บท 592: The Future
"Get up."
Edward opened his eyes, "You must be Mordo. The Ancient One talked about you."
"Likewise."
"Oh, what did she say?"
"She claims she found a natural prodigy of the mystic art."
"You don't sound convinced," said Edward, standing up from the small bed.
"Your abilities have yet to be known or tested," Mordo explained calmly. "Please change into the appropriate uniform. I'll wait outside."
'I forgot how rigid this man's ideal and thoughts were,' thought Edward as his magic robe turned into the Kamar Taj' gray uniform. Mordo is the kind of person who cannot get along with someone like him who constantly disobeys the rules to push boundaries. Edward walked out while thinking of ways to ensure his relationship with these people.
"So fast?"
"I didn't want to be late."
"It seems you are at least very disciplined; that's good," nodded Mordo, leading them to a group of students dressed in horrible-looking clothes. Mordo then began to speak to the young sorcerers.
"You must go beyond your normal senses to feel the energy coming from those dimensions and harness them for use. You must…" He gave a thirty-minute explanation, making some students wonder why he was telling them this again. Mordo then ended the lecture with a few demonstrations.
'Interesting,' thought Edward. 'They change their brain and soul frequency to perfectly attune to the surrounding dimensional seas and harness the energy from them. Their meditation technique is genius and perfectly fitted for humans.'
Edward closed his eyes and followed Mordo's method; he found himself in a sea of colorful lights rushing in all directions.
'Those should be dimensions,' thought Edward, feeling how absurdly easy it was to access the energy from these dimensions. When he compared Sorcerer Magic in the Empire, which requires a Gate of Truth and so much effort, it was truly baffling how easily this method made things.
'This method makes it so easy that 90% of humans can do it after the right training," concluded Edward. Of course, talents would dictate how long it takes, but as long as someone perseveres, even with the worst talent, they can succeed in 5 to 8 years.
Edward sighed as he continued praising this method, thinking how much it would help the Empire. He made the motions with his hands to draw the energy, creating a shield that resembled yellow runes before him.
'So, that's eldritch magic,' thought Edward, slightly intrigued. 'Because of how weak a human's body is, they cannot channel too much energy from other dimensions, so they must rely on skill mastery or Relics.'
The Ancient One is a great sorcerer because of her skill and because her body is strengthened by energy from the dark dimension.
'I do not have such restrictions on my body, but I should learn their skill mastery of using and manipulating interdimensional energy,' he concluded.
"Excellent," said Mordo, who walked by him. "You succeed on your first try." Edward just nodded to him. "In that case, let's try a few more advanced spells." He had the students practice conjuring weapons like whips and others, and none of these tasks bothered Edward as he easily learned them.
Everyone took a break for lunch, and the students looked at Edward oddly. However, he quickly joined them as he was a master of conversation. Since he wanted to gather support to prevent rejection for being chosen as the next Sorcerer Supreme, he knew the importance of being well-liked. So, he put on his Emperor Smile to charm people.
"The afternoon lesson is hand-to-hand combat," said Mordo. "As a sorcerer, you must train your mind and body. Now, on your guard." Edward fought with him for a minute before restraining him. Mordo could not accept this easy defeat and chose a second round with weapons, so he handed him a short baton while using one. The result was the same.
"You were trained?"
"Yes," nodded Edward, making Mordo sigh. "I felt guilty for doubting the Ancient One's words, even for a moment, but now, she's proven that her visions are beyond what I can understand."
Edward's lips twitched. He loved it when his followers were this devoted to him, but in this situation, Mordo's devotion was a problem; it was one of the reasons he left Karmar Taj after finding out the Ancient One was not who he thought she was.
'Maybe it's not bad to lose people like Mordo and Kaecilius,' thought Edward. As long as he prevented them from doing anything reckless, losing one or two Sorcerers, even if they were talented, should not be an issue.
The third training session of the day was on how to use the Sling Ring, another discovery Edward found very useful. This Relic made it easier to control a specific type of energy that allowed for opening portals to any dimension. He had the idea of augmenting this thing to function for all spatial energy.
There will be many benefits and advantages if Space Magic becomes more common in the Empire. Of course, there will also be more chaos and danger, but he will prepare for these eventualities before releasing this knowledge or technology.
At night, Edward did not have time to head to the library when the Ancient One summoned him.
"How was it?"
"Fine. Little slow for my taste, but many things in your magical system are valuable to mine."
"I'm glad," she nodded. "I wanted to wait a few days, but after seeing you in action today, I figured I might as well get it over with." She then removed the Eye of Agomoto from her neck and handed it along with a book. Edward took thirty minutes to read the entire book and absorb all the knowledge.
"Understand?" the Ancient One asked.
