"Alright, Wanda. Your heart is too troubled."
The Ancient One, dressed in a bright yellow robe with her hands behind her back, walked in slowly. Her voice was calm, without a hint of reproach.
"I don't have time to stay calm, Teacher." Wanda stubbornly met the Ancient One's gaze. "If you aren't willing to teach me, then I'll learn on my own. Whether it's black magic or something else, as long as I can find him back, I'll pay any price."
Mordo's brows furrowed, about to lose his temper.
"Mordo, step back," the Ancient One said softly, interrupting him.
Hearing this, Mordo respectfully stepped aside, but his eyes still stared warily at Wanda.
The Ancient One came before Wanda.
Homelander stood right by the Ancient One's side, less than half a meter away.
He even deliberately reached out his hand to tease the Ancient One's chin back and forth.
However, the Ancient One's expression didn't show even the slightest ripple; her gaze was focused entirely on Wanda.
"Perfect concealment, haha!" Homelander took two steps back, crossed his arms, and continued watching the show.
"Wanda." The Ancient One looked compassionately at the girl on the verge of losing control.
"Your emotions for him are becoming a bridge for Chaos Magic to erode your sanity."
"I don't care!" Wanda tilted her head up stubbornly. "I just want him back."
The Ancient One sighed softly and shook her head.
"Wanda, sometimes what we need to do is not to force our way against the current, but to wait."
"Though I cannot see his future clearly, I can be certain of one thing..."
The Ancient One reached out and gently pressed on Wanda's shoulder, suppressing her Chaos Magic back into her body bit by bit.
"...He is on his way back."
"Really?"
The red light on Wanda's body gradually faded. She stepped forward and grabbed the Ancient One's sleeve, asking urgently, "How long until he's back? A day? A month? Or a year?"
"When people need him, he will naturally appear where he ought to be."
The Ancient One gave an ambiguous answer.
But for the current Wanda, this was enough.
Hearing this explicit assurance, Wanda's nerves, which had been tense for a week, finally relaxed.
She still held considerable reverence and trust for the Ancient One. Since the Sorcerer Supreme personally said he would return, it meant he was truly safe and sound.
"...I understand." Wanda took a deep breath and tucked her stray hair behind her ear.
She bowed slightly, and then walked out of the Library with somewhat staggering steps.
She was too tired; now she needed a good sleep to wait for that man's return.
The Library doors closed again.
Mordo walked to the Ancient One's side, looking in the direction Wanda had left, his expression still grim.
"Master, you are too indulgent with her."
"Her heart reveals an essence of destruction and madness. As you saw, to achieve her goal, she even wanted to touch dark powers."
Mordo's words carried strong dissatisfaction.
"If she isn't restricted, she will be eroded by darkness sooner or later. I suggest placing a Restraining Curse on her to seal her access to black magic."
The Ancient One quietly looked at this most prized disciple of hers.
"Mordo, do you know what your biggest problem is?" The Ancient One's words carried a hint of severity.
Mordo was stunned: "Please enlighten me."
The Ancient One shook her head and said, "You forever only pursue superficial correctness, yet ignore the essence behind things."
"If you seal her, the price will be one that you, and even all of Kamar-Taj, cannot bear."
"Why?" Mordo was puzzled. "Because her power is too strong and will backlash?"
"That is only part of it," the Ancient One explained. "Importantly, Homelander is not as reasonable as he appears on the surface."
"Do we just turn a blind eye to a potential threat out of fear? That is not the sorcerer's dogma!" Mordo was defiant.
"This is not fear, Mordo. This is wisdom." The Ancient One patted Mordo's shoulder. "You must remember, our greatest enemy is Dormammu."
Mordo was silent for a while, said nothing more, and left after a slight bow.
"Consider yourself sensible, teacher. If you really dared to touch my little Witch, I guarantee Kamar-Taj would become a Kamar-Pit tomorrow."
Having finished watching the drama at Kamar-Taj, Homelander did not linger there.
He decided to head to the next stop.
"It's time to go see that big guy."
...
In an instant, Homelander hovered above Earth, looking down at the azure Planet.
Earth.
In the eyes of ordinary people, this was a beautiful home that nurtured countless lives.
But in Homelander's eyes,
it was an 'egg' that could explode at any moment.
Because deep within the core of this Planet, there slept a Forbidden Zone Supreme about to trigger a dark upheaval.
The seed of the Celestials—Tiamut.
And Tiamut's sole purpose was the Emergence! To become a brand new God.
When Homelander was a Movie King in his past life, he had once been invited to act in the movie 'Eternals'.
At the time, the production team offered him an extremely high salary, but after reading the script, he felt some of the plot was purely idiotic, so he decisively turned it down.
However, he still had a general understanding of the movie's background setting.
The Celestials, the creators of the Universe.
To reproduce, they would plant Celestial seeds deep within the cores of Planets capable of nurturing life.
Earth was just such an incubator.
And humans, along with all intelligent life on Earth, were the food to nourish this seed.
To ensure the seed could hatch smoothly, Arishem the Judge created the Deviants to eliminate the top predators on Earth, allowing mammals to proliferate and develop intelligence.
Later, when the Deviants went out of control, Arishem the Judge created the Eternals to come to Earth and protect humans from the Deviants.
Sounds like protecting humanity?
No.
It's like a rancher raising sheepdogs to protect the flock.
The purpose of protecting the flock is only to let them multiply more, so that eventually, the wool can be sheared and the mutton eaten.
So when the human population and civilization reach a specific threshold, accumulating a large enough amount of 'intelligent energy,' the Emergence will occur.
Tiamut will stand up from the core of the Earth.
This process, like a chick breaking its shell, will completely shatter the eggshell that is Earth.
This is Earth's final fate.
Homelander had never bothered with this landmine before.
Firstly, because his strength wasn't great enough back then. If he rashly moved this seed, he would likely alert the Celestial Judge who sowed it—Arishem the Judge.
That six-eyed giant was a true ceiling-level combatant of the Universe, capable of destroying Planets at will.
Homelander admitted he couldn't afford to provoke him back then, so he could only avoid him.
He vigorously promoted the 'Vought Deep Space Project' with the intention of opening up a second Earth. A large part of the reason was to leave a way out for himself and his 'leeks' in the worst-case scenario.
In the original movie timeline, if it weren't for that purple potato Thanos snapping his fingers and wiping out half the life in the Universe—thereby significantly delaying the accumulation of intelligent energy on Earth—Tiamut would have hatched long ago. Earth wouldn't have even lasted until the Endgame.
But now it was different.
He was currently in an unobservable state within the cracks of dimensions.
Neither Arishem the Judge nor the sleeping Tiamut could be alerted by him.
Homelander adjusted his posture, head down, and dove straight toward the ground.
Without any resistance, he cut straight into the crust.
"Let me see what kind of ugly thing you are.