Master Wong raised his hand and traced a circular motion in the empty air before them.
A golden portal instantly opened.
"Please, follow me."
Lucas rose and stepped through the portal behind Wong.
In the blink of an eye, they arrived inside a stone chamber.
The room was not large—perhaps no more than forty square meters in area.
Yet every surface—the walls, the floor beneath their feet, and even the ceiling—was carved with densely packed magical runes.
At the center of the chamber stood a stone pillar topped with a disc-like platform.
Wong strode forward and placed his left palm upon it.
The moment he infused it with magic, grooves etched into the platform lit up.
As the central formation activated, the runes across the entire chamber began to glow. Magical fluctuations intensified rapidly.
Lucas felt the surrounding space shift in a subtle but unmistakable way.
If he had to describe it—
It was like stepping from the cold outdoors into a warm interior.
In the next instant, Wong's figure vanished.
Lucas now stood alone.
"Come this way, Lucas."
The Ancient One's voice echoed near his ear.
With a thought, Lucas turned and walked out of the chamber—
Only to find himself in a strange new space.
He looked around.
The buildings of Kamar-Taj floated in midair, their orientations inverted and distorted as if gravity itself had ceased to function.
He immediately understood.
"The Mirror Dimension."
The Ancient One's signature spell, inherited from the Vishanti.
A reflection of reality shaped by the caster's magic.
Within it, space could be twisted, shattered, rebuilt—without affecting the real world.
It was ideal for research, private discussion, imprisonment, or battle.
At the center of this chaotic mirrored world floated a crystalline sphere, like a giant suspended crystal orb.
Lucas immediately extended his senses.
But he detected no living presence anywhere.
The Mirror Dimension felt utterly silent—lifeless.
As his gaze settled upon the floating crystal sphere, pieces of stone split away from nearby structures and flew toward him.
The fragments assembled themselves into a staircase leading up to the orb.
Lucas stepped onto the stairs and ascended.
Up close, the crystal sphere's surface appeared flawless and translucent—yet it was impossible to see inside.
"Open the door and enter."
With the Ancient One's voice, a door manifested upon the sphere's surface.
Lucas grasped the handle and stepped through.
What he saw inside surprised him.
This was not the chaotic Mirror Dimension outside.
Instead, it was an endless barren plain—vast and empty.
Clearly, this was a second Mirror Dimension nested within the first.
A double-layered containment.
Doctor Strange would later favor the Mirror Dimension as well—perhaps influenced by witnessing the Ancient One's mastery of it.
But in this moment, she fully deserved the title Sorcerer Supreme.
Above the desolate ground, the Ancient One floated cross-legged.
Golden magic circles formed continuously around her hands as she cast spell after spell toward a massive violet energy cocoon before her.
From the cocoon's surface, purple tendrils extended outward—
But the moment they touched the surrounding golden arrays, they recoiled as if shocked by high voltage.
"Carrie?"
Lucas immediately recognized the energy signature.
The aura emanating from the cocoon was unmistakably hers.
He rose into the air and joined the Ancient One.
"You've arrived," she said without turning.
"What's happening to Carrie?" Lucas asked, eyes fixed on the cocoon.
"Her innate racial ability has awakened," the Ancient One replied calmly. "But due to extreme emotional stimulus, her internal energy lost control."
"She belongs to a very rare—and extraordinarily powerful—cosmic species."
"Before meeting her, I believed only a single member of that species existed."
"It appears I was mistaken."
"She has awakened her racial gift—the ability to devour tangible cosmic matter and convert it into power."
"As a natural talent, it should be manageable."
"But the attack by a Hell Lord's apostle triggered her loss of control."
"By the time I sensed the disturbance, it was already too late."
Lucas frowned.
"Even as the Sorcerer Supreme, you cannot resolve this?"
The Ancient One shook her head gently.
"The Sorcerer Supreme is not omnipotent."
"This can only be resolved by her."
"All I can do is confine the effects within this Mirror Dimension."
"I have layered two Mirror Dimensions as insurance."
"If she were to completely lose control…"
Her voice remained calm.
"Earth could be consumed."
"Perhaps even the entire solar system."
Lucas inhaled slowly.
"So I can only wait?"
The Ancient One finally opened her eyes.
There was a subtle depth within them.
"Lucas, you must prepare yourself. If she fails to regain control—"
"She won't fail."
Lucas cut her off firmly.
He stared at the violet cocoon.
"I've known for a long time that Carrie wasn't born on Earth. But she is family—brought home by my parents."
"As long as she is my family, I do not care what she truly is."
"Even if she were a demon from Hell."
The Ancient One's lips curved faintly.
Lucas continued,
"She will not fail."
"Because you possess the Time Stone."
"If she were destined to fail, you would have already acted."
"Wouldn't you?"