The Himalayan wind whispered a final farewell as a golden glow erupted from the Sling Ring on Ancient One's fingers.
As she raised her hands, graceful and deliberate, a ripple of eldritch sparks began spiraling outward. The very fabric of space forms a complex and ancient mandala-shaped magic circle.
Its runes pulsed softly, whispering in tongues older than time.
Woosh~with a ripple in the air and a swirl of sparks, a Void Gate formed.
Beyond it, framed in swirling orange light, stood a pristine, modern structure nestled in New York City.
Everlife… a facility renowned in both medical and underground mystic circles, though few knew its true power.
"Let's go." Ancient One said calmly, stepping through the portal like a breeze in motion.
Soren followed, his gaze lingering on the magical gate.
So this is the power of a Sling Ring… It bends space itself with such elegance.
Within moments, both figures stood in the sleek marble lobby of Everlife Medical.
Soren personally poured a steaming cup of golden tea into a handcrafted jade cup and slid it across the table.
The tea glowed faintly, its surface shimmering like starlight. The scent alone brought clarity of thought.
Ancient One took a sip, and her eyes widened with surprise.
"This… This isn't tea. It's a potion. A perfect balance of spiritual elixirs, mystic roots, and temporal lotus petals."
"Mr. Macaluso." Voice tinged with genuine admiration, "Your knowledge of the tea ceremony is unexpectedly profound."
"A little alchemical hobby of mine."
But there was little time for pleasantries. Soren stood, his expression becoming a serene focus.
"Come, Ancient One. Let us begin."
In the sanctity of the treatment room, the lights dimmed. The room seemed larger on the inside, its walls lined with spell-inscribed glass and ethereal sigils.
In the center, Ancient One lay reclined on the examination table.
Soren, now clad in black and white surgical robes embroidered with cosmic threads, drew out his scalpel.
360 precision incisions.
Each movement was exact, divine, faster than human perception.
With each cut, threads of dark energy coiled upward from Ancient One's body like living serpents.
The shadows hissed and twisted violently, some trying to dive back into her flesh, others slithering toward Soren.
Soren was prepared.
With a single thought, Everlife took action, a pulse of invisible power swept through the room.
Every trace of dark energy froze in place, caught in a cage of golden lattice. They writhed uselessly.
"Not here." Soren thought.
"Not in my baby."
As the last of the tainted power was stripped away, Ancient One's body began to tremble. Her once-youthful visage faded rapidly.
White hair spilled out from beneath her hood, her cheeks hollowed, and deep wrinkles creased her face. Her hands shook.
Her once radiant aura dimmed to a frail whisper.
Her voice came out like brittle paper.
"So this is… who I really am now."
Soren observed quietly, respectfully. "Without the dark power sustaining you, your body returns to its natural state. The toll of centuries without proper restoration."
Ancient One's breathing grew shallow.
This… is how it ends. Not with a battle, but with the mirror.
But… Life returned.
From beneath her, a surge of pure life energy rose up like a rising tide.
Shimmering emerald and gold threads wrapped around her limbs and chest, pulsing softly. The twilight of decay tried to resist at first, but the life force was patient… warm… and unrelenting.
Soon, her body began to glow faintly.
Her wrinkles smoothed.
Her spine straightened.
Color returned to her skin, and her eyes, once dull and clouded, began to shine with a sharp, lucid brilliance.
She gasped.
Breath surged back into her lungs like lightning.
"What… what is this?" Energy flooded through her veins.
"A gift."
Ancient One felt herself reborn.
Younger, stronger, yet untainted by corruption. For the first time in centuries, she felt whole.
She stood up slowly, her steps light, her senses expanded. The aura of despair was gone.
She placed a hand over her heart, feeling it beat, not from borrowed power, but from her own life.
"You've done what I believed impossible,"
[Congratulations to the host, you have healed A-rank character: Ancient One]
[Ancient One]
[World Class: A]
[Abilities: Sage Magic Lv 9, Dark Magic Lv 8, Martial Combat Lv 6]
[Ability drawn: Sage Magic Lv 9 Acquired!]
