Strange stared at the Ancient One's retreating figure, his chest heaving violently.
The suffocating feeling from Lucian choking him hadn't subsided, and the blood on his hands had already dried and become sticky.
" Dormammu... not even that?"
The Ancient One stopped in her tracks. She didn't turn around, but stood there silently for a long while.
Lynn leaned against the stone pillar, watching this scene with the same smile on his face, but a hint of helplessness that was hard to detect appeared in his eyes.
It's really impressive that Master The Ancient One could pull off such a convincing act.
The Ancient One finally turned around and faced Strange again.
Her expression remained calm and gentle, but her voice held a faint hint of weariness. "It is our fear of death that gave Dormammu life. He feeds on it."
Strange did not respond immediately.
He turned to look at Lynn. This gesture had become a habit for him today; whenever he needed to confirm something, hesitated about something, or didn't know whether he should speak, he would look at Lynn.
Lynn leaned against the stone pillar, his arms crossed over his chest, still in that relaxed and casual posture.
He knew what Strange was thinking. He knew what Strange was going to ask next.
He also knew that once this question was asked, the relationship between everyone present would change.
But he won't make decisions for Strange. He never makes decisions for anyone.
"Stop looking at me. The knots in your heart, the questions in your own mind, are for you to untie yourself. What you want to say, what you want to ask, that's your business. What's the point of always looking at me? Once you've thought it through, there's nothing to hold back. Just say it."
Strange was silent for a long while. He turned back to look at the Ancient One. "He feeds on our fear?"
Strange's voice was soft. "Isn't it just like you feeding on him? You talk to me about controlling death? I know how you do it. I've seen what's missing in the Book of Cagliostro."
Lynn sighed softly as he watched Mordo and Wang's expressions gradually harden.
He had known this would be the outcome. With his intelligence and the surgeon's habit of getting to the bottom of things, he couldn't possibly let go of the truth behind those torn pages. Lynn straightened up from the stone pillar, his hands still in his pockets, his tone not particularly serious, but a bit more earnest than before.
" Strange, I want to remind you of something. Are you sure you've thought through the consequences of saying things carelessly? If you're prepared to bear the consequences, I won't stop you. But you need to understand that some words, once spoken, cannot be taken back."
"I've really thought it through."
Strange's voice wasn't loud, but it was firm. "There are some things that need to be clarified."
Lynn shook his head slightly and stepped back to the stone pillar. He looked at the Ancient One apologetically, but the Ancient One just looked at him and shook her head slightly.
Lynn knew that the shake of the head meant: It's okay, let him ask. We all expected this, didn't we?
Lynn shrugged. "Fine, whatever makes you happy. I've already given you all the necessary warnings; you chose this path yourselves."
Mordo stood beside the Ancient One, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Lynn and Strange several times before finally settling on the Ancient One's still calm face.
"What is he saying?" Mordo's voice was filled with confusion and a hint of unease as he looked at the Ancient One, trying to get an answer from her.
Strange didn't wait for the Ancient One's reply. He spoke for her, "I'm talking about her longevity. The reason she's immortal. She's been drawing energy from the Dark Dimension to sustain her life."
Wang stood silently to the side, watching. Mordo's expression shifted from disbelief to deeper shock, then was replaced by an uncontrollable rage. "That's impossible! The Sorcerer Supreme would never..."
His voice rose a few octaves, then he abruptly turned to the Ancient One, as if waiting for her to deny it, "That's not true!"
"I've seen those spells. I didn't think much of it at the time, but now I understand."
"I understand what you did."
The Ancient One didn't deny it, but simply gazed at him silently. After a long silence, she said, "There's no point in dwelling on these issues now. Once he reassembles his fanatics, they will return, and you need to prepare."
After saying that, she turned around and walked towards the door, her back still showing composure.
It was as if that conversation had never happened.
(What I wanted to depict in this chapter is that Strange attempts to deflect pressure and find excuses for shirking responsibility by questioning. He even hopes to provoke the Ancient One, get banished, and thus escape everything completely. The movie portrayal was too restrained.)
(However, I revised it several times, but I still couldn't get the feeling I wanted. Either I felt it was too much when I read it myself, or I felt something was missing. I couldn't find the balance... It was really too difficult, so I'm explaining it to everyone here.)
(My writing skills are indeed not quite there...)
Lynn straightened up from the stone pillar, walked up to Strange, looked him up and down for a while, and his smile deepened.
"Aren't you afraid she'll kill you? Haven't you considered the safety of both of us, who are both very vulnerable?"
He pointed at Mordo and Wong Strange, opening his mouth as if to speak, clearly having not considered this aspect before asking those questions.
Seeing his speechless expression, Lynn shook her head slightly, took out a folded piece of paper from her pocket, and handed it to him.
"Okay, I already reminded you. This is my phone number. Things are a bit turbulent these days, so contact me if you need anything. I'm heading back now."
He raised his hand and drew a circle in the air, and a rotating portal unfolded in the center of the Sanctum hall, leading to the quiet courtyard of Kamar-Taj.
Wang nodded to Mordo and followed Lynn through the portal. The sparks receded behind them, leaving only Mordo and Strange in the hall.
Mordo looked at Strange and slowly spoke, "She's definitely not what you think. You have no idea what she's sacrificed for Kamar-Taj all these years. You have no right to question her like that. You have no idea what kind of responsibility the Sorcerer Supreme carries."
"Yes. I don't know. And I don't want to know."
Mordo stared at him in disbelief, his eyes filled with disappointment. "You're a coward. I don't understand how the Ancient One and Lynn could tolerate you like this."
"Because I don't want to be an assassin?"
"Because with a formidable enemy at hand, instead of rallying your spirits and thinking about how to stop and eliminate them, you are satisfying your curiosity by criticizing the Sorcerer Supreme."
"I didn't stop them? What do you think I was doing just now?" Strange's voice finally rose as he pointed to the still-bleeding wound on his elbow.
Mordo's answer was decisive, each word like a sharp knife.
"What were you doing just now? You were saving your own life, and then you were acting like a wounded dog, constantly complaining about others."
"I didn't! I was just stating the facts!"
Strange suddenly raised his voice, a tremor he himself didn't even realize was in his voice.
He pointed at Mordo, his fingers turning white from the force of his grip. "You think you can do all that so easily? You make it sound so simple!"
"The answer is yes. I can do it easily. You can't even imagine what I've done before."
"Even if we had other methods, would it still be the same?"
Mordo finally lost his temper and roared, "Don't think you know the whole truth just because you've read a few books! There's no other way!"
You really lack imagination.
"No, Stephen. It's that you lack the courage to face the problem. You just want to stay in your comfort zone, and no matter what excuse you make, it can't hide your lack of courage to confront it."
Mordo gave him one last look, a look that held disappointment and anger.
He turned and walked into the Sanctum, his footsteps echoing across the empty Dali floor, fading into the distance.
Strange stood alone in the hall, the Cloak of Levitation still quietly draped over his shoulders, its collar no longer ostentatiously turned up, but rather lightly brushing against his cheek.
(There's a foreshadowing element that was planted in the first chapter. Did anyone notice it? ♪(´∇`*)♪(´∇`*))