I'm not sure if it's because Agamotto is too trusting and kind-hearted, or if it's because Kang the Conqueror showed him the horrors of the multiverse war. In any case, Agamotto ultimately chose to sacrifice himself to help Kang establish the Sacred Timeline.
He also asked the next guardian of the Eye of Agamotto to guarantee that they would never disturb the timeline's existence.
Because the multiverse war was truly devastating.
Later on, the Sorcerer Supremes weren't fools and gradually realized that Kang the Conqueror wasn't doing this for peace, but to ensure his own rule.
Every branch of the Sacred Timeline exists to ultimately prevent the emergence of a new Kang the Conqueror.
In other words, everything happening in every timeline is destined to move in one direction. There might be male or female Iron Men, tall or short Captain Americas, but everything they do must follow the predetermined script.
If anything changes, those involved will be completely erased, along with the entire timeline branch.
Now everything makes sense: why the timeline loop stops a thousand years later, just before Kang the Conqueror's emergence.
Those past millennia might be part of some rule needed to maintain the length of the Sacred Timeline loop.
Or perhaps there was a previous resistance that threatened Kang. Either way, Kang created the loop, keeping these thousands of years in an endless cycle within the timeline.
This conclusion is terrifying the more you think about it, especially for Natasha and the Ancient One.
How many times have they been through this timeline loop? Thousands? Tens of thousands? Repeating the same life over and over?
"Something's wrong," the Ancient One suddenly said.
"I don't know how many times this timeline has been looped, and I have no memory of the previous cycles, but this time is different. I see that at some point in the future, there will be a huge change in the timeline, and it will all end with the next Sorcerer Supreme, Stephen Strange!"
"Stephen Strange? You mean the doctor who did my surgery? Isn't the next Sorcerer Supreme supposed to be Blake?" Natasha asked curiously.
"Yes, what I said earlier was all before Blake appeared. But after his appearance, everything changed! I was already curious why the Time Variance Authority didn't come after you. Since you let your girlfriend stay here, I suppose you have nothing to hide."
"You don't belong to this timeline, Blake. Now, we need to have a proper conversation. Let's start with this coffin," the Ancient One said.
Blake sighed in relief. The system and his time travel were his biggest secrets, and he didn't want to tell anyone.
After all, he couldn't just tell them that they were actually characters in movies made in another world, right?
Even though the laws of the world might not work that way, and there might be deeper explanations, it was too much trouble to explain.
But now it seemed that the timeline he had traveled to was the Marvel movie universe, only he might have ended up on the wrong side of the Sacred Timeline.
Luckily, he had the system; otherwise, he might have been stuck in the loop on the other side without knowing how many cycles had passed.
Although he himself might be unaware of it, the feeling of being manipulated was frustrating.
"I've had a dream since I was a kid, that I was living in another world..." Blake began his elaborate story.
He explained the first half of the deceased Blake's life and the origin of the coffin in the form of a dream, of course omitting the parts about the system and time travel, framing it as a tale of perseverance and eventual revenge against a deceitful couple.
"And what about certain things in this world? I know there are some events that haven't happened yet, but you seem to know about them," the Ancient One continued.
"They're just fragments from my dreams, hard to piece together," Blake sighed, pretending to feel regret.
The Ancient One smiled. She knew Blake wasn't telling the whole truth, but for her, this was enough.
"The soul is the most mysterious thing in this world. You may have passed through that loop with your soul, or perhaps you received some information from that timeline in some form. During that process, you saw glimpses of the future or made some judgments about the past!"
"I see. If I hadn't met so many of you, I would have always thought I had delusions!" Blake mentally gave the Ancient One a thumbs-up.
Well, she explained everything clearly on my behalf. Impressive.
"And what about this coffin? I can explain the soul part, but what about the coffin? Why did it end up in this timeline?" Blake continued to ask.
"I don't know," the Ancient One shook her head.
"I've seen the end of history. This coffin was unearthed and viewed as a divine gift by an ancient European civilization. It was passed down through generations and eventually ended up in the hands of a declining noble—the one who sold it at the auction."
"But I suspect that during timeline shifts, there must be people or entities responsible for erasing certain things. Whether it's people or objects, they can't just vanish into thin air; there must be a way to destroy them completely. This coffin might be something that slipped through the cracks!"
Blake nodded in agreement, though not entirely convinced.
The Ancient One's explanation of the time loop seemed reasonable, but Blake decided to go back and investigate the coffin further when he had the chance.
As for the issue of the Time Variance Authority, Blake couldn't provide any answers to the Ancient One because he himself knew nothing about it.
Based on the Ancient One's theory, either the TVA had undergone some changes, or there was something hidden about Blake that even he wasn't aware of.
"I have one last question: Since you've seen the future and chosen your successor, why did you decide to make me the next Sorcerer Supreme when you saw me?" This was Blake's biggest question about the Ancient One.
"Do you remember what I just said? Only the next Sorcerer Supreme can end all of this!"
"I saw this future a long time ago. Stephen Strange is the best Sorcerer Supreme we've ever had. When the Sacred Timeline began to shift, he was the one who ended it all. Unfortunately, by that time, I was already dead!"
"Ever since I received the Eye of Agamotto, I've seen countless versions of my future, all leading to that same outcome. But after you appeared, everything changed. The future began to show endless possibilities, and in most of them, I am still alive!"
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The main plot wasn't that complicated at first, but I made a few tweaks. However, the overall story hasn't changed. Tomorrow, we'll go back to four! By the way, the New York battle plot is about to start! The team is finally coming together, and the world owes the Avengers a favor, don't you think?
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