Chapter 145: The Supreme Sorcerer's Tea
The guest room at Kamar-Taj was remarkably simple.
A wooden bed.
A thin wool blanket.
A stone washbasin without a mirror.
And a single window overlooking the snow-covered mountains beyond.
Lynn stood before the window, watching the first rays of dawn illuminate the distant peak of Mount Everest with a layer of golden light.
The air of the Himalayas was dry and crisp.
Every breath felt clean.
Pure.
Almost unreal.
He didn't actually need sleep.
Not anymore.
Yet he had still spent the entire night lying on that wooden bed.
Not because he was tired.
Simply because it felt good.
No calls from Tony Stark.
No encrypted messages from Bruce Wayne.
No endless follow-up calls from Nick Fury.
No patients waiting outside the clinic.
For once, the world was quiet.
Lynn rolled over.
Pulled the blanket over his head.
And decided to remain there a little longer.
...
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Three gentle knocks sounded from outside.
"Dr. Lynn."
The Ancient One's calm voice drifted through the door.
"Morning tea is ready."
Lynn immediately sat up.
He casually put on his white lab coat.
At this point, the coat had become part of him.
Even in Kamar-Taj, he never removed it for long.
Opening the door, he stepped outside.
The morning sunlight bathed the courtyard in a warm glow.
Two steaming cups of tea sat atop a stone table.
The Ancient One was already seated.
Her yellow robes were immaculate.
Her expression was peaceful.
Since Lynn had severed her dependence on the Dark Dimension, her condition had improved significantly.
Although she no longer possessed the immense reserves of power accumulated over centuries through Dormammu's energy, her connection to the orthodox mystical dimensions had become far purer.
The power she drew from the Vishanti and other higher-dimensional sources flowed more naturally than before.
Lynn sat opposite her.
He picked up the cup.
Inhaled.
Darjeeling tea.
With honey.
"You remembered my preferences."
The Ancient One lifted her own teacup.
"You've stayed here for three days."
"Every morning, you add honey."
"No observation skills are required."
Lynn smiled.
"Three days."
He took a sip.
"It might become thirty."
The Ancient One remained expressionless.
"Kamar-Taj has enough spare rooms."
The two drank tea in silence.
Far away, the voices of apprentice sorcerers could be heard.
Morning exercises had begun.
Mystic chants echoed through the mountain air.
The faint hum of dimensional energy drifted throughout the temple grounds.
Eventually, the Ancient One set down her cup.
"Why are you hiding?"
Lynn didn't answer immediately.
Because he understood what she truly meant.
She wasn't asking:
Why did you come to Kamar-Taj?
She was asking:
Why are you hiding who you really are?
The Ancient One could perceive countless timelines.
While Lynn remained a variable obscured within most future possibilities, her intuition was more than enough to connect certain facts.
Especially after the Battle of Metropolis.
"You already know."
Lynn's voice was calm.
It wasn't a question.
The Ancient One nodded.
"I do."
"When?"
"When you healed me."
Her answer came immediately.
"The energy signature in your power and the energy signature surrounding the masked man are identical."
"The energy of the same individual doesn't suddenly become something else."
Lynn adjusted his glasses.
"You never said anything."
"You never asked."
Silence settled between them.
Several seconds passed.
"You won't tell anyone."
Again, it wasn't a question.
"No."
The Ancient One's answer was direct.
"I have no interest in your secrets."
"I'm interested in your choices."
Lynn leaned back slightly.
"What choices?"
The Ancient One met his gaze.
"Why wear the mask?"
Lynn picked up his tea.
Drank slowly.
Then thought for a moment.
"For fun."
The Ancient One stared at him.
Lynn sighed.
"I'm serious."
He set the cup down.
"You expected something profound?"
"'To protect the people around me.'"
"'To guard the world from the shadows.'"
"'To bear responsibility alone.'"
The Ancient One remained silent.
Lynn shrugged.
"The truth is much simpler."
"A doctor is a doctor."
"A fighter is a fighter."
"Two identities are easier than one."
"They stay out of each other's business."
"Everything remains clean."
