In Su Ming's hand suddenly appeared a glass, half filled with a brownish-red liquid, from the aroma, it could be smelled that this was the finest Scotch whiskey. And indeed, just as he requested, three pieces of ice floated on top.
The small square ice cubes were crystal clear, and they clinked against the glass wall with a crisp sound.
After running around for so long, it's good to drink some wine to soothe the throat. Moreover, if it were really like in the movies, wouldn't this glass of wine never run dry?
Su Ming: "Dun dun dun..."
The Ancient One just sat cross-legged to the side, her hands folded on her knees, clutching a Dharma Seal. She sat quietly beside him, watching him drink, with a smile on her face.
Su Ming was purely overthinking it. The Ancient One was not Doctor Strange; she wouldn't invert time with the Eye of Agamotto to play tricks with infinite wine, so this half glass of wine was indeed just half a glass.
Su Ming sighed, as expected, the styles are different. It seems that to drink infinite whiskey, he must wait until Strange takes office.
He placed the empty glass on the small table in front of him, feeling that although the Ancient One looked immortal seating cross-legged on a leather sofa seemed somewhat out of place, he still nodded to signal that she could ask whatever she wanted.
"Stranger from the Otherworld, what is your name?" She calmly chose a very common topic of conversation. She actually knew the answer, but this question is always a good starting point.
"Slade Wilson."
The Ancient One nodded and then asked again.
"Then what is your reason and purpose for coming to our universe?"
"Because of an accident." Su Ming wanted to answer she was here for tourism and vacation, but after thinking about it, he changed to a more serious answer: "No purpose at all, just trying to survive."
"Actually, I sensed you when you crossed the World Barrier, but you're not a magic user at all. The blue energy protecting you doesn't belong to you; I shouldn't have appeared in front of you… However, you wandered near the New York Temple, I guess it's fate."
The Ancient One transformed the Dharma Seal in her hands. A small red disk appeared, carried in her hand, with some images appearing on it, recreating the scene when Su Ming crossed through, from his abrupt appearance in the cosmos, then being wrapped in blue light passing through the atmosphere, finally falling into the sea.
Su Ming displayed a gentle smile on his face, but in his heart, there were numerous expletives. It was a long way from the New York Temple, an excuse. Surely she's still curious about the power of Dr. Manhattan.
"I'm a warrior, magic doesn't suit me."
Su Ming immediately expressed that the blue energy was caused by accident, and he knew nothing about it.
The Ancient One accepted this explanation. Her judgment was the same. The world is so big that perhaps somewhere there are tools that can send people to other dimensions or worlds. Someone enters this universe, naturally, some will leave. There were many who disappeared suddenly for various reasons, and the Ancient One had seen quite a few.
She lit the incense burner by her side, watching the light blue smoke rise gently, swirling above the ceiling.
"Do you like killing?"
"Just business. Work is for compensation. Indeed, everyone is a mercenary in different forms." Su Ming answered her casually. This question was inconsequential: "Some people are hired to deal with trees, some are hired to deal with fish. I just happen to be hired to deal with other people."
"Interesting perspective, the employment relationship is indeed something humanity invented long ago. Hundreds of thousands of years ago, our ancestors fought for food or hormones for others..." The Ancient One tilted her head, showing Su Ming a approving smile, expressing she had no prejudice against mercenaries: "So how do you view this world?"
Su Ming instantly tensed up; this was a trap question. No matter if he saw it positively or negatively, it indicated that he 'saw' something. And he had only been in this world for a little over a month, either on the island or at sea, how did he look?
Once he said he saw, then it represented premeditation, and the Ancient One might delve deeper.
"I don't know. After all, I haven't seen much. I've always been on the small island where there are not many people."
The atmosphere immediately relaxed. The Ancient One waved her hand and refilled his glass of wine, nodding with a smile.
"You are also human, so our Earth is presumably the same as your Earth. I have met many visitors from other worlds, and they have lived happy lives here."
Su Ming picked up the glass, drank it all without any politeness, even chewing the ice. The alcohol and coldness stimulated his mouth, making him extremely calm.
He replied vaguely: "Ka... Kacha... Hope so."
It can only be hoped so. If this is the MUC Marvel Cinematic Universe, then in the future, the inevitable invasion of Thanos represents a forbidding obstacle.
