"What a wonderful world." Late at night, a slim figure stood in the open wilds of the Barrens, feeling the wind and the magic in the air. She spoke softly to herself.
It was Ancient One, who had just come from the Marvel universe to Azeroth.
Josh had told her about the differences between the two worlds, but being here in person, she found the gap even greater than she had imagined.
That was why she hadn't rested. Instead, she had come out into the wilderness to test spells. Long before, Josh had given her access to all the Kirin Tor's (A/N: Earth's) magical books, written and recorded by elf mages.
So she was already very familiar with this world's magic.
But the raw magic energy here was far beyond Earth's. Even without borrowing the power of dimensional gods, she could easily cast spells that, on Earth, would have taken time and preparation.
Of course, with her precise control, she didn't need to unleash the magic fully. But even so, Ancient One was not satisfied. In her view, drawing arcane power from the void was still too slow.
At her level, even a picosecond was precious. (TL/N: A picosecond (ps) is a unit of time equal to one trillionth of a second)
And here, she didn't have permission to manipulate time.
Her eyes turned south.
"C'Thun, the Thousand-Eyed One… too bad time is short."
She could open portals anywhere, yes—but only to places she had been or fully understood.
Silithus, where the Temple of Ahn'Qiraj stood, was too far. Tomorrow she had to sail with the fleet to the Broken Isles. Time was not enough. She would have to visit C'Thun another day.
Just as she was about to open a portal back to Unfallen City, something caught her eye.
A faint, dark portal had opened in the night sky—not visible to the eye, but clear as day to her senses.
Ancient One didn't act at once. She simply watched in silence.
The portal grew wider, stabilized, and from within, a massive black head pushed through—hideous and fierce.
An Infinite Dragon.
Josh had once told her about these strange beings. But why was one here? Was it coming for her?
After all, this was the middle of the Barrens—empty land with no town or village for tens of kilometers. Only hyenas, lions, raptors, and other beasts roamed here.
Sure enough, after stepping out of the portal, the dragon scanned its surroundings, and quickly locked on to Ancient One. Cloaked and seemingly ordinary, she stood quietly.
The dragon beat its wings and landed carefully before her, shifting into the form of a black-haired high elf. Dropping to one knee, it bowed low.
"Greetings, Supreme One."
"…You know me?" Ancient One raised a brow at the dragon's words and actions.
Interesting. She had just arrived in this universe, and already an Infinite Dragon—one who could control time to some extent—had come knocking. Truly interesting.
Before setting out, Josh had made sure everyone learned Azeroth's common tongue. Since it was very close to English, language posed no problem for Ancient One and the others.
And thanks to her long exchanges with the Kirin Tor, Ancient One's elven speech was also quite strong.
"Of course, Supreme One. This is a gift from my master to you," the Infinite Dragon said. In his hands appeared an hourglass and a tightly sealed box, which he offered to Ancient One with reverence.
"Your master is…?" she asked.
"My master says that once you use these, you will know." The dragon's answer was vague, offering no clear name.
Ancient One didn't press further. She simply reached out, lightly sensing the two items before taking them.
The moment her fingers touched the hourglass, her body shimmered, turning translucent—as if she were about to slip out of this world altogether.
The Infinite Dragon showed no surprise, calmly standing by.
"Got you, monster!"
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