The Ancient One considered that answer.
Then asked:
"Doesn't it become exhausting?"
"Not at all."
Lynn stretched lazily.
"You spent centuries borrowing power from the Dark Dimension while carrying the burden of protecting reality."
"That's exhausting."
"My situation is much easier."
The Ancient One froze briefly.
Her eyes lowered toward the tea in her cup.
Several seconds later, she nodded.
"You're right."
"It is much easier."
The courtyard became quiet once more.
Only the distant mountain winds remained.
Steam rose gently from the teacups.
The scene was oddly peaceful.
Two of the most dangerous individuals on Earth sat beneath the Himalayan sky drinking tea.
One could tear apart a World Engine with his bare hands.
The other could trap armies inside the Mirror Dimension with a gesture.
Yet at that moment, they looked like ordinary people enjoying a peaceful morning.
...
Days passed.
Lynn's life in Kamar-Taj became remarkably routine.
Every morning began with tea.
Afterward, he would sit in the courtyard and enjoy the sunlight.
For Lynn, sunlight wasn't merely pleasant.
His stellar-energy cycle continuously absorbed and refined solar radiation.
Especially radiation from a yellow star.
Sunbathing was essentially another form of cultivation.
Lunch was taken in Kamar-Taj's communal dining hall.
The meals were simple.
Mostly vegetarian.
Soup.
Rice.
Vegetables.
Occasionally fruit.
Lynn wasn't picky.
The afternoons were spent reading.
Not magical books.
Those had already been finished within three days.
Instead, he reviewed alien alloy spectroscopy reports and advanced Arc Reactor technical files that he had brought from New York.
The evenings were less predictable.
Occasionally, he wandered into the underground restricted library.
At first, Wong had viewed him with obvious caution.
That caution gradually transformed into resignation.
Eventually, Wong simply accepted his presence.
One evening, Wong even handed him a cup of tea.
"How long are you planning to stay?"
Wong asked.
Lynn accepted the cup.
"No idea."
"When I feel like leaving."
Wong's eye twitched.
"Are you a guest?"
"Or a permanent resident?"
"Depends."
Lynn took a sip.
"If the Ancient One starts charging rent, I'll reconsider."
Wong stared at him.
Then silently turned around and walked away.
...
One week passed.
Then two.
Then three.
Then an entire month.
For a brief moment, Lynn seriously considered retirement.
No more patients.
No more emergencies.
No more battles.
Just sunlight.
Books.
Tea.
Fresh mountain air.
Kamar-Taj offered everything.
Peace.
Quiet.
No clients.
No paperwork.
No interruptions.
The idea lasted approximately three seconds.
Then he remembered Thanos.
The Mad Titan.
He remembered the Celestials.
Ancient cosmic entities capable of shaping galaxies.
He remembered the countless higher-dimensional beings lurking beyond Earth's awareness.
The universe was vast.
Earth was only a tiny corner of it.
Three seconds later, retirement ceased to exist.
He was strong.
Extremely strong.
Perhaps already standing at the pinnacle of Earth's physical power.
But Earth wasn't the universe.
Not even close.
His current strength wasn't enough.
Nowhere near enough.
...
Meanwhile.
New York City.
Outside Miracle Clinic.
A middle-aged woman stood before the locked entrance.
She stared at the sign.
Doctor on Vacation.
No Appointments Available.
Three full minutes passed.
Then she sighed.
Turned around.
And left while muttering complaints under her breath.
This was her fourth visit that month.
...
Gotham City.
The Batcave.
Forty-three days after the Battle of Metropolis.
Bruce Wayne sat before the Batcomputer.
Six separate monitors displayed six different streams of information.
The leftmost monitor showed surveillance footage.
Day after day.
Week after week.
The blinds of Miracle Clinic remained tightly closed.
The "Doctor on Vacation" sign had hung there for more than a month.
The second monitor displayed Lynn's communication records.
Every known cellular number.
Every encrypted email account.
Every secured communication channel.
Offline.
Disabled.
Silent.
The third monitor displayed live feeds from all surveillance cameras within a five-hundred-meter radius of the clinic.
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