Wong figured that even he wouldn't have handled Kaecilius any better than Adam had.
"Don't worry about them. As long as there's a spark of life left, they'll recover." Adam walked over calmly, his clothes in tatters.
By the time he came to a full stop, most of his wounds had already closed.
"Your arms... "
"They'll grow back."
Wong watched numbly as the severed limbs began to regenerate, slowly but steadily. At this rate, they would return to normal before long. The more he thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.
Healing flesh wounds was one thing, but regrowing entire limbs? No wonder Adam had been bold enough to use such aggressive tactics against Kaecilius.
"Good thing Kaecilius went for Faltine's Maw..." Wong muttered. He suspected the sorcerer had simply been too greedy. If he'd used a less powerful spell, the outcome might have been very different.
"I might not win, but I definitely won't die easily. I'm pretty hard to kill," Adam said.
"Wong. My name is Wong. Kaecilius isn't the type to let things go. His obsession is extraordinary. I don't know what happened between you two... wait."
Wong's gaze fell on one of the Xenomorphs. It looked ordinary, but traces of lingering black magic still clung to it.
The clever sorcerer pieced it together. Shock and anger flashed across his face.
"It's nothing special. As you can see, it was my first time encountering magic, so I did some research. It seems the one behind Kaecilius noticed," Adam said lightly.
"Enough. You're insane to even touch black magic! It's the most dangerous and corruptive force in existence. Never go near it, no matter what. I don't want to see you among the black mages one day!"
"I know, I know. Someone else already gave me that speech. He's currently being hunted across the world by Magneto," Adam replied.
"Do not bring mundane world conflicts into the mystic arts... "
"Dormammu. I know who Dormammu is. I know he's an extradimensional demon god," Adam cut in. "I'm not some ignorant fool when it comes to magic."
Wong's eyes grew more dangerous. He was seriously considering whether he should deal with Adam right here and now. "Every talented sorcerer who joins the black mages starts out thinking the same way. And you're not even a proper sorcerer."
"I've seen that line in an anti-drug PSA before, Wong. You're quite knowledgeable. Before joining Kamar-Taj, were you perhaps a librarian?" Adam remained perfectly calm, methodically gathering his Xenomorph forces and assessing the losses.
He had brought twenty-two. Eight had died. The casualties were lighter than expected.
Against Kaecilius, that was a win.
"More accurately, I was a salesman," Wong said, clearly annoyed.
He had no interest in probing where Adam had gotten all this information. Matters concerning extradimensional demon gods weren't exactly secrets to certain ancient beings and organizations.
"Wong, please give my regards to the Sorcerer Supreme."
With that, Adam leaped onto the Abomination Xenomorph's shoulder, gave a casual wave, and departed.
Wong watched the man's decisive exit, brow furrowed tightly.
"Don't make me laugh. Where does he get that confidence? The Sorcerer Supreme has no time for small fry like you..."
Still, anything involving Kaecilius needed to be reported.
Wong stepped through a portal and soon stood beside the Sorcerer Supreme.
"Sorcerer Supreme..." he began.
Mordo interrupted urgently. "The Sorcerer Supreme is communicating with gods from beyond. Do not disturb her!"
"It's fine. I already know. What that man Adam said was quite interesting." The Ancient One kept her eyes closed, vast oceans of magical particles swirling around her. Wong's face filled with deep reverence.
Ordinary people could never understand the true limits of the Sorcerer Supreme.
After a long moment, the Ancient One opened her eyes. A flicker of black magic vanished from their depths without a trace.
"I don't know much about Adam, nor where he gets the nerve to dabble in Dormammu's power. He even wants an audience with the Sorcerer Supreme!" Wong said.
"What? Kamar-Taj does not welcome such arrogant fools. He can forget about ever stepping foot inside our sanctuary!" Mordo's face darkened. He was even more furious at the man's delusional ambition.
"He won't come... unless I grant him access to white magic and allow his Xenomorphs to touch it," the Ancient One said mildly.
"That's impossible. How could we ever extend such a thing to a bunch of... "
"Mordo, have you forgotten Krugarr? He left us and vanished without a trace," Wong said gravely, pointing out the flaw in Mordo's thinking.
Mordo refused to listen. Krugarr was a sapient being who merely resembled a humanoid fish... nothing like an animal.
Besides, Krugarr had already left Earth and apparently joined a group called the Ravagers.
"Those aren't animals. They might even be smarter than humans. They don't amount to much now, but in the future, they could cause ripples across the timeline."
The Ancient One smoothly changed the subject. "There are more pressing matters. Odin just contacted me. He has decided to exile his son to Earth for a trial."
"Thor? I've heard that one's extremely volatile and arrogant. If someone like that comes to Earth, he won't stay quiet. He'll kill a lot of people." Mordo was deeply opposed. He hated anything that fell outside his control.
"On the contrary," the Ancient One said softly, "he will die on Earth."
Both Mordo and Wong's expressions changed dramatically, filled with disbelief.
Thor would die on Earth? What kind of joke was that? By Earth's standards, Thor's personality was crude and violent, but as the son of a God-Father level being like Odin, his strength was among the best.
Someone like that... dying on Earth?
"Time will provide the clearest answer. It wasn't supposed to happen this way, but even the smallest variable can create ripples that become tsunamis across infinite time," the Ancient One said.
"What should we do?"
"Mordo, Wong... keep a close eye on Kaecilius in the coming days. My greatest concern is Dormammu, who stands outside the flow of time. History is most vulnerable to interference from gods untouched by time."
"What about Thor? We could send a team of sorcerers to protect him and locate whoever is supposed to kill him..."
"No need. Some want him dead, others want him alive. We only need to keep Odin stable."
The Ancient One's expression grew serious. Considering the variables surrounding Strange, she needed to prepare early.
"Summon Strange. Tell him he is a once-in-a-century magical prodigy and that I hold him in very high regard. Because of that, I need him to recruit another large batch of his duplicates to participate in the ascetic selection. The more, the better."
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