A Visit to Kamar-Taj

As Master Hamil led them through the doors of the Sanctum Sanctorum in New York, Gwen, Peter, and Harry all held their breath without meaning to.

The world beyond the doors was utterly different from the outside. Astronomical charts covered the soaring dome, their stars seeming to turn slowly as they cast a gentle glow. Candles floated in the air, their flames suspended in midair like time itself had been frozen. Ancient wooden bookshelves wound up along the walls, packed with leather-bound tomes. Some books even turned their own pages.

"Are these books... alive?" Peter lowered his voice, afraid of disturbing the stillness.

Master Hamil smiled faintly. "Knowledge has always been alive, young man."

Gwen was drawn to an armillary sphere made of some unknown metal. The constellations engraved upon it were completely unlike those she had seen in textbooks. "Is this the zodiac? But why are there several extra constellations?"

"Because this is a star chart of the Magic Dimension," Lin Hai explained. "It records the stars of other dimensions."

What shocked the three of them most were the three arched doorways in the teleportation chamber. Each one was forged from some glowing metal, carved with intricate runes, and emanated energy fluctuations that made their hearts tremble.

"These are Anywhere Doors?" Harry rarely lost his composure. He had heard Lin Hai mention them before, so his eyes were wide open. "They can really lead anywhere in the world?"

One of the three portals was the very one Lin Hai had used not long ago to return from Kamar-Taj to New York, so it did not need to be calibrated before use as it had when Lin Hai first arrived.

Master Hamil nodded. "One of them leads directly to Kamar-Taj. Let us depart."

Master Hamil walked toward the doorway on