CHAPTER 60: CHAPTER 060: SORCERER SUPREME GODFATHER! GO TO THE AVENGERS TO RECRUIT WANDA!

Wong’s startled cry snapped everyone to attention. All the sorcerers instantly moved to activate the temple’s barrier.

"Activate the barrier, now!"

"Activate the barrier!"

"Activate the barrier!"

The warning spread quickly as sorcerers rushed into position. Within moments, most had raised their hands, channeling their magic into the temple’s defenses.

A shield of light, about the same size as The Ancient One herself, rose over Kamar-Taj. Formed from multiple smaller shields interlocked with one large one, its golden patterns were identical to the light shields seen in Avengers: Endgame. In theory, these shields could withstand even a nuclear strike—on Earth, short of a meteor impact, almost nothing could break through them.

Meanwhile, facing The Ancient One’s wary gaze, a small phoenix—condensed from Lorien’s Phoenix Force—soared toward her shield. It didn’t immediately explode with destructive power. Instead, following Lorien’s will, it landed gently atop the shield, flapped its wings, and gave her a greeting.

Then, a brilliant red light erupted. The Ancient One immediately bowed her head, unable to look directly at the terrifying radiance of the Phoenix Force, especially at such close range.

"Keng~~~!!!"

The phoenix’s cry rang out across heaven and earth. Sound and light came as one, and with them, the Phoenix Force’s terrifying destructive power burst outward.

"Boom~~~!!!"

The entire world seemed to shudder. In an instant, the sky and land were stained crimson. It had been sunset moments ago, but now the red deepened—red like blood.

"Crack~!"

The Ancient One’s first light shield shattered—the Shield of Time, her strongest defense against the Phoenix Force’s attack. From afar, Lorien noted that her defense was holding up... for now.

But the next second—

"Crack!"

"Crack!"

"Crack!"

Without the Shield of Time to weaken it, the Phoenix Force’s power tore through her remaining shields like paper. One after another, they fell apart.

Steadying herself, The Ancient One poured every last drop of her magic into sustaining her final shield. But even that, under the Phoenix Force’s might, was as fragile as an eggshell.

"Crack~!"

The last barrier split apart. Before she could react, the remaining destructive energy slammed straight into her.

"Boom~~~!!!"

Her yellow-robed figure was blasted through the air, streaking across the sky before crashing into a Himalayan peak.

"Bang~!"

The impact triggered an avalanche, burying her beneath tons of snow—a clean hit-and-bury.

Lorien flew over, reached into the air, and pulled. An invisible force dragged The Ancient One out like a limp doll. Her limbs hung powerless as an unseen hand gripped her waist, lifting her up.

That final strike had forced her to defend with everything she had. Now her magic was spent, leaving her utterly drained.

"Snap~"

Lorien snapped his fingers, sending a surge of red energy into her body. The light of the Book of the Vishanti flared from her form, and within moments, she stood restored.

"Phew..."

The Ancient One exhaled deeply, bowed, and said,

"Thank you for sparing me. From this day forward, you are the godfather of the Sorcerer Supreme. The Sanctums and all sorcerers worldwide will follow your command."

Lorien waved it off. Staying in the Sanctum wasn’t his interest. Still—

"The Ancient One, your plan will continue as intended. No need to alter the timeline. Later, I’ll have Wanda train in magic systematically. When you have time, help guide her as well."

Wanda—the Scarlet Witch.

The Ancient One nodded.

"No problem."

...

On the other side, a few minutes earlier, right after the earth-shattering explosion, Wong saw a wave of energy sweeping toward them.

His expression instantly turned grave.

"Increase your magical power!"

"Buzz~!"

More sorcerers immediately poured their strength into the shields. But when the energy wave finally hit, they realized—it wasn’t an attack at all. The barrier did little to stop it.

Instead, the earth-shaking tremors sent people stumbling, many losing their balance and falling. The impact felt like a hurricane-force wind slamming into them, making it nearly impossible to stand.

"Hold on!" Wong shouted, though even he was struggling to stay on his feet.

"Crack~!"

