Inside the Mirror Dimension.
The entire world was twisting and folding in on itself.
This was the Ancient One's domain.
The simplest spell of the Sorcerer Supreme lineage, and also the most terrifying.
Yet within her domain, endless artillery roared without pause.
"Eradicate."
"Eradicate."
"Eradicate."
The same mechanical voice echoed from every machine capable of sound.
This was their command, their only command.
At this moment, regardless of losses or outcome, they would advance without hesitation, charging toward destruction itself.
All for the faintest chance of victory against the Sorcerer Supreme.
The portal had not closed.
Nolan stood at its edge, watching everything with cold detachment.
Countless NS5 androids leapt forward, rushing toward the Ancient One.
But with the world constantly flipping, out of dozens of NS5 units, perhaps only one could reach her and throw a feeble punch.
That was enough.
Even if only a fraction succeeded, once the numbers were large enough, the machines surged forward like a tide.
The various Terminator models were even more agile, their weaponry far surpassing that of the NS5 units.
Their overwhelming firepower posed a genuine threat.
But it still was not enough.
A barrier unfolded around the Ancient One. The magical fans in her hands danced up and down.
With only minimal energy, each movement carried devastating force, elegant and precise.
Despite the swarm of machines, not a single one posed a real danger to her.
This was the power of the strongest Sorcerer Supreme in history.
But Nolan had expected this.
And this was only the beginning.
"Red Queen."
Nolan called out calmly.
The Titan-class units hovering in the sky moved instantly.
"Full firepower mode. Saturation barrage."
In an instant, every weapons port on the two Titan mechs opened at once.
Sharp whistles cut through the air.
Then came the thunder.
The Mirror Dimension was drowned in smoke and fire.
Cracks spread across the space itself, as if the world were about to shatter.
Nolan's eyes lit up.
So it was true.
The Mirror Dimension could be broken.
A faint smile curved his lips.
Then, in the next second, the world reassembled.
The ground beneath his feet vanished.
Many machines that had just stepped through the portal plunged downward before they could take a second step.
Large portions of the mechanical army followed them into the void.
Nolan staggered briefly, but the Mjolnir Armor he wore was already equipped with advanced thrusters capable of sustained flight.
Even so, his expression darkened.
With a single shift of the battlefield, nearly half his forces were gone.
As expected of the Ancient One.
Suddenly, she burst out of the smoke and lunged toward one of the Titan mechs.
Arcane energy surged along her magical fans. This strike alone was enough to destroy a Titan.
At that moment, a G5 combat unit slashed toward her with its blade.
"So fast."
For the first time, the Ancient One spoke, surprise flickering across her face, though there was no fear.
"There is much more that will surprise you."
Nolan's voice rang out.
"Ancient One, I am grateful for the help you once gave me. But I have my own path, and I have my bottom line. You should never have crossed it."
She smiled gently, as if his words were exactly what she expected.
"These are merely necessary steps."
Her voice remained calm, without the slightest hint of remorse.
Nolan glared at her.
This was why he had chosen to strike.
Yes, she was the protector of Earth.
At their core, they stood on the same side.
There was no inherent need for conflict.
But this world was ruled by strength.
Nolan refused to submit, and no one truly wanted to.
"Then let us settle this with power."
Nolan roared.
Dozens of Terminators clad in Mjolnir Armor leapt from the mechanical tide, coordinating with the G5 units to surround her.
Still not enough.
Still far from enough.
The Ancient One's strength was overwhelming.
Even Nolan's highest-tier forces were no more than children playing in front of her.
But she did not know this.
This time, Nolan had brought something else.
A mechanical tide was only one aspect of warfare.
Nolan favored it because intelligent machines were refined and versatile.
That did not mean he lacked weapons of greater terror.
For example
Nolan produced a droplet the size of a fist.
Even prepared as he was, his heart ached at the sight of it.
The Droplet.
A modified artifact from the world of The Three-Body Problem.
No advanced technology, merely a brutally simple physical construct.
Its price, however, was 3.3 billion.
Nolan was wealthy, but this was a consumable.
Still, this was the moment to use it.
Silently, the unremarkable droplet merged into the storm of gunfire, streaking toward the Ancient One.
It looked harmless.
Completely unthreatening.
But as it neared her, the droplet suddenly lifted its head and scanned its surroundings.
Too late.
In a flash, it pierced straight through her body.
The battlefield seemed to freeze.
Even the Ancient One looked startled.
But Nolan knew better.
Just as he would never believe she could die from a fall, he did not believe the wielder of the Time Stone could perish so easily.
In the next moment, the wound in her chest vanished, as if time had rewound.
"An extremely dangerous weapon."
She sighed softly, regret tinged with caution.
She had underestimated him.
Nolan Locke always produced things beyond her expectations.
She had observed hundreds of futures, and in hundreds of them, Nolan had killed her using countless different weapons.
"This is only the beginning," Nolan said slowly.
He knew she understood.
She nodded.
"Yes. This is only the beginning."
Their battle was far from over.
After all, conflicts like this could only end with one side yielding.
Nolan would not yield.
And it seemed she would not either.
