Karl's return caused an enormous stir throughout Kamar-Taj in his universe.
Large numbers of powerful Sorcerers returned from outside specifically to pay their respects to the Sorcerer Supreme.
At this point—
Karl's prestige within Kamar-Taj might even have surpassed that of the Ancient One.
However—
No one had any idea where the Ancient One had gone these days.
Karl strongly suspected that she was off somewhere with Eternity, enjoying herself without a care in the world.
In any case, he hadn't heard anything about the Ancient One for a very long time.
She clearly wasn't dead.
And if even searching throughout the Multiverse couldn't reveal her location, then she could only be staying with those mysterious gods.
With the Ancient One absent—
Karl's position within Kamar-Taj was completely unmatched.
Every day, he spent long periods talking with the Sorcerers.
Only after two or three days did things finally calm down enough for him to have some free time.
That was when Karl finally had a chance to talk with Baron Mordo.
The Mordo of the Main Universe might have been arrogant and one of the leading figures among those opposing the Ancient One.
But in Karl's universe—
Under Karl's influence, Mordo was remarkably dependable.
Although the two Mordos fundamentally originated from the same source, they could already be considered two completely different people.
Spider-Man was a good example.
Across different universes, many versions were still Peter Parker.
Yet different Spider-Men could have completely different appearances, experiences, personalities, and even abilities.
That was the nature of Parallel Universes.
Tiny changes could produce enormous differences.
They might share the same Origin, yet develop into entirely different people.
That was also one of the most fascinating things about the Marvel world.
Karl understood this extremely clearly.
He wasn't going to confuse one version of a person with another simply because they shared the same Origin.
Sitting inside the main hall, Karl looked at Mordo across from him and sighed.
"The Sorcerers of Kamar-Taj really are enthusiastic."
Karl couldn't help commenting.
"Naturally."
"You are one of Kamar-Taj's spiritual pillars."
Mordo replied.
Privately, however, he was thinking something else.
Enthusiastic?
Of course they were.
When Karl had still been around, none of them had fully appreciated just how much easier he made their lives.
It was only after he disappeared that they finally understood the difference.
Before, whenever something major happened, Karl would make the decisions.
Everyone else simply followed his lead.
And while Karl was around, hardly any supernatural threats dared to cause serious trouble.
But after Karl left for a year—
Every imaginable threat seemed to crawl out of hiding.
They had dealt with no fewer than thirty incidents involving the descent of Dark Gods.
They had nearly worked themselves into the ground.
Naturally, they missed Karl terribly.
There was something else as well.
For some reason, whenever Karl was around, their training progressed extraordinarily quickly.
But after he left—
Everyone's progress slowed noticeably.
Only then did they truly realize how many benefits Karl's presence brought them.
So when Karl finally returned, some of them were practically moved to tears.
Of course, their gratitude toward him was genuine too.
Being grateful and benefiting personally weren't mutually exclusive.
Mordo thought all of this to himself but knew there was no reason to actually say it aloud.
"How long are you planning to stay this time?"
"We'd really like to spend more time learning from you."
Mordo asked respectfully.
"I'm not sure this time."
"I came back because something is happening."
Karl replied.
He genuinely didn't know how long he would remain in his home universe.
The main problem was that there was no way to know when Abraxas would make his move.
In fact—
There was no guarantee Abraxas would personally attack these universes at all.
If Karl were in Abraxas' position, he certainly wouldn't rush out recklessly.
If the destruction of the Multiverse was already working in his favor, why not simply hide somewhere and wait?
No defense could remain perfect forever as the Multiverse continued collapsing.
Why expose himself unnecessarily and risk getting killed?
That uncertainty meant Karl had no idea how long he would need to remain here.
Hearing this, Mordo was delighted.
As long as Karl remained on Earth—
The world was practically guaranteed to stay peaceful.
The Sorcerers might temporarily find themselves with very little work to do, but that was exactly what they preferred.
Having no emergencies to deal with and being able to focus entirely on training—
What could possibly be better?
Karl could more or less guess what Mordo was thinking.
But he didn't care.
Why build an organization and have people working under you in the first place?
Naturally, it was so they could handle all the miscellaneous problems for you.
Kamar-Taj's existence made Karl's life considerably easier.
Naturally, he didn't mind giving its Sorcerers benefits in return.
It was mutually beneficial.
"Speaking of which, how have things been while I was gone?"
"Has anything unusual happened?"
Karl asked.
Although he had already spoken with the other Sorcerers for quite some time and knew Kamar-Taj hadn't suffered any truly serious disasters, he still wanted to hear Mordo's assessment.
"No."
"There were a few minor incidents, but everything remained under control."
Mordo smiled.
But then he seemed to remember something.
His expression suddenly became hesitant.
"Why are you hesitating?"
"There's no need to hold back when it's just the two of us."
"What happened that has you this concerned?"
Karl frowned.
"Kamar-Taj itself is fine."
"But I think something may be wrong with me."
Mordo sounded uncertain.
"What's wrong with you?"
"You look perfectly fine to me."
"In fact, your strength seems to have improved considerably."
Karl replied.
"My strength has improved."
"But I didn't gain that power through my own training."
"About half a year ago, for some unknown reason, my Mental Force suddenly began increasing on its own."
"It made me extremely uneasy."
Mordo explained.
In the Marvel world, power that appeared from nowhere was often accompanied by an enormous trap.
Countless magical texts within Kamar-Taj warned of exactly that.
That was why one of the first lessons every Kamar-Taj Sorcerer learned was to reject temptation.
So when Mordo's Mental Force suddenly began increasing for no apparent reason, he had naturally been alarmed.
He had even tried to reject the power.
But nothing he did made any difference.
"Did you say half a year ago?"
Karl raised an eyebrow.
"Yes."
"Exactly half a year ago."
"There was absolutely no warning."
Mordo looked deeply worried.
"Then it probably isn't a problem."
"In fact, it's most likely a good thing."
Karl reassured him.
If his guess was correct—
Judging by the timing, that should have been when he killed the Main Universe's Mordo.
All versions of Mordo across the Multiverse shared the same underlying Origin.
Once the Main Universe's Mordo died, part of that Origin would naturally be redistributed among the remaining versions.
Since the Mordo in Karl's universe was particularly powerful, he would naturally receive a larger share of that benefit.
His suddenly increased Mental Force was likely a consequence of his strengthened Origin.
That was why a legend had always existed throughout the Multiverse—
If someone eliminated every version of themselves across the Parallel Universes, they could theoretically become unimaginably powerful.
Strengthening one's Origin meant strengthening one's innate potential.
Naturally, training would become faster as well.
For Mordo, this was entirely beneficial.
Seeing that Mordo still looked uneasy, Karl continued.
"Don't worry."
"As long as you're certain the change began half a year ago, then there's definitely no problem."
"Something happened in the Main Universe that affected you."
"For you, this is an opportunity."
Karl spoke calmly.
Hearing Karl's certainty, Mordo's heart suddenly began pounding much faster.
(End of Chapter)
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