The first group of sorcerers collapsed, and a section of Kamar-Taj’s light shield shattered. The remaining wave of energy found the opening and surged through.

"Crack~!"

More were knocked down, and another large portion of the shield broke away.

"Crack!"

Finally, with so many down, the barrier above Kamar-Taj completely collapsed. Everyone was left sprawled on the ground.

Wong stared into the distance, stunned. A figure had been blasted deep into the mountains, triggering avalanches in every direction.

But who could unleash such a terrifying attack?

Who was fighting?

Could it be The Ancient One?

If it really was her... Wong didn’t even want to imagine it. Who could send the Sorcerer Supreme crashing into a mountainside?

Not long after, a portal opened directly within Kamar-Taj. The Ancient One stepped through, followed by a young man.

"This is Lorien," she introduced. "The future godfather of the Sorcerer Supreme. His power surpasses mine, and from now on, the Sanctums and all sorcerers will follow his command. Only he can protect this world now."

Hearing this, Wong’s eyes widened. Now he knew exactly who had beaten The Ancient One—it was the man standing right in front of him.

Recovering quickly, he bowed.

"Master Lorien!"

"No need," Lorien said with a wave of his hand. "Just call me Lorien. I don’t like titles."

He glanced back at The Ancient One.

"As long as I know the ones in charge, that’s enough. I’m not interested in managing the Sanctums or the sorcerers. If a major decision comes up, come find me. In New York, I’m a psychologist."

"Alright, I’ll be going now."

From the air, Lorien produced a business card and flicked it toward Wong.

Catching it, Wong noticed the gold-embossed name and address on the wooden card. But when he looked up again, Lorien had already transformed into pure energy and vanished.

Wong blinked in disbelief, then turned to The Ancient One.

"He doesn’t even need to open a portal?"

The Ancient One shook her head.

"He’s not using magic to control energy—he’s directly controlling energy."

Wong froze. Directly controlling energy? That was like powering a car without igniting gasoline, or getting electricity without a generator—tapping the source itself.

"How is that possible?" he asked, stunned.

The Ancient One gave no answer. She couldn’t do it herself, only knew such a power existed. Universal-level strength—beyond even what Sky Father-level beings could comprehend.

If Lorien wished, he could wrap the Earth in energy, lift it up, and hurl it at someone like a bowling ball.

In the end, she said nothing more. Instead, for the first time, she addressed Wong in a solemn tone.

"If Midgard ever faces a world-ending disaster, you must seek him out. Only he can turn the tide."

Wong tightened his grip on the card, committing the address to memory.

"I understand."

...

The scene shifted.

Lorien had already returned to the skyscraper in northern New York. Pulling out his phone again, he sent a reply to Stephen:

"A place called Kamar-Taj. Your future lies there."

After his battle with The Ancient One, Lorien didn’t feel like wasting time on explanations. Better to send Stephen there directly. Only by experiencing it himself would he understand what magic was, and what reality truly meant.

With nothing else to do, Lorien found himself bored. Gwen was busy with school and couldn’t come out to play.

As for Wanda... she should be off work by now, right?

Wait, did the Avengers even have "off work" hours?

Never mind, he’d go find out.

After a few taps on his phone, Lorien took the elevator down, stepped outside, and ran into Jetfire just coming out. Sliding into his Ferrari, he gripped the steering wheel and pressed the accelerator lightly. The car sped toward the Avengers Compound.

Before long, after passing through the city and some suburban roads, Lorien reached the outskirts of the base. Of course, even before he got close, Tony’s satellites had already scanned his car.

Getting out, Lorien leaned casually against the door and called Wanda.

A short while later, a stunning woman in a trench coat, hair loose, came running toward him, excitement written all over her face.

Inside the base, the other superheroes were stunned.

When had they ever seen Wanda this excited?

What on earth had happened?

They came out to check and immediately understood.

Wanda ran to the entrance, threw the base doors open, and leapt straight into a man’s arms—

And not just any hug. Her legs wrapped tightly around his waist.

"Who is he?" Falcon asked, staring toward the scene.

