The celebration lasted three full days.
Neither Noah nor the Ancient One cared much for festivities, but what needed to be done was done.
It worked out well enough.
Noah finally had the chance to properly gather with his old friends from Hogwarts, fulfilling something he'd put off for years.
What pleased him most was that his change in status hadn't created distance.
In public, they were respectful.
In private, they were exactly the same as before.
Friends.
They knew how to separate work from life.
That, to Noah, was rare and valuable.
Respect didn't mean kneeling at all times.
It meant understanding when to respect a person-and when to respect a position.
Noah was now the Sorcerer Supreme.
The weight of that title was absurd.
Even people who disliked him personally would still bow to the authority behind it.
His old friends handled this balance perfectly.
That put Noah at ease.
Unfortunately, once the ceremony ended, his real troubles began.
He'd expected them.
He just hadn't expected them to arrive this fast.
Strictly speaking, the inauguration itself was simple.
An oath.
And the formal inheritance of the Time Stone.
The Stone was already in Noah's possession.
He only needed to swear.
To be honest, Noah would've preferred a cleaner succession-like Strange's.
But Strange had been an exception.
Noah wasn't.
Rules existed for a reason.
In the original timeline, Strange could stay in New York because the London and Eastern Sanctums were practically gone.
New York was the only functional one left.
Strange rebuilt the others, but personally guarded New York.
There were no external magical organizations interfering.
Internally, the Ancient One's decision, combined with the crisis, left no room for opposition.
Strange was the strongest.
That was enough.
Noah's situation couldn't have been more different.
First, the High Sanctuary wasn't the only magical authority.
Large and small organizations were everywhere.
Every country had its own Ministry of Magic, with countless mages under its jurisdiction.
No matter how powerful the Sanctuary was, it couldn't ignore all of them.
The Sanctuary didn't rule the world.
It didn't want isolation either.
Those voices had to be acknowledged.
Second, Dormammu's invasion hadn't caused any real damage.
Noah had detected the rogue mage early.
The man never got the chance to cause chaos.
With Noah stationed in London, the rogue didn't even dare approach.
Under Noah's guidance, he went to New York instead-straight into Mordo's hands.
By the time Dormammu was finally summoned, Noah personally forced him to retreat.
Then turned around and killed the rogue on the spot.
The damage to the Sanctuary?
Zero.
No casualties.
Not even in New York.
The result was simple.
Noah had to remain at the High Sanctuary.
Just like his teacher.
That realization gave him a headache.
Portals might connect everything, but reality didn't care.
You could be somewhere else and realize the sun wasn't up yet.
You could be asleep and suddenly have someone run in asking you to deal with something.
It was soul-crushing.
"Fortunately," Noah muttered, sitting in a hall that resembled a conference room, "I prepared for this."
The ceremony was over.
Guests had been sent off.
Everything was returning to normal.
Those who attended were all influential mages.
They couldn't stay long.
Delay them, and trouble might start elsewhere.
As Noah thought, mages in monk-like robes entered the room one by one.
Wong stepped to his side.
"Everyone's here," Wong said.
"All Grandmasters who've passed the assessment over the years."
"Fourteen," he added.
"Fifteen, including you."
Noah nodded.
Fourteen wasn't surprising.
Back then, he and the Ancient One had agreed on the Grandmaster system.
At one point, ten Grandmasters had emerged at once.
That was accumulated potential.
The Seventh Tier wasn't easy.
Grandmaster wasn't a casual title.
Wanda and Strange made it look easy because they were monsters.
Only four new Grandmasters over all these years was normal.
If anything, Noah found it impressive.
And useful.
Some plans needed fewer people.
Others benefited from having more.
Especially elite talent.
No one ever complained about that.
"Good," Noah said, patting Wong's shoulder before standing.
"It's good to see you all. I don't think I need introductions."
Soft laughter followed.
Noah introducing himself would've been an insult.
Most people here knew him well.
Some knew him too well.
That one line eased the atmosphere-except for the newer faces.
"You don't need to introduce yourselves either," Noah continued, hands resting on the table.
"I know all of you."
"So I'll get straight to the point."
"Gentlemen-what do you think of the Sanctuary's current system?"
Silence.
The question caught everyone off guard.
Wasn't the system fine?
The Sorcerer Supreme at the High Sanctuary.
Three major Sanctums guarding vulnerable points.
Powerful Guardians stationed accordingly.
This model had lasted centuries.
Why bring it up now?
These were Grandmasters.
No fools among them.
After a moment of thought-combined with years of listening to Wong complain-they reached the same conclusion.
The new Sorcerer Supreme wanted to slack off.
Yes.
That was the conclusion.
Anyone who knew Noah remembered one thing clearly.
As a Guardian, he had never stayed obediently in one place.
"I believe the current system is excellent," Wong said immediately, eyes sharp.
"We should respect tradition, respected Sorcerer Supreme."
Noah stared at him.
"How about the rest of you?"
"Seconded," Victor said after a glance at Noah.
"Seconded," Mordo added.
Tradition mattered to him.
Even after being saved by Noah, he still chose it.
He nodded apologetically and lowered his head.
One by one, the others followed.
"Seconded."
Noah closed his eyes briefly.
He shot Wong a look.
This guy was absolutely stirring trouble.
Noah never doubted Wong's loyalty.
But Wong had his own bottom lines.
He wouldn't blindly follow anyone.
"We'll set that aside," Noah said, sighing.
"Next topic."
He wasn't disappointed.
He'd expected this.
"So for what I'm about to say," Noah continued,
"I need a promise from all of you."
Since direct persuasion failed, he changed tactics.
What did mages want?
Power?
Knowledge?
Resources?
Yes.
And no.
Every mage wanted something different.
Noah couldn't satisfy everyone.
But he held a trump card.
One that would shape their futures.
One that could be described as the optimal path forward.
"I need you to swear an oath," Noah said, looking around the room.
"A very deep one."
"You are not to speak of what I'm about to say until I allow it."
"And if the oath is broken?" a Grandmaster named David asked.
"No offense, Sorcerer Supreme," he added calmly,
"but can we at least know what this concerns?"
"No problem," Noah nodded.
"You'll know soon enough."
"But you must swear first."
"This concerns the future of many genius mages."
"And it concerns your futures as well."
"My teacher and I have already explored this path."
"She has succeeded."
Noah stopped there.
It was enough.
The room fell silent.
What kind of matter required two top-tier existences to explore together?
They exchanged glances.
Then, a decision.
"We swear," one Grandmaster said.
"By the most binding and vile oaths available."
"You have our word, Sorcerer Supreme."
Noah smiled faintly.
"Good."
"Then let's not waste time."