When Ronan opened his eyes again, he was back in the incredibly familiar place—right outside Stark Tower, the same spot where he had left this universe.
The recently battle-scarred Stark Tower was now filled with numerous construction workers busy with renovations.
Even though it was already late at night, these workers were still working overtime, which was a rare sight.
Ronan raised an eyebrow.
No doubt about it, Stark Tower is one of the richest entities in the Marvel universe.
They just finished a battle, and now they're already working day and night to rebuild the tower.
Such speed!
However, Ronan only felt a slight pang of envy before finding a quiet spot and opening the Door of Dimensions.
When he appeared again, he was back in Kamar-Taj.
The first person he saw was Wong.
"Hey! Wong!"
"Long time no see!"
Ronan quickly walked over to Wong and gave him a big hug.
Wong, however, was taken aback by the hug.
What's going on?
Instinctively, Wong thought Ronan was up to some trick and trying to set him up.
"Wait, stay away from me."
"Tell me first, what do you want from me?"
Wong extended an arm to keep some distance between them, his face full of suspicion.
When it came to pranks, Ronan never disappointed.
From sticking notes on people's backs when he was younger to teaming up with all of Kamar-Taj to prank Wong, over the years, Wong felt he had endured a lot.
"Am I the type of person who only gets up early for profit?"
Ronan glared at Wong, as if feeling insulted that Wong thought of him that way.
However, Wong remained silent and just stared at Ronan with his eyes.
The more Wong stared, the guiltier Ronan felt.
"Alright, alright, I didn't mean anything by it."
"I just got back from a trip and missed you, that's all."
"But I didn't bring any souvenirs this time, maybe next time."
With that, Ronan didn't wait for Wong's response and quickly headed towards the Sanctum Sanctorum.
After all, once he becomes the Sorcerer Supreme, Wong would still be his most important assistant, so he decided to give Wong a pass for now.
Anyway, it was best to slip away for now.
Watching Ronan jog away, the confusion on Wong's face deepened.
Where could he have traveled in just two days?
Besides, for sorcerers like them, they could travel without even needing plane tickets.
There was hardly anywhere on Earth they hadn't been.
What Wong was thinking, Ronan didn't know, but he had one thought in mind.
He needed to see the Ancient One!
When Ronan pushed open the doors to the Sanctum Sanctorum, the Ancient One was sitting at a table with two cups of hot tea in front of her.
It was clear that the Ancient One knew Ronan had returned.
"You're back?"
The Ancient One smiled as she looked at Ronan entering the room.
Ronan didn't stand on ceremony and sat down opposite her.
"Master, you have no idea how much I've suffered on this trip."
"They all bullied me, even some weird people joined in—they all bullied me."
"I'm just a sixteen-year-old kid!"
"And they treated me like this!"
As soon as he sat down, Ronan started complaining about his experiences.
He even pretended to wipe away tears, his performance worthy of an Oscar—it would move anyone to tears.
Except…
The Ancient One wasn't just anyone.
She merely smiled as she watched Ronan, not saying a word, as if she were watching a show.
Seeing that the Ancient One was unmoved, Ronan wiped away his nonexistent tears and returned to his normal demeanor.
"It seems like you enjoyed your trip."
"Anything you'd like to tell me?"
The Ancient One picked up her tea, inhaling its fragrance, clearly savoring the moment.
Ronan resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
Didn't she already know what happened?
Even if he did change a tiny bit of history, it wasn't a big deal.
The most noteworthy part was dealing with those villains who had caused trouble for a hero like him.
But before that, Ronan had one more thing to do.
"Master, I can skip over the other details, but there's one thing I must do."
"I should return this to you."
"Having it on me made it hard to sleep at night."
Ronan took the Eye of Agamotto off his neck and handed it back to the Ancient One.
Although both the Eye of Agamotto and the Time Stone were incredibly powerful artifacts, each capable of greatly boosting Ronan's combat abilities, he felt they were too much for him.