Deathstroke is a modified person; his lifespan is already very long; now, with X Metal, he is even more unlikely to die of old age. He is destined to see the day Thanos arrives, but The Ancient One, barring accidents, will die before that.
By rights, her lifespan has reached its limit. She lived for seven or eight centuries, now she waits for a successor, so she currently extracts Dormammu's Dark Energy to prolong her life.
This is tantamount to drinking poison to quench thirst; once these dark energies accumulate too much in her body, then she would be affected, turning into an evil accomplice, becoming the enemy she has always fought against.
So after teaching Strange, she willingly sought death, completing her mission.
Her combat ability, known as the Supreme Mage, plus Dormammu's Dark Power, the magic power of the Trinity Emperor of Mount Wei, and a Time Gem.
If it weren't for her wish to die, probably no one on Earth could kill her.
Is it possible that Kaecilius, with his strange eye makeup, could defeat her? You should know that in centuries past when Dormammu himself descended, he was repelled by The Ancient One. Over the years, The Ancient One has stolen his power to extend her life.
The title of Supreme Mage is well deserved; she is a true mage.
The Ancient One acted very low-key; even Thor and Loki didn't know there were mages in Midgard.
But when it comes to Doctor Strange, he prefers doing business, providing similar magical consulting services like Zha Kang. So even S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra are aware of the existence of the magical world.
This person with the wish for death, even if Su Ming got paid, he can't save back; if a mage doesn't rely on Dimension Lords or Hell Demon Kings after death, their final destination is bound to return to the side of the Emperor Vishanti and become future mages' power.
The Ancient One is relatively special; in the comics, after she died, as a soul body, she accompanied the Creator God 'Eternal' and occasionally returned to chat with Doctor Strange. But for the movie world, it's still hard to say.
If Su Ming's intuition is correct, the Ancient One might send him back to his original place shortly, possibly using magic to shield his memory of this section, like the magic she used to hide Kama Taiji. She will once again hide behind the scenes.
But it's impossible to erase Su Ming's memory. X Metal protects his brain, making it impossible to influence the world origin level of DC with Marvel's magic, unless all the Infinity Stones are collected to oppose world origin with world origin.
Now the time is still too early, with only knowing the Ancient One and Mordo, and playing with them is not interesting. So even if he can guarantee the memory won't be altered or read, Su Ming still plans to play dumb, just let her think she succeeded.
The Ancient One does not know Su Ming's thoughts. To her, this is just an ordinary peaceful day. Next, she still needs to look at the London Temple and then return to Kama Taiji to teach the newly accepted student.
Her new disciple, Mordo, is someone with a heart filled with darkness. But his magical talent is very strong, so she must teach him to become a good person.
But he cannot become the Supreme Mage; he is too extreme and doesn't understand the boundaries between compromise and power.
She can probably hold on for another hundred years, but whether she can find a successor is still unknown...
Various thoughts went through her mind, but she remained casual, smiling at Su Ming as if nothing were amiss.
"Well then, excuse me for the intrusion, I will send you back, and you can live freely in this world."
"Oh?" Su Ming raised an eyebrow, as if he passed the test?
"As a gift, I'll give you a small barrel of your favorite whiskey. Wish you a happy life."
Su Ming understood. The Ancient One plans to do a teleportation + brainwash combo on him, but he continued to play dumb.
"What do you mean? I can stay here?"
"The mountain not resents high, the sea not resents deep."
The Ancient One responded with a smile. She reached out and drew a circle. Su Ming suddenly fell down, and in the blink of an eye, he found himself back in the sewer, a small oak barrel clamped under his arm, containing about two liters of whiskey.
Su Ming knew the Ancient One was probably still watching him, so he pretended confusion, scratching his head as if trying to recall something, but soon embraced the whiskey barrel, continuing onward.
It must be noted that her style is entirely different from that of Dr. Manhattan. As an unknown presence, Dr. Manhattan sees them as bugs in the system, flaws in the program that must be eliminated.
And she is much more inclusively minded, indicating the world is large, and differently shaped stones can also stay on this mountain, differently colored water droplets can also blend into this sea. She wasn't bothered by the mysterious and unknown; if you're human, eventually you will blend into society with your kind.
The Ancient One, in the mirror space, watched as he walked into the distance, vanishing into the darkness. She didn't detect anything out of the ordinary, so she opened a teleportation gate again, headed straight to London.
But she had a premonition, this wouldn't be the last time she sees this person, and in the future, they will likely cross paths again.