Peter had heard that Earth was facing an unprecedented and terrifying crisis this time.
Just as the gods despaired, a sorcerer named Lucas descended from the sky and resolved everything.
This reminded him of a strange Spider-Man he had once met, so he followed Strange to see.
But after truly confirming that Lucas was Sorcerer Spider-Man, Peter was incredulous.
The first time he met this Sorcerer Spider-Man, he had displayed several times the power of other Spider-Man.
This was understandable.
After all, there were many particularly powerful Spider-Man in the Multiverse.
The second time he heard about Sorcerer Spider-Man, he had defeated the Inheritors and their gods.
This was barely understandable.
Cosmic Spider-Man, who had gained the power of the Enigma Force, could also possibly achieve this.
But this time...
A terrifying robot army, whose members even the various pantheon's Skyfathers struggled to defeat one-on-one.
An iron flood that even the legendary Sun God Atum could not stop.
They were instantly killed by one person.
And it was just a casual strike from afar.
How could this be Spider-Man!
To call him a god of Spider-Man would be overstating Spider-Man, wouldn't it?
"Peter, you know Lucas?" Strange asked with concern.
In this Universe, his relationship with Peter was like that of a father and son.
"Yes." Peter nodded.
He looked at Lucas, his expression complex, and asked, "Lucas, are you really Spider-Man?"
"Absolutely."
Lucas slightly activated the spider totem within him, and Peter's Spider-Sense immediately gave feedback.
This made Peter's expression even more complex.
"Lucas, you are the Sorcerer Supreme of the 404 Universe, and also Spider-Man?" Strange asked curiously.
"That's right." Lucas nodded definitively.
Unlike a certain self-proclaimed Sorcerer Spider-Man, his identity as Spider-Man was certified by the Web of Life and Destiny.
It can be checked on the official website!
Strange sighed upon hearing this.
Then he looked at Peter and asked, "Peter, why don't you come to the Sanctum Sanctorum and study magic with me? Perhaps you could also become the Sorcerer Supreme."
Peter hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.
He was middle-aged, unemployed, and divorced. Instead of spending every day with alcohol, he might as well follow Strange to train.
"You just called him teacher?" Strange suddenly spoke.
His finger pointed at Strange and the male Ancient One.
Strange raised an eyebrow. "What? You don't know teacher?"
"He is Ancient One?" Strange asked.
"Otherwise? Have you met any other Ancient Ones?" Strange retorted, also noticing the anomaly.
Strange nodded with a strange expression.
He hadn't expected the Ancient One to have a variant as a grumpy old man in other Universes.
He had thought he was some unknown, low-key ancient being.
He hadn't expected...
"Strange, I suspect you're thinking something impolite, and I have proof." The male Ancient One said faintly.
As a spiritual entity, he was particularly sensitive to various emotions and thoughts. With Strange unprepared, his surface thoughts were transparent to him.
"Master, you've misunderstood. I was just a little curious." Strange weakly defended himself.
"What's so strange? There are all sorts of variants in the Multiverse. When I traveled the Multiverse, I even saw a female version of you." The male Ancient One said irritably.
Strange shivered.
A female version of him?
"Don't just talk about gender reversal, racial change is also possible. It's really nothing, variants in the Multiverse aren't yourself." Peter said.
He had seen too many Spider-Man variants at Spider-Army HQ.
Strange suggested, "Teacher, most of the guests have arrived for the banquet. Let's go meet everyone."
"Is the banquet about to begin officially?!" Thor asked excitedly.
Why did he bother playing cards with three Sorcerer Supremes? These people had too many tricks up their sleeves.
Except for the rounds where he got very lucky, he hardly ever won.
"Since I have already died physically and my soul has left this Universe, there's no need for me to appear before everyone again." The male Ancient One pondered for a moment, then rejected Strange's suggestion.
"Teacher, the other sorcerers miss you very much." Strange persuaded him.
He knew his teacher was soft-hearted.
"Alright then, I'll meet them and also assess their progress."
The male Ancient One hesitated briefly, then nodded in agreement with Strange's suggestion.
"Strange—"
Lucas stopped himself as soon as he spoke.
He almost forgot, there were two Strange here.
Lucas quickly sized up the two Strange and immediately noticed the difference.
"Red Cloak Strange, four Sorcerer Supremes gathered on Earth—this is a rare event in the magic world, happening only once in a millennium."
"I propose holding a Sorcerers' Convention, inviting sorcerers from all over the world to jointly explore the mysteries of magic."
"Sorcerers' Convention?"
Strange's expression stirred, he was quite interested in this.
His teacher, male Ancient One, had become the Sorcerer Supreme by subduing sorcerers from all over the world at a Sorcerers' Convention.
He then established the Ancient One's Sanctuary in Kamar-Taj, making Kamar-Taj a Holy Land for sorcerers.
Finally, by his generation, he successfully passed on the title of Sorcerer Supreme to him.
Although he, Strange, had been acknowledged by the male Ancient One, for a long time he felt he was unworthy of the title of Sorcerer Supreme.
That's why he called himself Doctor Strange.
If he could recreate the male Ancient One's past deeds at a Sorcerers' Convention, wouldn't he be able to officially add the title of Sorcerer Supreme before his name?
