Fearing that this could be a world-changing variable for Earth, the Ancient One didn't dare delay.
She forcefully suppressed the backlash of dark power, then stood up, hand to her chest, and traced a circle in the air.
A ring of sparkling fire appeared, forming a mysterious circular portal.
She stepped through and vanished, leaving the secret room behind.
She wanted to see with her own eyes who had disturbed the long river of time.
…
On the streets of the small New Mexico town, after Lucci dissolved the Destroyer with a finger, Mjolnir finally completed its final unlock.
"Hng—"
It turned into a streak of silver lightning, tore through the sky with a cheerful hum, and flew into Thor's hand as he lay on the ground.
Boom!
Divine power surged in.
Thor's body was instantly wrapped in electricity. His torn shirt and jeans transformed under holy power back into majestic silver armor and a red cape.
He opened his eyes, sprang up from the ground, and as divine power returned, his wounds healed in an instant.
Thor was back.
But as he excitedly raised the hammer, ready to show off his restored strength—
He discovered…
The enemy was gone.
Only scattered metal fragments remained on the ground, gleaming bleakly under the sunset.
Thor looked at Lucci's back nearby, then at the wreckage, and his whole mood deflated.
He raised his hammer and complained:
"Hey! Old man! Next time, can you hurry up? When you come to help, the daylily's already cold!"
Mjolnir seemed to understand, vibrating twice—like it was saying, Who told you not to hold me earlier?
Thor walked back to Lucci again, face full of grievance.
"Big brother! Can you start earlier next time? At least give me a chance to perform!"
"I just got my power back and haven't had time to be cool yet!"
Lucci ignored him and nodded slightly to Jane's group—a farewell.
Then he looked at Thor and said lightly:
"The farce is over. It's time to go back to Asgard."
Thor glanced at the mess around them and nodded, helpless.
He didn't want to cause Earth any more trouble.
But just as Lucci was about to summon his blade and tear open space—
Not far away, a shimmering portal opened.
A bald woman in bright yellow monk robes stepped out.
The Sorcerer Supreme—the Ancient One.
Lucci raised an eyebrow, surprised, and stopped summoning his weapon.
The Ancient One's gaze swept over everyone and locked directly onto Lucci.
Her eyes held curiosity, probing, and deep fear.
"Were you the one who used the power of time just now?" she asked bluntly.
Lucci nodded, then looked at the strange pendant hanging on her chest—the Eye of Agamotto.
The Ancient One noticed his gaze, lowered her eyes to the magical artifact, and hesitantly asked:
"You seem very interested in the Eye of Agamotto?"
Lucci's lips lifted slightly.
"No. I'm not interested in the box."
"What I'm interested in… is the small green stone hidden inside."
The Ancient One's pupils shrank; her heart jolted.
"You… how do you know there's a gemstone inside?"
This was Kamar-Taj's highest secret.
Only she knew the Eye's true purpose—much less that the Time Stone was hidden within.
Lucci smiled indifferently and said something that made her realize at once:
"Because I'm from Asgard."
"Asgard…"
Hearing the name, the Ancient One immediately understood.
As Earth's guardian, she knew the divine realm was real.
Asgardians possessed lifespans and knowledge far beyond Earth—so it wasn't surprising they knew the secrets of the Infinity Stones.
Understanding his origin, the Ancient One dropped all hostility and temptation.
She bowed slightly to Lucci in formal sorcerer etiquette.
"Too few beings can touch the domain of time."
"Your Excellency, I mean no offense. I simply wish to invite you to Kamar-Taj for tea—and to ask about the mysteries of time, if you are willing."
Lucci glanced expressionlessly at Thor beside him, then looked back at the Ancient One.
He was also interested in the Time Stone, space, and Mirror Dimension spells.
"Of course," Lucci nodded. "But not now."
"After I send him back to Asgard and settle family matters, I'll naturally visit Kamar-Taj."
"Very well." The Ancient One smiled sincerely. "Then I will wait for Your Excellency at Kamar-Taj."
With that, she bowed again, turned, stepped back into the portal, and vanished.
