The next morning, Ethan didn't go to the training grounds to get beaten up by Mordo. Instead, he marched straight to the Ancient One's private courtyard. He had a point to prove.
The Sorcerer Supreme was sitting on a wooden bench, sipping tea and watching the morning mist roll over the mountains. She didn't look up as Ethan approached, but she gestured to the empty space in front of her. "You seem eager today, Ethan. Have you grown tired of Master Mordo's combat lessons?"
"Let's just say I found a way to make sure he never sweeps my legs again," Ethan grinned.
He didn't bother with a long introduction. He stepped back, fixed his eyes on a spot ten feet to her left, formed the Eldritch anchor with his fingers, and pulled on his internal magic.
Crack!
In the blink of an eye, he vanished from his spot and reappeared perfectly balanced beside her bench. No Sling Ring, no glowing orange portal, no delay.
The Ancient One paused, her teacup hovering halfway to her mouth. For the first time since he had met her, she actually looked surprised. She slowly set the cup down, her eyes scanning the space where he had just been, and then looking at where he was now standing.
"You didn't puncture the dimension," she noted, her voice hushed with genuine fascination. "You folded it. Explain."
Ethan eagerly launched into a breakdown of his research. He explained the concept of adapting spatial intentāthe destination and deliberationāand using specific Eldritch hand signs to anchor the physical body while the internal magic bent the surrounding space. He felt pretty proud of himself. He was basically the Elon Musk of Kamar-Taj magic right now.
The Ancient One listened in complete silence. She closed her eyes for a moment, her fingers lightly tapping against her knee as if running the complex mathematical formulas through her head.
Then, she stood up. She didn't make a hand sign. She didn't even take a deep breath.
Crack!
She vanished, instantly reappearing at the far end of the courtyard. Crack! She was on the roof. Crack! She was sitting back on the bench, picking up her tea as if she had never left. She didn't stumble. She didn't look nauseous. She didn't even spill a drop of tea.
Ethan stared at her, his jaw practically hitting the floor.
Is this the difference between heaven and earth? Ethan screamed internally. I have the talent of the greatest wizard of his era! I spent a week giving myself concussions and vomiting up my lunch to get this right! She listens to me talk for two minutes and does it flawlessly without even using the hand signs?!
"Fascinating," the Ancient One smiled, taking a sip. "But incredibly reckless. You folded space without a conduit. That is highly dangerous, Ethan. You could have easily spliced yourself into a solid wall."
"Well, with danger comes treasures," Ethan said, trying to recover his bruised ego. "High risk, high reward."
"Indeed," she nodded. "Though, this spell is as deadly to the user as it is efficient in battle. A single lapse in concentration, a slight miscalculation in your spatial anchor, and your head could appear here while your body remains fifty feet away. Or worse, your internal organs could become entangled during the spatial shift."
Ethan gulped, nodding stiffly. He suddenly remembered the agonizing, stomach-churning sensation from his first few test flights. The system hadn't explicitly told him he was close to wearing his lungs as a hat, but he had suspected it.
"Where did you come up with the theory for this?" she asked, her sharp eyes locking onto his. "It is completely foreign to our established texts."
"Oh, you know... I saw a sci-fi movie back in my world," Ethan lied smoothly. "Star Trek. Teleporters. Figured I'd give it a shot."
The Ancient One smiled, the kind of smile that said I know you are lying, but I will let you have this one. "Regardless of its origin, you have made a significant contribution to the field of mystic arts," she said softly. "Creating a new, viable spell is a rare feat. Do you desire a reward?"
Ethan rubbed his chin. This was the perfect opportunity. He looked at her, thought for a moment, and then slowly pointed a finger directly at her chest.
The Ancient One blinked. Her serene expression shifted into a playful, teasing smirk. "I must admit, Ethan, I didn't know you harbored such feelings for me. But I am afraid I must respectfully decline your advances."
Ethan froze. "What the fuckāwait, no! What feelings? What are you talking about?!"
He stared at her amused smile, his face burning up. She was totally making fun of him.
He cleared his throat, desperately trying to salvage his dignity, and decided to play along. "Well, I mean, I can't deny the beauty of the Sorcerer Supreme. It is indeed enough to entice any mortal man... but I wasn't asking for a date. I wanted to borrow that thing on your chest."
He pointed again, much more clearly, at the heavy, eye-shaped medallion resting against her robes. The Eye of Agamotto. The Time Stone.
The Ancient One chuckled. "You have quite the slick tongue, Ethan. But I cannot give you the Eye of Agamotto. It is not a toy to be borrowed."
Ethan sighed, his shoulders slumping. He hadn't expected a "yes," but he had to try. The Time Stone was the ultimate cheat code. "Well, it was worth a shot. Okay, how about plan B? I want unrestricted access to all the resources in the library. The Restricted Section."
The Ancient One's smile faded into something much more serious. "What you are asking for is not something I can simply 'give.' The resources in the library have never actually been restricted to anyone. Whoever seeks the knowledge shall get it."
"Then why does Wong guard it like a dragon?"
"Because he is guarding the students, not the books," she replied calmly. "There is knowledge in those texts that was written by beings who view sanity as a weakness. Spells drawn from the Dark Dimension. Rituals that corrupt the soul. The library is open to you, Ethan. But can your mind handle the danger it brings without losing itself?"
"I think my mind is pretty resilient," Ethan said. After all, I've already survived the Gacha system. "Very well," she nodded. "You may read whatever you wish. But tread carefully."
By the time Ethan finished discussing the magical theories with her, the sun had set, plunging Kamar-Taj into the cold, crisp shadows of night. He bowed respectfully and left the courtyard, his mind buzzing with the possibilities of the dark magic texts.
As he walked down the dimly lit stone corridor heading back to his room, a figure stepped out from the shadows.
It was Kaecilius.
The senior sorcerer didn't say a word. He just stood there, his dark robes blending into the night, glaring at Ethan with a look of pure, concentrated hatred. He looked at Ethan like he was a disease infecting the temple.
Ethan didn't break his stride. He just gave Kaecilius a lazy, two-finger salute, popped his spatial anchor, and with a loud Crack!, Apparated directly to his bedroom, leaving the glaring and stunned sorcerer completely alone in the dark hallway.