I didn't even pretend I didn't want something.
"I need Kamar-Taj's help recovering some of my potions," I said. "Many ancient formulas I know rely on ingredients that don't exist in this world. I need assistance finding substitutes, and support—manpower and resources."
I paused, then added what she needed to hear: fairness.
"After the potion is restored, I'm willing to trade with Kamar-Taj."
The Ancient One considered it.
Then, to my surprise, she shook her head slightly. "If that is the case," she said, "then it isn't truly equivalent exchange. Kamar-Taj would be taking advantage."
That was… almost funny. Not because it was a joke, but because I'd expected the opposite: an institution quietly taking what it could and calling it duty.
Instead she said, calmly, "When this matter concludes, I will exchange one of Kamar-Taj's magics with you as well."
She tilted her head. "What kind of magic are you interested in, Master Abel?"
Oh.
My brain started sprinting.
Reality-warping. Mirror Dimension mastery. Dimensional contracts. The kind of cosmic techniques that made normal wizarding magic look like stage tricks.
But that was long-term. Learning something too advanced too early would just waste time and probably get me killed when I tried to use it wrong.
What I needed was practical.
What I needed was mobility.
Portal magic.
Clean long-distance travel without splinching my arm off and having to ask the Ancient One to sew it back on like a calm cosmic tailor.
Apparition was useful for short-range—combat movement, escapes, quick repositioning. But long distance? It was a gamble with your organs. Kamar-Taj portals could cross continents in seconds and—if the stories were true—cross planets.
That was beyond anything Dumbledore ever did.
And I wanted it.
I smiled, polite and contained. "If possible, I'd like to learn Kamar-Taj's portal magic."
"Ah," she said, as if I'd asked for something as ordinary as bread. "Of course. That can be arranged."
My chest loosened. "Then it's settled. When do we leave?"
"Now," she said, and her smile widened just enough to feel like she was teasing me. "We both have time, don't we?"
Of course she knew I'd come.
Time Stone vibes without her needing to show the Time Stone.
I nodded once. "Yes. Let's go." Then I asked the question that mattered more than it should have. "Who else will be joining us?"
As if the universe had been waiting for my cue, two portals opened simultaneously.
Through the first stepped Daniel, and beside him was an elderly woman holding a black cat like it was a royal accessory. The woman was thin, wearing purple robes and a dark shawl. She looked seventy or eighty—ancient in human terms—but she moved with the kind of quiet elegance that said her age was more of a fashion choice than a limitation.
Through the second portal came Mordo, looking as stern as ever, escorting a man in braided hair with white runes painted on his forehead. He wore an animal-skin cloak over black tights and held a wooden staff decorated with three small skulls.
Voodoo practitioner. No doubt.
The Ancient One stood and bowed slightly.
"Welcome to Kamar-Taj, Master Agatha, Master Jericho."
Agatha nodded curtly.
Jericho saluted respectfully, staff angled like a soldier's spear.
Agatha.
The name clicked in my head. Daniel had mentioned her before—the witch tied to the New York mage market. The reason nobody started trouble there.
So this is the person everyone's afraid of.
Makes sense.
The Ancient One gestured toward me. "This is Master Abel. He will be working with us to destroy the Dark Church's stronghold and eliminate the dimensional crack."
Jericho bowed to me immediately, polite and humble.
Agatha just looked me up and down with eyes sharp enough to peel paint.
Then she turned to the Ancient One, voice dry as ash. "Ancient One… is Kamar-Taj so short on people that you're recruiting underage children now?"
Ouch.
I kept my face neutral, but internally I was like: Hi, nice to meet you too. Please don't turn me into a decorative candle.
The Ancient One didn't react. "Master Abel is powerful," she said calmly, "with maturity far beyond his age. He will be indispensable."
Agatha snorted like she didn't fully buy it, but she didn't argue further. "Fine. Then let's not waste time. I have soup cooking at home. We deal with Dormammu's lackeys quickly and I go back before it burns."
"As you wish," the Ancient One said smoothly.
Then she turned to Mordo and Daniel.
"Mordo. Daniel. You will accompany us as well."
Daniel nodded, calm.
Mordo nodded, stern.
The Ancient One waved her hand.
A portal opened—sparks spinning into a doorway leading somewhere unknown. The air around it felt colder, thicker, like the other side wasn't just "another location" but a place that hated being touched.
Everyone filed through.
I took one deep breath and followed.
First mission with Kamar-Taj.
Let's not die.
That would be embarrassing.
The moment my feet hit the other side, my skin prickled.
The air was wrong—not poisonous, but oppressive. Like it carried ash and decay even when there was nothing burning. The sky overhead was dark purple, clouds swirling in patterns that didn't match wind direction. The world felt… irritated. Like reality was forcing itself to stay intact through sheer stubbornness.
We stood on cracked earth with dead vegetation scattered around like skeletal remains. No birds. No insects. Just silence and a distant hum that made my wand vibrate faintly in my pocket.
And far ahead, through haze, was the stronghold.
It didn't look built.
It looked grown.
Twisted black stone, angles too sharp, surfaces pulsing faintly with red light like veins under skin. A structure that felt like it belonged in a nightmare, not on Earth.
Dormammu's followers weren't hiding anymore.
They were planting flags.
The Ancient One turned to our group, calm and focused. "Stay together. Watch each other's backs. If you see anything connected to Dormammu directly—retreat and call for assistance. Do not engage alone."
Her eyes landed on me.
"Understood, Master Abel?"
I nodded. "Understood."
Agatha's cat yawned on her arm like it couldn't care less about dimensional corruption.
Jericho adjusted his skull staff and murmured something under his breath that sounded like a prayer and a threat at the same time.
Daniel shifted into position beside me like we'd trained together for years.
Mordo's jaw was tight, eyes scanning the horizon like he wanted to purge everything unclean with righteous fire.
And me?
I felt the weight of it settle into my bones.
This wasn't a school day. This wasn't potion research. This wasn't a "careful negotiation."
This was Kamar-Taj doing what it existed to do.
And I was here to earn my place.
We started forward toward the stronghold, boots crunching on dead earth. With every step, the pressure in the air increased, like we were walking toward the edge of a wound that hadn't finished opening.
My wand felt heavier.
My magic tightened.
And somewhere in the distance, deep inside that twisted structure, I felt something respond—like an eye turning in the dark, noticing that prey had entered its territory.
I swallowed and kept walking.
Because if this was going to be my first mission with Kamar-Taj…
…then the next few minutes were going to decide whether I was an ally they could rely on—or a liability they'd have to protect.
And the stronghold ahead was already waiting to test which one I was.