"Infinite Creation? What exactly does that mean?"
Alaric asked himself, but no answer came from the system.
"Hey? Are you there?"
"Can you talk!?"
"If you don't say anything, how am I supposed to know the true purpose of this golden hand?"
...
No matter how hard he tried, the system remained silent. As if it had completely vanished.
"Forget it. Let's heal first, and then we'll talk about it again."
...
More than ten days passed before Alaric could leave the room. In the end, he could walk on his own.
That was thanks to the Ancient One, who had healed his most severe injuries. Some wounds remained, but thanks to the herbs and healing techniques of Kamar-Taj, his body was recovering quickly.
If he had ended up in an ordinary hospital, considering he had been on the brink of death, he probably would still be lying in a coma.
"I don't know why the Ancient One didn't completely heal me. As if she deliberately left the job half-done."
Alaric muttered this as he stepped outside and onto the main square.
Here, students gathered to practice magic.
Their focus was on portals.
Mordo, who had already met Alaric during his recovery, was moving through the group, teaching the new students how to properly draw circles to open portals.
"Alaric?"
Mordo immediately noticed him and approached.
"You're able to come outside," Mordo said with a smile.
"Yes. I'm finally better."
In the past ten days, Mordo often brought him medicine and spent time with him, so they had gotten to know each other well. Mordo had told him much about Kamar-Taj, and Alaric already had a basic understanding of this place.
"Are these portal exercises?"
"That's right. They're all beginners, learning the basics."
Mordo nodded.
"Come, I'll take you to the Ancient One."
"Can you just leave here?"
"It's fine. Master Hamir is here. He has more experience than I do."
Mordo pointed to a gray-haired old man in the distance.
Hamir lowered his gaze and nodded to Alaric.
Alaric quickly returned the greeting. He noticed the old man kept his hands in his sleeves and assumed he was Hamir, the sorcerer with the injured hand whom Strange later met as well.
In the hallway, the Ancient One was preparing tea with the same calm elegance as always. When she saw Alaric, she smiled.
"You healed quickly."
"Luckily. Recovery went surprisingly fast, but the greatest credit goes to you. If you hadn't healed the worst wounds, I probably would've been done for."
There was a hint of complaint in his voice, but the Ancient One paid no attention. She only shook her head.
"Try this."
She poured him a cup of hot green tea.
"Thank you."
Alaric took the cup, then immediately asked:
"When can I start learning magic?"
"Are you in a hurry?"
"No. I'm just excited," he said honestly.
For him, magic was more mysterious than any superpower.
In this world, those without gifts relied on technology or mutations. Magic was something completely different, something that depended on human talent and will.
Alaric only hoped his talent wasn't too weak. If he couldn't master magic, he would have no reason to stay in Kamar-Taj.
Without any strength or protection, how could he survive in such a dangerous world?
The golden hand of the system appeared that day and had disappeared ever since. That confused him more than anything else.
"If you want to learn, you can start now."
The Ancient One nodded and set down her cup.
"First, you must understand what the source of our power is."
"Magic is a form of energy. We don't create it from nothing, but draw it from other dimensions in the multiverse, align it with rituals and spells, and thus shape magic."
"The most important thing is whether you can gain the permission of the beings or forces that rule those dimensions. For example, the magic of Kamar-Taj comes from the Dimension of the Supreme. As long as we have His permission, we can use our occult magic."
The Ancient One spoke calmly and clearly.
Alaric nodded. He already knew a little about this.
He was aware that every type of magic came with a price. White magic demanded fewer sacrifices, while black required too much.
The Ancient One seemed extremely powerful, the supreme sorcerer on Earth. But the truth was that she also paid a price.
It was even so serious that Dormammu had to come to the doorstep to collect debts.
Fortunately, the Ancient One had already arranged and found a successor, then went to the Eternal World to live a happy life.
Poor Dormammu couldn't even catch her, and Strange mocked him.
"I would like to see the multiverse," said Alaric.
He wanted to experience what Strange had once seen, to open his eyes and feel how vast reality truly was.
"Do you not believe that magic exists?" asked the Ancient One, slightly suspicious.
Alaric shook his head.
"It's not about belief. I know it exists. I just want to see with my own eyes how vast it all really is."
"Very well."
The Ancient One nodded. She set down her cup of tea, stood up, and approached him.
Alaric set down his cup and tried to rise, but before he could, the Ancient One placed her palm on his chest.
In an instant, he felt his body losing weight.
And suddenly he began to fall.
The world around him was breaking apart, images constantly changing, and scenes whirled before his eyes at a speed he couldn't keep up with.
At first he screamed, but very quickly he calmed down.
More and more deeply he felt that he understood what he was seeing.
[You understand the multiverse…]