บท 38: Two Cheaters
Having no ability to counter Ancient One's attack, the magic fan cut a long wound on Zane. Although Ancient One deliberately avoided fatal areas, the intense pain was inevitable.
With new wounds on his body, Zane's eyes became redder. The clarity in his eyes was gradually replaced by madness.
Enduring the intense pain, Zane seized the opportunity to grab Ancient One's arm, allowing the magical fan in her hand to leave visible scars on her own body.
"Let's die together."
With Zane's hoarse voice, golden ripples densely surrounded both Zane and Ancient One, including the sky, the ground, and everything in between. Giant swords pierced through them, connecting both like a blood puppet. Ancient One looked at Zane in disbelief.
Not understanding why Zane chose such a mutual destruction strategy, knowing well that they wouldn't die, Ancient One couldn't continue her thoughts. Before Ancient One could ponder further, the delayed explosion within the giant swords occurred. Both of their consciousnesses fell into boundless darkness.
The next moment, the [Death River] and the Time Stone activated simultaneously. Both of them returned to their original state, fully resurrected. Even the dust on their clothes from the previous battle had disappeared.
If not for the debris of buildings floating around, indicating the intense battle that had taken place, Zane and Ancient One seemed untouched by the fight.
Having died once, both of them had vented their anger. They also realized that their strengths were on par, and neither could overpower the other.
However, Ancient One was unaware of the limitations on Zane's resurrection. In a prolonged battle, Zane would eventually lose. This was the fundamental reason why Zane admitted he was not as good as Ancient One at the beginning.
"Ancient One, I won't hold it against you this time. But if I find out next time, I will destroy your Three Sanctums. You should understand, I have the power to do so."
Zane said coldly, his eyes revealing determination, warning Ancient One that he was not someone who cared about the bigger picture. If Ancient One dared to provoke him again, he would drag the entire world down with him.
After contemplating for a while, Ancient One suddenly said something unrelated.
"Do you want to learn magic?"
"Huh?" Zane looked puzzled. He had just defeated Ancient One twice, and now Ancient One was asking if he wanted to learn magic. Was she crazy?
"When we were fighting just now, I noticed you have a high affinity for magic. If you learn magic, you will surely achieve great success."
"Maybe you could even inherit my position and gain the Eye of Agamotto. How about it?"
Looking at Ancient One's sudden enthusiasm, Zane felt a chill. Ancient One's actions were more uncomfortable than fighting her for hundreds of rounds. Although Zane didn't understand Ancient One's purpose, he decisively refused.
"I'm not interested at all. Find someone else to inherit your position."
Facing Zane's straightforward rejection, Ancient One, despite maintaining a calm appearance, felt a moment of disappointment deep inside.
Actually, Ancient One's invitation for Zane to learn magic was genuine. She did observe Zane's high magical talent during their battle, even higher than the successor she foresaw from the future (Doctor Strange). Being a teacher for hundreds of years, Ancient One instinctively extended the invitation to Zane.
On the other hand, Ancient One also wanted to keep Zane, this uncertain factor, close to herself. She hoped to properly guide Zane and persuade him to follow the right path, eventually succeeding Ancient One as the new Supreme Sorcerer.
Having protected Earth for thousands of years and experiencing countless battles, despite consuming dark energy to extend her life, Ancient One's soul was exhausted. She yearned for the peace after death, but other dimensions were constantly peering into Earth. She couldn't rest yet.
As for why Zane had such high magical talent, it wasn't innate. It was thanks to the A-rank skill, [Son of Death]. The so-called magical talent was simply the strength of the soul.
The skill had a function: after Zane killed a living being, a small amount of the creature's soul energy would automatically nourish Zane's soul. Killing one or two people wouldn't show a significant effect, but during the large battle in New York, Zane killed over 30,000 Lizardmen.
Now, Zane's soul strength far surpassed that of Doctor Strange from the future. He just didn't know how to utilize it yet. Nevertheless, the accompanying effects provided significant benefits to Zane, such as increased mental agility, achieving photographic memory, etc.
Even with these advantages, Zane still found reading boring and wanted to sleep. It seemed being a poor student was not about intelligence.
Although Zane couldn't see the complex thoughts in Ancient One's mind, seeing the deep disappointment and exhaustion on her face, Zane couldn't help but soften.
"Ancient One, as long as you agree to my conditions, I'll lend a hand when Earth faces a crisis in the future."
After hearing this, Ancient One stared at Zane's face for a long time, then smiled slightly. Her worries about Zane, the uncertain factor, lessened a bit.
"Alright, I agree. I won't interfere with your affairs in the future."
Zane felt creeped out by Ancient One's sudden smile. He unconsciously asked, "Why are you smiling?"
"Nothing. I just think you're a good person."
"A good person? Well, I've always been a good person." Zane shamelessly grinned.
Now Ancient One was at a loss for words. Originally, she thought Zane would deny it. After all, all his actions till now looked like he would deny it.
But unexpectedly, Zane shamelessly admitted it. He actually admitted it...
Ancient One had nothing more to say. She decisively threw Zane out of the mirrored space.
As for Peter Parker or now Spider-Man, she had already helped him complete the most crucial step. The rest was up to his own choices.
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