Lynn lay in a daze for three days.
Every morning, he opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, his mind blank, feeling only that his limbs were as heavy as lead. Wong knocked on his door once. When he did not answer, Wong did not knock again. Yinsen left food outside his door and came back two hours later to find the plate empty, but Lynn still had not come out.
On the fourth morning, he sat up and looked at the gray daylight over Bleecker Street outside his window. Suddenly, he felt he could not go on like this.
Wong was reading by the second-floor railing. At the sound of footsteps, he lifted his eyes.
"Back among the living?"
"More or less." Lynn walked to the middle of the hall and looked up at him. "Wong, open a portal for me. I need to go to Kamar-Taj and ask the Ancient One about something."
Wong lowered his book and looked at him, his gaze lingering on Lynn's face a moment longer.
"Why don't you open one yourself?" Wong said.
Lynn's lips curled into a cheeky grin. "Someone else's portal takes no effort."
Wong shook his head, speechless. He asked no further questions, straightened up from the railing, and traced a circle in the air with his right hand. Orange sparks burst into bloom in the center of the hall, spinning as they tore open a portal. Beyond it, Kamar-Taj's snowy mountains stretched on as they always had. Biting cold air poured through the opening, rustling two pages of an old book in the Sanctum.
"Save me some lunch." Lynn walked toward the portal.
"Mm."
The Ancient One was in her study. She sat on a meditation cushion, a pot of freshly brewed tea on the low table before her. Steam curled upward, forming faint, misty patterns in the cold white daylight spilling in over the snowy peaks.
When Lynn knocked and entered, she raised her head slightly, her calm gaze settling on his face. Then she gestured toward the cushion opposite her.
"Sit. Have some tea."
Lynn sat down and accepted the cup she offered with both hands. The tea was hot. He blew on it twice but did not drink, simply holding it as he stared blankly at the surface.
He remained silent. The Ancient One said nothing either.
Incense burned in a corner of the study, its smoke rising straight as a fine thread in the still air. Occasionally, the distant sounds of apprentices practicing spells drifted in through the window, indistinct and softened by the stone walls and the distance. Lynn stared at the faintly trembling surface of the tea. His lips moved several times, then closed again.
The Ancient One watched him. This Sorcerer Supreme, who had lived for centuries, had seen countless people struggle, break down, and find rebirth before her. She did not hurry him, merely sitting quietly across from him.
After a long while, the Ancient One gently set down her cup. Its base met the table with a clear clink.
"Child," she said, her voice calm and gentle, "you should know that I cannot observe your future. If you don't speak, all we can do is sit here until mealtime."
Lynn's fingers tightened around the rim of his cup. He remained silent for another ten-odd seconds, then told her everything that had happened during this time.
Tony's analysis, the price of his ability, how every use put more strain on his brain: memory loss, gaps in consciousness, shutdowns that left him unconscious. He spoke slowly but thoroughly, leaving out no detail. The Ancient One listened quietly to the end without interrupting or asking further questions. Only after he had finished telling her everything and fallen silent again did she slowly nod.
"I understand everything you've described."
Her gaze settled on the shadows beneath Lynn's eyes. Her tone remained gentle, but now carried an added certainty.
"But your heart is in turmoil right now."
Lynn wanted to argue. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. His hands were still unsteady around the cup.
"Call Tony."
The Ancient One said, "I'd like to speak with him."
Lynn's fingers paused. He set down his cup, took his phone from his pocket, scrolled to Tony Stark's number, and pressed call. It rang twice before Tony picked up. His voice came through the earpiece, accompanied by the sounds of metalworking in the background. "Hello? The house is pretty much ready. You..."
"The Ancient One wants to talk to you," Lynn interrupted.
Tony's end went quiet for a second. "Who?"
"The Ancient One. The teacher who's been teaching me magic." Lynn offered no further explanation and handed the phone to the Ancient One with both hands.
The Ancient One took it, glanced at the screen, then turned to look at Lynn. The meaning of that look was clear.
Lynn stood and left the study.
The wooden door closed behind him. He stood in the corridor, his back against the cold stone wall, looking up at the mottled grain of the wooden ceiling. Mountain wind poured in from the end of the corridor, gently stirring the prayer flags hanging from the beams.
He was afraid. Afraid that after the Ancient One finished the call, she would tell him in that gentle, certain tone that there was nothing she could do either.
Afraid that he would have to spend his whole life in obscurity in this vast, eventful world, watching Tony fly over New York, watching Thor arrive in New Mexico, watching aliens descend from the sky during the Battle of New York, while he could only stand on the ground, unable to do anything.
It was not that he did not want an ordinary person's life. It was that he had already touched the handle of that door, only to be told that opening it would cost more than he could bear.
Time passed slowly.
Just as he was about to break down under his spiraling thoughts.
That orange light suddenly flared beside him.
A portal opened at his side. Beyond it was still the Ancient One's study: the cushions, the low table, the teapot. Nothing had changed. The Ancient One sat on her cushion, holding his phone, the call still connected. Lynn stood at the opening, looking at the portal, and his heart skipped a beat. He stepped through and sat back down on the cushion opposite her.
The Ancient One glanced at him, turned the phone over, set it on the low table, and switched on the speaker.
"Lynn is listening now," The Ancient One said.
There was a brief silence on the other end. Then Tony Stark's voice came through the speaker, a little lower than usual.
"We were just discussing some technical questions. About that ability of yours, the Ancient One and I..." He paused. "We have a new idea."