The next day!
First thing in the morning, Hawk drove Gwen to the entrance of 117A Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village.
Gwen, sitting in the passenger seat wearing a cute fuzzy hat, was a bit bewildered.
She turned her head to look at a typical Victorian red-brick building outside the car window, then at the pedestrians on the street who seemed oblivious to the building, and finally turned to Hawk, who had pulled the handbrake.
"Aren't we supposed to go to the airport?"
"This way is faster."
Hawk smiled faintly.
If he hadn't confirmed his constitution of encountering accidents whenever he took transportation out of New York City, he would have also wanted to fly leisurely to Nepal with Gwen.
It was a Christmas trip, after all.
But...
Who knew what kind of accident they would encounter if they flew to Nepal this time?
So, caution was paramount.
Besides, if there was a quicker way to get to Kamar-Taj, why bother with the slowest method?
The most important point:
If Sorcerer Supreme Gu Yi didn't want to see him, he would know through the New York Sanctum right in front of him, saving him a wasted trip by plane.
Hawk thought to himself, pushed the door open, got out of the car, then took Gwen's hand and walked to the entrance of 117A, where pedestrians around them seemed oblivious, and knocked on the iron ring on the door.
The iron ring chimed, its sound clear and pleasant.
Soon, the large door of 117A slowly opened to both sides, and then a middle-aged man with the very personable face of Hannibal Lecter, wearing a dark yellow robe, appeared before Hawk.
Kaecilius, the current Guardian of the New York Sanctum.
Kaecilius seemed unsurprised by Hawk's arrival; he merely glanced at Hawk, then stepped aside and made an inviting gesture.
"Thank you."
Hawk thanked him, also unsurprised, and led Gwen into the New York Sanctum.
Still, the same logic applied.
If Sorcerer Supreme Gu Yi didn't want to see him, he probably wouldn't even be able to knock on the door of the New York Sanctum.
Of course, just because he couldn't knock it open didn't mean he couldn't break in.
As soon as Gwen entered the Sanctum, her eyes widened involuntarily.
Floating candelabras, self-turning books, levitating artifacts.
The interior of the Sanctum, steeped in history, with a towering ceiling that clearly didn't match the exterior architecture, and a huge winding staircase, was filled with strange magic items displayed everywhere.
But this was not what surprised Gwen the most.
After Hawk and Gwen entered, Kaecilius began to form hand seals, specifically, both hands, and his left hand started drawing circles in front of him.
As sparks appeared from Kaecilius's fingertips, they quickly connected to form a circle, creating a fiery portal that appeared before Gwen's eyes.
Gwen's eyes widened, once again filled with astonishment, as she looked at the scene on the other side of the fiery portal!
An ancient, serene, solemn, and Zen-filled hall lay on the other side of the portal.
After completing this, Kaecilius maintained the portal's opening and, for the first time since seeing Hawk, spoke to him.
"The Sorcerer Supreme is on the other side."
"Thank you."
Hawk calmly glanced at the open portal, then thanked Kaecilius again, and looked at Gwen beside him: "Let's go."
Gwen snapped back to reality, hummed in agreement, and tightly held Hawk's right hand.
The next second, Hawk in front and Gwen behind, they stepped through the portal, directly from New York City to the Kamar-Taj monastery, whose actual location was somewhere in Kathmandu, Nepal, in the Himalayas.
As soon as the two stepped out of the portal, the portal disappeared immediately after them.
Gwen instinctively turned her head to look, then saw a person standing not far away, and couldn't help but exclaim.
Hawk turned to look.
Before his eyes, a female with an ethereal and transcendent aura, dressed in a White robe, with a calm and peaceful face, but with deep eyes that seemed to see through everything, carrying the wisdom of long years and a hint of imperceptible fatigue, was elegantly and calmly looking at the two of them.
Hawk was the first to greet her, nodding his head towards the Sorcerer Supreme who appeared before him.
"Sorcerer Supreme!"
"phoenix."
...
Gwen, listening to the Sorcerer Supreme utter the surname they had just agreed upon, blinked, but said nothing, merely looking at the Sorcerer Supreme with curiosity.
Hawk wasn't surprised by this either, but he still smiled and looked at the Sorcerer Supreme.
"I haven't decided whether to use that surname yet."
"You will."
The Sorcerer Supreme smiled serenely, then pointed to the tea table not far away, inviting them: "As guests, would you like a cup of tea?"
Hawk raised an eyebrow.
"Okay."
"Please."
"Sorcerer Supreme, please go first."
When asking for a favor, regardless of the outcome, etiquette must be observed.
Even if the deal falls through, the goodwill remains.
Hawk understood this very well.
Seeing this, the Sorcerer Supreme said nothing more, smiled serenely, took a step, and was already by the tea table.
Hawk led Gwen to the opposite side of the Sorcerer Supreme, mimicking her posture, and sat down cross-legged.
