229 CHAPTER 220
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By the end of the month, when the cold of winter had started to permeate the area, I had finally with total certainty learned the spell I had come to learn in the Library of Cagliostro, not only, but I had also copied every book in the library, storing each copy in my inventory.
All that was left to do, was go back to my time, there was nothing left for me here.
"You're leaving?" Cagliostro asked, his voice quiet.
I nodded with a broad grin on my face as I turned to look at him, "Your knowledge has been most helpful," without all of this, I wasn't sure how I would've dealt with Alice.
I had acquired power I didn't expect to acquire, all and all, this venture had been most successful, in more than one account.
Cagliostro nodded, offering the faintest of smiles, "I hope you save your time, Sorcerer."
"Of that, there's no doubt," I replied, my voice flat and rough. Alice had dug her hole, and now she would reap what she had sown, whatever sense of familiarity I felt for her was inconsequential, irrelevant, my priority was to keep my daughters safe, from anything.
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I opened a rift back to my time using the time stone as a conductor for the flow, appearing once again in my office, the clock on the wall showed I had been missing for an hour or so, meaning I hadn't been able to enter the same point in time I left.
"I need more training with this time-traveling business," I muttered, taking a seat on my desk, waiting for the Ancient One to appear.
As if on cue, a portal opened in the middle of my office, sparkling embers of orange tint magic all over the place, as the Ancient One stepped into the room, "Alex."
"Hi," I smiled.
"You have… changed," The Ancient One said, lips pressed together.
I smiled, realizing what she was thinking without much problem, "I'm the same, just a few new things, like a love for corn," I shrugged, giving her a half-hearted smile.
"I see," The Ancient One nodded, before extending her hand towards me, "Here," she smiled, opening her hand to reveal the Space Stone.
I chuckled, "Sure, not like I need the stone now anyway," I grabbed the stone and grinned at her, "I have a gift for you, a very good one."
"Mr. Walker," The Ancient sighed, giving me a quizzical smile, "What will Sif think? You come back from the depths of time and space, and you bring me something without bringing her anything?"
I laughed, "It's cool, there wasn't anything for her, where I was anyway." With a snap of my fingers, I pulled one of the books I had copied from the library out of my inventory in a blue flash of light and gave it to her.
"The lost books," The Ancient One muttered, a dimpled smile forming on her face, "You brought one of the books back with you! But… what about the paradoxes, will us having this be safe?"
I grinned, "I copied the book, the real one is still lost," I winked.
The Ancient One beamed at me, grabbing the book like it was the best thing she had ever seen, now it was time to knock her out.
"So… where do you want the rest?" I asked.
She blinked, seeming to think over what I had just said for a few long seconds before she unintelligibly muttered, "Others?"
"I copied every single book in the library," I shrugged, I knew I was awesome, why even try to hide it?
"I…"
I chuckled, she was truly at a loss for words, "Look, how about this… you tell me where you want them later, is that okay?"
"I must apologize, I lost my composure for a moment," The Ancient One smiled, "As for where I want them, well… nowhere, for now, as much as this knowledge is… the dream of many sorcerers, I can't trust anyone with it, beyond ourselves that is… this might be one of those things only our group can access."
I see, for a moment there I had forgotten these books had the knowledge to give people power beyond their dreams, even the weakest sorcerer could in time become a threat absorbing other creatures, she was right, this was knowledge best kept between us.
"I agree," I nodded.
"Good, now… let's focus on the matter at hand," The Ancient One nodded, her eyes staring into mine.
"Consuming the Celestial, right?" I nodded.
"Yes," The Ancient One replied, before sighing, "Alice is still nowhere to be seen, so it's best if we do this as quickly as possible."
"Well, before we begin, we need to find the nexus, absorbing Tiamut from any other place would be a hassle," Something as big and as powerful as Tiamut was bound to have a massive soul, so the closer I was to the center of that, the easier it would be to assimilate.
"Way ahead of you, I assume you would need such, and with the help of Thor, I had found the Nexus of Tiamut, though… as of now, it is heavily guarded by the remaining Eternals, as they call themselves," The Ancient One replied.
"Well, quite frankly, dealing with them won't even be a problem," I shrugged, "Alice was able to overpower them, so they won't delay me at all."
"True, but it is never wrong to be extra careful," The Ancient One nodded.
"So, let's go?" I offered.
"Yes, let's," The Ancient One nodded, as with a smile she opened a portal to the Nexus.
A lot of things would change soon, a lot of stuff would never be the same. Of all things I thought I was going to do in this world, eating a Celestial was not one of them, quite frankly life has not been what I expected since my arrival here.
But, I was happy, and today, I would kill for that happiness.
