Chapter 8 : Tea time.

Come morning, I took a bath to wash off the river gunk, changed into my new robes and made my way to the reception.

"Knock, knock." I mimed, leaning in, "May I come in?"

"Will you stop if I say no?" She repeated the joke.

"Yes. I will go bother Mordo instead." I said, grinning, "I bet he'll love that."

Mordo had sent someone else to get me today. That spoke volumes.

"Though," I continued, "You already knew that."

"I did." She didn't even bother denying it.

That's good.

"Great, let's speedrun this conversation." I clapped my hands, rubbing them together, "What do I need to know, 20 words or less."

I was eager to start learning magic, to say the least. Who wouldn't be?

But the Ancient One didn't seem to register the enthusiasm or more likely, just ignore it, moving at her own pace.

I must say, however, it was calming in a way.

She pointed at the cushioned seat opposite her, and I sat down.

"Tea?"

"Thank you."

Now I couldn't exactly eat food, on account of not having a digestive system, but as last night's investigation revealed, I did have an asshole. I'm guessing it was meant for salt buildup from hard water or bog water-the engine had a filter to catch stuff, I felt it when the candy hit it- but it could work just as well for tea or soup, though after the second one, I'd need to purge the veggies or risk smelling like decaying food or worse, choking the intake.

"So…" I asked, taking a sip of the tea, if only as courtesy.

"No." She replied.

"No?" I quirked an eyebrow.

"No. I will not be 'speedrunning' the conversation, as you put it."

"Why?" I asked, putting down the cup, "Haven't you seen how it will go? What's the point of going through the charades then?"

"The fact that you had to ask that, is the point." The Ancient One pointed out, "Tell me, Dr. Bhaagi, did you have peaceful night's sleep?"

I sighed.

"Okay, so you know about the panic attack. I knew you'd know, the same way you know I'm over it." I flared my arms in assurance, slapping my thigh lightly.

"Are you?" She sounded unconvinced, "Because you made two jokes before we even started."

"Just clearing the air. You were looking all stoic and serious, I felt like lightening the mood." I laughed it off.

"See, Dr. Bhaagi, there's that casual attitude again. You cope with nervousness and fear with humor."

"Now, now, you don't gotta put a man's business out there in public." I muttered.

"Ah, but you are no longer a man are you? You are a machine.

I froze at the implication.

She noted it and continued, regardless.

"Being thrown into a new world, in a new body, one vastly different in every fundamental way than your own, and then fighting off an alien invasion? Just one of those would be enough for a person to break down. Some would even lose their minds. Do you know what that makes them?"

"This is going to be one of those motivational things isn't it? Like 'Why do we fall? Only so we can get back up again!' or something."

"Dr. Bhaagi." She chided me with a look.

"Alright, I will play along. I'll say 'Weak' then you'll say 'No, it makes them strong.' Or 'Brave'-"

"Human." She interrupted, "It makes them human, Dr. Bhaagi."

"Oh…I-" That shut me up.

"You feel afraid, and you cope with that fear through the use of humour, because if you don't take it seriously, you can trick yourself into thinking it's not serious either. Calm yourself down just enough to buy you time to prepare, time to plan. Because you are afraid to lose control of your world, afraid of the unknown." She paused to take a sip of her tea, and knowing her, for effect, "It is humanity's oldest fear."

She spoke with a soft, grandmotherly assurance, "You, like all others before you, try to conquer it by putting a name to it, a word, an action, a sound, a title; anything to turn the unknown into the known, to bring it from the darkness into the light of day where it is thusly purified of its mystique and you may put your fears to rest. For what is known is not to be feared but understood. Anything you can do to feel safe. Because that's what you feel, unsafe. That is why you try plan, gesticulate, influence." And she smiled.

"That little handoff didn't escape my notice."

"Was it that obvious?" I chuckled nervously. Giving her the sceptre was a gamble.

"A cup of tea made with artificial sweetener tastes just as sweet." She consoled with a genial smile, "Just because it is obvious, doesn't mean it isn't a gesture of trust. Obvious, subtle it matters not. A tad bit manipulative, perhaps." She teased.

"Sorry." I bowed my head in embarrassment.

"Don't be. I understand." She laughed lightly, sipping from her cup.

