Mordo deeply felt Alaric's talent and was convinced that he was worthy of receiving the blessing of the Vishanti at his very first contact.
Kamar-Taj had been successful until now.
But greater and darker things were yet to come.
…
Alaric stepped through the portal and returned to his room.
As soon as the portal disappeared, it opened again and brought him back to the square.
"It doesn't even seem that hard," Alaric muttered.
Hearing that, the corners of Mordo's lips twitched involuntarily.
Easy for you to say!
Look at the other new apprentices. Most of them made no progress even after ten days, and the majority could barely achieve the smallest success.
And then came Alaric, as if he were born for this.
Such students were rare, true precious sprouts of magic.
"Alaric, you…" Mordo wanted to say something but stopped when he saw the young man close his eyes, as if in deep thought.
Mordo fell silent.
He didn't know exactly what had happened the previous night, but the strong energy fluctuation was probably connected to Alaric.
His expression resembled enlightenment.
Ancient One had said nothing, but Mordo was almost certain that Alaric had been the source of it all.
And he was right. Alaric's gift had surfaced once again.
By using teleportation, he reached a deeper understanding of space. He experienced enlightenment through the dimensional gates.
[Cosmic Gate: You can open a portal to your destination at will.]
[Enlightenment: By combining deep analysis and manipulation of spatial gates, you have developed a new level of control.]
[Teleportation: As long as there is a clear image in your mind – whether through memory, a photograph, or a video – you can arrive at the desired destination instantly.]
…
Alaric opened his eyes and let out a deep sigh. His understanding of space and reality was almost superhuman. It seemed as if he could see the laws of the world before him in their purest form.
Combined with his ability of infinite creation, he was one step away from becoming something more than human.
He could hardly wait to test his new power.
He raised his hand, and as soon as he thought of it, a portal opened before him. On the other side was his room.
The problem was that he didn't have many places in this world where he had already been, just a few.
Mordo watched him. He saw him open his eyes, then raise his hand and effortlessly open a portal before him. He managed only to open his mouth, but no words came out. When he realized what had happened, his jaw dropped in shock.
Alaric had just opened a portal, without a Sling Ring.
How was that possible!?
Even their greatest masters could not open gates without the Ring.
Why was Alaric able to use teleportation?
This was no longer a question of talent; this defied everything they knew about magic.
Even the Sorcerer Supreme used a Sling Ring to open doors.
Was it possible that Alaric had truly surpassed Ancient One?
That sounded unimaginable.
Surely today he hadn't awakened as an even more powerful sorcerer… or perhaps he had?
Ancient One: "In a way, Alaric truly is better than me."
"I must be dreaming!" Mordo stared at the spot where Alaric had vanished and muttered quietly under his breath.
"What are you dreaming about?" suddenly a voice came from beside him. Alaric appeared out of nowhere, looking at him suspiciously.
Mordo turned pale. Why did Alaric look as if nothing had happened? Was it possible that…
"You…" he barely managed to utter, startled. "When did you come back? And… what about the doors?"
"What doors?" Alaric raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"The portal!!" Mordo pointed behind him, his voice full of nerves.
"There's nothing there." Alaric glanced back, equally confused.
Mordo looked at him as if he were seeing a ghost. "How did you just come back?!"
"Well, I teleported back…" Alaric shrugged, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
"Teleported… without opening a portal?" Mordo nearly growled, feeling his thoughts descend into chaos.
For him, this was no longer a question of talent. He began to doubt whether Aron was even human.
"I can leave the portal open, if you want," Alaric added calmly, not realizing how shaken Mordo was.
Mordo didn't say a word, but he felt a chill run down his spine. He turned sharply and headed toward the hall where the Ancient One was drinking tea. If anyone could clarify this madness, it was her. He needed her word, her guidance.
…
After some time, Ancient One summoned Alaric.
Without hesitation, he teleported directly into the hall.
The moment he appeared before her, Ancient One's heart skipped a beat. She looked at him, stunned.
Was that magic? Or was it a kind of power that surpassed magic? It reminded her of mutants or superhumans. It didn't look like any teleportation spell she had ever known.
But what shook her the most was Alaric's talent.
First he had touched and experienced the multiverse, seen different worlds, and then created a small universe with his own power. That had shocked her to the core.
Now, after just beginning to learn teleportation, Alaric had already created his own form of spatial magic, which had led Mordo to begin doubting the very essence of his existence.
Had it not been for her enlightenment, Mordo would have lost himself in that confusion and perhaps never found his way back.
Was it possible that in his past life Alaric had been something greater, like a god of magic, and that he had now simply returned among humans?
"Look what you've done!" the Ancient One scolded him sharply.
"You can't blame me for this…" Alaric frowned. He hadn't done anything wrong; everything had happened naturally. He had no control over how Mordo would react.
"From now on, go to the library on your own and study. If you don't understand something, ask me. Don't go to Mordo," Ancient One said firmly. She feared that Alaric, unknowingly, might break Mordo's spirit and destroy him.
Although she knew that in the future Mordo would take a different path, even become an enemy of Doctor Strange, that was a matter of belief and choice, not something that should be hastened now.
For now, she was sure of one thing: Strange must continue his path.
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