"Yes."
"Questions?"
"A few," said Edward. In the next thirty minutes, he asked questions, and she answered. After that, they spent an hour discussing time magic and losing track of time.
The Ancient One sighed, "It's been a while since I had such a captivating conversation about the mystic art." The last time was when she talked to Odin and his wife, Freya, a few hundred years ago.
"Let's get back on track." She took a bite from an apple and placed it on a counter before them.
"Is this necessary?" asked Edward.
"For my peace of mind," she explained. So, Edward used the Time Stone to manipulate time and return the apple to different states. Then, the Ancient One tried a few more difficult tests before she allowed him to peep into the future.
He wondered what she saw and what he needed to prepare for, so he got into positions and peeked into the future. An hour later, Edward woke up without saying a word.
"What's on your mind?"
"I want to cuss."
"By all means."
"(&&*^^%^%$(08," he went on a 20-minute tirade, cursing in more than a hundred languages, some of which did not exist in this universe. Finally, he exhaled and said: "I'm sorry."
"It's fine. You lasted less than I did." The Ancient One had the same reaction as her; she cussed for the first time in hundreds of years, and she did not stop after 20 minutes.
So, what did Edward see that made him react like this? A Multiverse Convergence: All infinite timelines and dimensions crash and fuse into each other until only one timeline remains. And in the process, countless terrifying creatures emerge, including those who defy common sense. On top of everything else, many of these creatures are Tier 11 and maybe beyond.
In fact, the only reason these creatures did not kill his peeping self across space-time was due to the protection of the Time Stone and his swift actions to evade them.
"So, what are you going to do?" asked the Ancient One, and Edward stared at her. She's the one who brought him into this mess. "You can't blame me for your decisions."
Edward exhaled, 'There is no need to freak out and lose my calm. If this is enough to rattle me out, I won't survive the upcoming war.' He returned to his cool and logical side.
"We have a lot of work to do, and I'm telling you beforehand, it will not be pretty ."
"That's why I chose you," she replied with a smile.
บท 593: The New Sorcerer Supreme
"So, what is the plan?" asked the Ancient One.
"I have a few ideas, but I need a few days to plan everything out," grunted Edward, caressing his head. "Beforehand, you must prepare to hand over the Sorcerer Supreme position in about three months."
"That seems a little fast, but alright. Anything specific you want me to do?"
"First, show the others that you are mentoring me personally. Second, after a month, release a rumor that I'm the next Sorcerer Supreme. In the second month, release a rumor that you will retire, and in the third month, we hold a public ceremony for my new position."
Edward noticed many of these Sorcerers' extreme worship of the Ancient One, so no one would doubt her decision. However, they might be reluctant to watch her retire, which could cause trouble enacting his plans if those people do not respect or accept his authority.
"Very well," nodded the Ancient One, and Edward left for his room. Morgana appeared and asked: "What's the plan? Do you want to start training these people in the ways of Arcane Magic?"
"Yes, but we cannot follow the same path as our home."
"I was going to suggest thinking of an alternative method since we are running out of time." The Empire's magical system took too much time, effort, and resources; as such, it was not suitable since they only had less than three decades.
"What's your plan?" she asked.
Edward waved his hand to manifest a hologram created from his thoughts, "These people are Sorcerers, so let's use this fact to our advantage." Morgana looked at the schematic before her, deep in thought.
"This is good, especially since this world favors the Sorcerer Way of magic."
"That's what I was thinking."
"In that case, let's get to work. We have a lot to do," said the purple-haired elf, dressed like Sorcerers. Edward began his work, and starting the following day, he would receive lessons from Mordo in the morning, read in the library in the afternoon, and learn with the Ancient One at night. Then, as he said, in just two weeks, he would master all the knowledge in Kamar-Taj.
Mirror Dimension:
Edward bent the entire city of New York so that the skyscrapers became the sky. "This world's understanding and application of the Mirror Dimension is truly advanced."
"Indeed," nodded Morgana, who also began stacking skyscrapers to create a building that rushed from the ground to the moon; she was having too much fun. "I feel like we can benefit immensely in this world if we can survive the turmoil."
Edward agreed with this statement. After applying what he had learned for a few hours, he left the Mirror Dimension to continue his work. However, as soon as he appeared, Mordo rushed into his room.
"Emergency: we're under attack."
"From who or what?"
"The Fierce Beast Dimension," replied Mordo, who seemed to hesitate about something.
"What is it?"
"The Ancient One wishes you to participate."
"Is there a problem with that?"
Mordo sighed, "You are probably the most talented Sorcerer Kamar Taj has ever seen. But it doesn't change the fact that you're young and inexperienced. I fear she might be sending you into battles too soon."
