Lorien didn’t know why Hela was suddenly in such a mood.
It wasn’t like she had a part in this anyway.
And who does this right after getting ho?
It was only 8:30 at night.
Even if there was going to be an event, it wouldn’t start until eleven or twelve, right?
So when she heard she wasn’t included, Hela could only storm off to play video gas, muttering along the way, "I don’t care... but you won’t even let join in."
Hearing that, Lorien couldn’t help but sigh—Asgard really was sothing else in certain ways.
The only reason Hela could stay a virgin for thousands of years was because she’d never had any interest in such things, only in fighting and killing.
Oh, right.
Lorien suddenly realized—Asgard ca from Norse mythology.
And what’s Norse mythology without sex?
A Norse myth with sex could be taller than a person... without it, it would barely be as thick as a notebook.
So of course Hela knew all this—it was normal.
In fact, he was the one acting shy!
Talk about lucky.
If he went back to Asgard to pick another girl, it’d be almost impossible to find one untouched.
Well then... looked like he needed to "study" harder himself!
...
After watching Hela stomp off to her ga console, Gwen thought for a mont and said, "Lorien, let’s go check out Cybertron again."
"Sure," Lorien replied.
Snap—
With a flick of his fingers, the two of them instantly appeared on Mars.
The sight before them made them stop in their tracks.
Mars no longer had the scorched yellow wasteland it once did.
The entire surface had been transford—like a giant chessboard.
Where the surface had once been weathered into modular blocks, now those blocks had beco entire modular cities.
White areas marked natural ecological zones.
Black areas marked chanical zones.
Together, they ford a Martian chessboard.
Of course, the black and white weren’t completely separate—if mineral veins connected them, the whole connected region beca a chanical zone.
If an area had no mineral veins at all, then it was entirely a natural ecological zone.
And these ecological zones were no longer just simulation pods—they now had real green plants.
The speed of change was staggering.
"Wow~~~!" Gwen let out a long, drawn-out gasp of amazent.
They both stared at Mars’ rapid transformation.
In 2004 human terms, this was impossible.
Who could terraform Mars in just ten days or half a month?
Definitely not humans.
When Lorien looked closer, he saw that alongside the 1,000 Elder Transforrs, there were also over a hundred smaller Transforrs at work—so already in the process of creating new ones.
Robots tended to the ecological zones below, and the whole planet radiated the energy of rapid evolution.
Gwen’s curiosity was fully piqued. She pointed down toward the greenery.
"Let’s go check it out, Lorien!"
Lorien was already thinking the sa thing.
As they descended, he noticed the temperature had risen—Mars, once around minus 60°C, was now almost at 0°C.
Walking through the ecological zone, Gwen examined the plants.
"So of these look a lot like Earth’s... and so are totally different," she said.
Lorien nodded. "They’re alien plants—it’s normal they’d be different."
But Gwen soon frowned. "Then why aren’t there any animals? The temperature should be enough for so to survive."
Lorien considered it—the temperature and humidity were fine, and the plants could definitely support herbivores.
Was it Mars’ gravity? Oxygen? Or maybe they just hadn’t gotten around to it yet?
He didn’t know.
"Co on, let’s see the rest."
"Mm."
They moved on and noticed the elders’ gear had been upgraded.
The mining Elders were far better equipped than before, while others who disliked mining were now fully ard for purposes Lorien couldn’t guess.
A civil war? Impossible.
The Transforrs were completely loyal to him—no need to even ntion it.
They wandered to the far side of Mars and found a massive building.
Its layout was simple—1,000 evenly spaced pillars.
Lorien opened his panel to check.
[Council of Elders]
The place where Transforrs voted on decisions that would affect all of Cybertron.
And right now, a vote was in progress.
One Elder Transforr nad Cloud was speaking...
"The Creator has tasked us with completing a fifty-percent natural ecological transformation of the planet."
"The Druid Elder proposes adding animals to the natural ecological zones."
"Elders in favor, light your pillar green."
"Elders opposed, light your pillar red."
"As this is a directive from the Creator, abstentions are not permitted."
The elder’s voice was linked to all Elder Transforrs, so no matter where they were, each could hear and cast their vote.
As soon as he finished speaking, the thousand pillars below began to light up. About a minute later, every pillar had cast its color.
Gwen swept her gaze over them.
"Five hundred to five hundred!"
She turned to Lorien. He had told her before that if the vote was tied, he would make the final decision.
Seeing the result, Lorien brought Gwen directly to the elder presiding over the vote.
"Creator."
The mont the elder saw Lorien, he bowed respectfully.
Lorien nodded, then addressed all the elders at once.
"Submit the reasons for your vote."
Within minutes, he had them all.
Among the 500 green lights—those in favor—most simply wanted to follow the Creator’s plan. A few cited specific benefits to having animals.
The 500 red lights—the opposition—gave more detailed argunts: animals would waste ti and land; Cybertron’s developnt didn’t require animals since plants were enough; or that Mars’ gravity might cause animals to grow abnormally large, which could disrupt developnt.
Lorien handed the compiled reasons to Gwen.
"What do you think?"
She read through them carefully, taking ti to think rather than agreeing just because animals were cute. She tilted her head slightly, counting on her fingers as she considered.
"If the animals grew too big, they really could cause trouble in the chanical zones," she said. "But without any animals, the place might feel too empty."
After a mont, she suggested, "What if we only introduced animals for viewing? Just gentle, beautiful herbivores, and keep their numbers controlled. No one’s going to live on this planet anyway."
Lorien thought about it and nodded.
"Right. That way there’s no need for a full ecological chain—just attractive, manageable animals."
Hearing that, Gwen grinned and held out her hand.
Lorien raised his and slapped it against hers.
"Smack!"
Decision made.
