19 Reunion with the Ancient One

"Reunion with the Ancient One"

"Crap... Hello, Ancient One, long time no see. Did you come to get me?" said Stephen as he turned around to see the bald woman who appeared in some of his nightmares.

"Hello, Stephen. This is the third time you've had that name, right? How's your new life treating you?" the Ancient One asked with a smile.

"Honestly, I can't complain, except for the woman who scammed me out of a life," Stephen replied with a venomous smile.

"Well, I apologize for that. But it was necessary to keep the world safe," the Ancient One said calmly.

"I already know that. You don't need to tell me, I was also the Sorcerer Supreme with the Time Stone. So, what happened to you after you died physically? Are you in Limbo or something? And how did you get here?" Stephen asked, changing the subject.

"It's better if you don't know, kid. It took me a while to find you. Let's just say I was sent by someone higher up to give you a sort of reward for saving many realities. Though I won't say who," the Ancient One said mysteriously.

"Pfft, I thought you came to take me back. I've grown fond of this world; I wouldn't like to return to a place where I don't have many friends. Though I'd love to know what happened after I left, if possible," Stephen said with a relaxed sigh and curiosity.

"Well, I can only say that Wanda is doing a good job and that you protected the universe correctly. And not just that one, but many others by stopping the corrupted Phoenix variant of Wanda."

"So that's why she became so strong," Stephen said, finally understanding how the Wanda he fought came to be.

"Yes, though it was quite a strange place where you ended up. Everyone is born with mana furnaces, and universal laws are different. There, destiny rules much more, so it could easily drive you insane. If someone has a strong destiny, your interference won't change much."

"Yeah, I know. I figured that out a while ago," Stephen said in a sad voice.

"It seems you didn't fully study it. You should know that destiny is like a rope: the stronger it is, if you try to break it all at once, you won't achieve much. But if you break one strand at a time, you can change that destiny. So don't worry about your friend, just do it slowly," the Ancient One said.

"You could always read everything about me. But thanks, I hadn't thought about that. So, what's this gift you were bringing me?" Stephen asked, now happy to know he could change his friend's fate and understanding how to do it.

"Yes, yes. One more thing: you haven't entered your astral form since you arrived here, have you?" the Ancient One asked with a smile.

"You're right!" Stephen said, disappointed.

"Are you afraid that your astral form is that of Stephen Strange and that this body was stolen from another child? And do you fear that you're not a complete child, which is why you reject Fleur Delacour's love?"

"Although I think that when Grandpa said Strange's soul formed this body, I never knew where a new soul could come from to create me. So, yes," Stephen admitted with a hint of sorrow.

"Always so foolish, never studying the basics," the Ancient One said before striking Stephen's chest hard, knocking his soul out of his body.

"This is the last help I can give you, kid. Your soul was created from scratch from a fragment of the soul that remained when you destroyed yourself."

"That fragment of soul was exactly where two different yet closely connected souls intersected. And as you know, two souls can never fully merge into one; they can only blend."

"But when that fragment of your soul passed to this side, whether due to the explosion or the love of magic itself, that soul fused completely, forming a new one. And the particles that composed Strange's soul and the soul of Stephen from Earth could no longer be souls; being particles, they formed a body for that small soul."

"So now, you are simply the boy Stephen Flamel, grandson of Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel, whose body inherited the memories of its predecessors. Though if you think about it another way, you're the child of the other two souls that fused to create a new one for you," the Ancient One said teasingly.

Hearing all that, Stephen summoned a mirror to see himself. He was the 14-year-old Stephen with an expression of absolute tranquility.

"Whew, thanks, Master, as always," Stephen said with a ceremonial bow.

"Enough, I already told you that you are someone new. So, technically, I'm not your master. Though, if we go by ranks, I'm your grandmaster because I was your father's teacher," the Ancient One said mockingly. Stephen knew it was a way to relax him.

"Well, I have to go now. Oh, by the way, your gift. It seems that unconsciously your body has been emitting magical pulses, and someone back there went crazy trying to come with you. That's one of the main reasons I came. Normally, I wouldn't, but they told me to say: 'Accept it as a gift for saving the multiverse.' So here, take it. Goodbye, Stephen. I don't think we'll ever meet again, either in life or in death," the Ancient One said before disappearing, making everything move again and, obviously, returning Stephen, now shocked, to his body.

"What's wrong, boss? Why do you look so surprised? And what's that red thing? A cape?" Jordan asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, it's a Cloak of Levitation. Be careful, it has a bad temper," Stephen said as he observed his old cloak.

"Cloak of Levitation? You don't mean Invisibility Cloak. I've never heard of levitating cloaks. And how can a cloak have a bad temper?" Lee Jordan asked. The next second, he saw the cloak moving on its own and hitting him with its corners.

"Jajaja, Jordan's getting beaten up by a cloak," the twins laughed, teasing.

"Alright, come here. Hmm, I think it'd look weird to wear a cloak over my wizard's robes in class. Though on free days, we can wear normal clothes. By the way, I never asked, but can you transform?" Stephen asked the cloak. The cloak hovered in the air for a moment, as if inspecting Stephen's outfit, and then transformed into a dark robe.

"Cool. Though I see that in this form, you can't fly, but you can move," Stephen said while changing into his new robe.

"Alright, let's get inside before McGonagall comes looking for us," Stephen told Jordan and the twins, who were still curiously looking around.

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