Time flew by.
Three days passed before the banquet finally concluded.
On the second floor of the Sanctum Sanctorum, Lucas awoke from his guest room.
In these three days, he had met many new friends, including some Mutants not found on Earth-404.
And the most special among them, Jean Grey, the Phoenix Force host.
Although Jean Grey's strength was unremarkable in her normal state, Lucas could sense the Phoenix Force within her body.
Even if it was just a fragment of the Phoenix Force, it was enough to severely injure him a few years ago.
If it were the complete Phoenix Force, it would probably be comparable to him a few months ago.
As expected of the Main Universe.
Sighing, Lucas washed up and pushed open the door to leave.
It was a rare visit to the Main Universe, and he planned to explore it thoroughly.
However, someone didn't want him to explore it thoroughly.
"Sorcerer Lucas, please save Ikor."
As soon as Lucas opened the door, an urgent voice rang in his ears.
He looked in the direction of the voice, then glanced around.
He found nothing.
"Sorcerer Lucas, please help me."
The voice rang out again, right in front of Lucas.
Lucas looked again in the direction of the voice, still finding nothing.
He lowered his head, pondering and reflecting.
Was he too reliant on his extraordinary perception, and now that he suppressed it, even his normal human ability to locate sounds was malfunctioning?
But as Lucas lowered his head, he saw a round, shiny bald head come into view.
He stepped back, finally seeing the full appearance of the owner of the bald head.
A being about one meter tall, dressed in ancient priestly robes.
Undoubtedly, this was also a Watcher.
And he was the shortest Watcher Lucas had ever seen, and the only one whose normal height was shorter than him.
"Who is Ikor? And who are you?"
Lucas quietly took a step forward, his height of 1.88 meters like a wall blocking the diminutive Watcher.
"I am an Apprentice Watcher, and Ikor is…"
The Apprentice Watcher paused mid-sentence, realizing Lucas might not know his master's name.
"Ikor is the Watcher who came to see you a few days ago."
"Oh."
Lucas nodded.
Seeing the Watcher in front of him and combining it with what he said, he roughly guessed that Ikor was the Watcher he had recently interacted with.
But Ikor wasn't a bad name at all, why didn't he say it then?
"Has Ikor run into some trouble?"
Lucas asked, suppressing the confusion in his heart.
Ikor knew how to conduct himself, and seeing as he had given him extra energy twice, Lucas didn't mind helping him with a small favor.
"He was taken away by the Supreme."
"Supreme? What Supreme?"
"A high-ranking Watcher, responsible for observing and evaluating ordinary Watchers."
The Apprentice Watcher explained, his voice gradually taking on a crying tone as he spoke.
"I heard that Watchers taken away by the Supreme Watcher are never seen again."
"Hiss..."
Lucas gasped.
So, being a Watcher was a high-risk profession.
Ikor had left midway through the banquet two days ago. At the time, Lucas had thought he just didn't like such occasions.
"What did Ikor do? The Infinite Ultron incident?" Lucas asked.
"Mm."
The Apprentice Watcher's large bald head moved slightly, presumably nodding.
"Where are they? Show me the way."
"Never mind, I'll find them myself." Lucas said.
He raised his hand and flipped his wrist, and a silver spherical compass appeared in his hand.
This was a person-finding magic tool he had just made.
The spherical shape was just its three-dimensional structure. In fact, it had even more dimensions.
After inputting Ikor's aura into the silver compass, the needle on the compass spun wildly, finally locking onto a direction.
"Let's go."
After confirming the direction, Lucas picked up the Apprentice Wtacher with one hand and tore through space to rush there.
Their speed was indescribable.
The Apprentice Watcher hadn't even reacted when he found himself in a somewhat familiar environment.
A prism space.
The space was filled with dense, prism-shaped objects. Each prism reflected the reality of a Universe.
This was where the Watchers usually observed the Multiverse.
After scanning the area, Lucas continued to walk forward, carrying the Apprentice Watcher.
He was no stranger to this place, he had been here once before.
Upon arriving, he sensed Ikor's aura and confirmed that his life force was stable, so there was naturally no need to rush.
"Ikor, you betrayed our oath!"
"I did not!"
Walking through the passage in the prism space, Lucas heard voices coming from ahead.
The owner of the second voice was his old acquaintance, the Watcher Ikor.
And the owner of the first voice was presumably the Supreme Watcher.
Then the voices from ahead paused.
It seemed that as Lucas heard their voices, they also heard the footsteps of Lucas and the Apprentice Watcher.
"You interfered with Infinite Ultron and his Ultron Legion. You interfered with the development of the Multiverse."
