Clearing his mind, Mordo concentrated on controlling the array.
New York, London, Hong Kong, the three locations of the Sanctum Sanctorum.
A giant golden mysterious rune lit up one after another. The three golden runes interconnected, and as energy surged, they enveloped the entire Earth.
At the same time, they prevented visitors from other Universes from entering the 404 Universe through Earth's node.
Ordinary people couldn't detect this array, but extraordinary organizations in various countries were an exception.
At the Global Joint Extraterrestrial Defense Command Center, a technician from the United States said fiercely.
"These sorcerers actually hid such a trick. If they had brought it out when the Dark Elves invaded, we wouldn't have suffered such heavy losses. How infuriating!"
"These sorcerers don't easily interfere with reality's affairs, which is a good thing for us."
"Wasn't the enemy in that war from beyond reality?"
"Actually, no. According to the sorcerers' logic, enemies from other Universes or other dimensions are enemies from beyond reality. The Dark Elves are, at most, aliens." A colleague beside him 'kindly' explained it to him.
Back in the Kamar-Taj main hall.
Mordo looked at the approaching energy, his eyes somewhat puzzled.
This golden energy was somewhat similar to the mental power of the Kamar-Taj line of sorcerers. But the scarlet red mixed in with this golden color exuded an extremely terrifying and evil aura.
Undoubtedly, this was an aura that only an extremely powerful and evil Dimensional Lord could possess.
Suppressing his doubts, Mordo controlled the array.
A golden energy beam shot out, blocking the energy's path.
However, the next moment, the energy merely adjusted its direction slightly, brushing past Mordo's attack, and continued to rush towards the array without slowing down.
"Is it a coincidence? It shouldn't be."
Mordo launched several more attacks, confirming his suspicion.
This was no coincidence!
The owner of this energy had a reaction speed far exceeding Mordo's, so Mordo's attacks, controlled by the array, couldn't hit him at all.
After verifying his suspicion, Mordo remained unhurried.
If he couldn't hit it, he would just focus on defense.
He controlled the array, and the style shifted. Energy shields appeared one after another, layered, completely blocking the path of the energy.
However, that energy continued its momentum, rushing towards the energy shields.
Mordo frowned at the sight, feeling a little displeased.
He could see that the energy enveloped a humanoid creature. To charge the Kamar-Taj defensive array with his physical body wrapped in energy like that, it was too overconfident.
The next instant, the humanoid creature crashed into the energy shield formed by the Kamar-Taj array. A ripple appeared, and the humanoid creature passed directly through the array.
"Ancient One! Sorcerer Lucas!"
"Quick, call them!"
"Everyone else, protect yourselves!"
Mordo froze for a moment, then quickly reacted and shouted.
Although he didn't know why the array hadn't worked, such an enemy was no longer something he and ordinary sorcerers could deal with.
If they didn't have a backing, they wouldn't cower when facing an unbeatable opponent. They would willingly fight to the death to protect reality.
But with a backing, there was no need for that. It was right to quickly bring out the backing.
As for them, they should preserve their useful bodies for the future.
"No need, Sorcerer Mordo, I mean no harm." A gentle voice sounded behind Mordo.
Accompanied by the flickering golden sparks, a cloaked figure with a high collar and dressed in black emerged.
"Who are you? I don't know you?" Mordo asked.
He summoned an energy shield to block in front of him, maintaining a defensive posture.
"I am Stephen Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme of another Universe. Also, Ancient One's disciple and your junior."
The newcomer was Strange.
He said with a hint of apology, "I'm very sorry to have disturbed you."
He had been traveling at full speed for a long time, and coupled with his excitement just now, he temporarily lost control of his energy, causing some dark energy to leak out. This led Mordo and the others to misunderstand, thinking it was a Dimensional Lord coming to invade.
"What evidence do you have?"
Mordo was noncommittal about Strange's explanation, merely asking him questions to buy time.
Strange was unaware of this, and even if he knew, he wouldn't care.
He wasn't a real invader.
He formed a hand seal, and the Eye of Agamotto on his chest opened, revealing the green gem inside.
"I think nothing can prove my identity more than this."
In the Kamar-Taj courtyard, after the crisis was resolved, many apprentice sorcerers, led by sorcerers, returned to their quarters to rest.
At this moment, golden sparks flashed, a portal appeared, and Lucas stepped out of it.
He looked at the somewhat lively and unusual scene before him, raising an eyebrow.
He guessed what special situation had probably occurred earlier. And it might be somewhat related to him, otherwise the Ancient One wouldn't have specifically sent a message for him to come over.
Lucas walked towards the Ancient One's tea room, nodding and greeting various sorcerers along the way.
