"What!?"
Hearing Lorien's words, Tony's face stiffened and he immediately turned to Stephen.
"Is that true?"
"Yes." Stephen nodded with a smile.
"Then why didn't I know about this?"
"That's the drawback of only studying on your own. Books won't tell you these things. Sorcerers who teach will share their personal experiences, but books only contain knowledge, not experience."
"..."
Tony opened his mouth, then finally realized he'd been too naive.
Right. Books only record knowledge. Whether you actually learn is up to you. Whether someone teaches you is another matter.
If all you do is read books, how would you ever know about the connection between teleportation spells and the sorcerers on the other side? Books only teach you how the spell itself works. If they had to write out every countermeasure, how thick would the book need to be?
That's why experience matters. Unless your teacher tells you, or you happen to find a book dedicated specifically to teleportation, you can only figure it out through practice.
So Tony fell silent—he hadn't thought it through. According to the books, teleportation spells let you go wherever you want, as long as your mana is sufficient. Anywhere you've seen, you can teleport to. But the books never say what happens if another sorcerer interferes.
That's the difference between taking lessons and self-study. Now Tony had experienced it for himself.
Lorien smiled.
"So now you understand why I wanted Wanda to stay at Kamar-Taj for a while to study magic."
Under Stephen's watchful gaze, Tony nodded.
"Experience is important."
Stephen smiled warmly.
"Exactly."
Wanda had learned magic directly from the Ancient One. The Ancient One had poured her heart into teaching her. Coupled with Wanda's talent, she never faced this kind of problem.
On top of that, Lorien had granted Wanda permission to use magic inside this building. Without that, even Wanda couldn't have cast spells here.
Stephen knew this, but he never told Tony. Instead, he watched Tony try a few times before giving up and returning through the elevator.
Why? Because even if Stephen had explained it then, Tony would've only understood that the spell didn't work this way or that way. He wouldn't have grasped the importance of experience.
So Stephen deliberately let him run into the problem himself. That way Tony would learn the lesson. In short: it was for his own good.
Seeing Tony fall quiet, Lorien chuckled.
"Better to understand than be kept in the dark. Now, let's talk business. You didn't come here just to chat, did you? Is this serious or not?"
The mention of business pulled Tony and Stephen back on track. They exchanged a look. Then both nodded.
"Serious business."
"Serious business?"
Could these two really have serious business? Lorien glanced at the office door, then waved his hand.
"I'm taking the day off. Let's go to the lake by Tony's house. We can fish and talk there."
"Day off?"
Tony and Stephen were puzzled for a moment. Then they remembered Lorien was the boss—if he wanted a break, he could take one.
So Tony nodded.
"Alright."
Hearing that, Lorien's thoughts shifted. In the blink of an eye, he looked back at Tony.
"Alright. From now on, you can teleport directly to my office door. Now open a portal home—let me see how practiced you are."
At the word "practiced," Tony looked a little embarrassed.
"Ahem." He coughed lightly. "I only learned this spell yesterday. Still not very smooth with it."
Stephen's cloak gave Tony's shoulder a tap, and Stephen himself said,
"Get on with it."
Tony: …
Two Archmages bullying a novice sorcerer. Just wait. Once I perfect the Sorcerer Battle Armor, I'll definitely give them a beating… well, maybe I could handle Stephen. Lorien? Forget it. Even dreaming about that would be ridiculous.
Still, grumbling in his head was one thing. Out loud, Tony did as he was told. When it came to magic, he really was just a rookie.
He extended both hands. Left hand flat, right hand tracing circles. He spun it again and again.
Watching the clumsy beginner gestures, Stephen and Lorien exchanged glances and smiled. Not mockery—just genuine amusement.
Moments later, golden sparks connected and formed an oval portal. The other side opened, revealing the lake and lawn in front of Tony's house.
Seeing it complete, Tony slowly lowered his hands.
"Let's go."
The three nodded, then stepped into the portal.
In the next moment, they appeared on the lawn in front of Tony's house. Tony turned around, traced another circle, and finally closed the portal.
"How was it?" Tony folded his hands.
Lorien and Stephen exchanged a glance, both of them barely holding back their expressions.
Stephen interlaced his fingers and asked,
"Want to see the gap, Tony?"
"Of course." Tony nodded immediately. "That's how I face the gap head-on."
