After the Ancient One tacitly allowed Wanda and her brother to stay, she arranged for a senior sorcerer at Kamar-Taj to show the siblings around and settle them into their quarters. Though plain, Kamar-Taj's stone rooms were clean and warm, with thick quilts to ward off the snowy mountains' bitter cold-a world apart from the crumbling corners of Sokovia.
Lynn followed them to their assigned room. Watching the siblings look around with curiosity and reserve, he gently told them, "This is where you'll be living from now on. Every day, a sorcerer will come to take you to lessons in basic magical knowledge and physical training. Don't be afraid. They're all kind, and they won't bully you."
Wanda nodded, a trace of gratitude in her eyes, and said softly, "Thank you, Lynn." Everything she had been through lately made it hard for her to trust anyone easily, but Lynn had indeed given her and her brother a way to survive. She would remember that kindness.
For once, Pietro also dropped his guarded look and gave Lynn a slight nod. Though he remained silent, his earlier hostility was gone.
Lynn smiled and continued, "I can't stay at Kamar-Taj all the time. There's something I need to go back and keep an eye on. I'll visit every so often to see how your studies are coming along. If you run into any trouble or need anything, don't try to shoulder it yourselves. Ask one of the sorcerers around you to contact Master Wong. I'm usually with Wong, so he'll pass the message along."
He deliberately emphasized Wong, partly because they really did spend their days together at the New York Sanctum, and partly to give the siblings a clear person to turn to for help, so they wouldn't be at a loss in the unfamiliar surroundings of Kamar-Taj.
Wanda committed his words to memory and nodded firmly. "I understand. We won't cause you any trouble." She knew how hard it had been for her and her brother to get this far, and she certainly wouldn't be so thoughtless as to cause problems.
After settling the siblings in and exchanging a few words with the sorcerer responsible for teaching them, Lynn stayed no longer. He raised a hand to open a portal, then stepped into the familiar orange sparks, heading for the New York Sanctum.
As he stepped into the New York Sanctum's hall again, a familiar warmth greeted him, utterly different from Kamar-Taj's biting winds. Wong was still leaning against the second-floor railing, holding a thick tome of magic. Seeing Lynn return, he merely lifted his eyelids and asked flatly, "Back already? What did you get up to this time?"
"Nothing much." Lynn dusted himself off, walked straight over to the sofa in the hall, and sat down with a long stretch. As he spoke, he picked up the glass of water on the table and took a sip. "I brought two kids back from Sokovia, a sister and brother named Wanda and Pietro. They looked pretty pitiful, so I took them to Kamar-Taj. Luckily, the Ancient One agreed to let them stay and learn magic there. I hurried back as soon as I got them settled."
Wong gave a hum of acknowledgment and glanced at him, his tone as flat as ever. "Good, as long as they're settled. Don't cause trouble for the Ancient One." With that, he lowered his head again and immersed himself in the world of his book.
Lynn leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes. An image of Tony building his armor in the cave surfaced in his mind as he worked out the timing.
According to the plot he remembered, it shouldn't take Tony much longer to finish his first suit of armor and break out of the cave. In the days ahead, all Lynn needed to do was keep checking on Tony's progress in Afghanistan occasionally, just as before.
But that peace didn't last long.
Over the next few days, Lynn gradually noticed that something was wrong with him.
The first thing he noticed was his brain's processing speed. When he had read books in the Sanctum before, he had already felt that he learned quickly. At the time, he had simply chalked it up to a talent that came with transmigrating. Now, however, the feeling grew increasingly pronounced. The entire world seemed to move in slow motion. Other people's mouths moved for ages before a single word came out, and he could even count the frequency of a fly's wingbeats.
What troubled him even more was how it felt to interact with others. He went to a supermarket near the Sanctum to buy snacks. At checkout, the cashier leisurely scanned his items and counted out his change, moving so slowly to his eyes that it seemed as though everything had been slowed down several times over. He could even predict the cashier's next move, and he couldn't help growing impatient, wishing he could step in and help.
