Chapter 309

Sunset, Kamar-Taj.

"This is my master's sanctum. Her name is the Ancient One," Mordo said, leading Stephen Strange into the sacred hall, its interior illuminated by the warm glow of the setting sun.

"'Ancient One'? Is that her real name?" Strange asked skeptically.

Mordo remained silent, merely casting a calm glance his way.

Strange sighed, recalling the rules Mordo had explained earlier. "Fine, I'll forget everything I think I know. My apologies."

As they walked, Strange noticed other individuals in the sanctum, exuding an air of quiet discipline. Soon, they arrived before a serene figure clad in white robes, her bald head catching the fading sunlight.

"Mr. Strange," the Ancient One greeted with a smile, offering him a cup of tea. "Relax. You don't need to be so tense."

"It's Doctor," Strange corrected, sipping the tea.

"You were a doctor," the Ancient One said gently. "And that's why you're here."

After brief pleasantries, Strange asked the burning question on his mind:

"You once helped a man named Jonathan Pangborn—a paraplegic walk again. How did you do it?"

The Ancient One nodded. "Yes, I guided him."

Strange leaned forward, his voice tinged with hope. "You restored his severed spinal cord? His C7 and C8 vertebrae?"

"I didn't heal him," she replied, shaking her head. "I convinced him he could heal himself."

"What? Is this… some kind of placebo?" Strange asked, disappointment clear in his tone.

The Ancient One explained calmly, "When you reconnect a damaged nerve, is it the surgeon who heals it, or the body?"

Strange frowned. "Cells heal the nerve."

"But cells only heal in the way they know how. What if I told you that your body could convince itself to heal in ways you've never imagined?"

Strange's mind raced, grasping at scientific explanations. "Are you talking about cellular regeneration? Some kind of advanced biotechnology?"

The Ancient One shook her head, dismissing his theory. "We use no such technology here. What we know is how to channel the mind to heal the body."

"Mind over matter?" Strange scoffed, his initial curiosity turning into frustration.

The Ancient One remained patient. "You've spent your life pushing boundaries, yearning to see and understand more. But now, when faced with a truth beyond your comprehension, you refuse to accept it?"

"I refuse because it's absurd!" Strange snapped, his voice rising. "There's no mystical 'mind healing' nonsense! No spirits, no soul, just neurons firing in the brain! Humans are nothing more than matter!"

"You think you understand the universe, Dr. Strange?" the Ancient One asked, her tone calm yet firm. "What about Messiah and the White Knight? Surely you've heard of them."

Strange froze.

The names struck a chord. He had read about their exploits—their powers defied explanation.

"They're just genetic anomalies," he muttered. "Alien technology, perhaps, but nothing mystical."

The Ancient One smiled knowingly. "You truly believe their power is simply genetic mutation?"

"Of course! What else could it be?" Strange's frustration boiled over.

The Ancient One said no more. Instead, she reached out, placing her palm against Strange's chest.

Whoosh!

In an instant, Strange's spirit was expelled from his body. He looked down at himself, translucent and glowing. His physical form sat lifeless in the chair.

"What… What's happening?" he stammered, staring at his ethereal hands.

The Ancient One gestured, and Strange's spirit snapped back into his body.

"What did you just do to me?!" he demanded.

"I separated your astral form from your physical body," she explained matter-of-factly.

"You drugged me! That tea—what did you put in it? Psychedelics?"

"Just tea. With a bit of honey," she replied, unfazed.

"What… What did I just experience?"

"You glimpsed the Astral Plane—a dimension where the soul can exist outside the body."

The Ancient One began explaining: "Human perception is limited to three dimensions, but there are countless others beyond our understanding. The place you visited is known as the Astral Dimension, or the Plane of Souls. Without guidance, one could easily become lost there."

Strange struggled to process her words, his scientific mind at odds with what he had just experienced. "Why would you do this to me?"

"To open your eyes," she replied. "You know so little of the universe, yet you presume to understand its limits."

She placed her thumb on Strange's forehead. "Let me show you the truth. Open your eyes."

Whoosh!

Strange's body shot backward, breaking through the roof of the sanctum and soaring into the sky.

"What… What is happening?! This isn't real!"

He rocketed past Earth's atmosphere, glimpsing the vast expanse of space before colliding with a butterfly larger than a planet.

As he touched its iridescent wings, he was propelled into a kaleidoscopic wormhole, a twisting tunnel of vibrant colors and incomprehensible shapes.

(End of Chapter)

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