The Ancient One sat quietly, savoring the fragrant tea in her delicate porcelain cup. Oddly enough, though she was alone in the room, a second teacup sat across from her—filled and waiting.
The space before her shimred—twisted—then split open like water rippling under moonlight.
From the swirling distortion, a shadow-clad figure stepped out: Gene.
"I was wondering when you'd show up," the Ancient One said serenely, as she topped off Gene's tea without missing a beat.
Gene's gaze sharpened. "And what makes you so certain I would co?"
The Ancient One's expression didn't change. "Galan is a powerful cosmic entity. I've encountered him once—when Galactus devoured a lifeless planet."
Gene blinked.
"Galan" was the true na of the Planet Devourer.
"I observed that his power fluctuates," she continued. "When he feeds, his strength surges. But when he's hungry... he's significantly weaker."
Gene snorted faintly. "So what you're telling is, the Galactus heading for Earth right now is hungry, and I shouldn't be too concerned? Is that it?"
There was mockery in his voice. He'd never understood why mages from Kamar-Taj always danced around the point instead of speaking plainly.
The Ancient One didn't answer imdiately.
Instead, she lifted her hand, and with a casual flick of her wrist, the space around them folded.
In an instant, they stood in a pocket dinsion—suspended within a mirrored sliver of the universe.
It was as if they stood both right-side-up and upside-down. Stars blurred past them, leaving brilliant streaks of light as they raced through the cosmos.
"There," she said softly, pointing ahead.
Gene turned—and saw him.
Galactus.
The Planet Devourer lood like a mountain in the void. His massive form seed endless, his features obscured by a shimring, alien helt. His body was cloaked in a purple battle robe that shimred with incomprehensible power. The sheer scale of him was enough to break the mind.
He flew—silently and swiftly—toward Earth.
And from here, Gene could feel it: a cosmic pressure that dwarfed even phisto.
"Clearly, this isn't Galactus at his peak," the Ancient One said. "If he were well-fed, his energy would swell even more—and he'd likely already be aware of this dinsion watching him."
Gene stared at the celestial juggernaut in the distance.
"You're not going to act, are you?" he asked coldly. "Even when the Earth you swore to protect is about to be consud, you'll still sit back and observe."
The Ancient One didn't respond.
Their dinsion floated silently, tracing the wake of Galactus like a shadow.
The silence lingered. A tiny teorite zipped toward Galactus's form—poof—and disintegrated instantly.
He didn't even notice. He was beyond such things now.
teorites held no appeal for Galactus. He required energy—vast, planetary energy. He consud worlds not out of malice, but out of necessity. A cosmic hunger that never ceased.
Sotis, Gene thought Galactus and Thanos would've made great drinking buddies.
Different thods, sa result.
"I've seen the threads of fate," the Ancient One murmured. "This ti, Galactus's presence will not devastate Earth... because his arrival will awaken sothing else. Certain humans will mutate under his influence."
She waved her hand.
In the air before them, four familiar figures appeared—The Fantastic Four.
"Fate again. Always fate," Gene scoffed. "Tell , when will you mages stop clinging to fate and start mastering it?"
"You say Galactus won't have much impact... but what exactly does that an? Half the population could vanish and you'd still call it minor."
"The damage won't be planetary," the Ancient One replied with a shrug.
Gene narrowed his eyes. "Then why did you stand in the New York Sanctum and personally strike down Kree warriors during their invasion? Wasn't that fate too?"
The Ancient One smiled gently. "Why else would I show you the real state of Garland today, if not to tell you I intend to act?"
Gene blinked—montarily thrown off by her oddly cheeky tone. His neural net hesitated to process the response.
"This is your help? Just... showing Galactus's power level?" he asked, slightly baffled.
"Gene, you've always been my most remarkable disciple," she said as the room folded back around them. "I believe in you."
The tea cups were once again warm in their hands.
"You're really my dearest master," Gene said, his voice steeped in sarcasm.
"Thank you," the Ancient One smiled, unbothered. "I've always guided you toward the role of Sorcerer Supre. When you were trapped in the Hell Dinsion... your spells were exceptional."
"Alright, stop—stop right there." Gene waved her off quickly, not wanting to hear another word about being the next Supre.
"But even if you hadn't shown Galactus in the flesh," he added, his voice firming, "I'd still stop him."
The space around Gene began to shimr, distorting and folding as he prepared to depart.
"Rember what I said—take care of Strange," the Ancient One called after him, repeating her last request.
Gene paused in the distortion.
"I will," he said flatly.
And then he was gone.
The room stilled once more. The folding space slowly smoothed, the room bathed again in silence.
Only two untouched cups of tea remained—silent witnesses to the powerful truths just revealed.
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T/N:
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