Watching her come and go in haste, Jane's trio felt their minds break.
Asgard? The legendary divine realm?
Kamar-Taj? What was that?
It sounded unimaginably mysterious.
They felt their worldview had been shattered and rebuilt—then shattered again—over and over in a single day.
After the Ancient One left, Lucci didn't stay.
He casually summoned a bladeless "Path of Flame Sword" and swept it forward.
A dark, stable spatial rift opened in midair, and through it, the magnificent palaces of Asgard could be seen faintly.
Jane, Erik, and Darcy were struck speechless again.
What kind of ability was this?
Spatial teleportation?
Lucci ignored them. He grabbed the still-dazed Thor and stepped into the rift, disappearing.
Only Jane's group remained—along with Coulson, who peeked out from behind cover, staring in the wind like a statue.
…
Asgard, the Royal Palace of Valaskjalf.
A flash of light in the grand hall.
Lucci and Thor appeared beneath the throne.
When Thor saw Odin seated above, he immediately dropped to one knee, lowered his once-arrogant head, and spoke with sincere regret:
"Father. I was wrong."
Odin stared at the man before him.
The son who had once been arrogant and vain was gone.
Relief finally appeared on Odin's weary face.
He nodded.
"Just come back."
Then his gaze shifted to Lucci, eyes full of deep surprise and emotion.
"Lucci… thank you."
"Otherwise, I truly don't know what this outcome would have been."
Without Lucci, whether it was the Frost Giants' invasion or Loki's schemes, the chain of events could have damaged Asgard's vitality.
Lucci bowed slightly.
"This is everything I should do, Father."
He paused, then continued:
"However, Father… I may still need to return to Earth."
"Oh?" Odin frowned slightly. "Why return to Earth?"
"While I was on Earth, I met the Sorcerer Supreme of Kamar-Taj," Lucci explained. "She invited me to visit."
Hearing "Kamar-Taj" and "Sorcerer Supreme," Odin's eyes showed understanding.
"So it's her."
"The Sorcerer Supreme of Kamar-Taj has guarded Midgard against invasions by dimensional demon gods. She can be considered a respectable strong one."
"But you must be careful."
"Much of her power comes from the Dark Dimension… that kind of power erodes the soul, and requires caution."
Lucci smiled indifferently.
"Don't worry, Father. The one who should worry isn't me."
A mere Dark Dimension power couldn't overturn anything before his true fire and causal power.
Odin was surprised, then gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
Indeed.
With Lucci's current strength, there wasn't much in the cosmos that could "make Odin worry."
So Odin nodded.
"Then you may go whenever you wish."
"But before you leave, go see your mother first."
"She has been worried about you."
"Yes, Father."
Lucci and Thor nodded together and turned to leave the God-King's hall.
But not far from the grand hall, a trace of anger appeared on Thor's face.
He stopped and said to Lucci:
"Big brother, you go see Mother first. I'll go later."
Lucci glanced at him. "What are you going to do?"
Thor gripped Mjolnir; lightning crackled along the hammer.
He clenched his teeth.
"I'm going to teach that bastard Loki a lesson first!"
With that, he stormed toward the dungeon where major criminals were held.
Lucci shook his head slightly but didn't stop him.
He knew Thor's "lesson" would be charging in, pinning Loki down, and beating him up to vent rage.
With brothers who "love and kill each other," nothing major would happen.
Let them figure it out themselves.
…
A few days later, Lucci arrived at Kamar-Taj's training grounds.
Dozens of sorcerer apprentices in various monk robes practiced under Mordo's guidance.
They placed their hands to their chests and traced circles in mysterious, complex trajectories.
Once, twice, three times…
Soon orange sparks burst from their fingertips, outlining circular openings of differing sizes and stability in the air.
Inside these openings, space began to distort, revealing scenes across the world—busy cities, quiet countryside, vast oceans…
This was Kamar-Taj's basic spell and one of the most practical: the portal.
Mordo clasped his hands behind his back, walking among the disciples with eyes sharp as an eagle.
