Leon turned around to see a middle-aged woman in a magician's robe with a hood pulled over her head.
As she saw him, the woman removed her hood. Her head was bald and she wore a gem-inlaid pendant around her neck.
"My name is the Ancient One. I'm from Kamar-Taj, Mr. Leon. Thank you very much for saving my disciples in the town of Spoo last time."
"You seem to have just come from a battle, Ancient One."
Leon looked at the woman. Though her expression was calm, he could sense a profound weakness beneath the surface. Her life force was nearing its end, yet it was also accompanied by a unsettling power.
"This planet is far too special. There will always be those who covet it, and I must bear the responsibility of protecting it. This is the inevitable price."
Facing the young man's unconcealed, probing gaze, the Ancient One felt no offense, only a sigh.
"This is why you are worthy of respect."
Leon's words seemed to genuinely please the Ancient One, for she heard the truth in his statement.
She looked out the French window at the sky, which resembled a flowing golden river. She whispered, "It's a beautiful sight, though it is sure to alarm some people."
These "people" referred not only to the powerful figures in human nations but also to some forces beyond Earth. "This, too, is an inevitable price."
"It's a steep price."
The Ancient One looked at the young man. "Your birth has led this universe toward the unknown. It is unclear if it will bring about destruction, rebirth, or chaos."
"This has troubled me for some time."
The Ancient One's words were not straightforward; they were laden with hidden meaning, but Leon understood her.
He offered no explanation. "What is your choice, Ancient One?"
Leon's voice was calm, but beneath his composure, a terrible storm was brewing.
The Ancient One shook her head with a wry smile. "My choice is to let things be. Your arrival has already shattered the Sacred Timeline. This was fated a year ago, and I cannot put the timeline back on track."
"Leaving everything to time is a good thing for me," she said with a lively blink. "Meddling with time also comes with a corresponding price. Knowing the ending but being unable to change it is like a stagnant pool—calm and undisturbed."
"But an unknown future, no matter what the end may be, is full of possibilities that can surprise and excite people."
When the Ancient One made her choice, her previously deadened heart was revitalized.
She knew the Sacred Timeline couldn't be altered; she saw a fated future, one that was unchangeable. She was trapped within it, watching familiar people die according to the trajectory of fate, yet she was powerless. That feeling was despair, and the Ancient One hated this despair. This was why she wanted to escape it.
Now, things were different. The Sacred Timeline was broken and disrupted. Everything in the future was unpredictable, so the originally destined fates could also be changed.
Stagnant water became living water.
It might become a flowing lake or an ocean that brings the miracle of life, or it might become a flood that destroys everything.
The ability to change things through effort is hope.
Whether a person or a god, if they lose hope and motivation, they are but a walking corpse, as numb as the poor people in Madripoor.
To some extent, the Ancient One was both surprised and happy about the appearance of Leon, an outsider, though she was also wary.
Leon hadn't expected the conversation to go this way, but it wasn't a bad thing for him.
He was confident that he wasn't much weaker than the Ancient One, but this Sorcerer Supreme was also quite astonishing in her magical attainments, and no one knew how much advanced magic she possessed. If they were to fight, the outcome would be unpredictable.
Without a tense atmosphere, Leon seized the opportunity to discuss magic-related knowledge with the Ancient One.
The Ancient One was not stingy at all and answered his questions generously. At the same time, she was surprised that Leon had a considerable understanding of magic, which was no less than that of the senior magicians at Kamar-Taj.
After their conversation, the Ancient One invited Leon to visit Kamar-Taj whenever he had free time. Leon agreed.
Then, the Ancient One departed, leaving a meaningful parting sentence: "I am very happy to witness the birth of a legend, Mr. Leon. The universe is more vast than you and I can imagine. Knowledge will not let you down."
Leon's face was calm, and his eyes were deep. "Speculation is also a kind of art."
What happened in Madripoor has set off a huge global turmoil. The source of this turmoil was not the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people or the change in government but the very being who was the foundation for it all.
In such a developed country, naturally many people would settle there, and it was even a favored escape route for many. What happened there would naturally spread without Leon having to cover it up.
A mysterious and terrifying being, whose powerful magic covered all of Madripoor, had turned the night sky into a long river of gold. Those who bathed in this river found their hunger, physical defects, and diseases all cured.
The aftershock of this power created huge waves in the sea around the port of Madripoor. Once these waves spread, the islands and countries near Madripoor would have been affected. However, before the disaster could strike, the terrifying waves suddenly stopped and returned to a strange calm.
On top of all this, millions of people watched with their own eyes as those who were forced to kneel on the ground by this divine power were turned to ash by the golden holy flame, in despair and pain, as memory after memory of their sins were witnessed.
Hundreds of thousands of lives disappeared in an instant. How cruel it was.
Each of these events was like a miracle. Naturally, they caught the world's attention and caused a sensation.
(End of Chapter)
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