Chapter 3
Nine' o clock found Wong staring at a bowl of sambar like it had all the answers. He hadn't been able to meditate, mind filled with too many thoughts clamoring for attention. Eventually, he had given up and made his way to the mostly empty cafeteria.
A tray thumped down across from him.
"Long night?" Master Oben said as he sat down.
Wong grunted, removing the pumpkin pieces from the sambar. They never tasted good out of season.
"What happened last night? Master Hamir didn't say much."
"Master Hamir never says much," Wong said, looking up. "What makes you think I know?"
The cafeteria was quiet around them. Morning classes were cancelled and most people had taken the opportunity to go back to bed. Wong wished he could do the same, but the emotions of his dream-self weren't losing their sharpness.
He looked at the phone next to him. He didn't have any notifications yet. Journeyman Drake had adjusted the usual monitoring spell to send alerts to one's phone. He'd be a Master soon.
"You always know," Master Oben said. As if this had been a fact for the entirety of Wong's time at Kamar-Taj.
Wong chewed on a piece of idili, swallowed.
"I don't," he lied.
He glanced at his phone again. Still no notifications. Ste-Strange. He wasn't his dream-self. The separation would help. Strange wouldn't have woken up so soon. He had fallen asleep almost instantly once Wong had shown him the room. He thought he had seen orange and yellow light flicker over the man, but - Wong cut that thought off. It led to places he didn't want to go, though he suspected he would before the day was over.
Skepticism was an interesting look on Master Oben's face, especially when he had a banana in his hand.
"Are you sure? You're always involved in whatever's going on."
Wong took a bite of his sambar-soaked idili and let the flavors sit on his tongue.
"I am not involved in this," he said, eventually. Unfortunately, he was and would be further involved because that had always been the trajectory of his life. It seemed all of Wong's selves were getting involved in some type of trouble.
Master Oben knew he was lying.
"Alright," he said instead of calling Wong on it. "Keep your secrets. Just....we are here to help, however we can."
Wong nodded. He wasn't sure when they'd need Master Oben's knowledge of 12th dimensional frog venom, but with their luck, it would probably end up being useful at some point.
Master Oben finished his banana and started on his oatmeal. It was one of those instant packs they kept around; Wong could tell by the texture. He went back to his sambar.
Slowly, others started trickling in, quietly speculating on what had happened last night. He focused on the background chatter and on his food, slowly slipping into a shallow sort of meditation. It wouldn't be enough to sort out his emotions, but he eventually managed to regain a sense of calm. He would still have to meditate properly, but he would be able to get through the rest of the day.
That calm slipped away as soon as his phone beeped.
Wong looked at it, mouth drying out. The worry came back, flooded him for a breath before he could dim it. The spell notification was on his phone. Strange had woken up.
Wong finished his breakfast. Strange had been up all night. He shouldn't have woken up just yet. A nightmare probably. He'd give the man some time. Again, knowledge he shouldn't know. He scowled at his now-empty bowl.
"Someone portal into the library again?"
Wong's scowl deepened. While Master Oben didn't know what had happened last night, he had unintentionally managed to guess part of it. Wong should have just closed that portal and walked away. But the Eye had been missing and The Ancient One normally knew better than to portal into the library, no matter the location.
Wong stood. There was no putting it off any longer.
"Something like that," he said to Master Oben. "Enjoy your day."
"Something tells me it'll be better than yours," Master Oben called after him as Wong deposited his tray and left. He was most likely right.
The Kamar-Taj from his dreams overlaid the one from reality. In his dreams, it had a different layout and Wong found himself nearly walking into walls as he tried to turn corners that weren't really there. The temple had been more colorful too, especially after they had rebuilt.
The stones of the buildings no longer matched and one could tell which one was newer. The initiates had started to put up art everywhere they could. One of the hallways was covered in set of canvases that together made up a spell to keep it warm all year long. It was very clever and they had been discussing doing the same to more hallways when-
Wong nearly walked into the door.
He stopped, pulling himself out of his thoughts. This wasn't a good idea. He was still tangled up in the emotions, memories of his other self. His heart was starting to race and he forced himself to take deep breaths until it calmed. It hadn't happened yet. Reality was still intact, there were no rips and Strange being here had changed things. The future he had seen in his dreams may never occur.
He took a breath, reached for the handle and then stepped back to take a few more deep breaths. His palms felt clammy. His heart was picking up its pace again. He really needed to meditate. Perhaps he should ask someone else to check on Strange. Master Hamir perhaps? The Ancient One? No, they wouldn't know his tells. Strange wouldn't deceive them, but they wouldn't know where and how to press to get the full truth.
"You're not going in?" The Ancient One asked. She always seemed to appear when she was thought of.
Wong did not jump, but it was a very near thing. He turned to look at her. The Eye was around her neck, open. The Time Stone glowed within.
Wong's blood chilled. Had she been using it? After what had happened? The damage that could have been done. They hadn't even checked the wards.
The Ancient One followed his gaze, made a hand movement, and the Eye closed. Wong did not relax.
"We are safe for now," The Ancient One said. She sounded as old as they thought her to be in that moment and looked terribly sad. Wong's heart jolted, threatened to burst out of his ribcage.
"The Time Stone and I communed." The Ancient One stepped closer and took his hand in hers. Wong stopped breathing.
"I have seen the future beyond my death."
Wong did not want to hear this. He regretted ever stepping foot in the library yesterday. He should have stayed in his room and tried to force himself back to sleep.
"You will make a wonderful successor," she continued.
Wong had not wanted to be Sorcerer Supreme, but there had been no one else. They had been thinking of Strange, but he had died and Wong had been there, so they had picked him.
"I am so proud of you."
While the words were nice to hear, they weren't for him. They couldn't be. He wasn't that Wong. He wasn't.
"That wasn't me," Wong said. It was his dream-alternate self. It might never be him The Ancient One was still holding his hand.
She smiled gently. ''Not yet."
She sounded so certain.
"But," she continued, " that does not mean that I am not proud of you as you are now. I am. You are a great Master."
Fear, Wong didn't realize he had, evaporated. The Ancient One believed in him. Wong had always known she did, but it was nice to hear it confirmed.
The Ancient One gave him a smile, before becoming serious.
"Time has told me that it has shown you the memories of your future self. I know they were not originally yours, but they are now. They happened and they have changed you."
Wong thought it over. Already his reactions to things had changed. His knowledge had grown. He knew more spells now and things that, he suspected, only the sorcerer supremes knew. Even his thinking had changed slightly. Wong had never been prone to this much introspection before. She was right. He had changed. He did not want to change, nor was it expected, but he had. This could be a good thing. The Ancient One was proud of the man his alternate had become. If he became like that, he could learn to live with the changes.
"Yes," Wong said and slowly, The Ancient One let go of his hand.
"Change is what you make of it," she reminded him and took off the Eye. She pressed it into his hands - "Give that to Master Strange when you see him" - and walked away.
Wong looked at the Eye, then looked at the door. He closed his eyes and let the memories settle in him. They were his now. He wouldn't be able to untangle himself from them. They were a gift. They give a glimpse of the person he could become, that had made The Ancient One proud.
He looked back at the door. Standing in front of it would not make her proud. He took another deep breath, let his pulse pick up, and pushed the door open.