Ronan was surprised by how things developed.
The Ancient One chose to leave Kamar-Taj, entrusting Mordo and Wong with overseeing it for two weeks, and took Ronan to a remote, unfamiliar place.
The walls of the cave they arrived at were covered in numerous murals.
Yes, there were many murals.
But most of them were simple stick figures, and Ronan realized he needed someone to explain their meaning.
After all, in all those adventure movies, the main characters always had a guide to explain mysterious things and relate them to science.
They always had to force everything, no matter how mystical, to be explained scientifically.
"This place is where the first Sorcerer Supreme, Agamotto, once practiced."
"These murals depict Agamotto's first experience of feeling the mystical forces, his transformation from an ordinary person to a sorcerer."
The Ancient One led Ronan past the earlier sections of the murals.
She finally stopped in front of the largest mural.
Ronan looked closely at the mural before him, recognizing some familiar elements.
In the mural, a man dressed in what looked like Kamar-Taj robes stood with his hands raised toward the sky, forming what appeared to be the basic spell of Kamar-Taj, the Shields of the Seraphim.
Although only a circle was drawn, Ronan immediately thought of that spell.
Above the man's head were several short lines, seemingly representing beams of light.
On either side of the figure were two pillars.
The man also appeared to have something hanging on his chest—upon closer inspection, it vaguely resembled the Eye of Agamotto.
But what caught Ronan's attention the most were the six circular objects drawn at the very top of the mural.
On the far left of the mural, there was a hand with six similarly sized empty slots.
Each finger had a slot, and there was one more in the center of the hand's back.
No doubt about it—that was an Infinity Gauntlet!
So, when looking at the mural as a whole, the six circles at the top must represent the six Infinity Stones, right?
Was the person depicted here Agamotto?
Wait, what?
Did Agamotto have an Infinity Gauntlet back in his day?
"Teacher, is this the founder of our order?"
Ronan pointed at the glowing figure—oh wait, the figure with glowing lines on its head—and asked.
If this was Agamotto, then this guy must have been unbelievably powerful.
From what the mural suggested, this person had wielded all six Infinity Stones.
And possibly even the Infinity Gauntlet?
Had he changed something significant in the universe?
However, the Ancient One looked at Ronan and silently shook her head.
"This isn't a depiction of Agamotto. The last time I saw this mural, it didn't look like this."
The Ancient One's words shocked Ronan.
What?
A mural that could change?
How had he never heard of something like this before?
"Ronan, do you know the origin of the Infinity Stones?"
The Ancient One gazed at the mural, her thoughts seeming to drift far away.
Ronan nodded. The origin of the six Infinity Stones was recorded in books.
One of those books was in Kamar-Taj's library, though most sorcerers couldn't access it.
Ronan had only been allowed to read it last year.
"At the beginning of the universe, there was nothingness."
"The Big Bang scattered six elemental crystals across the newly formed universe. These are what we now call the Infinity Stones."
"Each stone controls a fundamental aspect of existence."
"Space, Reality, Power, Soul, Mind…"
"And the Time Stone, which Kamar-Taj has protected for generations."
Ronan's theoretical knowledge was solid—he found this far more interesting than regular textbook material.
Many of these stories could be listened to as if they were myths.
"Yes, that's the origin of the Infinity Stones."
"But what if I told you that this is just one version of the story?"
"Or rather, what we've recorded is the perspective that most people agree on."
"There's another version, less widely accepted."
The Ancient One gently ran her hand over the mural, and, to Ronan's surprise, the once dull stone began to emit a faint glow.
Wait, what? A touch-sensitive screen?
Ronan watched in disbelief as the Ancient One dragged one of the Infinity Stones from the top of the mural and placed it on the Infinity Gauntlet depicted on the far left.
What???
What kind of operation was this?
Ronan's mind was flooded with questions—he couldn't understand what he was seeing.
Touch to activate, then drag to unlock?
How advanced were these ancient stone murals?
A millennia-old artifact manufactured last month?
The reason Ronan thought the Ancient One's action resembled unlocking a phone screen was because, after the stone was placed into the gauntlet, the mural itself began to move.
It was as if the mural had transformed from a static JPG to an animated GIF.
It even looked like it was evolving into a short video clip.
This was either magic or insanity!
"Some have speculated that the six Infinity Stones exist outside of time."
"Take the Space Stone in your hand, for example. Now that it's yours, even if someone were to travel back in time to try and steal it from you…"
"They would discover that the Space Stone no longer exists in that timeline."
The Ancient One spoke softly as she watched the shifting mural.
In the animation, the figure seemed to be fighting against the remaining five Infinity Stones.
No one knew why.
"That doesn't make sense, though."
"Teacher, you know I visited the primary universe once, and they borrowed Infinity Stones from the past."
Ronan frowned, remembering one event vividly.
Steve Rogers had been tasked with returning the five other stones, but in the end, he didn't come back.
He chose to stay in the past and live out his life with Peggy Carter, fulfilling his promise.
Ultimately, when he returned to hand over the shield, it was as an old man—Steve Rogers in his elderly form.
"Are you sure they borrowed the stones from the past?"
"If they merely traveled along the timeline, why did they end up in our universe?"
The Ancient One smiled knowingly at Ronan, posing a crucial question.
Ronan stood there, momentarily stunned.
That's right. If they traveled through time, why did they end up here, in this universe?
But he had seen old Steve Rogers with his own eyes.
Something about the two explanations didn't quite add up.
Or, perhaps, when they went back to retrieve the Space Stone, Time Stone, and Mind Stone, something went wrong, causing them to cross into a parallel universe?
Ronan's brain felt like mush as he tried to piece it all together.