"Time needs to be a closed loop!"
Hock was stunned when he heard the Ancient One's words, then he reacted and understood the meaning of the Ancient One's statement.
"Yes."
Time needs to be a closed loop.
Hock's thoughts whirled as he looked at the Sorcerer Supreme: "Sorcerer Supreme, is there anything else?"
The Ancient One held her teacup and smiled at Hock.
"The past cannot be changed."
"...Understood."
Hock nodded upon hearing this, then exchanged glances with the Sorcerer Supreme, and after confirming that she had nothing more to say, he followed Kamar-Taj's librarian, Wang, outside.
Soon.
With the departure of Librarian Wang and Hock, the vast, ancient reception hall was left with only Gwen, quietly drinking tea, and the Ancient One, who, after Hock left, fixed her eyes, which seemed to see through people's hearts, on Gwen, smiling but saying nothing.
Gwen drank tea.
The Ancient One poured tea.
The air was silent.
After three more cups of tea.
Gwen looked at the Sorcerer Supreme, who was once again silently refilling her tea, took a deep breath, and looked up at the Ancient One, whose face always wore a smile.
"Does the Sorcerer Supreme know what I want to ask?"
"Yes."
The Ancient One placed the fair cup aside and smiled at Gwen.
Gwen met the Ancient One's eyes and blinked.
"Then the answer..."
"You haven't asked me yet."
"But you already know what I'm going to ask."
"But you're not asking me now."
The Ancient One sat cross-legged on a futon, her hands naturally clasped, looking at the seemingly confused Gwen with a smile, then she made a gesture with her right hand.
In an instant.
A dazzling river of time appeared above the tea table.
Gwen subconsciously looked up at the extremely brilliant river of time before her.
"I know what you want to ask."
"I also have the answer you want."
"But you haven't asked, so I can't tell you."
"Because if you don't ask, and I tell you, then, on the river of time, the moment of your question will disappear."
"And the disappearance of time will trigger a chain reaction, just like a stone thrown into a calm lake."
The Ancient One explained, then pointed her finger at the river of time suspended above the tea table.
Instantly.
The moment the Ancient One's finger touched that point on the river of time, ripples spread across the river, quickly diffusing; some quickly vanished, while other ripples, after emerging, resonated with the river of time, subsequently giving rise to one tributary after another.
But among these emerging tributaries, the starting point of the tributaries remained unchanged, and the ending point of the tributaries also remained unchanged.
Only the present, where the past and future intersected, showed a divergence.
Gwen watched the Ancient One's demonstration and recalled a sentence the Ancient One had said when Hock left earlier.
"The past cannot be changed."
"But..."
Gwen frowned: "I can understand that the past cannot be changed, but isn't the future determined by the present? Why does the future demonstrated by the Sorcerer Supreme always show the same future?"
The Ancient One smiled.
"Why do you want to change the future?"
"Uh..."
"Only by seeing the future will one think about changing it."
"The moment you see the future, the future you saw becomes your past."
"So..."
"The past cannot be changed, because the future you saw is no longer the future, but your past."
"..."
Gwen listened to the Ancient One's explanation, her expression thoughtful.
"Seeing the future, the future becomes the past, and the past cannot be changed."
"Yes."
"Then..."
Gwen thought of the scene where the Ancient One knew what she wanted to ask even before she spoke.
Clearly.
The Ancient One had already seen the question she would pose in the future, which meant this future had already become the Ancient One's past.
The past cannot be changed.
Gwen thought to herself, then looked at the Ancient One curiously: "Sorcerer Supreme, what if I don't ask?"
According to the Ancient One.
If the future is seen, then the future becomes the past, and the past cannot be changed, but this 'past' is determined by the 'present'.
So... if she didn't ask, then this future wouldn't be the future, and if it wasn't the future, then it wouldn't be the past.
Gwen looked at the Ancient One curiously.
The Ancient One smiled and shook her head.
"I saw the future, and it became my past, so even if you don't ask, my future has already become my past."
"Your future?"
"Yes."
The Ancient One then once again swept her right hand across the river of time used for the projection, and immediately, the river of time rapidly expanded, allowing Gwen to see the other side of the river of time.
It was countless densely packed lines, so numerous they were beyond counting, layered together, that formed the dazzling river of time she had just seen.
"Each line represents a person's time."
"And all things in the Universe, everything superimposed together, form this brilliant and magnificent river of time."
"But when I glimpsed my future, my future became my past."
"But I am merely an individual."
"Understood."
Gwen listened to the Ancient One's explanation, nodded thoughtfully, then took a deep breath and looked at the Ancient One: "So, will Hock and I have children in the future?"