"Teacher, Black Cloak Strange, what do you think?"
Strange was tempted, but he still held back and asked the male Ancient One and Strange for their opinions.
The male Ancient One nodded.
He had heard Strange's inner thoughts and was willing to fulfill his disciple's wish.
Strange was also somewhat moved.
Three heads are better than one. Although he held himself in high regard, he did not underestimate the wisdom of other sorcerers.
What if there was a sorcerer who had research on reshaping the Universe?
"Alright, I also agree to hold a Sorcerers' Convention."
Lucas said, "Since it's a Sorcerers' Convention, there should be a main topic. How about each of us four propose a topic, and we all bring out our best skills?"
"Will this involve some forbidden magic?" Strange hesitated.
"As a Sorcerer Supreme, how can one not know some overpowered magic?" Lucas asked with a smile.
Strange echoed, "Exactly, since it's a grand event for the magic world, there shouldn't be too many restrictions."
He then added, "I've thought of my topic."
"Reshaping the Universe."
Lucas looked at Strange, a question mark slowly appearing on his face.
"Isn't your specialty devouring dark creatures? When did it become reshaping the Universe?"
Lucas didn't say the words aloud, but his confusion was written all over his face.
Strange saw Lucas's confusion but didn't know the specific reason, only assuming Lucas was doubting whether he had researched this topic sufficiently.
He smiled and explained, "Lucas, don't worry. In these past years, I have been constantly thinking about how to reshape the Universe."
"Although I haven't fully achieved it, I have made some progress, which I believe is enough to share with the many sorcerers participating in this Sorcerers' Convention."
"Uh…"
Lucas was speechless.
He believed in Strange's magical attainments, including his research on reshaping the Universe.
But what he wanted was for Strange to propose the topic of devouring dark creatures to enhance one's own energy.
This method of energy enhancement was similar to the mutual devouring among Elder Gods, and also similar to Atum's current situation.
Lucas believed that Gaea and Atum would definitely be interested in this topic. For this, he had even specifically emphasized "specialty."
He just didn't expect Strange not to play by the rules.
"Reshaping the Universe?"
Strange looked at Strange with a hint of surprise.
The others around them did the same.
Is this the Sorcerer Supreme?
The moment he opened his mouth, it was a grand topic like reshaping the Universe.
"Precisely. Reshaping a Universe that has completely died due to damage to its spacetime structure."
Hearing Strange's confirmation, the surrounding crowd didn't react much, only taking a sharp intake of breath, feeling the topic was even grander.
Strange, however, narrowed his pupils.
He understood.
This variant of him, Stephen Strange, had messed up his Universe.
Strange looked at Strange with a complex expression. At this moment, the wrinkles and dark circles on Strange's face became vivid in his eyes.
He sighed and comforted him, "As long as it has existed, it must leave traces. Following these traces, there must be a way to find it again."
After sighing, Strange began to ponder his own topic.
Time magic was, of course, his most skilled magic, and it was grand enough. But this was also the signature magic of the Sorcerer Supreme of the Agamotto-Kamar-Taj lineage.
Now, besides him, there were three other Sorcerer Supremes present.
Seeing Strange and Lucas remain silent for a long time, the male Ancient One first proposed his topic.
"Mind and Soul."
"In recent years, I have done considerable research on the power of mind and soul."
The male Ancient One's gaze swept over Lucas, seemingly with a deeper meaning.
Lucas's eyes lit up, and he immediately put forward his topic.
"Purification and Evolution."
"Energy purification and life-level evolution." He said slowly.
Since Strange wasn't playing by the rules, he could only take matters into his own hands and play a little coy.
One major difficulty with Atum's problem was the fusion of his primordial energy with the devoured energy, yet without complete fusion. This resulted in him strengthening himself when absorbing external energy, but the external energy would also oppress his mind.
There were two solutions.
Strengthening the mind and completely fusing these energies.
And these two points happened to be the topics proposed by the male Ancient One and Lucas.
The topics they proposed were more grounded.
This made the surrounding crowd both a little disappointed and a little relieved.
Finally, they all turned their gaze to Strange. They hoped to hear a grand topic, but also one they could understand.
Facing the complex gazes of the crowd, Strange's heart was equally complex.
The 616 Universe was his home ground, and he hoped to fully establish his reputation through this Sorcerers' Convention. But he didn't seem to have any particularly unique magic.
"Let's talk about time, Red Cloak Strange. With four Sorcerer Supremes gathered, how can no one talk about time magic?" The male Ancient One said with a smile, intending to help Strange out of his predicament.
"Time magic?"
The surrounding crowd's eyes also lit up when they heard this topic.
This was forbidden magic, the signature magic of the Agamotto-Kamar-Taj lineage.
"Alright, I'll talk about time magic then." Strange said reluctantly.
With no other choice, he could only talk about time magic.
If he talked about something else and was stumped by other sorcerers attending the Sorcerers' Convention, it would be embarrassing.
After all four confirmed their topics, Strange summoned a Kamar-Taj apprentice and instructed him to broadcast the news to the Earth-616 magic community.
The location remained Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum, and the time was two weeks later.
Afterward, the banquet continued without incident.