Boiling water was poured into the teapot, and the tea leaves slowly unfurled in the water, as the elegant aroma of tea drifted out with the misty steam.
Ancient One took her seat and picked up the simple ceramic teacup. She took a gentle sip, and the warm tea slid across the tip of her tongue—bitter at first, then turning sweet, as a rich fragrance mixed with the fresh air of the mountains and forests spread through her mouth.
"Good tea," Ancient One praised, a flash of genuine appreciation in her eyes as she set down the teacup.
"I didn't expect Your Highness to be so proficient in the tea ceremony. This technique and charm are in no way inferior to the Tea Masters of the Ancient Eastern Country."
Mavuika poured herself a cup as well and smiled slightly at the comment. "I learned it while passing through that Ancient Eastern Country before. There was a master who had retired to the mountains; I helped him resolve some... minor troubles, and he taught me everything he knew."
She recalled those times, her eyes softening. "They also gave me quite a bit of tea, all freshly picked that year. If you like it, Sorcerer Ancient One, I can give you some."
Ancient One gently shook her head in refusal, but her manner was not distant. "I won't trouble Your Highness to part with what you love. Kamar-Taj is near that ancient country, so it is convenient to purchase."
Mavuika didn't insist and simply nodded. "Alright, but if you ever want to change flavors, just say the word."
After the brief pleasantries, the atmosphere in the courtyard remained peaceful, but the rhythm of the conversation began to shift.
Mavuika picked up her teacup, her amber eyes—like the Sun—looking at the Sorcerer Supreme across the curling tea steam. Her tone was casual but went straight to the core: "Has the Sorcerer come for a visit for any particular reason?"
She paused and then continued, "I have been in Midgard for over a hundred years. At first, I thought you would come looking for me sooner. When there was no movement for a long time, I assumed you had other considerations."
Hearing this, Ancient One first nodded slightly, expressing a proper apology. "We were previously tied down by various trivial matters and failed to visit Your Highness at the first opportunity. This was our negligence; please forgive us, Your Highness."
Her voice was sincere, with no hint of perfunctoriness. "Not long after I officially took over as Sorcerer Supreme, I wanted to find an opportunity to come. But at that time, it happened that Dormammu was attempting to open a rift in London, and subsequently, there were several dimensional intrusions that needed to be handled..."
"By the time things settled down, several years had passed. So as soon as I had a moment of leisure, I immediately took the time to come and express my apologies to Your Highness."
Mavuika waved her hand, her posture relaxed. "There's no need to be so polite. If our conversation is nothing but pleasantries, the atmosphere will become uncomfortable."
She thought for a moment and added, "Speaking of which, I previously felt a massive surge of extra-dimensional energy appearing in Norway. That aura was cold and twisted, carrying a hunger to devour all things. However, before I could go and check the situation, that energy disappeared again, as if it had never existed."
She looked at Ancient One, her eyes filled with clear admiration. "I assume the Sorcerer stopped it at the door? It was handled very cleanly; even the spatial residue was smoothed over."
Ancient One accepted the praise calmly but did not take all the credit. "Your Highness is too kind. Dormammu has always been eyeing this material World. Similar intrusions occur every few decades, but that one was on a larger scale and indeed took some effort."
"Before coming to Midgard, my royal father also mentioned many deeds regarding the lineage of the Sorcerer Supreme to me." Mavuika's voice became a bit more solemn.
"And the efforts successive Sorcerers Supreme have put into protecting Midgard, Asgard has always taken note of."
She looked directly into Ancient One's eyes, her words clear and powerful. "You are respected allies of Asgard. Within the order of the Nine Realms, that Earth has been able to maintain a relatively independent developmental trajectory is largely thanks to the lineage of Sorcerers."
Facing such high praise, Ancient One's expression remained indifferent, her gaze still calm.
She bowed slightly. "Your Highness overpraises us. Protecting this dimension is our duty and the oath sworn by the first Sorcerer Supreme. Compared to Asgard's protection of the Nine Realms and the establishment of order, everything we do is insignificant."
This was a humble remark, but it was also the truth.
Ancient One had observed the history of the Nine Realms through the Time Stone. She had seen with her own eyes how Mavuika and Hela reshaped a war-torn World with Fire and death, and how Odin established a framework of peace that lasted for thousands of years with an iron fist and wisdom.
But Mavuika shook her head. "Protection is not measured by scale, Sorcerer. Asgard protects the Nine Realms because we have such power and responsibility, and you protect Earth just the same. What matters is choosing to do it and persevering."
Ancient One was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Your Highness is right."
Mavuika smiled, drained the remaining tea in her cup, and then placed the empty cup on the table with a soft "clack."
"Alright, Sorcerer Ancient One, let's end the pleasantries here." Her tone was still gentle, but with a touch more directness.
"You coming to find me at this time must be for more than just expressing apologies or complimenting each other. If there is something on your mind, you might as well speak plainly."
Ancient One did not answer immediately. She first refilled the cups for both of them, her movements natural, as if they were truly just two friends chatting on a late afternoon.
The teapot tilted, and the amber tea poured into the cups, steam rising.
Then, she spoke, her voice steady and clear: "I heard that Your Highness is looking for a suitable location on Earth to ignite the Sacred Flame, to coordinate with Her Highness Hela's actions in the Underworld."
The air in the courtyard seemed to freeze for a moment.
Mavuika's hand holding the teacup stopped in mid-air. She narrowed her eyes slightly, and a sharp light flashed in those eyes that resembled molten amber.
She didn't immediately deny it, nor did she admit it. She just slowly set down the teacup, her gaze locked onto Ancient One's face, as if trying to pierce through that calm facade to see the truth behind it.
"The Sorcerer even knows about this?" Her voice was still steady, but every word carried the weight of an interrogation.
She leaned forward slightly. Although her posture remained relaxed, an invisible pressure faintly emanated from her entire being.
Facing Mavuika's undisguised interrogation, Ancient One did not avoid it, nor did she attempt to stall with lies or ambiguity.
She seemed to have expected this question long ago. One could even say she proactively mentioned it to bring up this topic.
She held both hands up to her chest, fingers curved, forming a complex and elegant Spell Sign.
With her movements, the seemingly ordinary metal pendant on her chest began to emit a soft green light.
The structure of the pendant slowly unfolded like precision machinery. Layer upon layer of nested metal rings rotated and separated, revealing the strictly protected object at its core.
It was a gem.
It was about the size of a thumb, irregularly shaped, with a green glow flowing across its surface as if it were alive.
The light was not blinding, yet it was so deep it seemed to swallow one's gaze. Inside, countless tiny points of light were rotating, aggregating, and separating, like the birth and annihilation of stars.
Simply gazing at it, one could feel a subtle change in the speed of time flowing around them. The steam rising from the teacup slowed down, the rustling of leaves blown by the wind in the distance lengthened, and one could even clearly hear the interval between each beat of their own heart.
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