---------------
š Enjoying the Story? Get Ahead Now!
Can't wait for the next twist or epic moment?
Join my Patreon and unlock 40+ advanced chaptersāread ahead of everyone else! š„
š https://www.patreon.com/UK21
Your support means the world to meāthank you so much! š
----------------
The Ancient One, who was just about to leave, paused when she heard Alex Ray's question. It intrigued her.
She gently closed her eyes, as if listening to the echoes of time itself. The Time Stone, resting at her neck, shimmered with a soft purple glow.
Alex had a hunchāshe was peering into the future, scanning countless potential timelines.
Realizing she wouldn't be responding for a while, Alex walked over to a nearby table, grabbed two ice-cold bottles of soda, and chugged them down one after the other.
Just as he finished the second bottle, the Ancient One finally opened her eyes.
There was a deep, ageless wisdom in her gazeāas though she had just glimpsed all possible outcomes of fate.
"It looks like you've seen something, Master Ancient One. Mind sharing what it was?" Alex asked, curiosity burning in his chest.
He truly wanted to know what would happen if Peter Parker never became Spider-Man.
The Ancient One looked at him calmly, thoughtful.
She had seen Peter Parker across countless timelines, each life branching in radically different directions. In some, he became a scientist. In others, a businessman. In some darker paths, he even became a villain.
But no matter the outcomeāhero, villain, genius, failureāeach timeline eventually collapsed into tragedy.
Some Peters were killed by sinister forces. Others perished in random accidents. Some died alone, unfulfilled.
There were versions who became other superheroesāmembers of the Fantastic Four, the Human Torch, the Hulk... even, in the most absurd twist, Captain America.
Still others fell into darkness: transforming into the Green Goblin, one of Apocalypse's Horsemen, or the Lizard.
Yet what stood outāwhat horrified herāwas that in every timeline where Peter Parker didn't become Spider-Man, the universe itself fell into ruin.
It seemed there was only one path to salvation: Peter had to become Spider-Man.
"Why don't you see for yourself?" the Ancient One said, waving her hand.
The space around Alex began to distort and shimmer. He felt as though he were being pulled into the fabric of time itself.
Mist swirled in the air, and countless floating light screens appeared before his eyes like a celestial theater.
Each screen projected a different universe, every one recording the life of a man named Peter Parker.
Alex watched as Peter grew up. He saw the boy's ordinary childhood, his playful mischief in school, his innocent romance with Mary Jane, the heartbreak of losing Uncle Ben.
Then came the divergenceāwhen Peter was bitten by a radioactive spider and became Spider-Man.
In some universes, that bite never happened.
In those worlds, Peter often died in freak accidents. Entire timelines collapsed shortly after.
Some Peters gained powers by other meansābecoming alternate superheroes.
Alex watched a Peter who joined the new Fantastic Four, another who took Johnny Storm's place as the Human Torch, another who turned into the Hulk. One bizarre version became Captain America.
Other Peters fell to darknessāone became the Green Goblin, another the Plague, and one grotesquely mutated into the Lizard.
And yet, no matter what role he playedāhero or villaināevery timeline without Spider-Man ended in universal destruction.
Only the Spider-Man path brought any chance of balance or survival.
As the visions faded, Alex closed his eyes, lost in heavy thought.
Was he, too, just a pawn in someone else's grand design?
The Ancient One had been watching him quietly. Seeing the tension in his face, she nodded subtly.
She had gone to great lengths to show him these futuresānot out of malice, but to warn him not to tamper with others' destinies.
Especially not that of Stephen Strange.
Stephen was destined to become the next Sorcerer Supreme. His path had to remain untouched. That's why they sent Alex on these missions across parallel worldsāby the time he returned, Strange should already have begun training in Kamar-Taj.
Alex slowly opened his eyes and looked at her. He smiled softly. "Thank you. I understand now."
He grasped her intention. He, too, was an anomaly. But unlike Peter, his role wasn't to fix himselfāit was to prevent tragedy for those around him.
He had a duty to protect the people he cared about. Stephen included.
Despite Stephen's arrogance and short temper, they had been college roommates for years. If something ever happened to him, Alex knew he couldn't just stand by.
He'd heard the same prophecy: that if Strange's lover died, he would destroy the universe in grief.
Of course, had the Ancient One known Alex had completely misinterpreted her message, she might have reconsidered ever coming.
Behind her, a golden portal shimmered into existenceāits edge glowing with the symbol of Kamar-Taj.
"Come," she said. "Let me teach you how to use a portal."
But Alex didn't move.
The Ancient One raised an eyebrow. "You're not interested in portal magic?"
Alex gave a sly smile. He raised his right hand and slipped on a Sling Ring. Then, effortlessly, he drew a glowing circle in the air.
A portal to Kamar-Taj opened instantly before them.
"I've already learned it," he said calmly. "There are a few things I still need to handle here. After that, I'll visit you in personāthen I'll move on to the other universes."
The Ancient One's usually unreadable expression cracked in surprise.
"You learned it... just by watching me once?" she asked.
She had assumed Alex would need at least several months of rigorous training. Even Kamar-Taj's most brilliant pupils took weeks to conjure a working portal.
Could another version of her in a parallel world have already trained him?
Alex's talentāor perhaps something far more uncannyāleft her stunned.
"How about this," she said slowly. "Come train at Kamar-Taj for a while. I'll pass the Sorcerer Supreme title to you."
She meant it. If given the time, Alex could become the most powerful Sorcerer Supreme in all history.
As for Stephen Strange... well, she pretended she didn't even know him.
But Alex just shook his head. "Leave that honor to Strange."
He knew himself. Without his system's support, mastering magic would take yearsāyears he didn't have. By the time he'd be ready, Thanos would've already snapped half the universe out of existence.
What was the point?
It made more sense to build alliances, prepare strategically, and fix what he could now.
Seeing he was resolute, the Ancient One didn't insist. She turned, stepped into the golden portal, and returned to Kamar-Taj.
Alex remained.
He still had work to finish in Hell's Kitchen.
And soon, he'd be stepping into another parallel universe.
A Spider-Man universe.
He couldn't help but wonderāwhich version of Peter Parker would he meet?
---------
ADD TO COLLECTION
LEAVE A REVIEW
DROP POWER STONES
--------------------
Let's rise up the rankings together!
----------------
Bonus Chapter - 150 Power Stones
2nd Bonus Chapter - 300 Power Stones
---------------
š Enjoying the Story? Get Ahead Now!
Can't wait for the next twist or epic moment?
Join my Patreon and unlock 40+ advanced chaptersāread ahead of everyone else! š„
š https://www.patreon.com/UK21
Your support means the world to meāthank you so much! š
----------------