The feeling was deeply awkward, and it made him realize that other people hadn't slowed down. He had become too fast.
If he could still barely adjust to his faster processing speed and the sense that everyone else was sluggish, the missing time that followed sent Lynn into a complete panic.
Once, he clearly remembered just entering the supermarket, yet the next second, he was standing outside his home. A bag of chips had inexplicably appeared in his shopping bag, and his memories of everything in between seemed to have been edited out.
Another time, he was reading in the Sanctum's library. He had just turned to a page when his mind went briefly hazy. By the time he came back to his senses, the sky outside had shifted from noon to dusk, and the book in his hands was dozens of pages further along. Yet he had no idea what had happened during that time.
These inexplicable gaps in time stirred a trace of unease in Lynn. He had no idea what was happening to him. Could this be an aftereffect of transmigrating? Or was something wrong with my abilities?
After turning it over in his mind, he decided to seek out the Ancient One. After all, she had lived for hundreds of years and possessed vast knowledge. As the Sorcerer Supreme who could see through timelines, perhaps she would know what was causing his abnormalities.
Lynn immediately raised his hand, opened a portal, and headed straight for Kamar-Taj. When he found the Ancient One, she was seated on a meditation cushion in her study, meditating with her eyes closed, a faint magical glow surrounding her.
"Ancient One, there's something I'd like to ask you." Lynn approached quietly, a trace of urgency in his voice, without his usual joking grin.
The Ancient One slowly opened her eyes and regarded him calmly, her voice gentle. "Go on. What has made you so agitated?"
Without hesitation, Lynn recounted every detail of the abnormalities he had experienced lately.
His faster mental processing, the sense that other people were sluggish, and the several inexplicable gaps in time-after describing them all, he stared intently at the Ancient One, hoping she could give him an answer.
The Ancient One fell silent for a moment, a thoughtful look in her eyes, before saying slowly, "I cannot determine exactly what is causing these abnormalities."
Lynn's heart sank, and he hurriedly asked, "Even you don't know? Could it have something to do with my abilities? Or is it a problem with my transmigration?"
"Either is possible, but neither is certain." The Ancient One shook her head gently, her voice still calm. "You should know that I cannot observe your timeline. Your future is a blank to me. I can see neither the source of your abnormalities nor what consequences they will bring."
Her words made Lynn even more uneasy. Frowning, he said quietly, "Then what should I do? I can't keep going like this forever. What if I suddenly disappear one day, or something even worse happens..."
"You needn't be overly anxious." The Ancient One interrupted him, a note of certainty in her voice. "Since these abnormalities have appeared, they must have a source. Pay closer attention to your condition in your daily life. Carefully observe when and under what circumstances these abnormalities occur, and see what triggers this state. Once you find the trigger and understand the pattern, we can consider a solution further."
Lynn fell silent for a moment, then nodded. He knew the Ancient One was right. Since they couldn't find the cause now, all he could do was observe patiently and record the details of each abnormal occurrence.
"I understand. Thank you, Ancient One." Lynn bowed slightly, the unease in his heart easing a little.
The Ancient One nodded, closed her eyes again, and waved a hand. "Go back. If you discover anything, come to me at any time."
Lynn turned and left the study. Looking at Kamar-Taj's sweeping snowy mountains, he felt a jumble of emotions. He didn't know what these abnormalities would bring, nor when he would find their cause. But he knew he had to uncover the pattern as soon as possible. Otherwise, once the abnormalities spiraled out of control, the consequences would be unthinkable.
He raised his hand to open a portal and returned to the New York Sanctum. Wong was still reading in the hall. Everything was just as it had been when he left, but Lynn knew that something abnormal and beyond his control had already appeared within his body.
And all he could do was carefully observe his abnormalities and search for the truth behind their cause while waiting for Tony's transformation.