Kamar-Taj

Today was my birthday (16th) and like usual, I celebrated it with Nana and Edward.

Edward reserved a table for us at the new fancy restaurant of the month. We ordered once we sat down.

"Happy birthday Harry" Nana said giving me a gift wrapped packet. Opening it, it was a white gold Rolex. It must have been at least a few months of her salary.

"WHOA... you shouldn't have. It must have cost a fortune." I said genuinely happy and I put it on. With all the money I had, I never actually bought a watch for myself.

"Happy birthday and this is my gift for you." Edward said. What he got me was a bracelet with rubies imbedded within. Very low-key.

"Thank you two." I said, touched.

Our plates arrived while I was opening my gifts. We ate chatting and the discussion slowly shifted to their younger years and for the first time in a while I truly looked at them. They both looked a old with wrinkles around their eyes. Edward must be in his mid-late forties, Nana however looked older, in her mid-late fifties.

I could potentially give them an improved version of Extremis but whether or not they would take it was another question entirely.

I stopped eating just after a few bites and said to Nana, "I can't anymore, your cooking is so much better. Why don't you let us open your own restaurant? The food would taste so much better."

Since we learned that her dream when she was younger was to open her own restaurant, Edward and I pitched her many kitchen, creating new flavors for McDonalds, owning a restaurant. But she always refused, saying she wanted to just work till I was an adult and retire.

"I'm am not youthful anymore," She sighted "I don't have the energy to run a kitchen. The workers would have to do everything."

"They better be, It'll be yours. They should and will be thrilled to help in the making of your dishes, even if it is to pass the salt." I said but she shook her head replying:

"What would happen to you if I left. You don't even eat properly." She said trying to laugh it off.

"Oh come on, Harry is more than capable of taking care of himself. Had been since he was 8, right Harry?" Edward said turning to me.

"True, besides I will be travelling the world for a year at the very least. By the time I came back, I would have even grown a beard." I said laughing "Since I would probably be away for my next birthday, you have to give me my gift in advance, and what I want is for you to have your restaurant."

Edward also pitched in and by the end of the meal, she agreed. I immediately had Selene look into it and by the time we got home, she found a string of luxury restaurant that fit Nana's preference, she said she preferred a real restaurant not fast food. When we arrived at the mansion, I headed downstairs to check on Selene and explore Nana's options.

I spent the following day at Xavier's school since it would take a while before I came back, I planned on visiting Kamar-Taj. And in the event the Ancient One agrees to take me in, I knew my head would be so far up books that I wouldn't have time to visit NY.

With a whole realm at my disposition, it would be foolish not to at least try sorcery. From what wiki I read, some spells needed a specific energy to be called upon. My concern however was being tricked by said entities and have my realm and by extension my soul eaten. I would have to ask the Ancient One about that.

A few days ago, I had told Norman that I was taking a year long vacation from my experiments and work at Oscorp. He immediately refused but he reconsidered his decision two days after. I think he let it go partly due to the fact that he couldn't really bar me from doing anything I wanted, and he knew it.

On November, 26th, I packed a small bag and had a chauffeur drop me off at the airport. I then boarded my plane in destination of Nepal. I initially wanted to go to the New York Sanctum given that the sanctums were interconnected, but I asked myself what's the hurry? I was excited at the idea of learning magic yes, but it wasn't like the Ancient One was going anywhere.

Thus after a grueling fifteen hour fight, I got off my jet and drifted to the city. I spent the next five days roaming the city just enjoying myself. Thanks to my telepathy, I didn't have to go through the process of copying someone's memories to learn their language anymore. Telepathy is the poor man's AllSpeak.

I admit I was a little fearful meeting the Ancient One. She was one of the few people on earth who could kill me permanently after all, and I was worried she deemed me a menace to the world. But all things shall come to an end like my attempt of distracting myself from my potential death by her hands for example.

I didn't have any problem locating Kamar-Taj. For the locals it was a temple like any other, the mystic arts masters were respected but few if not any knew of the fearsome power they had. Telling myself to man up, I entered Kamar-Taj alleyway and stopped before the door. If the Ancient one wanted to kill me, she could have the moment I was born.

Taking a deep breath, I prepared to knock on the door. But before I could, the door opened and a teen in a orange robes opened it and said: "The Ancient One is expecting you. Follow me."

For just a second, I was tempted to just run away and forget magic. In the end though, I nodded and gestured her to lead the way.