"Ikor, do you have anything you wish to say in your defense regarding our judgment?"
A moment later, another voice rang out, presumably another Supreme Watcher.
His voice was gentler than the first Supreme Watcher's, he gave Ikor a chance to respond.
Ikor argued, "Our oath is to protect the space for the independent and autonomous development of weaker civilizations within the Multiverse. Infinite Ultron and his Ultron Legion destroyed that space. Stopping Infinite Ultron did not violate my sacred oath."
He was a Watcher with aspirations and ideals. He accepted punishment but did not believe he had done anything wrong.
"Ikor."
Another new voice rang out, this one filled with deep disappointment.
"Ikor, have you ever considered that Infinite Ultron and his Ultron Legion are also a civilization, a new form of civilization?"
"Impossible! How could Infinite Ultron and the Ultron Legion…"
Ikor's voice grew softer and softer, he seemed to understand something.
He thought the Supremes had been too high and mighty for too long, unable to see the many civilizations below them. But in reality, he was standing too low, unable to see the greater possibilities of Infinite Ultron and the Ultron Legion.
"I was wrong again, Master."
After a long silence, Ikor's voice rang out.
This time his voice was hoarse, no longer firm.
"Are you willing to accept the punishment, Ikor?" The gentle voice rang out.
"I am willing to accept punishment, but I want to complete one thing first. I promised someone that if he helped me resolve this trouble, I would give him a great gift." Ikor said dejectedly.
The three Supreme Observers were silent for a moment, seemingly communicating in secret.
Finally, the gentle voice rang out. "Alright, we agree to your request. Now, I will pronounce your punishment."
The gentle voice paused, then said, "Thirty million years of confinement, and a half-grade demotion in Watcher rank."
Afterward, this gentle voice added, "Do you want to appeal, Ikor?"
Everything he had said before seemed to be intentionally for Lucas to hear.
"I accept the judgment, I do not need to appeal." Ikor's voice was still low.
"Ikor, during your confinement, reflect well and read well. Those who gaze at the stars will trip over stones beneath their feet. Those who look down at the road often miss the stars above their heads. You need to ponder the meaning of this yourself."
The owner of the disappointed voice spoke again, this time his words turning to comfort and encouragement.
"Yes, Master."
A moment later, a spatial-temporal fluctuation came from ahead, and then Ikor emerged from the corner of the passage.
"Master!"
"Ikor."
The Apprentice Watcher and Lucas greeted Ikor one after another.
The Apprentice Watcher ran excitedly, but quickly slowed his pace as he approached Ikor. He seemed worried that Ikor would reprimand him for being rash, for not having the calm composure and ease that a Watcher should possess.
Ikor merely patted him, without any reprimand.
"Sorcerer Lucas, I'm sorry to have troubled you."
After comforting the Apprentice Watcher, Ikor walked towards Lucas, apologizing.
"It's nothing. I'm just a little sad to think that I won't see you for thirty million years." Lucas waved his hand.
"Master, why didn't you appeal just now? Maybe the confinement time could have been shortened."
Ikor said with a wry smile, "I made a grave mistake this time. Even stripping me of my Watcher status would not be an overstatement."
"The Supremes only punished me with thirty million years of confinement, which is already a blessing out of consideration for Sorcerer Lucas."
"How could I ask for more?"
If he had spoken, the Supremes would certainly have agreed out of consideration for Lucas. But doing so would be tantamount to cutting himself off from the Watcher race.
Lucas also maintained this unspoken understanding with the owner of the gentle voice for this reason.
He acted as if he wasn't there, and that Supreme also acted as if he wasn't there. They would proceed according to the Watchers' internal rules.
"But… thirty million years, isn't that too long?" The Apprentice Watcher hesitated.
Lucas secretly nodded in agreement.
"Thirty million years is just a blink of an eye. It's just a pity that I couldn't guide you through this path of an Apprentice Watcher." Ikor sighed.
He finally couldn't help but reach out and pat the Apprentice's head.
The Apprentice discontentedly pulled away from Ikor.
"Master, I'm already two hundred seventy thousand years old."
Ikor took his hand back, chuckling. "Two hundred seventy thousand years old is still a child, right?"
Lucas stared wide-eyed at the Apprentice.
A 270,000-year-old child?
That's older than his Grandpa's Grandpa's Grandpa's age.
He had originally thought a 1,500-year-old young man (Thor) was already quite outrageous, but he never expected to see a 270,000-year-old child now.
At this moment, he felt the vast differences in the world, the gap between long-lived and short-lived species. Fortunately, he was also a long-lived species, and possessed the ability to grant others a long lifespan.