Stephen Strange rolled his eyes dramatically.
When he had first arrived in Kathmandu, Stephen Strange had thought Kamar-Taj was some kind of spiritual cult, a bunch of drugged-up hippies. Yet once he began studying, he discovered that what he needed to learn contained none of the religious content associated with idol worship. Instead, natural science, archaeology, and philosophy made up the bulk of it. But now he had changed his mind, because the Emperor's words carried a strong sense of fatalism, as though everything that had happened to him had been commanded by some unseen god, completely excluding humanity's subjective agency.
"I thought you were an atheist."
"I am. I'm only saying that there are things capable of influencing the destinies of humanity, especially people like you and me who possess talent."
The Emperor shrugged. By now, his hair had slowly dried in Kamar-Taj's warm breeze. His long black hair, still slightly damp, was secured by the silver circlet on his forehead. He had grown accustomed to wearing crowns like this; in the past, the Witch had always helped him put on such accessories. Stephen Strange, who had recently regained some nourishment from Kamar-Taj's meals, still appeared somewhat weary and aged beside him. Yet in Stephen's eyes, the Emperor was around the same age as himself, both men walking the road of middle age. Only the Emperor's eyes were older, carrying the same supernatural detachment as the Sorcerer Supreme he had met.
Hammurabi and Amon now stood far away at the entrance to the steward dormitory, blocking anyone who tried to approach the Emperor without permission, because the Emperor wished to speak with someone. Though that was their assignment, it could not stop the children of the Arcanist Families temporarily living in the steward dormitory from gathering around them, stuffing