Even though he didn't want to admit it, Ronan knew the truth.
He was too weak.
If these items were in his possession and were stolen by some unknown enemy, Ronan would be held responsible.
For example, that hooded man or that violent woman.
So, giving them back to the Ancient One was the best choice.
There was also something else Ronan didn't mention.
He had already experienced the power of the Time Stone.
His only evaluation: it was absurdly powerful.
The ability to manipulate time, accelerating or rewinding it at will, was an exhilarating sensation.
But at the same time, it was incredibly dangerous.
Setting aside the potential punishment from time itself, just for Ronan personally, this power wasn't good for him.
If he became dependent on the Time Stone, he'd lose the motivation to improve his own skills.
As much as he hated to admit it, Ronan knew himself well.
He was the type of person who liked to take it easy or, as some might say, was burnt out.
To put it less kindly, he was both greedy and lazy.
If he got used to the Time Stone's power, he would likely waste away.
Ronan knew he didn't have the willpower to resist using the Time Stone.
So, it was better to cut off the temptation entirely.
Without that temptation, there was no need to worry about it.
"What's wrong, is the Stone's power not strong enough?"
The Ancient One took the Eye of Agamotto from Ronan and asked with interest.
"It's strong, incredibly strong."
"After using it once, I fell in love with the feeling."
"But Master, your disciple is, at the end of the day, just a regular human."
"Since I can't control my desires, I'll put the source of that desire where I can't reach it."
"Only then can I sever that desire."
Ronan spoke honestly, without hiding anything.
Over the sixteen years he had spent in Kamar-Taj, he had gotten used to this way of communicating.
Especially with the Ancient One, their relationship was less like that of mother and son or master and disciple, and more like close friends.
Hearing Ronan's response, the Ancient One didn't show any disappointment. Instead, her face lit up with a satisfied smile.
Just as Ronan had said, as long as you're human, you'll have desires.
No one could deny that.
But the ability to control those desires is what distinguishes people from one another.
"Very well, since you've said so, I'll take it back."
"It seems this enjoyable weekend has helped you grow quite a bit."
The Ancient One put the Eye of Agamotto back on, and with a flash of golden light, it disappeared.
It was clear she was very pleased with Ronan.
"Of course, this weekend I went through a lot."
"Master, did you know there was this alien..."
Ronan was about to boast about how he had taken down Ebony Maw in an instant.
He wanted to discuss those two mysterious "villain characters" with the Ancient One.
But then he suddenly realized something didn't add up.
"Wait! Weekend?"
Ronan looked at the Ancient One.
She raised an eyebrow and said, "Yes, two days have already passed."
"While you were gone, several people mentioned that Kamar-Taj was much quieter without you here."
This statement hit Ronan like a bolt from the blue.
Who ratted him out?!
Was it Wong, Mordo, or maybe...
That thought was quickly discarded as Ronan realized something even more ridiculous.
Two days had already passed???
What happened to being transported back to the time I left?
Ronan had already planned out his weekend, so how could it just be gone like that?
The weekend was over, and tomorrow was Monday—back to school.
For a moment, Ronan felt like the sky was falling!
But another voice reminded him that the sky wasn't falling just yet.
Because he still had something even more important he hadn't finished.
"Ahhhhh!!!!"
"I haven't done my homework yet!!!!"
Ronan's wails echoed throughout Kamar-Taj.
"Tony Stark, I'm going to kill you!"
Now, Ronan finally understood why Tony insisted on "seeing him off for the last stretch."
Turns out, this was the reason behind it all!
Watching Ronan's stumbling but hurried departure, the Ancient One couldn't help but laugh.
But moments later, she returned to her serious expression.
She placed her hand on her chest, and the Eye of Agamotto reappeared, with the Time Stone glowing faintly inside.
"Two days..."
"Ronan, it seems all of this is your destiny."
"The future that was altered has indeed come to pass..."