I came to invite you

Hearing Mordo's words, Wang Yang thought, Just as I suspected.

Mordo naturally had no idea what Wang Yang was thinking. He continued, "We want to know whether there was anything unusual about him while he was teaching you magic."

"Or whether he did anything that seemed off!"

Mordo asked gently.

Wang Yang thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Master, I didn't notice anything!"

"Kaecilius simply taught me magic as usual and left once he was done. I don't know what happened!"

The Masters of the Mystic Arts all nodded at Wang Yang's answer.

They had never believed that Kaecilius's betrayal had anything to do with Wang Yang.

After all, Wang Yang was only an apprentice.

How could an apprentice have anything to do with a Master of the Mystic Arts turning traitor?

"But why did Kaecilius suddenly betray us?"

Mordo frowned as he spoke.

Kaecilius had certainly had a bright future at Kamar-Taj.

As one of Kamar-Taj's most gifted sorcerers, he was highly regarded even by the Sorcerer Supreme.

Yet someone like him had suddenly turned traitor.

They found it hard to imagine.

"I told you long ago that his temperament was too extreme. This is hardly surprising!"

Wong snorted.

"Wong, mind your words. He was a disciple personally chosen by the Sorcerer Supreme, after all!"

An unfamiliar Master of the Mystic Arts spoke with a frown.

"Lu Qingyate, there's no need for that!"

Mordo waved a hand, stopping Lu Qingyate from saying more.

"What's done is done. We have to find out exactly what happened, or we may have no explanation to give the Sorcerer Supreme!"

"Exactly. The Sorcerer Supreme hasn't returned yet. When she does, we must have an explanation for her!"

The other sorcerers nodded as well.

They made no effort to conceal any of this, discussing it right in front of Wang Yang.

Wang Yang stood quietly to one side, his eyes lowered in apparent composure.

Yet despite his calm appearance, he was anything but calm inside. His thoughts were nowhere near as composed as he looked.

He recalled that Kaecilius had indeed seemed a little off while teaching him.

Did this guy turn traitor because of me?

The thought seemed incredible, yet he considered it the most likely explanation.

After all, he often heard Wong and Hamir reassure him.

According to them, so-called geniuses were proud and easily shaken.

Having never suffered setbacks, they were all the more devastated when one finally came.

Kaecilius was a genius himself. How could he not have been jealous after seeing how quickly Wang Yang progressed?

Seeking greater power, he had found a forbidden book, discovered the Sorcerer Supreme's secret, and turned traitor completely.

The more Wang Yang thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

Over the next few days, Wang Yang kept a very low profile.

He either went to ask for guidance on magic or stayed in his room without going out.

Mostly, he felt a little guilty because he believed Kaecilius's betrayal had something to do with him.

That day, he was about to head out to ask about some problems he had encountered with his magic, but the moment he stepped outside his room, he sensed a strange presence.

His surroundings were still Kamar-Taj, yet they were suffused with powerful spatial energy.

He was about to turn back when he discovered that his room now seemed immensely far away.

This was clearly an exceptionally refined Mirror Dimension.

To some extent, it had already merged with reality.

At Kamar-Taj, aside from the Sorcerer Supreme, only one person could use the Mirror Dimension to this degree.

Kaecilius!

Wang Yang's gaze sharpened.

But he was no longer the apprentice he had been at the start, and he felt no fear.

Instead, he spoke calmly. "It's you, Master Kaecilius, isn't it? Since you're here, why hide?"

"That hardly seems like something a Master of the Mystic Arts would do!"

As Wang Yang finished speaking, countless folds appeared around him, revealing that this world was indeed different from what he had seen moments before.

"You saw through it so quickly. You really are extraordinary!"

A rather sinister voice rang out.

Then Kaecilius stepped out from within the folds.

Kaecilius looked somewhat different now. The skin around his eyes had turned black, clearly a result of absorbing power from the Dark Dimension!

"Master Kaecilius, it's not too late to turn back!"

Of course, Wang Yang knew that Kaecilius had already begun using Dormammu's power.

He was even willing to merge with Dormammu of his own accord to gain still greater power.

He sought that power both for its own sake and to resurrect his wife and child.

But the price of doing so was immense.

One day, he would lose himself completely and become Dormammu's slave.

He would become part of the darkness.

Unfortunately, Kaecilius had failed to realize this.

Or perhaps, in pursuit of eternal godhood and the hope of resurrecting his wife and child, he simply did not care about anything else.

"Turn back? Turn back from what?"

"Such tremendous power, eternal life... this feeling is simply wonderful!"

As he spoke, an intoxicated expression appeared on Kaecilius's face.

As though he were savoring something exquisite.

Seeing this, Wang Yang knew that Kaecilius had already lost himself completely.

Wang Yang shook his head. Before Kaecilius had become consumed by this obsession, Wang Yang had actually respected him quite a bit.

Sadly...

"Why have you come here, Master Kaecilius?"

By now, practically all of Kamar-Taj knew that Kaecilius had turned traitor.

Yet Kaecilius still dared to come here?

"If you leave now, Master, I can pretend I never saw you, for the sake of the magic you taught me!"

Wang Yang sighed as he spoke.

Kaecilius had taught him, after all, and Wang Yang owed him something for that. As long as Kaecilius did not go too far, Wang Yang could let him leave.

"No, no, no, Wang Yang. I've come here for you!"

Kaecilius looked at Wang Yang and spoke calmly.

Wang Yang realized what Kaecilius wanted to do: recruit a follower.

He shook his head. "Master Kaecilius, I'm only an ordinary apprentice!"

"No, you are no ordinary apprentice!"

"You are the most gifted apprentice I have ever seen. That's why I want to invite you to join me, to enjoy this endless life and tremendous power, and explore every truth this world has to offer!"

"You should know that even the Sorcerer Supreme, The Ancient One, covets this power!"

Kaecilius's voice grew somewhat frenzied as he stared at Wang Yang.

"And what if I refuse?"

Wang Yang understood exactly what was going on. How could he possibly become Dormammu's puppet?