Sorry, everyone, for not uploading these past few days. I have been busy with my job, so my attention is focused elsewhere.
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[It was a densely populated place, poor, backward, forgotten by time. The living conditions were far worse than Strange had imagined. Crumbling houses leaned against one another like exhausted old men struggling to remain upright. Narrow streets stretched on in crooked lines, broken and uneven, littered with debris and stains that bore silent witness to countless years of neglect. Shouts, hurried footsteps, bargaining voices, and indistinct clamors collided in the air, forming a constant, suffocating wall of noise that pressed down on the senses.]
[Strange carried a worn backpack as he moved slowly through the crowd. He blended in, yet somehow stood out all the same. His eyes darted about restlessly, scanning every corner, searching for landmarks, signs, anything that might point him toward the place he sought.]
[Kamar-Taj. The only place that might offer him a chance to heal his ruined hands.]
[In one hand, Strange clutched a notebook filled with scribbled notes and half-legible directions, the pages creased and smudged from constant handling. From time to time, he stopped passersby, asking questions in broken phrases, desperately trying to confirm the location. But every answer he received was vague or dismissive. Some people shook their heads without slowing their steps. Others stared at him as if he were mad.]
Inside the comment section, the audience was deeply divided.
"He actually came looking for it."
"Honestly, that makes sense. When you're desperate, even a rumor feels like a life-saving straw."
"I still think that player earlier had bad intentions. Souls? Seriously? You're telling me humans have souls?"
"I bet he knew Strange wouldn't understand, so he deliberately said something no one could verify."
"Strange is really pitiful."
"Isn't he supposed to be close to Tony? Why does he look no different from an ordinary person now?"
"That bald mage earlier, he waved his hand and the world changed. That wasn't fake."
"It's unbelievable. The Earth Age is terrifying."
[Yet even after searching for a long time, Strange couldn't find a single person who knew Kamar-Taj's exact location. Despair crept in quietly, settling into his chest like a slow poison. As he walked, he began murmuring the name aloud, "Kamar-Taj… Kamar-Taj…", over and over again, as though repetition alone might conjure recognition. Eventually, he turned into a narrow alley where foot traffic thinned and the noise of the streets dulled.]
[That was when several thugs suddenly emerged, blocking both the front and the rear of the alley. Strange froze, instinctively knowing what was about to happen.]
["I'm sorry," he said calmly, raising his hands in surrender. "I don't have any money."]
[One of the men snarled, his expression twisted with impatience. "Then give me the watch."]
[Strange shook his head. "Please don't. It's the only thing I have left."]
[The gang closed in. Someone shoved him hard, sending him stumbling back.]
[Strange inhaled sharply. "Fine."]
[The moment the word left his mouth, he swung his fist, "Ah, !"]
[Pain exploded through his palms, sharp and blinding, and his hands trembled violently. They weren't healed, not even close. He couldn't even hurt someone else without hurting himself first.]
[In the next instant, he was slammed to the ground. Kicks rained down on him from every direction. He was shoved aside like refuse, utterly humiliated. Utterly powerless.]
[Then, a black blur burst into the alley. Three swift movements followed, clean, decisive. The thugs collapsed one by one, crumpling like broken dolls. The newcomer calmly picked up the fallen watch and handed it back to Strange. The glass face was shattered.]
[The man removed his hood. "Are you looking for Kamar-Taj?"]
[Strange frowned for a heartbeat, then nodded quickly.]
[Without another word, the cloaked man turned and led him in the opposite direction. They soon emerged onto a crowded street and stopped before a weathered wooden door.]
[The door was old, cracked, and utterly unremarkable, so ordinary that Strange felt disbelief well up inside him.]
["Wait," he said, glancing around uneasily. "Are you sure this is the place?"]
[He pointed toward a towering building nearby. "That looks more like Kamar-Taj."]
[The cloaked man smiled faintly. "I asked the same question once," he said softly, "and I wasn't very polite back then either."]
