From the pavilion at Kamar-Taj, the howling blizzards raging through the Himalayas seemed like an illusion.
The winter peaks were forbidden territory, beyond the reach of any life that thrived in the snow.
Temperatures plunged below minus fifty degrees, and the wind and snow never let up, day or night. The sun overhead looked larger than ever, almost within reach, yet gave off not the slightest warmth—as if this were a hallucination before deathly shock set in.
The wards protecting the sanctum at the heart of the Mystic Arts allowed people to comfortably admire this otherwise inaccessible spectacle.
Humans loved climbing mountains. Looking out over the land and its rivers from a great height stirred a wondrous sense of forgetting both self and world, as if all the noise of the mortal world lay beneath their feet.
Living in such an environment for long could also inspire a desire to escape the mundane world.
There was endless meaning in climbing up and coming back down.
James calmly sipped tea from his stone cup, occasionally glancing at the blizzard outside.
The Ancient One had already been somewhat displeased that he hadn't brought his daughter today. Now, after hearing his "brilliant" plan, she gazed at Mr. Howlett with a stern expression.
"One of the lords of the Hell Dimension, the demon Mephisto, delights in feeding on human souls. Because of his nature and appetites, he has always coveted Earth and has long been one of the old foes the sorcerers have cautiously guarded against."
James Howlett had spent a considerable amount of time studying in the library at Kamar-Taj. He already had a good understanding of the multiverse and its better-known dimensional demons.
The Ancient One watched him in silence as he spoke earnestly, then continued listening.
".Now that we know Mephisto