage in the book.
"You seem to know more about me than I had originally imagined, which of the universes do you originate from I wonder. I have watched you since your arrival, I imagine my disciple wishes to prove something to me in his actions, as you said, I accepted my fate but that time hasn't yet arrived so I must do what I can." Ancient One responded with a shrug.
"Stephen Strange? So you still plan to pass the mantle to that pompous prick? You do realize just what kind of person you are passing the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme too right?" Adam asked her seriously.
Adam knew Stephen Strange, better known as Doctor Strange, was one of the more powerful of all the Sorcerer Supremes. There have been many who have taken up that mantle, Iron-Man, Spiderman even Doctor Doom. Surprisingly though most versions of Doctor Strange are actually bad guys, his hubris and god mentality usually won out, giving him the impression he was unbeatable, so he delved into dark magics.
As shown in the Multiverse of Madness movie, almost every Doctor Strange, if not outright evil or bad, he still endangered the universes they were in by his experimenting with magics, even though he had been warned not to do so by many. Doctor Strange and Reed Richards were like two peas in a pod, they were usually the cause of the danger they had to save the world from.
Like a firefighter who set the fire to the building he would later save, Reed Richards, better known as Mr Fantastic and leader of the Fantastic Four, had inadvertently summoned Galactus to Earth and had to save it from being eaten. Another time he created a clone of Thor during the Civil War, which turned out a bad idea since it was mentally unstable and ended up killing Bill Foster, aka Goliath, during the Civil War event in the comics.
Stephen Strange was much the same, using spells and effecting time in ways that he shouldn't, doing so just because he could. Adam was not a big fan of either men, he felt them villains in disguise, though not purposely but they still allowed their search for knowledge and science to endanger others around them repeatedly.
"Ah, yes well, this one is different from his other versions. I have seen it." Ancient One responded lightly, she knew some of what Adam spoke of since she knew of the multiverse as well. "So have you come just to speak? You obviously know of Kaecilius' plan, you don't think myself involved since you know from the stones you carry." Ancient One motioned to Adams chest, the four gems glowing in unison as they fed power into Adam's suit.
"You would be correct, had I seen only his and my deaths I probably wouldn't have made this attempt to stop him. I would've rather set things into motion for Strange to still receive the legacy, but after seeing what would transpire, that is something I can't allow to happen. Kamar-Taj and the Sanctums must remain. You know this, yet you still destroyed it. Why I wonder?" Ancient One asked a question of her own, she had deduced Adam knew about the protection they provided.
"You have something I want. I just didn't have a reason to come get it before, at least not one that would immediately label me the bad guy. Now my question is... Will you hand it over willingly?" Adam asked as he stared into her eyes, any previous apprehension was gone. His blood boiled for conflict, he welcomed it.
"You mustn't collect the stones all together Adam, I will only hand it over if you swear an oath not to seek the last stone." Ancient One said with a serious expression.
This was a surprise to Adam, he began to think on her words, he knew Thanos collected them all so he couldn't imagine what she was saying. Ancient One patiently waited for Adam to deduce what she was warning him of, she was testing his knowledge, trying to find out where he truly came from.
She was feeling even the Time Stone reacting in ways she had never seen, it intrigued her. She has been living a long boring life, she had learned much and had a lot of knowledge, finding something new was refreshing.
Adam pondered for a few moments then he remembered something from the comics, "Nemesis... The Seventh Stone... Ego Gem... That's not possible, Thanos gathered the stones and it didn't appear. I'm calling bullshit."
The Ego Gem, white in color, contained the consciousness of the cosmic entity known as Nemesis, when all stones united, the Ego gem would appear, she would be awakened once more.
"Yes, normally SHE wouldn't have. Be careful saying her name Adam, names have power, if the being you speak of is powerful enough, you can draw their attention, especially now with you being in possession of four of the gems. You have done something to the gems, they are not what they once were, even now the Time Stone is changing, even with it not in your possession." Ancient One explained as she took a seat on a stone bench, patting the area beside her, motioning Adam to take a seat.
They had much to discuss.