[Then he looked at Strange. "May I give you some advice? Forget what you think you know."
[Strange blinked. "…Okay."]
[The door opened. Behind the decaying exterior, a vast, radiant hall unfolded, grand, tranquil, and breathtaking, like a hidden palace concealed within another world.]
The comment section exploded.
"What?!"
"A whole universe hidden inside?"
"This is incredible."
"Who is that cloaked man?"
"Doesn't this look like the followers of that mage earlier?"
"This place is way too well hidden…"
"What are you thinking? Strange doesn't need that kind of place."
[The two entered, incense smoke curling gently through the air.]
["The sanctuary of our teacher," the man said evenly. "The Ancient One."]
[Strange hesitated. "The Ancient One? What is his real name? Right, forget everything I think I know. Sorry."]
[Inside the hall, long mahogany tables lined both sides. People sat quietly reading, sipping tea, immersed in calm contemplation. Strange thanked an elderly man with a white beard seated nearby. Moments later, someone draped a coat over his shoulders. Another placed a warm cup into his hands.]
["And thank you…" He turned back toward the bearded man. "Ancient One, for seeing me."]
[The man stood and quietly walked away, while the one who had poured the tea smiled gently. "You are very welcome."]
[Strange froze.]
[The man bowed respectfully. "This is the Ancient One."]
[The Ancient One smiled. "Thank you, Master Mordo. Master Hamir."]
[Then she turned her gaze to Strange. "Mr. Strange."]
["Doctor, actually," Strange corrected instinctively.]
[The Ancient One smiled faintly. "No, not anymore, surely. Isn't that why you are here? You've undergone many procedures. Seven, right?"]
[Strange stiffened. "…Yeah." He took a hurried sip. "It's good tea."]
[Strange resolved his embarrassment in this way, yet the audience was left utterly astonished.]
"So this bald figure is the one who turned the situation around earlier?"
"Ancient One… that name really is bizarre."
"She's a doctor, too? With skills that advanced? Unbelievable."
"She's a mage! The master of that mage Arden we just saw!"
"Kamar-Taj, does a place like that even exist on Terra?"
"No, I've never heard of it. But the Earth Era itself is real."
"So the Ancient One is a teacher? Does that mean the magical combat style she used earlier is still being practiced by others?"
"Look again. I don't think it's that simple."
"Yeah. One thing is certain: this person left a deep impression on Tony. He's definitely more than what we're seeing right now."
The broadcast exploded with discussion.
At the same time, inside the Administration, the director and a group of experts were also reaching a consensus. The secretary opened another screen, displaying the progress reports from several other analysis teams working at full capacity. The situation was urgent, the workload immense, and every analyst was proceeding with extreme caution.
The director looked around and said solemnly, "No matter how important a role this Strange plays, one thing is already clear from their conversation. The so-called magic we witnessed earlier was passed down by the Ancient One herself."
The room fell silent, then several experts nodded slowly. Doubt lingered in every gaze. Was this truly an entirely new combat system? One that could be taught and mastered by ordinary people? If the next scene revealed more of this method, its value would be impossible to estimate.
[On screen, Strange glanced around before fixing his gaze on the Ancient One. "You once healed a man named Pangborn," he asked. "A man who was paralyzed?"]
[The Ancient One replied calmly while pouring water, "In a sense."]
[Strange pressed on, "You helped him walk again."]
[She lifted her head slightly and confirmed, "Yes."]
[Strange's breathing quickened. "How did you repair a complete C7–C8 spinal cord injury?"]
[The Ancient One placed the tea leaves into the cup, smiling faintly. "I didn't repair it. He couldn't walk. I simply convinced him that he could."]
[Strange frowned deeply. "You're not suggesting it was psychosomatic?"]
["When you reconnect severed nerves," the Ancient One said as she stirred the tea, "is it you who heals them, or the body?"]
["The cells," Strange replied without hesitation.]
["And those cells," she continued, "are programmed to restore themselves in very specific ways."]