Edward looked at him oddly, considering he was much older than Mordo by a few centuries—no, millennia. However, he accepted the latter's concern. Previously, he might have thought it was right to let Mordo follow his previous path, but he would not do so for many reasons.
Firstly, he saw that Mordo was a kind and understanding individual, just a little stubborn in his ways. His act of putting the Ancient One on a pedestal was one of the causes of his downfall. Secondly, he could not give up such a talented Sorcerer if he wanted to have a chance to survive the Multiversal War.
Edward patted his shoulder, "I have seen horrors you could not possibly imagine. Plus, I'm way older than you by a few centuries."
Mordo looked at him, "Are you serious?"
"I don't need to lie," replied Edward. "Talent is insufficient to explain how quickly I can learn and adapt."
"You've dabbled in the mystic art before."
"Yes, and for centuries. However, my way differs from yours, so I needed to adapt," he explained.
"But…"
"I know you have many questions, but they will be answered soon enough. Now, let's go."
Edward headed to a place inside the temple where he was first transported to the New York Sanctorum before being teleported to an unknown place with purple sky, earth, and grass. A black portal stood in the distance, surrounded by countless Sorcerers.
"Is this the Dimension Nullifier?"
"Exactly," said the Ancient One, who opened a portal beside him. "I thought you should watch how we faced these threats and maybe see if there are any improvements you can make."
Edward nodded as he watched the battle. The fierce beast, who looked like mutated creatures from Earth, became drastically weaker once they passed through the portal, giving the Sorcerer a decent chance in the fight.
The Sorcerers were pretty organized. The weaker and inexperienced ones worked together to cast defensive shields on others or use attacks like Eldritch Whip to restrict the enemy. The more powerful ones directly confronted these creatures.
Two creatures saw Edward and the Ancient One in the distance and leaped dozens of meters into the sky toward them. Edward waved his hand to open a portal and closed it, cutting the creature in half. The Ancient One remained quiet, not batting an eye.
Edward lowered his body to look at the creature, "What do you do with the bodies?"
"We used some of them to make Relics, but most are sent to the Inferno Dimension for recycling," explained the Ancient One.
"I may have a better use for them," he muttered. The two watched this battle, only helping to ensure no one died. Once that was over, the dimensional portal closed, and Earth was safely protected.
"What do you think?"
"Besides missing healing and buff spells, I have no comment, given the low numbers and fighting style."
"Those types of magic are not our strong suit," nodded the Ancient One.
Three months passed, and it was Edward's crowning ceremony to become the Sorcerer Supreme. The Sorcerers were unsurprised as these rumors had been spreading for months, but some people still felt it was too soon for the Ancient One to retire. Regardless, the majority of Sorcerers across the three sanctums, leaving a few people to protect them.
The ceremony went smoothly as the Ancient One handed him the Eye of Agamotto. Edward then looked at the crowd to begin his speech.
"I know many of you have questions, feeling this situation is a little rushed," he said in a voice everyone could hear. "And I can tell you there is a reason for everything." The Sorcerers focused their eyes, listening deeply.
"The Ancient One saw a terrifying future where we failed our missions to protect Earth and our reality. Our universe was wiped out from existence."
These sorcerers looked at him as if he were crazy. However, after seeing the seriousness in his expression and the Ancient One's nod, they began to murmur.
"How could this happen?" asked someone.
"I can show you if you desire," said Edward as he snapped his finger, showing them snippets of the terrible future he saw. Many people immediately began to yell:
"Impossible."
"That's not true; that's an illusion."
"So much death."
"My family — how can they survive such a catastrophe?"
Edward frowned, realizing these people might go insane as their minds break. So, he snapped his finger to remove the memory from their mind but left the impression the memory had on them.
"Is this…really the future?" asked Wong.
Edward did not answer but motioned for the Ancient One to say something, "Yes. I saw this future years ago and have been preparing to change it. I saw countless futures and possibilities, and the best answer I came up with is him." She pointed at Edward.
"How can he help us?"
"He has mystical knowledge from an extremely advanced magical civilization," the Ancient explained. " With that knowledge and his decisive and unorthodox means, we will have a slight chance of survival."
The sorcerers quieted down briefly before saying, "Salutation to the Sorcerer Supreme." This chant echoed throughout the entire mountain. Edward nodded calmly.
"The Ancient One might have sugar-coated things for you, but I won't. My unorthodox means are cruel, inhumane, vile, and devoid of any morality. In other words, I will do whatever it takes to protect the Earth and our reality.
"I don't expect you to accept some of my actions, but you must follow them. If you're unwilling, please be prepared to leave, as I will not accept insubordination. I am responsible for the lives of too many people, and I will not consider your feelings or morality when protecting them.
"Is that understood?"
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