Let me show you a new way Chapter 013

Nearly two more months passed.

Lin Dong walked out of the library, hugging several books. A few young magic apprentices were playing around in the hallway. When they saw Lin Dong, they coughed hard and then nervously said, “Hello, teacher.”

Lin Dong smiled and nodded, greeting them back. Then, he carried his books and went to find Ancient One.

“You wish to study the Eye of Agamotto?” Ancient One, holding a teacup, asked back with a surprised expression after Lin Dong met her in the reception room and straightforwardly stated his request.

“Yes, I won’t abuse it, nor will I affect the timeline. I just want to try and analyze it,” Lin Dong said slowly, sitting across from Ancient One. “I’ve read the Book of Cagliostro, but almost all the spells in it are based on the Eye of Agamotto, and some describe how to connect with Dormammu to use his magic.”

The Eye of Agamotto, just like the Cosmic Cube, was forcefully merged with the Space Stone in the movie universe, and the Eye of Agamotto was also forcefully integrated with the Time Stone.

“But I’m not willing to connect with those strange things. I hope to achieve those spells in my own way,” Lin Dong explained his purpose. Ancient One seemed to understand. She put down her steaming teacup and said, “If you are willing to become the Sorcerer Supreme, you can, of course, study the Eye of Agamotto.”

Lin Dong immediately shook his head, “I said, I am not a guardian; I am a traveler. I can’t be like you, running around the world to prevent magical incursions.”

In the prequel comics to Doctor Strange, Ancient One and her disciples indeed left Kamar-Taj more than once to travel the world and resist those who abused magic. Many people inadvertently dug up ancient magical artifacts and then thought they were invincible and wanted to rule the world. At this point, the sorcerers would appear and beat those ambitious individuals soundly.

Otherwise, how did so many magical artifacts in the New York Sanctum in the movie come to be? Many were spoils of war, sealed in the Sanctum.

Lin Dong was unwilling to take on the responsibilities of the Sorcerer Supreme for this reason. As an envoy of the Main God, he couldn’t stay in one world forever, dealing with its crises.

Of course, he could choose to deceive Ancient One, agree to take over as Sorcerer Supreme, and then, after studying the Time Stone, just leave.

However, such a course of action did not align with Lin Dong’s principles.

For example, when it came to gaining karma points, Lin Dong actually had a simpler method. He only needed to spend karma points to temporarily shield the world’s consciousness, then rush in and drop nuclear bombs and T-viruses all over the world. Then, before the world’s consciousness awoke, he would quickly slip away, immediately gaining a large sum of karma points.

This method would yield fewer karma points, but it was simple and crude, and it accumulated over time.

But Lin Dong disliked doing so; it was too anti-human, and Lin Dong strongly disliked it. Although magic cultivation didn’t involve concepts like mind state, karma, or inner demons, such actions still challenged his worldview too much.

He had his own principles, his own rules. There were no police to control him, but precisely because of that, Lin Dong wanted to act as he pleased without overstepping the bounds.

“Alright, I believe you will have enough self-control. Don’t abuse it. I will be watching.” Ancient One sighed but still agreed to Lin Dong’s request. She stood up and led Lin Dong out of the reception room.

“I suppose you know the true composition of the Eye of Agamotto, don’t you?” Ancient One inquired on the way.

“I’ve guessed some of it. It seems to be the legendary Time Stone,” Lin Dong nodded.

“Yes, one of the Infinity Stones. Historically, there have been sorcerers who tried to replicate the Eye of Agamotto, but they all failed. They developed one powerful time spell after another, but they all had to rely on the Eye of Agamotto to cast them,” Ancient One recounted history and then removed the sealing trap on the Eye of Agamotto.

Yes, that thing actually had a trap, unlike how it was carelessly placed in the movie.

Lin Dong took the artifact, thanked Ancient One, then put the artifact on himself, skillfully performing the hand seals described in the book, and opened the Eye of Agamotto.

Green light spread out.

The power representing time flowed into Lin Dong’s body. Time, before him, was like an open book. History was the present, the past was yet to be shaped. In a haze, he saw a glimmer of blue light.