[Strange nodded. "Correct."]
["What if," the Ancient One said softly, "your body could be persuaded to reassemble itself in countless other ways?"]
[Strange stepped forward. "You're talking about cellular regeneration, bleeding-edge medical technology. Is that why you're operating here? Without oversight from any medical board? Just how experimental is this treatment?"]
[This was his last hope. The closest he had come to salvation.]
[The Ancient One met his gaze and smiled gently. "Quite."]
[Strange felt as though he had grabbed hold of a lifeline. "So you've discovered a way to reprogram nerve cells to heal themselves?"]
["No, Mr. Strange," she said calmly. "I know how to reorient the spirit so the body may heal itself."]
[Strange froze.]
The viewers' expressions twisted simultaneously.
"Holy hell, she's a complete fraud!"
"Healing the body with the soul? What kind of nonsense is that?"
"So I just convince my flesh to obey me now?"
"Burn it all, burn it!"
"Strange is still trying to judge this with his own medical logic."
"Who could possibly believe something like this?"
"Are these people all scammers?"
"If the soul can heal the body, what do doctors even exist for?"
"I remember back on Asgard, Jane was placed into that machine, the Soul Reactor. She said it was quantum technology."
"Is the Ancient One implying something similar?"
"So we're back to quantum mechanics again?"
"Strange, you're a brilliant doctor, just leave already."
"This feels straight out of a novel."
"That bald figure is definitely a liar. Case closed."
"…Or maybe it's something completely beyond our understanding."
Inside the training grounds, confusion flickered in Ren's eyes. Healing the body with the soul? What an absurd statement. If not for the trust placed in the Network, they would have shut the feed off already.
Kasey muttered nonstop, "Spirit? What even is a spirit? Isn't that just a fictional concept? Can that crap really heal anything?"
Tetsuo stared blankly. "This is beyond outrageous."
Ren pressed his fingers hard against his temples. "It's not scientific, absolutely not. The spirit is nothing more than a name, a human fantasy. There's no physical entity."
"Using the spirit to heal the body?" Ren scoffed. "That's even more ridiculous than the Avengers signing a treaty." Still, his eyes never left the screen.
["Reorient the spirit to heal the body?" Strange echoed in disbelief.]
["That's correct," the Ancient One replied seriously.]
[Strange exhaled heavily, closed his eyes, and shook his head. Finally, he said in resignation, "Fine. Then how do we begin?"]
[The Ancient One opened a thick tome. On its pages was a diagram of a human figure seated cross-legged, covered in intricate markings and symbols.]
[She smiled. "Don't like the map?"]
[Strange blinked. "No, it's very nice. I've just… seen it before. In a gift shop."]
[Still smiling, she flipped through more pages. "Acupuncture."]
["Right… and this one?"]
[At last, Strange lost his patience. "Showing me an MRI scan. I don't believe any of this."]
["These diagrams," the Ancient One said calmly as she closed the book, "were drawn by people who could see parts, but never the whole."]
[Strange raised his hand anxiously. "I spent my last dollars to get here. A one-way ticket. And you're telling me recovery depends on belief?"]
[He was on the verge of collapse. Yet the Ancient One remained unmoved. "You are a man peering at the world through a keyhole. You've spent your entire life trying to widen it, to see more, to know more. And now that I tell you it can be widened beyond imagination, you reject the possibility."]
[Strange paced back and forth, his voice rising. "No, I reject it because I don't believe in fairy tales about chakras, energy, or faith."]
[He stormed up to her, face dark with rage. "There is no such thing as the spirit. We are matter, and nothing more. Tiny, fleeting specks in an indifferent universe."]
[He turned to leave.]
["You underestimate yourself," the Ancient One said flatly.]
[Strange spun around, pointing at her furiously. "I see right through you!"]
[The Ancient One seized his arm, and in the next instant, struck him squarely in the chest.]
In the very next moment, the viewers completely lost their minds.