Dark clouds shrouded all of Kamar-Taj. Drizzling rain wove a vast curtain of water as Strange quietly slipped out of his quarters, crossed the empty courtyard, and entered the silent library.
Today, all the sorcerers training at Kamar-Taj had answered the Sorcerer Supreme's call and gone to reinforce the Three Sanctums. The city was therefore deserted, with scarcely a soul in sight.
It was said that Kaecilius, the fallen one who had defected from Kamar-Taj, was constantly expanding his influence and gathering dark minions, intending to destroy the Three Sanctums and overthrow the solid defenses established by the Sorcerer Supreme.
Strange paid little attention to any of this. He had always considered himself a passerby. He had come to Kamar-Taj and trained under the Ancient One only to heal his hands and regain hope for his life.
Under the Ancient One's guidance, he began to break free from the shackles of his old fixed perceptions, abandoning the limitations of what his eyes could see and truly stepping through the gates of magic.
Strange would never forget how the Sorcerer Supreme had pressed a finger to his forehead and guided him through countless dimensions with her mind. Those magnificent, intricate, yet infinitely perilous wondrous worlds had unfurled before him like a scroll.
It was a novel experience unlike anything he had ever known.
His former materialist beliefs had been shattered. Strange gained an entirely new understanding of this world and began observing and contemplating it in another way.
From then on, whether studying spells or meditating, the talented doctor from New York advanced at a staggering pace.
Just like Kaecilius had in the past, he soon displayed extraordinary talent.
"Just this once."
Strange muttered as he entered the library.
From among the towering bookshelves, he took down a bronze book bound