The Path of Time

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⏳ 2016

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⏳ 2016

I needed to see him

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I needed to see him. And I couldn't do it without my strange friend.

Kamar-Taj was abandoned this time of year. It was too cold for pilgrims to make the long journey to the temple, a perfect time for me to take advantage. Rain, hail, or shine, I knew he was in there. I knew he was in the mansion, practising and meditating.

I stepped out of the portal into his mansion. I walked into the parlour, the grey light of a wintry afternoon filtering through the windows.

"Hello?" I called. I took to the stairs.

I'd never liked the smell of the place. The stench of age was truly there. And, yes, I'm aware of how ironic that sounds in my case. No need to point it out.

The top parlour made a museum exhibit looked undressed. Weapons were strewn across the walls and in cabinets. Artefacts and antiquities were scattered throughout the hall. An empty cabinet stood idle in the corner, tall and menacing even though there was nothing inside.

"Hello?" I called again. "You here?"

"I am."

I turned to the second staircase leading to the upper floor of the mansion. And there he stood, in all his splendour and power, an incredible aura floating off him that was purely overwhelming. His cloak whipped behind him, a mighty backdrop of his robes. He stared at me. He stared at me with such intense eyes that I resisted urge to the flinch.

"I need your help, Stephen," I said.

"I know."

I wasn't surprised that he did. He always knew.

We moved up to the top floor of the mansion and sat before the intricate window overlooking the temple below. Silence held us until I made the first sound. "You owe me."

"Do I, now?" he replied, an eyebrow raised.

"If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be here, Sorcerer Supreme."

Strange considered such a statement, stroking his manicured moustache and beard. He knew I was right. He knew if I'd never told the Ancient One of his arrival in the coming years, the acts that had brought him to Kamar-Taj would not have been set into motion. And now it was time for the debt to be paid.

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