"This is incredible. You're me from another world?"
"That's right. Nice to meet you. If it weren't for a few special accidents, I'd probably be exactly like you."
Facing the two Ancient Ones-one purely spiritual, the other fully physical-Noah and Strange exchanged glances without saying a word.
Time and space around them were completely frozen.
Yet neither of them was affected.
Honestly, the situation had gone far beyond Noah's expectations.
He had long suspected that the Ancient One of the original universe hadn't truly died. The comics said as much. Still, seeing her appear in person was disorienting-especially when his own universe's Ancient One, who had already deviated completely from the original path, was standing here as well.
Soon, golden light bloomed around both Sorcerer Supremes.
They were clearly communicating.
At a level neither Noah nor Strange could comprehend.
Noah didn't dwell on it.
He turned to Strange, who still looked stunned, and smiled casually.
At this point, Noah had already broken the "only one Holmes in the Marvel Universe" rule. Two Holmeses now existed simultaneously.
"By the way," Noah suddenly asked, "can you play the violin?"
"...No." Strange looked confused. "But I can play the piano."
"Interesting." Noah smiled. "Looks like I'll have to properly teach the you from that universe."
In truth, Noah had been thinking about this for a long time.
How exactly should he train Strange?
Should he throw him straight into space like in the original story?
Or take things step by step, using his own methods?
This question had existed even before Noah arrived here. His teacher had clearly stated that Strange would be handed over to him.
That alone gave Noah a headache.
He had trained many apprentices before.
But this was Strange.
The Sorcerer Supreme of the original story.
The unlucky guy whose position he had effectively replaced.
Still, among Noah's previous students, there were those who had the potential to become Sorcerer Supreme themselves.
The issue wasn't capability.
It was awkwardness.
Noah shook his head.
He decided to use his own methods.
Some particularly interesting ones.
"Violin?" Strange frowned. "Why do I suddenly feel like you're thinking something unpleasant?"
"Maybe," Noah tilted his head. "Who knows?"
"But this time, the you from that universe falling into my hands probably won't have a comfortable experience."
"I can imagine." Strange sighed. "Was my personality really that annoying back then?"
"I don't know," Noah nodded. "Probably similar. I haven't actually met you in my universe yet, but someone like you probably wasn't easy to deal with."
That wasn't an exaggeration.
Early Strange had been unbearable.
He didn't believe in magic at all.
But that was understandable.
A hardcore materialist. A world-famous surgeon. Someone who had saved countless lives through modern medicine.
Why would he believe in something he'd never seen?
Noah's universe was different.
Mages existed openly.
Noah himself had led the charge during the alien invasion of New York.
That incident alone made the existence of powerful mages undeniable.
Teaching Strange in this context would likely be much easier.
And probably much more interesting.
Noah tilted his head.
He might not meet the Charlotte Holmes of the nineteenth century.
But the Holmes of the twenty-first century?
That one might still appear.
Just not as a detective handling mundane cases.
Noah was quietly glad he'd bought 221B Baker Street ahead of time. Otherwise, who knew what kind of strange coincidences might have happened.
"Alright," Strange said after a pause. "You're leaving this time. I don't know if we'll meet again."
"Meet again?" Noah smiled. "If we do, the gap between us will probably be even wider."
"Probably." Strange didn't dwell on that. "But there's something I need to ask."
"Natasha," he said. "What are you planning to do with her?"
"...Natasha?"
Noah froze for a second.
Then slapped his forehead.
"Damn it. I almost forgot."
He really had.
If the Ancient One of this universe hadn't appeared, Noah might have already left with the diamond. Then, someday in the future, he'd suddenly remember that Black Widow's soul from another universe was still sitting in his possession.
With a sigh, Noah took out the diamond from his dimensional space.
It was brilliant and clear.
Within it, the faint image of a sleeping woman was visible.
Natasha.
He casually tossed the diamond to Strange.
At the same time, a wisp of golden light appeared on Noah's fingertip. He pointed at Strange, and the light flowed directly into his mind.
"This is..." Strange paused. "The method you use to resurrect someone?"
"Simple, right?" Noah smiled. "Basic soul manipulation. You just need decent control."
"That's not 'decent' control," Strange sighed. "And in our universe, even cloning technology might not meet the requirements."
"Then go find Tony." Noah answered without hesitation. "That guy's tech isn't that simple. He just needs time."
That was the truth.
Without Reed Richards, Tony Stark was still the greatest scientist on Earth.
If anyone could pull this off, it was him.
Even if he couldn't, it wasn't a dead end.
Earth tech wasn't the only option.
Alien tech was available.
They weren't exactly unfamiliar with Peter Quill and his crew.
Even if Quill had caused massive trouble before, that was all in the past now.
Strange nodded, resigned.
At that moment, the golden light around the two Ancient Ones faded.
Frozen time and space began to move again.
"I never imagined your universe would be so interesting," the spirit-form Ancient One said softly. "And it likely won't suffer disasters like ours again."
"I believe so," the physical Ancient One nodded. "Because I have a... very unique disciple."
"If I had met your disciple earlier," the spirit-form Ancient One sighed, "perhaps our universe wouldn't have suffered so much."
"That isn't something we should say," the physical Ancient One replied calmly. "Without Mr. Banner's accident, you wouldn't be who you are now."
"Facts are already established. Just as we know what Thanos will do-but we cannot kill him simply because we know."
The spirit-form Ancient One sighed.
That was true.
Otherwise, she could have killed Thanos long before everything began.
But she hadn't.
She shook her head and said no more.
Her gaze passed over Strange, then Noah.
She smiled, nodded once, and dissolved into a faint golden light.
Noah's teacher, on the other hand, carefully examined him from head to toe.
Then she turned to Strange.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Stephen. In truth, whether in this universe or ours, this is our first meeting."
"Hello, Ancient One." Strange bowed respectfully.
Even knowing she wasn't his Ancient One, he still did so.
The more he learned magic, the more he understood how much lay beyond ordinary logic.
And the more cautious he became.
"Unfortunately," the Ancient One continued, "coming here has consumed too much of my energy. I can't stay longer."
"Before long, the other one will come knocking. I believe you already know what that means."
"Yes," Strange replied calmly. "Dormammu."
"We know." She interrupted, then glanced at Noah. "I hear you even put together a 'movie'?"
"Uh..." Noah scratched his head.
He wanted to say he hadn't used the Time Stone to spy on the past.
After a moment's thought, he nodded anyway.
"I was curious about what this universe became without me."
The Ancient One shook her head, saying nothing.
She raised her hand.
Golden light enveloped Noah, and he felt it surpass the limits of space itself, stabilizing the cosmic intersection channel.
"It's time for you to go back, Noah. You still have things to deal with."
"Of course, Teacher." Noah nodded. "And I gained a lot this time as well."
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