As her words fell, the intensity of the battle surged again.
This was a fight in which Nolan held nothing back.
Since that was the case, the Titans were no longer an unacceptable loss.
The instant the Ancient One approached a Titan mech
Boom.
It detonated.
Nolan knew the Titan could not withstand her attack.
So he chose to self-destruct it instead.
The energy and missiles stored within were catastrophic.
He watched the mushroom cloud rise and could not help but admire it.
"Beautiful. Just far too expensive."
A Titan mech, along with elite combat units, gone in an instant.
He did not know whether the explosion had killed her again.
But the endgame could begin.
"Do it, Netero."
Netero.
A construct originating from the world of Toriko.
A remote-controlled entity whose power depended heavily on its operator.
Nolan would never dare to control it himself.
But what if a super artificial intelligence did it instead?
The rhythm of the battlefield slowed.
In this moment, the Red Queen poured the majority of her processing power into Netero.
What had once moved on instinct now seemed to awaken.
Its sharp beak tilted slightly, its piercing gaze locked onto the center of the explosion.
The smoke cleared.
As expected, the Ancient One reappeared.
Then Netero moved.
Its form vanished.
When it reappeared, it was already in front of her.
Her pupils contracted, and her heart was pierced before she could react.
The Ancient One died again.
She recovered almost instantly, but shock filled her eyes.
What kind of monster was this?
Such terrifying speed.
Without hesitation, she erected another barrier.
This time, it was far stronger than before, layered with incantations and enhancements.
She was serious now.
She had to be.
The first death came from ignorance of the Droplet.
The second was the unexpected explosion.
But the third was a robot tearing her heart out head-on.
She could not afford complacency.
Seeing this, Nolan finally smiled.
Three self-resets of her personal timeline.
This was the result he had paid such a price to achieve.
Equality required strength.
Time reset was a broken ability, but not invincibility.
She would never rewind the entire world. The cost was beyond even her, beyond even the man she once called the strongest Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange.
Resetting herself was easier.
Simulating the future was easier still.
But every reset consumed her own magic.
That energy did not return.
After such a long battle and three resets, Nolan could sense it.
Her power was no longer as vast as before.
It was difficult, but he now saw a path to victory.
A strange thought crossed his mind.
How many times had Doctor Strange died negotiating with Dormammu?
A monster indeed.
No wonder even the Ancient One acknowledged him as the strongest.
The battle continued.
Netero displayed terrifying strength.
Even with multiple enhancements, she could not easily deal with it.
Unfortunately, Netero had reached its limit.
Nolan sighed softly.
As expected, today's battle was destined to end in defeat.
Even so, he did not stop attacking.
He was waiting.
The Mirror Dimension was close to collapse.
Nolan was in no hurry.
He refused to believe she was not.
Once the Mirror Dimension shattered, the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj would be exposed.
It was shameless.
But it was his only option.
At last
The Ancient One retreated.
"You win," she said softly.
The words were quiet, yet Nolan heard them clearly.
With that sentence, every machine on the battlefield halted instantly, as if a switch had been flipped.
Nolan did not speak.
He had not won.
Neither had she.
As the attacks ceased, the Mirror Dimension shifted again.
This time, a single path formed between them.
She walked toward him across the inverted terrain.
It was only a few steps, yet she crossed hundreds of meters.
"Tell me, Ancient One. What exactly are you trying to do?"
This was the first time Nolan spoke since the ceasefire.
"The world needs rules," she replied.
Rules.
Nolan frowned.
He hated that word.
Especially when he was the one expected to obey them while others ignored them.
She looked at him and continued.
"Beyond us, there are existences you cannot yet understand.
Some govern the operation of universal laws. When a universe strays from its rules, they intervene."
Kang the Conqueror?
Nolan stared at her, unsettled.
His knowledge of Kang was limited.
Only that he guarded timelines.
The implications were terrifying.
Nolan did not hide his shock.
"Who could control such rules? And when you sent me to other worlds, was this the reason?"
She smiled, a trace of emotion in her eyes.
"You are very smart. By observing the future, I found a possible path to resist time itself. Perhaps the only correct future."
In her mind, Nolan should have been completely shaken.
She did not know that while surprised, he had long prepared himself for this.
He simply had not expected her to begin laying her plans so early.
And there was more.
What exactly was the nature of the timeline?
Could her actions truly preserve it?
Questions tangled in Nolan's thoughts.
As he was about to ask more, she waved her hand.
The Mirror Dimension vanished.
They stood once more in Kamar-Taj.
All the sorcerers were on full alert.
They were ready to fight, yet when the countless machines and wreckage appeared, many froze in shock.
"Ancient One."
Mordo stepped forward and bowed.
She shook her head.
"It was a misunderstanding. Disperse."
Mordo hesitated, then gestured for the others to stand down.
Nolan stepped closer.
"Ancient One, this is not over. I need a clear answer."
She suddenly laughed.
"Nolan Locke, have you forgotten that something else is waiting for you?"
Nolan froze.
Ultron.
Something had gone wrong.
His expression changed drastically.
"You planned this from the start."
Damn it.
That bald old woman had calculated everything.