The old Black Panther of Wakanda still had no idea that the thoughts growing in his son's heart were becoming stronger and more dangerous with each passing day.
Nor did Garfield realize the role he himself had played in planting those seeds.
At this moment, Garfield had left Rin and Izuna behind and returned to Kamar-Taj, bringing with him Shōkyū, Midnight, and Pandora, who still hadn't paid a single day's rent.
This time, Garfield did not open a portal directly into his master's living room.
Courtesy mattered.
He crossed the square, walked through the long corridors, and subconsciously glanced toward the library.
Strangely, he felt no hunger.
That strange craving he once had… was gone. So it really was hidden away by Master, he thought.
Whatever it was.
Soon, he reached the living room.
The Ancient One sat there as always, a tea set placed neatly before her.
Garfield immediately trotted over, flopped down, and wrapped himself around her legs.
"Master~ your disciple missed you sooo much. blah blah blah—"
The Ancient One calmly lifted him off her lap and set him aside, her expression dark.
"Miss me?" She said coolly.
"I've been sitting here wondering why the Black Panther vanished these past few days, only to learn she was abducted by you."
"And now you bring a goddess back with you. Explain."
The air instantly turned sour.
Very sour.
Garfield swallowed the words 'With Odin around, you must not be lonely' and wisely kept his mouth shut.
That way lay annihilation.
Being removed once did not deter Garfield. He immediately hugged her leg again, tighter than before.
"Master! I really missed you!"
"Look, didn't I handle everything perfectly? I stabilized the situation and came back right away! I even brought you a pet!"
As he spoke, Garfield shoved Shōkyū forward.
"…?" Shōkyū pressed her paws against Garfield's face.
"Shameless, Bah."
The Ancient One examined her closely.
"A being from another world… a vessel of elemental power… in an immortal state. Unable to be killed, only sealed."
Her eyes brightened slightly. "Very interesting."
Shōkyū instantly trembled.
Garfield rolled his eyes. "Relax. My master doesn't eat foxes. Besides, fox meat is sour."
BAM
Shōkyū kicked Garfield square in the face.
He flew more than ten meters, rolling like an orange ball until he slammed into a pillar.
"Humph. Smelly cat."
Then…
Shōkyū turned around and hugged the Ancient One's leg just like Garfield had.
"Master~ I am the cute, beautiful, intelligent, and talented Tailed Beast Shōkyū."
Rub.
Rub.
The Ancient One laughed, her eyes crinkling. "You really are able to play with Garfield like this."
"Ancient One, I didn't expect your mindset to be so… youthful." A calm voice interrupted.
Midnight had finally spoken.
The Ancient One poured a cup of tea and handed it to her. "How long has it been since we last met, little gir?"
Midnight squatted in front of the table, accepted the tea, and drank. "Don't call me that."
"I didn't even understand what it meant when I first left home. And besides, I'm also a god, you know."
The Ancient One smirked.
"Oh? A god who wandered out alone, got lost, then got beaten senseless across the multiverse?"
"I wonder who that was, squatting in some corner crying."
Midnight immediately raised both hands in surrender. "Alright, alright, let's stop here. Save me some dignity."
"After all, my avatar is technically part of your family now."
The Ancient One glanced sideways at the orange apprentice who had just peeled himself off the pillar.
A faint, mischievous smile curved her lips as she turned back to Midnight.
"Ah, right. If you hadn't reminded me, I almost forgot." She said lightly.
"Black girl, you're now one of my apprentice's daughters-in-law."
One of.
Garfield rolled over and flopped beside the tea table, staring at the ceiling.
"Master, there are way too many daughters-in-law in that sentence." He protested weakly.
"I'm only a cute, underage juvenile orange cat. Besides, I'm an emotionally drifting orange. I don't even know what love is."
The Ancient One rolled her eyes.
"You know exactly how much trouble you've caused yourself." She said calmly.
"And since you're already here, I'll tell you one piece of good news and one piece of bad news."
Garfield's heart tightened.
Her tone was… strange.
He immediately put on his most innocent expression.
"Master," He said carefully, "What news?"
"First, the good news." The Ancient One replied. "I found you a very good friend."
A good friend? Garfield's mind raced.
Food? A chef? A magic refrigerator?
"…What kind of friend?" he asked.
The Ancient One smiled faintly. "No rush."
"Let's talk about the bad news first." She set her teacup down.
"Garfield, have you noticed something?"
"It has been seven years since you left this world."
"…What?" Garfield shot upright.
"That's impossible!" He blurted out.
"I was only gone a few months! I went to the Naruto world, did time flow differently there?!"
The Ancient One shook her head. "No, the flow of time wasn't different."
She looked at him steadily.
"You simply aren't strong enough yet to fully control the Eye of Agamotto. Its power interfered with your spacetime transition."
"…Damn." Garfield froze.
Now that she mentioned it, it made sense.
"I did hear strange noise's when I crossed the spacetime tunnel this time." He muttered.
"Like countless signals colliding… it must've been interference from other worlds' information."
The Ancient One nodded slightly. "That's correct."
"Now give me the Eye of Agamotto. I need it for something."
Garfield hesitated for half a second, then reached inward. From the depths of his stomach, a green glow emerged.
He opened his mouth and spat the Eye of Agamotto out onto the floor.
"…Clean it up first." the Ancient One said flatly.
After hurriedly wiping away the gastric residue, Garfield handed it over.
She accepted the relic, studying it briefly. "The spell you used earlier wasn't bad."
"Magic from Dumbledore's wizarding world has its uses. He himself was quite mature."
She paused. "If he were native to my world, I might have passed the mantle to him."
Garfield's ears twitched. "…Dumbledore?"
"He's already come here?"
The Ancient One nodded.
"He was brought to me by Baima in the end. That man named Grindelwald kept going to your shop looking for you. He had no other options."
Garfield felt his scalp go numb. So many things… happened while I was gone.
He swallowed.
"Master." He asked weakly, "What… is Grindelwald doing now?"
The Ancient One lifted her teacup and took a slow sip.
"Nothing special," She said unhurriedly.
"Just attempting a revolution that spans an entire era."
"…Oh." Garfield's mouth went dry.
"Master." He said hollowly, "That's not 'nothing.'"
He remembered the original history, the shockwaves Grindelwald sent through the wizarding world.
Perhaps even World War II itself…
Garfield clenched his fists. "…I think,"
"It's time for me to clean up the disaster I caused."
He stood and opened a portal.
As he stepped forward, the Ancient One spoke once more.
"Don't forget," She said gently,
"Go back to your place in New York first."
Garfield paused.
"The girl." She continued, "Has been waiting for you for seven years."
The portal shimmered.
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
PhantomDream