The new 007 was a tough man as well. Even though the pounding had left him in unbearable agony, he was still provoking Kaecilius.
"Put some more force into it!"
"I'm still a little itchy!"
"A little farther to the left! Yes, yes, right there! So itchy! Hit harder!"
Bella watched from outside for a while. She had no interest in Mr. New 007's balls, but she worried that Kaecilius might suddenly develop certain inclinations and charge straight at the nearest man. Standing there when that happened would be awkward.
She called the old 007, who was still running a summer camp in Central Park, told him the location, and asked him to notify the British side to send a rescue team. Then she used Teleportation to take Kaecilius away.
When they reappeared, the two of them were already among the snowy mountains near Kamar-Taj.
Kaecilius was still holding the weighted rope. The sudden cold made him shiver despite himself.
"So having stronger magic means you can do whatever you want?"
Bella answered a different question entirely. "Mr. Kaecilius, your mind is full of chaotic thoughts. Are you using them to resist my telepathy?"
He sneered. "You don't seriously think I studied for thirty years without mastering something that basic, do you?"
Bella nodded and carefully examined the characteristics of the magic within him. "From the look of you, you've already made contact with Dormammu, haven't you? May I ask why?"
Kaecilius snorted. "That old woman ignored my request. I had to find a solution of my own."
"Your request? Is that really all it was?" Bella considered the word for a moment. "Are you certain what you want is your wife's resurrection, rather than even greater magical power?"
Kaecilius froze before the words on his lips could emerge. He had always wanted the Ancient One to bring his wife back to life. Failing that, she could have sent him twenty years into the past, back to the moment before his wife's accident.
Instead, the Ancient One had rejected him in the sternest possible terms, absolutely and without compromise. For years he had searched through ancient texts for another way. Dormammu was his final straw. Yet when Bella posed the question, he too went still. What did he truly want now? To return to his wife's side, or to possess greater magical power?
He missed his wife. He missed his child. But neither could he resist the temptation of mighty magic. Once he had encountered the world of sorcery, he could never again become an ordinary man.
"I…" He hesitated.
Bella rapidly cast a spell while using the Cauldron of the Cosmos to observe changes along the timeline.
It did not take long for her to locate a point before Kaecilius had first arrived at Kamar-Taj.
She was not Kaecilius himself, so she could not determine the exact moment, but it should have been close enough.
A pale green gateway appeared before Kaecilius.
"Pass through this gate and you'll return to the past. Your wife and child should both still be alive, and with your current abilities, you should be able to save them. Or you can stay here, let me kill you, and have me bury you in that big pit up ahead. Don't try to frighten me with Dormammu. I've dealt with him before, and I'm not afraid of him. Those are your two choices, Mr. Kaecilius."
Kaecilius clenched both fists and struggled with himself. He wanted to step into the green gateway, return to the past, and go back to his wife and son. It had been his wish for so many years. Yet after taking a single step with his left foot, he froze there and did not move again for a long time.
All at once, he understood something. His love for his wife and son had long since faded into a blur. He had been lying to himself all this time. He did not want to go back at all.
"What did you do to me?!" He glared at Bella with a twisted expression, convinced that the woman had tampered with him.
"Nothing more than a psychic manifestation spell. It helps you see your own heart clearly."
Kaecilius left in a daze. Everything he had upheld and believed in was false, a product of years spent deceiving himself. His convictions wavered, leaving him lost in profound confusion.
"Give up magic and go home to farm! At your age, if you return to Denmark, you'll not only qualify for a pension, they might even give you a few acres!"
Bella mocked him as she watched Kaecilius stagger down the snowy mountain, then headed back to Kamar-Taj while she was in the area.
After cadging a meal from Fatty Wong, she went to the library to pick up two ancient books on alchemy. To her surprise, she found the Ancient One reading there as well.
At the Ancient One's level, there was no longer any need for her to read books. Seeing her suddenly appear in the library felt strangely unfamiliar to Bella.
"Haha, am I not allowed to read? Much knowledge must be reviewed again and again if one wishes to maintain a clear understanding."
The Ancient One's reading posture was impeccably proper. Head raised and back straight, she floated cross-legged in midair while the pages turned themselves. It looked exceptionally impressive. Bella could do the same if she really wanted to, but it was tiring. Lying down to read was much more comfortable.
Bella did not conceal her purpose and asked frankly, "Master, what is your opinion of the Darkhold? Do you think I can study the spells within it?"
The Ancient One's answer was as simple and direct as ever. "The Darkhold's corruptive power is extremely severe, far beyond the limits a mortal soul can endure. If you overuse its magic, your soul will cease to belong to you. I do not recommend using the spells recorded in it, but there is no harm in drawing shallow insights from them."
The Ancient One touched her forehead. "My memories are somewhat confused. Where is the original Darkhold now?"
In the end, the old woman did not say where the Darkhold was, but she did mention that her collection contained a Book of Cagliostro Bella could examine. The book also recorded part of the Darkhold's contents. It was effectively a secondary work written after its original author had studied the Darkhold, so its corruptive effect on the soul was not as strong.
Seeing the old woman in a good mood, Bella immediately began a long discussion with her.
"Master, why haven't you considered taking another step forward? Or rather… have you ever considered apotheosis?"
Bella still thought it a pity that the Ancient One would cast aside her entire past, abandon her humanity, and ultimately depart in a rainbow of light. Her path as a sorcerer had reached its end, but other paths remained.
"Apotheosis?" The Ancient One shook her head with a soft laugh. "I am already very old. At my age, surely you don't expect me to grovel before those god-kings? The path of divinity is entangled with far too many things, and every pantheon is an utter mess. It does not suit my temperament. But if you are interested, I can certainly discuss it with you."
Bella nodded repeatedly. She estimated that by this point, the Ancient One had most likely already sought out Eternity as her new superior. She would rather abandon everything than give up on ascending to a higher level, and there was nothing wrong with that.
From beginning to end, the Ancient One had been an extraordinarily proud woman. Compared with Eternity, foremost among the Five Great Cosmic Entities, it was perfectly natural that she would look down on god-kings such as Odin and Zeus.
Bella was only too happy to listen as the Ancient One explained the essential nature of gods. It was knowledge she urgently needed.