Crack—
Crack—
A sound like shattering glass echoed through the air as a jagged wall of light unfolded before Qin Xiao's eyes.
The Mirror Dimension.
It was the very first spell he had ever mastered.
Looking at the crystalline space forming around him, Qin Xiao clenched his fists in excitement.
Once I finish learning how to open portals, my trip to Kamar-Taj will be complete.
The Ancient One watched calmly from the side.
"Let's see how your Mirror Dimension holds up," she said softly.
Qin Xiao's aptitude for magic wasn't exactly remarkable — it had taken him quite a while to learn even this single spell.
Still, she was curious to see how the one "empowered by an extradimensional deity" would perform.
"Alright," Qin Xiao grinned. "Let's take a look inside."
He stepped through the shimmering rift.
The Ancient One followed right behind him — if she didn't, Qin Xiao might accidentally trap himself in his own Mirror Dimension.
Inside, everything looked… normal.
The training courtyard of Kamar-Taj reflected perfectly within.
But something felt off.
The air trembled faintly — the mirrored realm seemed unstable, rippling like liquid glass.
Then, Qin Xiao's eyes widened in shock. His jaw fell open.
"Qin?" the Ancient One asked, noticing his expression. "What's wrong?"
Qin Xiao swallowed hard.
"Um… is there a standard size for the Mirror Dimension?"
"When you first learn the spell," the Ancient One explained, "it typically covers an area about the size of a single room. With training, one can expand it — to a building, then perhaps an entire block."
Qin Xiao blinked. "Then… I think there's a problem with mine."
Without waiting for her to respond, he walked toward the edge of the courtyard. The Ancient One followed closely.
Together, they "pushed open" the mirrored gate — and both froze.
Outside, the bustling streets of Kamar-Taj stretched out before them. Apprentices walked, merchants chatted, and the air shimmered with golden motes of sunlight.
But none of them could see Qin Xiao or the Ancient One.
At the far horizon, a faint crystalline wall gleamed — the edge of the Mirror Dimension.
Sunlight fractured through the broken-glass sky, scattering in a thousand dazzling shards.
The entire Kamar-Taj… was trapped within Qin Xiao's Mirror Dimension.
The Ancient One's usually tranquil expression faltered for the first time.
"Impossible… To cover all of Kamar-Taj on your first attempt?"
Even she had needed decades to achieve that.
Qin Xiao said nothing. He raised both hands, manipulating the mirrored landscape.
The ground twisted. Buildings bent and rotated like puzzle pieces. The world shifted with each flick of his wrist.
His body moved with the rhythm of the realm, and a series of insights burst into his mind — rapid, clear, profound.
"...I see," he murmured at last, standing atop the highest tower of Kamar-Taj. "It really is connected to my body."
"You mean," the Ancient One asked slowly, "the power behind you — your dimensional deity — is the one fueling your magic?"
Her reasoning was sound.
All sorcery drew upon energy from other dimensions.
Light sorcerers borrowed from Vishanti, while she herself had once tapped into the darkness of Dormammu for greater strength.
That duality — light and dark, creation and corruption — was what made her the Sorcerer Supreme.
Dormammu's power had given her unnatural longevity, yes, but also near-limitless energy — enough to alter the fabric of reality itself.
When Kaecilius had stolen Dormammu's summoning ritual, he too gained the power to warp reality — summoning mirror realms large enough to engulf New York City and hunt down both Doctor Strange and Mordo.
Only the Ancient One's intervention had ended it, wresting control of the Mirror Dimension from him.
She still remembered the glowing sigil of Dormammu flaring upon her forehead that day — the mark of a pact with darkness.
So when she saw Qin Xiao's Mirror Dimension stretch over all of Kamar-Taj, her conclusion came naturally:
His "dimensional patron" must be lending him vast power.
A logical guess — but completely wrong.
Qin Xiao had no otherworldly deity behind him.
He himself was an anomaly — a traveler from another universe.
His very body carried the energy signature of an entirely different cosmos.
It made him, in essence, a living bridge between universes.
His power source wasn't a being… it was an entire universe.
That was why manipulating multidimensional energy came so effortlessly to him.
To him, magic that required "external energy channels" for normal sorcerers was simply… instinctive.
In truth, Qin Xiao's magical comprehension — his software — was mediocre.
But his hardware?
Top-tier.
The kind of cosmic-grade "machine" built to run impossible programs.
Qin Xiao turned to the Ancient One, a smile tugging at his lips.
"Master Ancient One," he said quietly, "I think I should learn more magic from you."
The Ancient One studied him for a moment — and for once, even she wasn't sure whether she was looking at a man… or the herald of a new cosmic force.