She walked me into Kamar-Taj, passing by dorms and training grounds. It was a lot bigger than it appeared to be. After watching Dr. Strange's movie, I always asked myself where were all the other disciples living given how small it all seemed. The temple must have some sort of space extending spell woven into the place since we passed by at least twenty people already. The teen, I assumed was a disciple let me to where Strange had first met the Ancient One but the old master Hamir wasn't there.

The disciple left telling me to wait her for the Ancient One. A few minutes later, the Ancient One entered alone saying: "Welcome Harry Osborn, I suspect you've had a good time visiting this city."

She sat down and in the split second I looked at her, a complete tea set appeared on the previously bare table.

"Tea?" She asked with a benign smile on her face.

"I would love to, thank you. And... Yes, the people here are very warm." I said and took a sip of the not-so-magic tea. It tasted heavenly by the way.

We spent the next minute in silence, enjoying the tea before she said: "I've been observing you Mr. Osborn. Your existence intrigues me... Your soul contains almost limitless power, that alone would have made you a god or even an elder god... but your soul seems to have been bound to a mortal body that is anything but mortal and yet you are a mutant of earth. Not to forget your actions suggest that you know of the future or at least of an alternate one and that you are preparing for that eventuality."

She looked at me and I waited: "But I didn't detect any entity touch upon you. So Mr. Osborn, let me ask you a question"

I nodded and she said: "Why should I give you more power than you already posses?"

I looked at her dead in the eyes: "Frankly I have no idea. Am I worthy of your teachings? I don't know. That is for you to determine. What I know however is that earth as it is my home and I will protect it to the best of my abilities."

Taking another sip of tea, I continued, "I did, do and will do everything because it was, is or will be beneficial to me to a certain extend. Many benefited and will continue to benefit from my actions but I know I am not selfless."

I looked at her again but I didn't get anything from her facial expression. I finished my tea and concluded: "As for my actions, I have knowledge of some of the threats earth will be facing, within and without. As well as some future events. How I came to know of them however, I will not say."

"Very curious indeed." She said, seeing I gave no input on my powers or how I had my future knowledge. A few seconds later, she said: "You know? In all the alternate ways this conversation could have gone, you never once told me this particular secret." She smiled.

"Why ask then?" I asked curiously.

She thought for a moment and with her eyes looking far away, she said: "The future is ever changing. Alternate happenings are virtually infinite. Asking gives me the chance of experiencing a future, I maybe didn't see."

"Master Ma will show your quarters and the library, where you will receive the books for your apprenticeship." She said as she waved her hand and the cups disappeared.

I looked at her bewildered and asked: "Just like that, no test, no nothing?"

"Just like that, save for..." Faster than I could react even with my prowess, she pressed her thumb on my forehead and I was sent tumbling through dimensions.

The whole 'open your mind' thing the Ancient One did to Strange may have looked visually stunning but experiencing it is another matter entirely. Imagine ascending and falling through every direction simultaneously while your subconscious is being filled with indecipherable knowledge and only then would you feel a hundredth of what I was feeling right now.

Time itself didn't exist anymore or at least it was severely slowed down, which would have totally been fine normally. But with no measure of time, it felt like centuries had passed. Finally, I found myself back in my chair with the Ancient One standing next to me.

"Oh! You sadis…" I didn't finish saying what I wanted to say when I was once again sent tumbling the other way. 'Why even bother?' I asked to myself and let everything unfold. The next time I was back in my chair, I was a lot calmer.

Gasping, I waited to see if a third trip was coming. A few seconds later, nothing happened. I looked up to see a middle aged man standing besides the Ancient One, Chinese maybe, in the same orange robes the others had on.

"Master Ma here, will show you to your lodgings." The Ancient One said pointing to the man.

I raised my arm towards her intending to ask her about the fact that I was now connected to some realms and fear their rulers would try to eat me.

But she responded before I could even ask: "Do not worry, unless you enter an agreement with them, nothing will happen. We shall go into detail when your study of the mystic arts starts."

'Huh? I guess the whole not knowing all the different futures was bullshit' I said to myself before a question popped into my head.

"My second trip... It was just to mess with me, right?" She smirked before turning around and leaving.

"Oh come on.... I know it was." I said and heard her humming to herself.

Sighting, I looked towards master Ma who gestured for me to follow him. I nodded and he led me to my room. It was little room like the one Strange had with nothing but a table, bed with a small window overlooking the streets. Strangely, no sound made it way inside even though I could see people talking and laughing outside.

Master Ma waited for me to change then guided me to the library. Once there, he pointed at the door and gave me a piece of paper he took from his robes then he left.

"Thank you" I said to his retreating back. The piece of paper was probably the Wi-Fi password. Opening it, it read 'Shamballa'.