He passed through the courtyard and corridor, arriving outside the tea room, hearing faint conversations from within.
"Master, long time no see."
Inside, Strange sighed with emotion.
He reached out and took the teacup handed to him by an attending apprentice sorcerer, thanking him in a low voice.
Then he stood there, somewhat foolishly, waiting for Ancient One to pour him tea.
This familiar scene awakened long-sealed memories, reminding him of his first visit to Kamar-Taj.
At the time, he thought it was nothing out of the ordinary. He was then immersed in the grief of losing his beloved, and didn't think much of it.
It wasn't until he lost his entire world that he realized how precious these everyday moments were.
So precious that even with the Time Stone, he couldn't bring them back by reversing time.
Holding onto his longing for the past, Strange took a shallow sip of tea, savoring it, as if it were the most exquisite delicacy on Earth.
However, a moment later, his brow furrowed slightly and unconsciously.
"Is the taste not right?" Ancient One asked with a smile.
"Hmm... the flavor has an added richness and sweetness." Strange thought for a moment, finding the right words to describe his recent sensation.
Ancient One then brought another tea set and brewed a fresh pot for Strange.
"Try it again."
Strange took another sip, and savored it carefully.
A moment later, he nodded, indicating that this time the taste was right.
"Master, are you reminding me that every world is unique? That I can't find what I've lost in this world?" Strange suddenly exclaimed.
He had just been both savoring and comparing the taste of the tea, and also pondering.
"Master, you don't need to worry, I know this. I came to this world only to seek a certain power to save my world. Once I find this power, I will leave. I will not interfere with the reality of this world."
Ancient One's heart skipped a beat, her expression momentarily stiff.
Goodness, what has this Strange been through? Did he mess up his world?
"No, I just wanted to ask you which tea tasted better. The first one I improved over the past two years, adding a bit of fresh coconut water."
She leaned closer to Strange and whispered again, "You know, many sorcerers at Kamar-Taj respect me too much. Sometimes they don't dare to tell me the truth and just prevaricate."
"Master, I think the one with fresh coconut water tastes better." A voice sounded, answering Ancient One.
The owner of the voice was not Strange, but Lucas, who had pushed open the door.
Ancient One shot Lucas a glance, said nothing, and continued to look at Strange.
"Strange, tell me your answer."
Strange frowned.
He wasn't sure if the Ancient One's words held a deeper meaning.
"Purely from the taste of the tea, both are quite similar."
"If you have to choose one, which one do you prefer?" Ancient One pressed, her tone gentle but with a hint of assertiveness.
Lucas and Strange both understood.
Ancient One claimed to be only asking which tea tasted better. But in reality, she was asking Strange if he wanted his original world or the modified world.
"Master, I know I was wrong, I shouldn't have toyed with time so casually. Now I just want to save my world."
Lucas looked at Strange, who had suddenly become distraught, somewhat puzzled.
Shouldn't the solution to a multiple-choice question be to choose one of the options?
"Strange, follow your heart and choose one."
Ancient One placed her hand on Strange's chest and asked again.
Silence followed her words, a long silence.
"I... I choose the first tea."
Strange spoke with difficulty, his expression growing more pained.
"But I truly didn't mean to, I really didn't want to destroy the world, if only I had known earlier."
To revive his beloved Christine, he had reversed time and altered reality multiple times. Eventually, he disrupted spacetime, leading to the collapse of the entire world.
"If I had known this would be the outcome, I wouldn't have done it."
"I understand."
Ancient One nodded.
Although she didn't know exactly what Strange had experienced, she could roughly guess.
It was nothing more than constantly reversing time and interfering with spacetime to salvage something. Ultimately, the spacetime disturbances grew larger and larger, affecting the normal operation of spacetime.
Snap!
And it collapsed.
Ancient One pointed to Lucas, who had, at some unknown point, slumped into a chair, looking as if he was watching a play.
"He is Lucas, the future Sorcerer Supreme of this world. Of course, you can treat him as the Sorcerer Supreme now."
Strange looked in the direction Ancient One was pointing, seeing a stranger.
His already sorrowful and furrowed brow gained a few more wrinkles.
Noticing Strange's expression, the Ancient One asked with a smile, "Are you wondering why the future Sorcerer Supreme of this world is Lucas, and not Mordo, who was leading the array to resist you?"
Strange did not speak.
Though arrogant, he knew this was Kamar-Taj's "family matter" in another world, and it wasn't his place as an outsider to comment.
However, the expression on his face answered for him.
"Because he is the master of the power you are searching for."
As Ancient One's words fell, Strange's expression changed dramatically. Countless emotions flashed across his face, finally solidifying into one expression.
Hope and despair intertwined.
"Help me, sorcerer Lucas."