No timeline!?
Strange's eyes widened—more shocked than when he'd first learned the Ancient One had drawn power from the Dark Dimension.
He wasn't a fake Sorcerer Supreme like Wong.
After taking on the mantle, not only had his power increased dramatically, but he had also been granted access to the deepest secrets.
He understood time—and he knew this entire reality depended on the timeline.
Without a timeline, reality itself would collapse.
After several seconds of tense silence, Strange flicked his fingers in the air, summoning a gem that glowed with a vivid green light.
He clearly didn't want to do this, but he had no choice but to trust Russell.
"This is the method the Ancient One left behind," Strange said solemnly. "Use it to go back to the past and find her."
His tone softened with a trace of melancholy.
"The magic record she left says that after she left this timeline, she returned to the Eternal Realm to continue her journey. What happens in this world no longer concerns her—even if it's destroyed."
"So, if you need her help, you can only find her in the past."
Russell raised an eyebrow.
The Sorcerer Supreme's duty was to protect reality—which meant protecting the timeline itself. Time travel into the past or future was strictly forbidden.
Of course, Strange was an exception. This guy would do anything.
It was also one of the many reasons the Alliance of Universe-827 wasn't exactly fond of him.
Catching the way Russell was looking at him, Strange's expression turned awkward. He could already guess what the other man was thinking, so he quickly added:
"The Ancient One said it's a safe point in the past. No danger. Here—this is the coordinate."
He reached into a pocket dimension and produced a transparent crystal box containing a faint wisp of temporal energy.
Russell took both the Time Stone and the box, nodding.
"Yep, that's definitely a space-time coordinate. Also… anything you want me to tell her?"
Strange was tempted to flip him the middle finger, but thought better of it. The Ancient One in that era might still know him, so instead he smirked and said:
"Yeah. Tell her that one day she'll start losing her hair. And not the normal kind—completely bald, shinier than a light bulb."
Russell chuckled. "You're a bold man. Time is a tricky thing… Don't worry, I'll make sure to tell her every time I see her."
A flicker of guilt crossed Strange's face, and just as he was about to retract the comment, the Time Stone pulsed, releasing a green light. A portal made entirely from temporal energy began to form.
The wisp of energy from the crystal box shot into the swirling gateway, and the void shifted, revealing a real landscape beyond.
It was a dense, ancient forest. Somewhere in the distance came the cry of an unknown beast.
Russell frowned.
The Ancient One was supposed to be Celtic. Judging by the plant life, this was at least a million years in the past.
He stopped thinking about it and stepped through.
The time portal snapped shut behind him. Russell hovered in the air, scanning the horizon.
There was no sign of human life, no trace of civilization—only an untouched stillness, a peace far removed from all conflict. Even his own restless mind felt calmer here.
He arched an eyebrow. Maybe he'd underestimated this place. It wasn't ordinary.
Then he looked down—and met a pair of eyes shimmering with every color of the rainbow.
So… it was here.
Russell exhaled slowly, a quiet sigh in his heart, before transforming into a streak of light and descending to the ground.
Before Russell could speak, the man with heterochromatic eyes removed his hat, his gaze deep and unreadable, and said with a knowing smile:
"Finally, we meet… Your Excellency Yuan."
Russell raised an eyebrow.
"The Ancient One knew I was coming?"
If that were true, he had underestimated her yet again.
This was the Ancient One's past—by all rights, she shouldn't even know him yet.
Even if she had glimpsed the past, it shouldn't have been possible… not when he wasn't even part of the Sacred Timeline.
"No," the man with mismatched eyes replied with a light chuckle. "She's in the library, training. She has no idea you're here."
He laughed again, shaking his head. "Time really is strange, isn't it? I didn't expect we'd meet this way."
Russell's expression sharpened. "You know me?"
The man put his hat back on.
"Of course I do… But since you're here to find the Ancient One, let's deal with that first."
He stepped aside and swept his hand through the air, drawing a glowing line in the space before them.
The world split open like a curtain, revealing a massive, radiant cavern. Shelves of stone walls brimmed with books radiating magical energy.
At the valley's center stood a towering cherry blossom tree in full bloom. Beneath its petals sat a young woman in an apricot-yellow robe, cross-legged, surrounded by several shifting magic circles that flickered in and out of existence.
She still had hair, but Russell could tell at a glance—it was fake.
This Sorcerer Supreme had already gone bald at this point in time, but clearly, she was self-conscious about it.
A cold voice cut through his thoughts.
"Isn't it rude to stare at my hair like that?"
The Ancient One didn't even lift her head, continuing to adjust her spellwork.
Russell glanced at the man beside him, decided the timeline crisis came first, and strode into the cavern.
Crossing space in a few steps, he stopped under the cherry blossom tree.
"Good to see you again, Ancient One."
The magic circles dissipated. She raised her head, narrowing her eyes.
"…You?"
Russell didn't waste time on small talk. He took out the crystal box.
"I found this place using the time coordinates you left. You should already be a member of the Supreme Alliance. I need to contact your leader."
The TVA's timeline ran independently of the Sacred Timeline. Whether time moved forward or backward in reality, it still flowed inside the TVA.
Seeing the box, the Ancient One's expression hardened.
"What happened?"
Russell's tone was blunt.
"I suspect the Time Variance Authority is preparing to erase every branch timeline except the Sacred Timeline. I'm worried your leader is either in danger—or doesn't even know."
Her pupils contracted. Urgency flashed in her eyes.
"Neither possibility is good. I'll contact her immediately."
She glanced at the man with heterochromatic eyes.
"May I borrow this place, Cagliostro?"
"Of course," Cagliostro replied, raising his hand in permission.
The Ancient One nodded, summoning a surge of magic into her palm before pressing it to the ground.
Blue runes flared into existence, forming an intricate circle beneath them. One by one, the symbols ignited, releasing a torrent of mystical energy.
"This," she explained, "is power I've borrowed from other Sorcerer Supremes in the Alliance. I can open a time-space portal for you, but only one-way. I don't have the strength to bring you back. Be careful."
As she spoke, the blue portal began to form, widening slowly.
And then—
Russell's expression darkened.
From the other side of the portal, a surge of dark dimensional energy exploded outward.
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