The Ancient One walked the corridors of the Star Walker, a glint of wonder in her eyes. New vistas unfolded before her, views of the universe she had never imagined. This giant man, Julius, had given her a new purpose, a new universe to explore. It was a challenge worthy of her immense thirst for knowledge.
Yet, as she moved, an insidious presence began to seep into her mind. Whispering voices, tempting, woven from promises and lies. Tzeentch, the God of Change, had sensed her. An irresistible desire had taken hold of him: he wanted her. She possessed limitless magical potential, a wellspring of power he knew he could not resist corrupting.
Tzeentch's voices grew more insistent, a maelstrom of overlapping words, contradictory schemes, and enigmatic secrets. For an ordinary human, this auditory deluge would have been enough to shatter the mind, to reduce consciousness to ashes.
But the Ancient One was no ordinary human. She had stood against Dormammu, negotiated with cosmic entities whose very existence defied logic. To her, Tzeentch's whispering was nothing more than the grumblings of a slightly more talkative Dormammu, with too many mouths.
She ignored the voices with millennial discipline, sealing her mind as she had done countless times before. Not a muscle in her face twitched. She continued on her way as if nothing had happened.
"Ha," she murmured to herself, turning her attention to a more practical need. "I would like to find a library akin to Kamar-Taj."
Her piercing gaze seemed to scan the energy currents around her. "But this universe... it radiates so much Chaotic energy that it could intoxicate any mage, anyone who attempted to touch the Web. It is a subtle poison, a permanent temptation."
Aware of the danger not only to herself but to anyone who would attempt to practice the mystic arts here, she made a decision. She could not face this threat alone, not in such a hostile environment.
"I will have to ask the little Julius for help," she concluded, a slight smile on her lips. Even the most powerful of sorcerers sometimes needed the resources of an emperor. True power lay in knowing one's own limits and in the wisdom of knowing when to form an alliance.