"Lorien Su," Natasha answered, adding, "In real life, he’s one of the top psychologists in the United States."

"In real life?" Falcon repeated, frowning thoughtfully.

"Yes, in real life," Natasha nodded. "No one really knows the full extent of his power—maybe only Wanda does."

But in truth, even Wanda didn’t. The one who knew the most was The Ancient One, who had only just met him recently. The rest of them barely knew the surface of it.

Falcon clearly still didn’t grasp how great Lorien’s power truly was. He thought the man was just unusually capable.

"Then why doesn’t he join the Avengers?" he asked.

Natasha: ...

The question drew curious looks from the other Avengers, while Natasha was left speechless. She couldn’t entirely blame him, though. Falcon had been a soldier, heavily influenced by Cap, and carried a strong sense of honor toward being a superhero. To him, becoming one was an achievement—something everyone should want.

But Natasha knew better. Lorien had no interest in being a superhero. In fact, if it weren’t for her sense of responsibility, even Wanda wouldn’t want to be one. The same went for Spider-Woman.

Simply put, Lorien’s whole "family" had no interest in the superhero profession.

How was she supposed to explain that? Natasha was just considering how to answer when Hawkeye, watching from nearby, said,

"They’re gone."

Sure enough, Lorien had already taken Wanda and left.

Seeing this, the male Avengers felt a strange mix of emotions—like a guy from the next class taking away the girl from yours. Or worse, like some guy from outside the school entirely.

Even if the girl wasn’t yours, you couldn’t help but feel... something.

"Haa..."

As expected, the group let out a collective sigh.

Hawkeye tilted his head back toward the horizon.

"Today’s sunset is the reddest I’ve ever seen."

Taking the cue, the others nodded.

"Yeah, it’s really red."

"I’ve never seen a sky like this in my life."

"...I think I’ll go for a walk."

...

In the reddest sunset in history, a Ferrari cruised steadily along the coastline.

Wanda let the sea breeze brush against her face as she gazed at the brilliant glow on the horizon.

"It’s so beautiful."

Lorien held the steering wheel with one hand, his other resting casually on the window.

"A sunset like this? All it takes is a big burst of energy into the sky."

Wanda blinked, puzzled.

"Why?"

"Because that’s exactly what I did."

She didn’t doubt him for a second. Instead, she smiled and asked playfully, "So you came to pick me up because you did all this for me?"

"Mm..." Lorien, sticking to his principle of not lying, nodded and then shook his head. "At least half of it was for you."

"That’s enough!"

Humming happily, Wanda leaned back, and Lorien found himself humming along with this warm, spirited girl.

This—this was the life he wanted. The fighting and killing were just occasional flourishes, nothing more.

After a while, Wanda began talking about her recent days with the Avengers—

Like how Cap and Tony had gotten into another argument.

How Falcon and Hawkeye were competing to see who had better aim.

How Natasha had gone off on another mission.

And then—

"Lorien, the Sokovia Accords have officially been issued. Looks like we’re supposed to go to Germany to sign them. But Cap’s already gone missing with a few people, and Natasha says trouble might be coming."

At that, Lorien immediately knew—Civil War was about to start.

Cap was gathering allies, heading to Germany to oppose the signing of the Accords, and to rescue his friend, the Winter Soldier.

Even with his own influence at play, Lorien knew the pull of the converging timelines would still try to steer events back toward their original course. The process might change, but certain key events—decisive battles—would still happen.

Unless he personally stepped in at those critical points to disrupt them, the timeline would remain intact.

And if he did? The Time Variance Authority would come knocking.

The TVA itself wasn’t frightening. It was the force behind them that was trickier to deal with.

If he truly wanted free rein over the timeline, he would need to surpass even the Universal-level—reaching the Multiversal-level.

At that point, the timeline wouldn’t just be something to preserve or alter—he could completely rewrite it.

If he wanted something never to happen, it wouldn’t.

If he wanted it to happen, it would—regardless of the steps in between.

But when that day came... it wouldn’t be the TVA seeking him out.

It would be the Living Tribunal.