The Sorcerer Supreme, in her White robe and with a peaceful smile on her face, began the graceful and pleasing ritual of brewing tea.
Soon, a cup of clear tea was placed before Hawk and Gwen, respectively.
The Sorcerer Supreme extended a hand.
"Please."
"Thank you."
Hawk thanked her, picked up the teacup in front of him, took a sip, savored it, and then drained the cup of Water.
"Good tea."
"Delicious."
After taking a sip, Gwen's eyes also lit up, and she swore that this was the best tea she had ever tasted in her life.
The Sorcerer Supreme smiled faintly: "This clear tea, freshly picked from the tea tree in the backyard last month, is best for those who have drunk too much; it soothes alcohol and cuts through richness."
Gwen blinked.
Hearing Ancient One's words, Hawk's heart stirred, and he looked at the Sorcerer Supreme: "Were those few drinks Mephisto offered me problematic?"
Hearing this, Gwen subconsciously looked at Hawk.
Hawk held Gwen's right hand with his left.
Gwen opened her mouth, then suppressed the impulse within her.
Hawk frowned, recalling the drinks Mephisto had offered him at the Hell Tavern, on the edge of life and death, and also those in New York City: "Mephisto's drinks were quite good; I could feel my soul strengthening."
He couldn't be sure if those drinks had side effects at the time, but he was certain they had the effect of strengthening his soul.
The Sorcerer Supreme said with a smile: "Hell's soul wine naturally has the effect of strengthening the soul, but before the wine is completely absorbed, the drinker's soul will also be locked by Hell. That's how Mephisto invited Odin's soul to be his guest in Hell back then."
Good gracious.
Mephisto truly doesn't do anything decent.
No, wait.
That guy isn't even human; what human things would he do?
Listening to the Sorcerer Supreme's explanation, Hawk's thoughts raced, and he instantly understood exactly what Mephisto was planning.
First, he used genuine soul-strengthening wine to lure him in. As long as he drank it, then before the wine was fully absorbed, if he encountered any accident, even Nirvana, he wouldn't undergo Nirvana on the edge of life and death anymore, but would instead go to Hell.
And once he went to Hell, that would be Mephisto's home turf.
Although he would be more powerful than Odin, the King of Gods, in the future, right now, even the aging King of Gods Odin could beat him ten times over.
Therefore...
When Odin, the King of Gods, was tricked by Mephisto into Hell, it was called a visit.
If he were tricked by Mephisto into Hell, it wouldn't be called a visit, but rather a one-way trip.
At this thought, Hawk couldn't help but chuckle: "Demons, indeed. You can't even believe a single punctuation mark they say."
The Sorcerer Supreme refilled their tea, then looked up at Hawk.
"But you didn't fall for it, did you?"
"I suspected Mephisto was interested in my soul, but I didn't know how he'd ensure my soul would go to Hell. Now, hearing the Sorcerer Supreme's explanation, I understand."
Hawk said, shaking his head, then raised his teacup and drained the tea. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Gwen hand him her own tea.
He paused, and just as he was about to take it, Ancient One smiled and said, "Your tea is different from his."
Gwen was slightly stunned, looked at the tea in her cup, then at the teapot: "Aren't they all poured from the same teapot?"
Ancient One shook her head: "The tea poured one second ago and the tea poured the next second, in the concept of Time, are two completely different things."
Hearing this, Gwen glanced at Ancient One, then nodded as if she understood, yet didn't.
Hawk, meanwhile, looked at Ancient One: "Does drinking the tea negate the effects of Mephisto's wine?"
Ancient One's expression was serene: "Tea can cure alcohol!"
Hawk's expression cleared, and he no longer delved into that question. Instead, he looked at Ancient One, changing the subject, and asked with some curiosity: "But Blackheart is trying to team up with the Four Elemental Creators to create a new Hell Dimension. Is the Sorcerer Supreme not at all worried that Blackheart might succeed?"
After pouring the tea, the Sorcerer Supreme settled back into her seat, still looking at Hawk very calmly.
Her answer was concise.
"Didn't you take care of it?"
..."That makes sense!"
Hawk listened to the Sorcerer Supreme's answer, remained silent for a moment, then nodded in conviction.
What else could he say?
Say that the Sorcerer Supreme was cheating?
Are you kidding?
What if he said that, and then when he wanted to borrow the Time Stone later, the Sorcerer Supreme suddenly said he was cheating too? What then?
So...
Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you.
Hawk thought to himself, then stopped playing guessing games with the Sorcerer Supreme, and directly looked at her, stating his purpose: "Sorcerer Supreme, I would like to borrow the Time Stone!"
Sorcerer Supreme: "..."
On my Patreon, I have several advance chapters available if you're interested in more than 100: For $1, you get 20 fewer chapters than the $2.50 tier. For $2.50, you get 40 fewer chapters than the $4 tier. And for $4, you get them all.
The number of chapters is updated every 7 days and increases by 7 to 8 chapters.
My Patren: paroncom/FanTranslator