"Alright."
Stephen kept his fingers interlocked, but extended his index finger. He drew a circle in the air.
Hum—
A golden portal appeared in front of him. Stephen tilted his head at Tony, then moved his finger again. The portal vanished instantly.
Tony crossed his arms, his mouth twitching. He wanted to speak, but couldn't find the words.
So Stephen reassured him.
"You just got back into teleportation magic. That's normal. Why don't you watch Lorien instead?"
"?"
Lorien froze inside. Watch me...?
"You sure about that?"
Tony nodded. "I'm sure."
In the very instant Tony finished speaking, Stephen and Tony's positions swapped.
Where Stephen had been standing was now Tony's spot. Where Tony had stood a moment ago, Stephen now stood.
In other words, with just a single thought, Lorien had seamlessly switched the two of them.
"...Whoa..."
Tony sucked in a sharp breath.
Stephen's eyes widened.
Both of them froze, stunned.
What just happened?
Tony instinctively glanced to his left, toward where Stephen had been. Stephen reflexively looked to his right, toward where Tony had been.
As a result, they ended up staring in opposite directions. Only when they realized what had happened did they snap their heads back, locking eyes with each other.
"This..."
Stephen thought for a moment.
"This already goes beyond magic. It's on a completely different level."
And he was right.
Magic still required casting, but abilities had no such delay.
For Lorien, manipulating space was nothing more than a passing thought.
So talking about magic with Lorien was pointless.
Even if the Space Stone were right in front of him, he could toss it into another universe with ease.
"Alright, let's get down to business."
Tony was numb. He slapped his cheeks twice.
Smack, smack!
Then he looked at the two of them.
"Give me a minute. I'll grab three fishing rods. We can chat while we fish by the pier."
With that, Tony turned and left.
Only then did Stephen look at Lorien and ask,
"What's the status of the Avengers now? Seems like a lot of them have gone into seclusion?"
Lorien shook his head.
"Not true seclusion. Banner and his cousin are still quietly living in the city."
"Tony talks about seclusion, but whenever he makes a big discovery, he still needs to find someone to discuss it with, worried about a looming crisis. Seclusion is nothing more than a compromise."
Hearing that final sentence, Stephen nodded with understanding.
He couldn't deny it.
If not for compromise, how could the Avengers have allowed UN intervention? How could the Superhuman Registration Act have come to pass?
In the end, it really was compromise.
The Avengers weren't like Hydra, free to act however they pleased.
When you live within rules, you are bound by them.
...
Not long after, Tony returned, dressed in casual clothes and carrying three fishing rods along with a tackle box.
Seeing this, Stephen twirled his hands, and his sorcerer's robes shifted into a different outfit.
Both of them took rods from Tony, and together they walked to the dock to sit down.
The benches and chairs there had already been set up. They sat down casually as Tony opened the box.
Inside were bait, hooks, fishing line, floats—everything they'd need.
Tony, familiar with the lake's depth, fish species, and habits, immediately began setting up his gear. He even chose the bait without hesitation.
Lorien glanced at the toolbox, then at the lake.
With just a thought, he knew everything: how deep the lake was, the water temperature, what fish swam there, what they preferred to eat, and at what depth they lingered.
Alright. That was everything.
He began assembling his fishing rod as well, choosing the perfect line thickness, hook size, and bait.
Stephen, however, looked down at the items in his hands.
He had no idea what to do. He'd never touched this kind of thing before.
So, watching the other two move with such familiarity, he asked,
"How do I set this up?"
Tony glanced at Stephen.
Then he looked at Lorien's tackle and noticed how different his setup was from his own.
Finally, he chuckled.
"You can copy either my method or Lorien's—just depends on who you trust..."
Tony hadn't even finished speaking when Stephen glanced at Lorien's gear and immediately started assembling his own.
Line, hook, bait—all chosen in an instant. A straight-up copy!
But Tony... He was speechless.
At least hesitate a little, would you? Show me some respect! Just half a second of doubt, then decide whether to follow Lorien. I wasn't even done talking! And you just went ahead and copied him—what, my opinion doesn't matter?
With a sigh, Tony continued putting together his own tackle.
But he muttered,
"I know these fish better than anyone. I've been fishing here for months—I know exactly what they like to eat."
