All the heavens, starting as the ruler of the universe

The mornings in Sokovia smell of gunpowder more often than elsewhere.

The morning light squeezed in through the gaps between the buildings, falling on the withered plant on the windowsill and illuminating the hardened soil in a color between gray and light brown.

Wanda Maximov stood in front of the mirror for a moment.

Girls in Sokovia at this age have long since learned how to hide themselves in gray: loose clothes, heads bowed, eyes that don't linger in front of anyone for long.

But her body did not obey these rules.

The girl in the mirror already had the features of a woman, with long, dark brown hair cascading over her shoulders, and gray-green eyes that looked like two unpolished stones in the morning light.

She casually gathered her hair behind her head and put on a faded old sweater.

The sweater was left by my mother; the cuffs were frayed, and the chest area was stretched slightly tight.

She walked into the room, passing Pietro who was sleeping in the living room, and went to the kitchen to make coffee.

The corridor was quiet, with only the sound of her own footsteps on the old floorboards.

As she passed Lin Yan's door, she paused. A sliver of light shone through the crack in the door, fainter than the morning light, like the reflection of some kind of metal.

Wanda specially brewed a cup of coffee for Lin Yan and brought it over.

She knocked on Lin Yan's door.

"Come in."

Wanda pushed open the door, then froze.

Lin Yan sat by the window, and opposite him sat a woman with a bald head, wearing a yellow monk's robe, her hands resting naturally on her knees.

"Sorry, I didn't know you had guests. I'll go make you another cup of coffee."

The bald woman turned her head and looked at Wanda.

Her gaze was calm, but Wanda's fingers tightened slightly at her sides.

"No need, I'll just have tea." Gu Yi raised the teacup in her hand and smiled.

Wanda nodded, left the room, and closed the door behind her.

As the door closed, she heard the woman's voice coming through the crack in the door.

"You shouldn't interfere with the fate of these two children."

Wanda stopped in the corridor.

"Not interfering is also a form of interference," Lin Yan said.

"Didn't it disrupt your plans?" Lin Yan picked up the coffee Wanda had brought him and took a sip.

The Ancient One looked at this being whose true nature was unknown, yet who still liked to transform into an ordinary person. She had no way to deal with him and shook her head helplessly.

"I don't have any plans. I just need to make sure Dormammu doesn't invade Earth while I'm alive."

"When do you plan to die?" The coffee was a bit bitter, and Lin Yan didn't really like it, but he still finished it.

"When Strange is qualified to be the Sorcerer Supreme." The Ancient One made no attempt to hide her death.

"Interested in going to my world after you die? I guarantee you'll have a more exciting life than you do now."

Gu Yi paused for a moment.

She did waver for a moment, but she quickly suppressed the thought, "No, my soul has its own place to go."

"That's a real shame." Lin Yan clicked his tongue. "What conditions do I need to pay to see the Time Stone?"

Gu Yi paused slightly in her teacup, then put it down, reached out, and touched the golden pendant on her chest with her fingertips.

The Eye of Agamotto slowly opened.

Green light spilled out from the crack, revealing the Time Gem hidden inside.

"Take it."

"That simple? No requirements?" Lin Yan didn't stand on ceremony and reached out to take the gem.

"Wait...you didn't use the Time Stone to see the future, did you?" Lin Yan's expression was somewhat strange.

No wonder this guy opened a portal and rushed over early in the morning; he's here to deliver gems.

"The Sorcerer Supreme would never misuse the Time Stone," the Ancient One retorted.

"So you think that someone like me, who poses a threat to Earth, isn't being abused?" Lin Yan looked at her.

"Have you finished watching?" Gu Yi did not answer.

She couldn't resist using the gem to look into the future before she arrived, but what she saw left her confused all morning.

For most of the timeline, Lin Yan sits in this old chair, holding a coffee and looking out the window. Sometimes the coffee is full, sometimes it's empty; sometimes the plant on the windowsill is withered, sometimes it has sprouted green shoots.

But no matter how the details change, he is always there.

However, in a few timelines, this room is empty.

It's not that he left; it's that he never showed up at all.

There were no dark gray casual clothes, no bitter coffee, and no flowerpot on the windowsill that he had moved.

In Wanda and Pietro's lives, there was never a tenant named Lin Yan.

On the streets of Sokovia, there was never a single man standing in front of a grocery store, looking up at the window.

These timelines are just as clear, just as real, and just as likely to emerge from countless choices, just like any other timelines.

But the problem is—she can't find the node to split.

Moreover, in another future, the Ancient One saw this man easily destroy the Earth simply by reaching out his hand, just to make collecting the gems less troublesome.

Lin Yan twirled the Time Stone between his fingers. "Here you go."

As expected, the Ancient One retrieved the Time Stone and placed it back into the Eye of Agamotto.

"This universe has its own laws, and I hope you won't interfere too much," the Ancient One said casually before leaving, having opened a portal.

"Don't worry, I don't have that much free time."

Gu Yi paused, "No time to spare? Then what are you doing basking in the sun and drinking coffee in this run-down apartment? Saving the world?"

After Gu Yi disappeared, Lin Yan opened the door.

Outside the door, Wanda's body was pressed against the door panel when the door was suddenly pulled open. She lost her balance and fell forward.

Lin Yan reached out and helped her up, supporting her shoulders with his palm until she was steady before letting go.

Wanda took a step back, her gray-green eyes unsure where to look.

The tips of her ears turned slightly red—not because she almost fell, but because she was caught eavesdropping.

"...The coffee's gone cold, I'll go make some fresh," she said.

"Did you hear everything?" Lin Yan asked with a smile.

"No..." Wanda looked up at Lin Yan, then quickly looked down again. "I heard a little bit."

"Are you mutants?" Although Wanda lived in Sokovia, she had seen reports about mutants on television and knew that they were a group of humans with special abilities.

Sometimes she also wants to be a mutant.

"It depends on how you interpret it," Lin Yan said, without giving a direct answer.

"You possess something quite remarkable," Lin Yan continued. "Would you be interested in letting me examine it? I'll pay you accordingly."

"...What kind of reward?"

"You decide."

Wanda clenched the stone pendant in her palm. The rough surface pressed against the lines of her hand, causing a slight pain.