Multiverse: Deathstroke

"Slade, you're here, hiss..." The Ancient One greeted Su Ming, her face flushed, breathing heavily and inhaling sharply.

Su Ming took off his helmet and looked at the packaging bag in front of the Ancient One. It turned out Gin had given her an experimental sample—devil's spicy strips—almost half a box.

His mouth twitched slightly, but he held back from saying anything.

"Uh, I have something I need to consult you about."

The Ancient One smiled and nodded, motioning for him to sit and talk: "Hiss, I just saw you coming back from beyond the universe, but I'm afraid I can't provide a satisfactory answer to matters from other universes. Magic has diversity and differences, hiss..."

Traveling between universes—he had been given the authority to do so since he became the successor to the Sorcerer Supreme. As long as he didn't break the world, he could come and go freely.

That was his privilege.

"I understand, but I think the situation in our world may have some reference value for the other side." Su Ming sat cross-legged beside her, and a teacup and teapot floated over, landing in his hands.

The Ancient One showed a look of approval: "Yes, sometimes magic has similarities; references can be made, but they can't be copied directly."

For her successor, she couldn't teach many spells, but basic common sense—she felt it was still necessary to say more.

"There are two entities that are incarnations of the concept of magic: one represents light, like Vishanti, and the other represents darkness, like Chthon."

Su Ming gave the Ancient One a comparison; this was roughly what it meant.

The Ancient One nodded, raising her cup of cool tea for a sip: "I understand your analogy, but Vishanti and Chthon do not represent light and darkness. Those are merely attributes of their power... Light is not necessarily good, and darkness is not necessarily evil. You must remember this and avoid being blinded by appearances."

"I know, the attribute of power is just its outward manifestation. What matters is the actions of the user," Su Ming also picked up his teacup. He had understood this a long time ago. The same was true for order and chaos.

"Good. It seems you've realized this for yourself, better than Mordo and the others, hiss." The Ancient One smiled with satisfaction, but she was still gasping for breath, "Go on and tell me about the problem you've encountered."

"Right now, that world is facing a bit of a problem. The one representing the light side of magic wants to abolish all magic and become a supreme dictator. The problem is, the world only has half a year left before destruction, and I can't let her do that. Magic is vital to maintaining the world's survival."

Hearing this, the Ancient One understood, and her expression grew solemn. Absorbing all magic into oneself—this was something even Vishanti couldn't accomplish.

Changing a world's concept could easily lead to irreversible disaster.

Su Ming didn't think Hecate could succeed either, but her attempt was already causing significant destruction.

"So, you're planning to bring in the dark side of magic, using a plan of 'driving away the tiger and swallowing the wolf'?" The Ancient One said the idiom in perfect Chinese, knowing Deathstroke understood.

"That's the plan, but I can't let the dark side of magic do whatever it wants either. If my negotiations with it fall through, I need a way to control it." Su Ming switched to Chinese as well; it flowed more smoothly.

The Ancient One quietly stuffed more spicy strips into her mouth, like a panda eating bamboo. She sat upright while deep in thought.

If this happened in her universe, with the Eye of Agamotto in her hands and with her abilities, she would have a way to deal with Chthon if he returned.

But she knew the Eye of Agamotto was, in fact, the Time Stone, a cosmic singularity. In another universe, even a parallel one, it would lose its power.

Not to mention, what Deathstroke spoke of clearly happened outside the omniverse.

After thinking for a while, she asked another question.

"I don't know much about Chthon's personality. And as for the entity you spoke of, I also have no knowledge, but I understand Vishanti—it's more like the embodiment of order, so often, its actions and attitude come across as very... mechanical."

The Ancient One paused briefly, trying to think of the right word.

Vishanti was an entity that, when it said one thing, it was absolute—unwilling to change. Though it didn't go as far as to demand "Submit or perish," it was stubborn. If you didn't listen to it, you'd part ways.

Chthon, on the other hand, was more human-like. He would run away, get scared, and compromise.

"What about the dark entity you mentioned—does it have a humanized personality? If so, what is it like?"

"It acts like a debt collector here to collect what's owed but, personality-wise, it seems immature—full of curiosity, which sometimes even delays its actions in battle."

"You fight against the rules of magic?" The Ancient One paused with the spicy strip in her hand, giving Su Ming a strange look. "It's like chopping down an endless forest—there's no end to it."

"Hmm, I fought for a while and realized that, so I shoved him back outside the world's barrier while he was distracted. Oh, I almost forgot to mention, that world has a barrier he can only find loopholes to enter."

The Ancient One understood as well. It was like their universe.

Originally, Earth had no magical barrier, but she built the three Sanctums and Kamar-Taj. Since then, Earth had magical defenses.

It saved a lot of trouble. The world Slade mentioned was likely similar.

The Ancient One already had an idea. For this personified embodiment of a rule, it would be even easier to deal with.

"Do you know why Chthon is constantly on the run between dimensions?"

"Yes, I heard there's an ancient god that's always after him," Su Ming said, repeating the information from the comics.

"Exactly. Our universe once had many ancient gods—unspeakable beings of unimaginable power. The Living Tribunal, Eternity, Infinity, they're all juniors compared to the ancient gods. These ancient beings feed on world rules and have immense energy."

The Ancient One explained the existence of the ancient gods. In fact, there was no need to worry. In the current world, such beings found the energy too thin; they had disappeared long ago.

Perhaps they were slumbering or had perished. In any case, she had only seen records of them in some ancient magical texts.

Of course, the one chasing Chthon was an exception.

However, that ancient god only had an interest in Chthon and posed no threat to anyone else. Naturally, no one meddled.

After finishing, she looked at Deathstroke with a smile, sipping her tea.

Su Ming had an idea. Not only did Marvel have ancient gods, but DC also had them. Although they had long been dead, the Upside-Down Man didn't know that.

For an investigator with intense curiosity, what could be more satisfying than an ancient evil god?

The Ancient One meant for him to make the Upside-Down Man feel threatened.

The threat didn't have to be real; it just needed to feel real to him. That meant Su Ming had to figure out a way to create a nonexistent supreme entity to scare him off.

Being the Sorcerer Supreme wasn't just about having the biggest fists—having a sharp mind was just as crucial.

Seeing that Deathstroke understood, the Ancient One smiled and continued eating her spicy strips. If he could take over sooner, she might consider enjoying some time as an ordinary person, going into the city to experience more of the world.