"You brought my sister and me here, away from war and killing."
"You treated us like family. We've never forgotten that."
Pietro slowly sat up in bed.
"If I had stood by and done nothing while Carrie was being hurt, I wouldn't deserve to call myself human."
Lucas couldn't help but smile.
"If I chose to take care of you, then I never saw you as outsiders."
As he spoke, he placed his hand on Pietro's shoulder.
A warm current of energy flowed from Lucas's palm into Pietro's body.
Within moments, Pietro's complexion visibly improved.
"I've adjusted your internal energy. With your metabolism, the rest will heal quickly," Lucas said, withdrawing his hand.
In truth, Lucas could have used the Eternal Flame to accelerate Pietro's recovery dramatically.
But when his energy entered Pietro's body, he noticed something unusual—Pietro's cellular metabolism was already extremely fast, likely related to his super-speed ability.
So instead of forcibly healing him, Lucas merely stabilized and regulated his condition.
"Stay home and rest. I'll go check on Carrie."
Lucas left the room and walked toward the living room.
Just as he reached the door, Elaine's voice came from the sofa.
"You've been targeted by those from Hell, haven't you?"
Lucas paused.
He turned and sat down across from her.
"You already know?"
All this time, Lucas had never pried into Elaine's background. Having someone close to Carrie's age grow up beside her was something he valued.
But the fact that Elaine knew about the Hell Lords made it clear—her background was far from simple.
"You're not going to ask why I didn't intervene to save Carrie?" Elaine asked calmly, setting aside her tablet.
Lucas shook his head.
"We've lived together long enough. I know your personality."
"If Carrie had truly been in mortal danger, you wouldn't have stood aside."
Elaine smiled faintly.
"Carrie's situation is… special. The Sorcerer Supreme is actually better suited to help her. That's why I didn't interfere."
She then asked, "When exactly did you provoke Mephisto and Cyttorak?"
"Cyttorak?" Lucas raised a brow. "I had some dealings with Mephisto recently, but I've never provoked Cyttorak."
"Could it be that old devil tried to team up with Cyttorak to scheme against me?"
Elaine explained, "Mephisto only appeared briefly before leaving. It was mainly Cyttorak's apostle causing trouble."
Lucas let out a cold snort.
"I see. I'll settle that account with them sooner or later."
He knew the reality well enough.
If their avatars came to Earth, he could overpower them.
But if he entered their native dimensions, at his current strength, he would be the one crushed.
Elaine said nothing further.
Instead, she suddenly stood up and gently tapped her finger against Lucas's forehead.
The moment her fingertip touched him—
Lucas felt a jolt of shock.
There had been no detectable fluctuation.
No disturbance in the air.
No shift in space.
No ripple in time.
As someone who had once wielded the Time Stone, Lucas was certain—
That gesture did not exist within material reality, spatial dimensions, or even the timeline itself.
It was as if the touch had never happened.
Elaine withdrew her hand calmly. Nothing outwardly appeared to change.
To an ordinary observer, she had merely poked his forehead.
But Lucas knew something had occurred.
"What… was that?" he asked, genuinely bewildered.
"I know you're curious," Elaine replied lightly. "But even if I explained it now, you wouldn't understand."
"You just happened to meet the requirement. So I gave 'him' to you."
"Work hard, Lucas. One day, you'll understand."
She picked up her tablet again and resumed reading as if nothing had happened.
Lucas rubbed his forehead.
"I'm honestly curious… what exactly are you?"
Elaine glanced sideways at him.
"Are you sure you want me to answer that?"
Lucas inhaled sharply.
"Well… if it's inconvenient, then forget it."
Deep down, some instinct warned him—
Not knowing might be safer.
Without pressing further, he stood and left the house, ascending into the sky.
After he departed, Elaine's lips curved faintly.
"Humans… always so curious."
She shook her head softly.
---
Kamar-Taj
Not long after, Lucas arrived at Kamar-Taj.
As he landed, a slightly heavyset sorcerer stepped forward.
"You must be Mr. Lucas?"
He spoke fluent Mandarin.
Lucas's eyes shifted slightly in surprise.
"Yes. And you are?"
The man extended his hand.
"In my family, our names are passed down as single characters. You may call me Master Wong."
"The Sorcerer Supreme informed me you would be coming. Please, follow me."
Lucas followed Wong into a reception chamber within Kamar-Taj.
Wong personally brewed a cup of tea and placed it before him.
"Please wait. The Sorcerer Supreme asked that you give her a little time."
He then poured himself a cup and began sipping calmly.
After a moment, Lucas smiled slightly.
"Master Wong, do you think I have the potential to become a sorcerer?"
Wong studied him carefully from head to toe.
After a long pause, he shook his head.
"I can't tell. Something is shielding my perception of you."
"I see," Lucas replied with a shrug.
Wong suddenly reached into his robes and tossed a small tablet-like object toward him.
"There's a simple method to test your aptitude."
Lucas caught it.
The object was roughly six centimeters long and two centimeters wide.
Its surface was pale yellow—not quite metal, not quite wood. It felt similar to stone, yet emitted a faint warmth.
Intricate patterns covered its surface—runes and sigils invisible to the naked eye.
But Lucas's vision allowed him to see them clearly.
Strange symbols intertwined in complex formations—nothing resembling any script he recognized.
"You may try channeling your consciousness into it," Wong instructed.
Lucas nodded and extended his mental awareness into the object.
In an instant—
The world changed.
Everything around him vanished.
He was no longer in the reception chamber.
He stood somewhere else entirely.
...
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