The implication was clear. Stephen, you picked the wrong guy!
"Maybe," Stephen said, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"But I trust my instincts more."
Tony: speechless.
...
Not long after, the three finished assembling their gear, baited their hooks, and cast their lines. Each chose a different spot—left, right, and center.
Once the hooks sank beneath the surface, Tony finally spoke in a normal tone.
"Alright, let's talk business."
"The other day, when I went to study magic with Stephen, he suddenly sat cross-legged and started twitching."
"Observing the future," Stephen corrected.
"Right—Stephen suddenly sat cross-legged to observe the future. After he finished, he said he saw a massive war—a battle between machines and a swarm. But I don't know the details; he didn't say."
Tony quickly laid out what he knew. In short, Stephen had a fit and then glimpsed the future.
After Tony finished, Stephen was about to add his part—
Plop~
Lorien's float sank.
"Hold that thought."
With one hand, Lorien lifted his rod. The hook had caught straight in the fish's mouth.
He then tested the strength of the rod and line. Only then did he realize...
"Huh? Sure, Tony, you use your high-tech fishing rod."
After confirming the rod could withstand the strain, Lorien slowly lifted it. The fish, still thrashing in resistance, was steadily pulled from the water.
Of course, he couldn't use too much force—otherwise, the fish's mouth would tear.
Once he hauled it up, Lorien weighed it in his hand.
"Not bad."
He tossed it into the tank behind him, then cast his line back into the lake.
Tony watched the speed at which Lorien reeled in fish, then glanced at his own rod, which hadn't moved in ages.
He was speechless.
Stephen continued.
"That day, my intuition sensed a crisis. So I used the Eye of Agamotto to look into the future.
In the vision, I saw an Iron Legion battling an endless swarm of insectoids.
And within that Iron Legion, there was a monster over a thousand meters tall, unleashing explosive shockwaves.
The battle erupted on the outer edge of the Solar System. I don't know how long it lasted, but I saw insect corpses and wrecked warships covering the system's periphery."
When Stephen finished, Tony finally asked,
"So? Who won?"
Having said his piece in front of Lorien, Stephen only shook his head slightly.
"I didn't see the ending.
I only saw the most intense stage of the war.
Countless insects, laser fire, and artillery filled the starfield.
It was a war humanity couldn't even bear to look at. If such a vision appeared as a recording in human society, the entire world would believe the apocalypse had come, plunging everything into chaos."
Didn't see the end?
Hearing that, Tony didn't even know how to respond.
Stephen went on.
"A war like that—humans can't even look at it. Once they see it, all they feel is despair. Resistance won't even cross their minds. At most, a handful might consider fighting back. But the chances are close to none."
That was why Stephen's expression was so grim, so serious.
Because this crisis was far too great.
So great that the Sorcerer Sanctum Sanctorum couldn't hope to intervene.
So great that even if Tony deployed every Mark Armor he had, it would still be nothing more than a drop in the ocean.
It wouldn't change a thing.
Even nuclear weapons—how much could they really do in space?
Sure, they might destroy a single warship.
But the universe is too vast—who would you even target?
In cosmic warfare, nuclear bombs had limited single-target destruction and even less area-of-effect power. Their role was painfully awkward.
So Stephen had spent days wrestling with this problem.
In the end, his only answer was...
To find Dad—no, to find Lorien!
Upon hearing this, Lorien chuckled, intrigued.
"Then tell me," he asked, "in that battlefield at its peak, were there more insect corpses or warship wrecks? What was the ratio?"
Stephen closed his eyes to recall. Then, opening them, he said,
"The insect corpses were so numerous, they even wrapped around the wreckage of the warships."
"And the Transformers? How many were lost?"
"The Transformers... died..."
The instant Stephen spoke the word "Transformers," his eyes widened in shock.
"You said Transformers?!"
Yes. He hadn't even asked whether they were Transformers, yet Lorien had already brought them up—asking how many had fallen.
Which meant...
Lorien had just admitted, in his own way, that the Transformers were his!
Tony smirked knowingly from the side. Finally, he couldn't hold back any longer.
"Stephen, your secret was not telling me the details of the battlefield. And the secret I didn't tell you back then... was this.
Now you understand?"
What secret?
The Transformers belong to Lorien!
That entire planetary legion and the vision of the future you saw—it was all his!