"Focus! Your will must be as concentrated as steel!"
His voice was strict and powerful.
"The essence of a portal is using willpower to pry open a fulcrum in space and connect two different coordinates."
"If your mind is distracted, the door you draw will become nothing but a useless fireworks blob!"
"Look at you, Lee! Why is your portal coughing like a dying old man? Because you want to sneak down the mountain for beer!"
The apprentice trembled in fear, and the barely formed portal instantly collapsed into sparks.
Mordo frowned, about to continue scolding—
When a sudden change occurred.
Above Kamar-Taj, the sky looked as if it had been sliced open by an invisible blade.
Sss—
All the apprentices, including Mordo, looked up in shock.
A pitch-black, bottomless spatial rift appeared from nowhere.
It wasn't a portal made of sparks and magical fluctuations like they knew.
It was a pure, fierce line, as if tearing the fabric of the universe itself—
A space crack.
From that crack came an ancient, vast, pulsing aura.
"What… what is that?"
"Space… space is being torn apart!"
"Enemy attack! Is it an enemy attack?"
The apprentices stopped chanting, their portals collapsing one after another. Faces pale, they stared at the sky in terror as if confronting a great enemy.
They had studied magic for years, but had never seen such terrifying, direct spatial manipulation.
It was far beyond their comprehension.
Mordo's expression turned extremely grave.
His reaction was the fastest—at the instant the crack appeared, he had already clasped his hands before his chest and started chanting.
"In the name of Hoggoth!"
Two circular shields made of orange magic condensed instantly on his arms like giant fans.
His muscles tensed; he entered combat stance; eyes fixed on the dark crack; voice booming with vigilance.
"All disciples—form defensive arrays! Stay alert!"
His voice carried authority. The panicked apprentices obeyed and began moving.
Their movements were still messy, but they barely assumed a defensive posture.
In the tense air of Kamar-Taj, a slim figure emerged from the crack and floated in midair.
Black hair, black eyes, features so handsome they didn't look human.
He simply hovered there, looking down with calm, deep eyes—indifferent, as though watching busy ants.
It was Lucci.
Mordo stared at the mysterious man, his chest tightening.
He couldn't feel familiar magical fluctuations from the other party, but he could feel an oppressive force that blended into space itself—an awful compulsion that tore reality apart with a gesture.
This was an unprecedented enemy.
"Who are you? Why are you trespassing in Kamar-Taj without permission?" Mordo demanded sharply, forcing down his unease.
The magical shields in his hands flared brighter, ready to defend or strike.
Lucci's gaze passed over the crowd below as if he paid no attention to Mordo or the alert sorcerers.
His eyes went straight toward the most magnificent central hall deeper in the courtyard.
"My name is Lucci Odinson."
"By invitation of the Ancient One, I came to Kamar-Taj to fulfill it."
In a single sentence, everyone below froze.
By invitation of the Ancient One?
Mordo and the apprentices all looked doubtful.
True or false?
Would the Sorcerer Supreme invite such a… man?
And the Ancient One hadn't mentioned it.
Mordo was about to question him—
Crunch—
The closed doors of the central hall opened on both sides without any wind.
A calm, authoritative female voice came from within.
"Do not be rude."
"This is my most honored guest."
At that voice, Mordo's body jolted. The vigilance and hostility on his face vanished instantly, replaced by shock and reverence.
He immediately dismissed the shields and bowed deeply toward the hall.
"Yes, Sorcerer Supreme!"
Behind him, the apprentices could barely breathe. One by one, they followed Mordo's lead and bowed in respect.
Their minds surged with huge waves.
So the Sorcerer Supreme had truly acknowledged him.
What this mysterious man said was true.
He really had been invited…
A guest.
For a moment, the apprentices secretly stared at Lucci with a mix of awe and curiosity.
Their minds were filled with countless questions.
Who was he?
Where did he come from?
Why would the Sorcerer Supreme treat him with such solemnity?
And what kind of power was that terrifying way of tearing space?
Doubt grew wildly in everyone's heart like vines.
…