"The proposal is approved," Lorien announced. "But the animals will only need to be aesthetically pleasing and easy to control. No full ecological chain. Numbers will be regulated by the Transforrs."
"Yes, Creator," the elders replied in unison.
That settled the matter. Lorien continued showing Gwen around Cybertron for a while longer before snapping his fingers and returning them to the northern tower.
They had barely taken off their shoes when Lorien scooped Gwen into his arms and carried her toward the bathroom. He had been holding back all day—it was ti to let off so steam.
Gwen was caught off guard at first, then wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Today, Spider-Woman is going to take you down!"
"Oh? Watch unleash the body of a Superman!"
"Yaaah! That’s cheating!"
"Don’t worry—I’ve got toys that never quit!"
"You! Then take this—Tiger Talisman!"
"Sorry! Today Lorien’s playing one against two!"
In the living room, Hela sat on the sofa with her ga controller.
Even though Lorien had muted the sound, she could easily guess what was going on in the bedroom. Seeing that Lorien was only playing with Gwen for now, she clenched her fist in irritation, then crossed her arms with a huff.
But then an idea struck her. Her gaze shifted from the sofa to Lorien’s master bedroom, and her eyes lit up.
In her mind, she pictured it: she would reach out, divine power surging, a wave of darkness washing over her as she slipped into the shadows and vanished. The master bedroom door would open automatically... then close again.
Yes—she would do exactly that in the dead of night.
...
At the sa ti, inside the temple of Kamar-Taj, Stephen sat cross-legged on a cushion, deep in ditation. The Eye of Agamotto hung before him.
The death of the Ancient One had clearly weighed heavily on him—enough that he now kept the Eye with him in constant, 24-hour vigilance.
Creak—
The temple doors opened, and in walked the round, sturdy sorcerer Wong.
He ca to Stephen’s side.
"The three days are up."
Stephen opened his eyes and stood shakily, legs stiff from having sat unmoving for so long. He had been in that position for three days straight.
Wong eyed him curiously.
"What were The Ancient One’s last words to you?"
Stephen glanced at the Eye of Agamotto before him, then looked at Wong.
"Protect it at all costs."
Wong thought for a mont. "Did The Ancient One pass the title of Sorcerer Supre to you?"
"No—she didn’t have ti," Stephen admitted plainly, then quickly added, "But I’ll carry out her duties."
Wong considered this. He’d never been overly ambitious for the Sorcerer Supre’s seat. While it was a position every sorcerer dread of, what mattered to him was rightful succession. So he reminded Stephen,
"The Ancient One never publicly declared you as her successor. So when you’re outside, it’s best to say she passed it to you in her final monts. That way, your authority as leader will be stronger."
Stephen pretended to look puzzled.
"Wait—doesn’t everyone know I drove Dormammu away?"
"No, of course not." Wong shook his head. "Every sorcerer knows—and the story’s still spreading. But my point is, so with ill intent might use the lack of formal succession as an excuse to challenge you."
"Oh..." Stephen put on an expression of sudden realization—though at least half of it was exaggerated for effect.
"So what should I do?" he asked suddenly.
When The Ancient One was alive, Wong was the caretaker of Kamar-Taj’s sanctuary—technically its librarian, its library’s guardian, and, in many ways, The Ancient One’s assistant. He handled all of it.
Stephen’s question was really to test him—did Wong actually want the Sorcerer Supre’s seat?
The truth was, The Ancient One had already passed the title to Stephen telepathically before her passing. But after witnessing betrayal among the sorcerers, Stephen had decided to fish out the traitors—this question was bait. He didn’t have ti to wait around otherwise.
Wong caught on imdiately. His eyes narrowed as he shot back,
"You think I want your position?"
"When you were learning magic, I taught you."
"When you sneaked into the library, I let you in—by The Ancient One’s will."
"I was more grieved by her passing than you could ever know!"
"And now you suspect I want to steal the Sorcerer Supre’s seat?!"
After so many years at The Ancient One’s side, Wong could read Stephen’s intent easily.
"Sorry."
Stephen rubbed his nose in mild embarrassnt.
"These past days, I’ve seen too many sorcerers betray themselves for power. I have to be cautious with everyone here... and we haven’t known each other that long."
"I understand," Wong said with a nod. "If I were you, I’d do the sa."
n built trust through conversation, and now they’d exchanged so honesty. The result was instant—mutual trust grew. Wong knew Stephen had his own plans, so he didn’t press further. Stephen, in turn, had a good sense of Wong’s character now, and stopped probing.
It was a good start.
They kept talking deep into the night... until Wong suddenly grew serious.
"By the way—there’s soone you must treat with respect when you see him again."
Stephen froze.
"? I’m the Sorcerer Supre."
Who could possibly warrant my special respect?
Wong gave him a steady look, then nodded.
"Yes. Precisely because you are the Sorcerer Supre."
Stephen: ???
"Then who?"
"You’ve t him."
"I have?"
Stephen looked increasingly baffled. Wong could see he didn’t rember, so he gave a hint.
"The man who stood beside The Ancient One that day, giving you guidance. He had a little green-haired girl with him."
That day... Stephen thought back—and then it clicked.
"Lorien?!"
"Yes," Wong confird with a nod. Then he explained,
"Don’t think that becoming Sorcerer Supre ans you can act without restraint. Lorien’s power surpasses even The Ancient One’s. After a certain debate, she herself acknowledged his position."
"So even now, you must acknowledge that relationship. If you disagree, you can try speaking to the Godfather—but I strongly advise against it."
"He is the final safeguard of the Sorcerer Sanctum. Only when the Sorcerer Supre can no longer protect this world... will the Sorcerer Supre’s Godfather take action."
Stephen could only stare, stunned into silence, his mind a complete blank.
...
(70 Chapters Ahead)
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