"You feel unsafe and so you plan and plan and plan. But plans-"

"Never survive contact with the enemy." I completed the sentence, "I know. I make them flexible for the same reason. With plans B through Z."

"And what was plan B, were I to seal you right then there?"

"I guess this is how I die." I shrugged.

She sighed.

"A mind clouded by fear makes for a dull man. And fatal mistakes. Don't delude yourself about your mortality. You may have shed the weakness of flesh, but the nature of your decay has merely changed, not averted entirely." She scolded, "What you did up there…" She looked at me like she knew exactly what had gone on in the mothership, and I don't doubt it for a second, "was beyond stupid. Brave, but stupid."

"Got it. Don't be reckless. Think before you act. Don't let fear cloud your judgement." I recited, "I'll keep the lesson in mind."

"That was part of the lesson, yes." The Ancient One said, "But a half-lesson is no better than none. You should know from the mistakes of Kaecillius, shouldn't you?"

"Warnings come after the spell?" I guessed.

She nodded.

"In your case, a solution." She said, putting down her cup, pouring some more tea.

This was going to be a long conversation huh?

"What do you know of child development?"

"Enough to make conversation." I joked.

"Do you know how child find their feet in the world? How they build up confidence?" She nudged me towards the answer she wanted to show me and this pushed me just over the cliff.

"Oh." I gasped in realization.

"Now you know why this conversation needed to progress the way it did."

Children develop their confidence by asking questions, through curiosity and introspection, fuelled not by fear but wonder.

And confidence is the greatest bulwark against the creeping darkness.

As if reading my mind, she spoke.

"I don't expect you to abandon fear entirely, nor feel safe or at home. It would be unreasonable. But all I ask is that from here on, you try to let your curiosity and views be guided by wonder, not fear. You earned a doctorate; you are without a doubt an inquisitive child. I believe you will find a way forward. Trust me, if you cannot trust yourself."

I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding, like a great burden was lifted off my shoulder. It was a great relief.

"You should try therapy. You'd be great at it."

"I did." She pointed at a frame behind her on the wall.

"Ooh, with a licence too?" I whistled, "Foresight."

She nodded, before continuing.

"Now, shall we talk about magic?" She asked, satisfied.

"Yes, please and thank you."

"You cannot use magic." She threw a bombshell to start.

"Uh, what?" I looked at her confused, "Pretty sure I can. I can feel it in the air, I can pull it to me, wield it even."

"Not in the conventional way, at least." She smiled mischievously as she finished that sentence.

I narrowed my eyes at her in a mock glare.

Don't play with my emotions like that man!

"The conventional way? Like where you KAPOW me through a multiversal acid trip." I palmed the air in a punching stance.

"Precisely. Usually, I push their astral form through the multiverse using my body as an anchor, letting them attune to the energies of the many worlds." She explained, "However, your body, it would be appropriate to call it both a cage and ICU for your soul. They both keep your soul locked in and keep you alive. The bindings lashing your soul to the body are strong, stronger than if you were, in a classical sense, alive. This is different from a normal astral form in that your soul is not tethered to your body, it is locked in. If I were to push it out, not only would it take a great effort, it would also kill you."

"So, that's the bad news. What's the good news? I can clearly use magic. You know it too." I asked, hoping, "I felt the magic flow through the Leyline below into me the moment we arrived."

"Yes, you can. Your new body seems to have a great affinity for magic, enchantments specifically." She leaned over, her eyes seeming to sweep past me and through me, "It is quite a fascinating metal. You called it Beryllium Bronze?"

"Yes, but it's not the beryllium bronze you're thinking of. There's the commercial non-sparking version for electrical tools, and then there's this one, made through a mixture of magic and divine power."

"From the machine god?" She asked, "I can feel the divine blessing that was woven into its make, if rather faintly."

"Yes, the guy in the amulet." I explained, "In the world he comes from, or really she- it's a she in canon-, she has a cult that worships her, called the Church Of The Broken God. They make analog machines of great intricacy, prosthetics, androids, other things. You probably heard the whole cult-y spiel from first hand. It is known to be a great conductor of EVE, used widely in thaumatological enchantments. It takes to them well."