The power of the Time Stone continued. Lin Dong felt his spirit transform into a strange worm, filling the entire spacetime. Its head observed the birth of this world, and its tail stirred its demise.

Then Lin Dong closed the Eye of Agamotto.

His spirit also returned from that infinite time.

“This feeling… it’s very familiar!” Lin Dong murmured inwardly.

The Main God was like this.

Changing the plot, reversing causality, shielding world consciousness, and even forcibly embedding a non-existent branch of Merlin’s lineage into this world.

Although the Main God, apart from its core, had almost all its functional modules destroyed, it still maintained that characteristic of transcending time.

“Phew~” Lin Dong exhaled and opened the Eye of Agamotto again.

————————————

Weeks later.

During this period, apart from the necessary eating, drinking, shitting, peeing, and sleeping, Lin Dong almost ignored all external matters, fully dedicating himself to studying the Time Stone.

And he indeed achieved results.

Lin Dong took off the Eye of Agamotto and placed it back in its original position.

Then, he pulled out a pair of sunglasses Stark had given him from his pocket and placed them on the table.

Then he slapped them, shattering them.

The temples instantly broke, and the lenses shattered into many pieces, flying everywhere.

Lin Dong said nothing, but stretched out his hands, forming a peculiar hand seal. With an inexplicable wave, a special force acted upon the shattered remains of the glasses on the table.

As if time was flowing backward, the scattered fragments flew back onto the table. Piece by piece, they reassembled, gaps gradually disappearing, cracks smoothing out. The sunglasses healed as if they were living organisms, restoring to their original state in just a few seconds.

“Splendid!” Applause sounded. Ancient One had appeared at the door at some point and nodded at him.

“I never thought you could actually do it, reversing time on your own,” Ancient One’s tone was filled with awe.

“This isn’t reversing time; this is just another way of altering the physical form.” How could he easily achieve something like reversing time at this point? Regardless of the world, time was always difficult to master and utilize.

“I merely glimpsed the object’s original composition in time and then restored its form. At best, it’s just a repair spell,” Lin Dong shook his head. This was indeed not a particularly powerful magic; the pompadour-wearing boy from Morioh Town could easily do it. ①

“That’s still very remarkable. Most arcane masters in history were engrossed in the power of time, but you found another path,” Ancient One praised.

“The magic I’ve comprehended isn’t just this one,” Lin Dong said, gathering some messy papers and drawings nearby. Then he pulled out a bound notebook and handed it to Ancient One.

“This contains all the magic I’ve comprehended, and none of it requires the aid of the Eye of Agamotto. The methods of casting and the incantations are all written in it. You can place it in the library,” Lin Dong rubbed his temples. Weeks of high-intensity work had taken a toll on his mental state.

Ancient One took the thick notebook and gently opened it. The unique spells within astonished her.

[Temporal Echo], rewinding past sounds.

[Temporal Afterimage], rewinding past visuals.

[Temporal Shadow], creating a non-corporeal illusion that repeats the subject’s actions to mislead enemies.

[Temporal Repair], repairing matter to a previous state in time.

[Temporal Healing], repairing damage to a living being to a previous state in time, unable to resurrect deceased beings.

…

…

…

“These… are all your inventions?” Ancient One was truly shocked this time. In just a few weeks, he had comprehended so many spells from the Eye of Agamotto. It was incredible.

Although these spells were far from as powerful as those recorded in the Book of Cagliostro, the spells Lin Dong invented did not require the aid of artifacts. These spells did not alter the timeline but observed elapsed time through another method.

“These spells are just initial drafts and haven’t undergone more detailed refinement. You can let the sorcerers brainstorm how to reduce casting costs, how to shorten casting steps, and how to rewind time further. These all require collective wisdom,” Lin Dong yawned inelegantly and rubbed his dark circles. “And I… what I need most right now is sleep.”

①: Josuke Higashikata: The protagonist of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 4, possesses the Stand Crazy Diamond, whose ability is to repair (reverse time) objects.