She had actually heard everything Strucker said in the Atlantic Ocean via S.H.I.E.L.D. satellites.
Although she didn't seem to care much.
But... she actually cared a lot, especially after hearing Strucker say that the higher the life form, the harder it was to have offspring, which made her care even more.
So!
After asking this question, Gwen stared at the Ancient One sitting opposite her, unblinking.
The Ancient One didn't play coy either.
"Yes."
"Two sons and one daughter?"
Hearing the Ancient One's answer and seeing the expression on her face, Gwen felt a sudden wave of relief in her heart, while unconsciously pressing for more.
Although someone else had already achieved her dream.
But others are others.
She is she.
The Ancient One looked at Gwen, who indeed seemed eager for an answer, and smiled, shaking her head.
"No."
"Uh..."
Gwen's expression dimmed.
Just then.
The Ancient One spoke: "At some point in the future, you and Hock will have five sons and five daughters."
Gwen's body trembled, and she stared at the Ancient One with wide eyes.
"That many?"
"Yes."
"That's impossible."
Gwen blinked, somewhat disbelieving the future the Ancient One described: "I only wanted one daughter and two sons, just like my dad and mom. I feel three children would be just right. Five sons, five daughters? Wouldn't I be doing nothing but having babies?"
Good heavens.
What would she become then?
A baby-making machine?
Gwen couldn't help but let her imagination run wild.
The Ancient One listened to Gwen's soft complaints, smiling but saying nothing.
After a while.
Gwen, who was softly complaining and couldn't understand why she would have so many children, then seemed to think of something and looked at the Ancient One: "Then, Sorcerer Supreme, I have one last question."
The Ancient One looked at Gwen with a smile.
Gwen said: "Sorcerer Supreme, you already know about the existence of Jean, Billy, and Tommy, right?"
The Ancient One nodded.
"The past cannot be changed."
"I know."
Gwen also nodded: "Jean seems to have inherited Hock's abilities, but Billy and Tommy don't seem to have. I want to ask, my children..."
The Ancient One smiled brilliantly.
"Jean inherited because she was born before Hock proposed to you."
"Billy and Tommy didn't inherit because Hock had already proposed to you before then."
"Uh..."
Gwen looked at the Ancient One, somewhat confused.
At New York S.H.I.E.L.D., to prevent Strucker from leaving behind any contingencies, S.H.I.E.L.D. conducted a full body scan on Billy and Tommy.
The test results showed they were very healthy, but compared to Jean's physical data, the differences were still very obvious.
In a word.
Even compared to other children of the same age, Billy and Tommy's data ranked in the middle.
But Billy and Tommy have Hock's bloodline, and logically speaking, Billy and Tommy should have also inherited their paternal power just like Jean.
The result... it seems Billy and Tommy are just ordinary children, nothing special.
Gwen didn't think much of it at first; maybe Jean inherited it, and Billy and Tommy didn't. That's not a big deal.
However, after hearing the Ancient One say that she would have ten children in the future, Gwen suddenly thought of this matter.
Even if her future children didn't inherit, Gwen still didn't think it was a big deal.
But... if possible, Gwen still hoped that her and Hock's children would inherit Hock's power.
After all, Hock is very powerful, and if their children also inherited Hock's power in the future, and she educated them well, their children's future would definitely be brilliant.
Gwen thought this, but after hearing the Ancient One's explanation, she was a bit confused.
"What does this have to do with me?"
"Hock proposed to you."
"Yes."
Gwen nodded, then seemed to think of something, showing off the engagement ring on her finger, and then, remembering the scene of Hock's proposal, she smiled very happily.
The Ancient One explained.
"Although Hock is not yet a god."
"But he already possesses divine authority."
"And for gods, every promise a god makes is not called a promise, but a divine oracle."
"When Hock proposed, he promised that only his children with you could inherit everything from him. Since that is the case, Billy and Tommy, who came into existence after the divine oracle took effect, are not your and Hock's children, and naturally cannot inherit Hock's power."
"..."
Gwen heard this and looked at the Ancient One: "You mean, Billy and Tommy could actually have Hock's power, but Hock doesn't allow it?"
The Ancient One said no more, picked up the teacup in front of her, and took a sip of the tea.
Seeing this, Gwen also picked up the teacup in front of her and drank all the tea inside.
The Ancient One poured tea.
Gwen, meanwhile, pondered the Ancient One's words, looked at the engagement ring on her hand, and recalled the scene of Hock's proposal that day, a happy smile appearing at the corner of her mouth... (End of Chapter)
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