"You know of quite a few worlds." She idly commented, "Care to explain?"

"A tale for another time. I promise." She seemed to accept that, for now.

"The solution is simple, but difficult." She finally finished analyzing me, "Your body seems to draw magic from the world naturally, attuning you to it. The Dragon Vein, or as you called it, Leyline, is weaving through it like a river feeding a tributary. If you can do this here, you can learn Eldritch magic, the natural magic of the universe, but no more.

For the rest, you will need to similarly attune yourself to the energies of the multiverse and its many dimensions individually. Go to a Dragon Vein or whatever passes in the region as their local, concentrated font of magic and attune yourself to the energies of that world."

"And I don't suppose Dormammu will just let me do it if I say please?"

The Ancient One shook her head.

"The entities ruling each plane aren't all as evil as Dormammu or demanding as Cthon. Some are even rather benevolent like the Vishanti. But no power comes without a price, your earlier interaction with that being notwithstanding. Most however will allow you to access their powers for a token price. A favour here, an errand there. Those are negotiable. It is how the first sorcerers learned magic. However, some will charge a higher price. Whether you are willing to pay it or not…"

"Not, most likely." I refused, I am not going to give out blanket favours to extradimensional entities for crumbs of power, "Maybe you could channel the energies into me, by proxy? You can use them after all, can't you?"

"Those are my energies, refined by me, attuned to my magic. They will do you no good." She shot that idea down faster than I could put it up.

"Isn't there another way?" I brainstormed, when an idea came up, "You didn't contract with Dormammu, did you? And yet you can use the Dark Dimension's energies to be immortal."

"I first attuned to them eight hundred years ago, during the Splinter Wars, when Dormammu was fighting his sister Umar for control over the Dark Dimension. They did not have the luxury of stamping out every little sorcerer that came to visit. Now, on the other hand…"

"So, the hard way it is, huh?" I sighed, steeling my will as I came to a decision, "Let's do it then."

I looked up to see the Ancient One smiling down upon me like a proud mother.

"Very well. Let us begin your instruction in Eldritch magic first."

"Wait, isn't Mordo supposed to teach me?" I asked.

"The beginner's class has already started and you have far too much to catch up to. So to start, you will be studying under me."

She twirled her fingers, making a circle in the air as a portal dropped a stack of books as high as my head onto the table.

Oh, boy. That's a lot.

"That is just mandatory reading. Auxiliary volumes will be far more numerous." The Ancient One saw my expression and added with a smirk.

She's having fun, isn't she?

Well, fuck. And here I thought my days of heady research and all-nighters were behind me.

Haaah, can't be helped I guess.

One more time. Lets do this.

"Start with self-study, ask me wherever you need guidance. In the evening you will have practice with Mordo."

"Practice for spellcasting?"

"Combat." She corrected, "Mordo was very eager to correct the rather extant inadequacies in your form. Its rather generous of him to do this, after a full day of classes."

Oh they're both enjoying this far too much.

"I'm gonna get absolutely creamed aren't I?"

"Good thing your body is durable then." She chuckled as she made for the door, "Study well, there will be a test next week."

"Oh, and one more thing, Dr. Bhaagi. I don't use the Eye quite as much as you'd like to imagine." She pointed at her chest, which lacked a certain magical artifact, "Timeless as these old bones may be, they cannot bear the burden of an Infinity Stone for too long."

"So this conversation was..." I asked in amazement.

"Completely unscripted, yes."

"Then how did you know what I was going to say?"

"I didn't." She answered with an awkward but endearing smile.

Ancient One, you magnificent bastard.

I can see why they all respect her so much now. 

With that, she disappeared into the hallway leaving me to my studies.

Welp, lets get to it.

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey guys! Author here. 

Sorry for the delay. Had festivities and family duties. Mum got sick too. 

Here's the first of three chapters. Writing the other two now.

Thanks for reading. 

Next time, a training montage and Thanos interlude.

Till then...

If you liked the book, add it to your library and give me a good review.

If you hated the book, add it to your library to be a better hater. Skip the review though, so much effort, phew. No need buddy. 

As usual, donate your powerstones. 

Lets get to top 20 in monthly rankings. Extra chapter then. 

Another extra chappy at top 10.