Chapter 301: The Black Strange Universe
"Please!"
The black mage did not answer George's question; he simply smiled and stepped aside.
He didn't know who George was, but since Master Ancient One had instructed him to receive someone at the door, he naturally followed her instructions.
As for George's question, since the Ancient One had given no explanation, he figured it best not to answer beyond his expertise.
"Thank you. What's your name, Master?"
George didn't expect any real answer from the black mage and walked into the sanctuary, following him toward the guest parlor.
This New York Sanctuary evidently employed magic similar to his Traceless Extension Charm, though not as exaggerated. The interior felt three to four times larger than the actual size of the villa.
The decorations inside were quite antique, with various ornaments and hanging decorations that gave off a mysterious aura.
Some of the hangings emitted clear magical fluctuations, likely indicating magical artifacts with special functions.
"You may call me Master Mordo."
The black mage led the way, smiling.
Upon reaching the parlor, a bald middle-aged female mage in white robes appeared before George. She was brewing tea and, upon seeing George enter, offered a gentle smile.
"This is the Sorcerer Supreme."
The black mage introduced her to George and then exited the room.
"Master George, please have a seat. Tea?"
The Ancient One gestured to the seat in front of her and poured George a cup of tea.
George sat down and picked up the teacup.
"Thank you."
"I know why you've come to see me. I can agree to your request, but under one condition."
The Ancient One didn't beat around the bush—her speech was simple and direct.
She had been observing George for some time and had seen many possible futures. She understood George's character.
A straightforward conversation like this was probably the most suitable.
George set down his cup without answering immediately. He realized that ever since he decided to seek out the Ancient One to study time magic, she had held all the initiative.
But a few seconds later, he smiled.
"I need to know what the condition is first."
Who held the initiative wasn't important—what mattered was whether the outcome of the deal would satisfy him.
If the deal pleased him, he didn't care who had the upper hand.
In fact, before coming here, he should have expected this. Facing someone who mastered time magic, who possessed the Time Stone and could glimpse the future, it was impossible to gain the upper hand.
"People often say the future is unpredictable, ever-changing. But in truth, the moment our world came into existence, all stories were already set along the river of time.
Any accident or deviation will be corrected, eventually returning to the original path.
But that was in the past. Things are different now.
Someone sacrificed himself so that the stories of every universe would no longer be fixed, opening up new possibilities for development."
The Ancient One gently sipped her tea, looked at George, and said:
"My successor, the next Sorcerer Supreme—his name is Stephen Strange. You've met him.
Originally, in this universe, there was a fixed node of fate for him. If his path continued according to that node, something very bad would happen.
I don't want to see that outcome. I want to change it.
And you… you're the person I've seen with the greatest potential for change. If you're willing, maybe you can change that fate."
Upon hearing the Ancient One's words, George stiffened, his brain operating at full speed as he recalled everything he knew from his previous life about the Marvel universe. Then, his eyes widened in shock.
"So that's how it is!"
He had always wondered why, as a transmigrator who had changed so many things, the Time Variance Authority had never shown up to correct him.
Turns out, by now, the Loki in the parallel timeline of the cinematic universe had already defeated the Conqueror Kang within the TVA and become the God of Stories.
And now, he finally had a good idea of which universe he was actually in.
Based on what the Ancient One said, he guessed that this universe was most likely the one that was destroyed by the Black Strange.
In that universe, during the year 2016, Stephen Strange didn't lose the use of his hands in a car accident. Instead, it was his girlfriend Christine who died in the accident.
After defeating Dormammu and obtaining the power of the Time Stone, he got the idea of using it to go back and rewrite Christine's death—and he tried.
But no matter how many times he changed things, Christine's death could not be avoided.
Because it was precisely her death that led him to Kamar-Taj to seek out the Ancient One, eventually becoming the Sorcerer Supreme and gaining the power of the Time Stone.
If he had saved her, he would never have gone to Kamar-Taj, never become the Sorcerer Supreme, and never gained the Time Stone's power to go back and save her.
So Christine's death was his fate node—the fixed event that caused him to become the Sorcerer Supreme. It was an unchangeable past.
But Black Strange refused to give up. He went to the Lost Library of Cagliostro and found a way to break through that fate node.
That method involved defeating and absorbing monsters summoned from various dimensions— even dimensional demon gods—gaining terrifying power beyond a single universe.
In the end, he did gain multiversal-level power and forcibly altered that fate node—but at the cost of the universe collapsing.
"If I agree, what do you want me to do?"
"I won't ask you to do anything. The moment you agree, the change begins. That alone creates the possibility for a better outcome."
The Ancient One smiled as she spoke.
George was the person she had seen with the most possible futures. Every time she looked again, those possibilities multiplied. Even the universe's future, affected by him, was growing with more and more potential.
Although the universe was no longer constrained in its development, fate nodes were not something just anyone could influence—especially when it concerned the fate of key figures in the universe.
Only someone as special as George might succeed.
"Alright. In that case, I agree."
George didn't hesitate—he nodded.
If this really was the Black Strange's universe, even without the Ancient One guiding him in time magic, he would've found a way to intervene after learning the truth.
He wouldn't let Black Strange destroy the entire universe.
He understood what the Ancient One meant: she said he had many possible futures because he had avatars in different worlds, constantly growing stronger. That naturally increased his influence on this universe.
Because of his power, the fate nodes of many people had already been changed.
The most obvious example was Wolverine and Professor X, who were supposed to be dead—but were now living just fine.
(End of Chapter)