Suddenly, Soren's mind was flooded with a torrent of knowledge, endless scrolls of magical runes, incantations spoken in long-lost tongues, celestial diagrams, and sacred geometry that pulsed with divine rhythm.
This is Sage Magic… The magic of balance, of cosmic law and order. The foundation of Kamar-Taj.
His brain burned with divine fire for a moment, but when the light receded, clarity remained.
The Eye of Agamotto. The artifact at the heart of time sorcery. Sage Magic unveiled the secrets of the mystic arts.
Not all, of course. But enough. Enough for someone like Soren.
Ancient One's once-dim aura now glowed with restored brilliance.
"I feel like I've experienced a new life!" She looked at her own hands as though seeing them for the first time in centuries.
"Thank you, Soren."
Soren smiled modestly, though inwardly, he was already planning his next move.
"You're welcome, Ancient One magician. As I recall, Kamar-Taj's magic is shared openly, correct?"
"I'd love to look around… perhaps visit the library?"
Ancient One studied him with new eyes.
He had healed her, freed her from corruption she dared not even name aloud. She trusted him.
"Of course. You are welcome in Kamar-Taj. Though, if I may ask... With your power, why are you still interested in learning magic?"
"I'm a doctor by trade." Soren replied with a quiet chuckle.
"But even doctors must study new techniques. And magic… it is a legacy of knowledge as ancient as life itself."
She nodded, smiling more freely than she had in decades.
With a flick of her fingers, a new portal opened, revealing the familiar courtyard of Kamar-Taj. The scent of old wood, incense, and mountain air drifted in.
They stepped through.
The moment they arrived, a cry tore through the peaceful air.
"Sorcerer Supreme! Something terrible has happened!"
Mordo sprinted into the courtyard, his expression frantic, his robe dirtied with soot and blood. His eyes darted to Soren but offered no greeting.
"Kaecilius has broken into the library with the fanatics! He shattered our defenses! The librarian… he's~"
Ancient One's eyes darkened with fury and heartbreak. Kaecilius, once her most promising disciple, now a dangerous zealot obsessed with forbidden knowledge.
He had always coveted the black arts hidden in Kamar-Taj's most secret archives.
And I left the fortress unguarded, she thought bitterly. He knew.
"Soren, forgive me" She said urgently.
"This is a matter I must handle."
"Then allow me to help. If Kaecilius is defiling magic… he's defiling my field as well."
Ancient One hesitated only a breath, then nodded. "Stay close."
The three of them raced down the corridor and burst into the Great Library of Kamar-Taj.
The scent hit them first, blood, burnt parchment, and the thick, nauseating stench of death.
The sacred halls, once echoing only with the rustle of pages and the calm turn of scrolls, now...
A headless corpse lay crumpled at the foot of a shattered shelf, the body still twitching slightly. Blood pooled beneath it, soaking into the stone. A Sling Ring lay discarded nearby, its edge blackened, cut by dark energy.
"The librarian…" Mordo whispered.
"He protected the restricted section with his life."
On the far side of the room, Kaecilius stood in dark, flowing robes, his eyes glowing with corrupted power. His fanatics surrounded him, a half-circle of former students who now bore the black marks of Dormammu's teachings.
A single dark tome floated before them, opened to a page that shimmered with forbidden incantations.
Kaecilius smiled coldly.
"So the teacher returns, with a guest. How curious."
"Return the book, Kaecilius. And surrender."
Kaecilius laughed bitterly. "Surrender? Why should I? When I've seen the truth, that time is a lie, and death is a cage!"
Soren stepped forward, eyes calm.
"No, death is a process. It's the end of one state, the beginning of another. You… you've forced the process."
Sage Magic flared around Soren like a radiant storm. Light and runes flowed along his arms like rivers of gold.
Kaecilius narrowed his eyes. "You… you're not a sorcerer."
"I'm what comes after sorcerers."
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
Fellow Phantoms and aspiring Phantoms to be, if you seek to access advanced parts of this story procced to my shadowy realm of p@treon.
PhantomDream