At the same time that Abbendis was trying to talk Tyrande into his plan, over in the Marvel universe, Josh had arrived at Kamar-Taj.
"What? You want me to go to another universe?" The Ancient One, who had just poured Josh a cup of tea, was very surprised when she heard his request.
"That's right. This matter is more troublesome. I have many people under me, but only a few of them are truly strong enough to help. So…" Josh nodded.
"Josh, maybe you don't know. The Sorcerer Supremes of every universe and every era in the multiverse have an agreement… We cannot take part in battles between different realms. Otherwise, we would be attacked by the other Sorcerer Supremes together!" The Ancient One sighed.
Without a doubt, if anyone was the first to know that Josh could connect with other worlds, it was the Ancient One.
That was also why she had always supported Josh in almost every way.
Because even though everything Josh did was for his own benefit, it also brought great benefits to this universe. On the surface, the different universes of the multiverse seemed unrelated, but in truth, fights had always existed.
After all, every universe's source power was limited. If one universe gained more, it became stronger in every way, while another became weaker and declined.
Normally, though, most universes had their own guardians. The most well-known were the Sorcerer Supremes of each universe, and the Celestials. (A/N: In Josh's setting, they were quite different from the ones in the comics.)
Because of this, serious multiverse wars were forbidden by these guardians, who also shared an unspoken agreement.
At their level, if they interfered in a multiverse conflict, things could go out of control. Countless universes might be destroyed, and even the ones left would suffer heavy damage. If dimensional gods got involved, the disaster would be beyond imagination.
Only a few, like America Chavez, or beings like the Watchers who did not interfere with the running of universes, could freely travel between different worlds without drawing the attention of the guardians—doing some "smuggling" in the process.
"Ancient One, you misunderstand. The world I am asking you to visit this time is not within the multiverse you know. I can promise that. That world does have beings like the Celestials and even someone like you, a Sorcerer Supreme, but it is completely separate. In that world, Earth does not even exist. So you don't need to worry about breaking any agreement with the other Sorcerer Supremes."
Then Josh carefully explained everything about Azeroth to her, leaving out no detail.
It wasn't because he was afraid she would catch him lying. It was because the Azeroth universe was far too dangerous, and its power system was very different from Marvel's. Even for someone as strong as the Ancient One, Josh wasn't sure she could return unharmed.
He didn't want to lose such a powerful ally before even getting any benefit from Azeroth. So the more detailed he could be, the better.
From the races of Azeroth to Draenor.
From the Naaru to the Pantheon and the Burning Legion.
From the Old Gods to the Void army.
From Elune to the Shadowlands.
Everything he knew about the Warcraft universe, he told her without holding back.
"I see… What an interesting universe." After hearing Josh's full account, the Ancient One finally nodded, her face showing deep amazement.
Even though she had always valued Josh's importance to this world, she had to admit—Josh had once again given her an even greater surprise.
A universe completely outside the multiverse, even further away? And filled with gods and demons? That really fit her taste.
Even better, Josh had exact and detailed information about that universe.
Although Azeroth's history had already been greatly changed by Abbendis's actions because of Josh, many details were still very important to the Ancient One.
For example, the Old Gods. According to Josh's description, they were strong, but compared to a being like Dormammu, a dimensional lord of the Dark Dimension, they were clearly not on the same level. On top of that, most of them were sealed inside so-called Titan prisons, with only part of their power leaking out.
To the Ancient One, how were they any different from the unlucky creatures Josh had sealed under the Atlantic island?
She had been worried that she could borrow less and less power. In a few decades, she might have no choice but to seek shelter with Eternity. But now—wasn't this a great chance?
If she could absorb the power of those Old Gods, she might be able to hold on for another hundred years or more.
Don't be fooled by the story that in the original timeline the Ancient One died because she was "tired of living." The truth was that a huge part of it came from her debts coming due.
She had cheated and tricked chaotic beings like Dormammu, but debts to others—like the Vishanti, her old patrons—couldn't be dodged so easily.
Those debts couldn't be ignored forever. So what could she do? The only way out was to run, to "sell herself" to the biggest creditor of all—Eternity. Smaller creditors wouldn't dare demand repayment from Eternity.
But if she could find another energy source to fill some of that hole, she thought she might be able to enjoy life a little longer.
And don't talk about her having lived more than 500 years already. Others had lived thousands or tens of thousands, and they didn't think it was enough.
"Alright, I agree. I'll do my best to keep your companion safe and work with your plan!" After thinking it over, the Ancient One accepted Josh's request. Then she added, "But while I'm gone, Kamar-Taj will be your responsibility!"
"That's not a problem. But if things really reach a point where nothing can be done, then your safety comes first. As for Kamar-Taj, I promise nothing will go wrong here!" Josh said with a smile, happy to see the Ancient One agree.
With her joining in, the chances of stealing power from Azeroth's world-soul—and even other world-souls—wouldn't just increase a little. They would rise by a lot.
At the very least, he wouldn't have to worry so much about pressure from the guardian Medivh and his mother.
"And one more thing—it's time I gave this to you." After Josh promised to watch over Kamar-Taj, the Ancient One nodded again. With a flash of magic in her hand, she held out a necklace to him. "I think you know what this is."
Josh accepted the necklace very carefully. Of course, he knew what it was.
The Ancient One had just handed him the Eye of Agamotto—holding the Time Stone.
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