An one-shot written for a challange on r/fanfiction May's Magical Minifics. Prompt: "They were told in this place to expect the unexpected, but what they find behind the door is almost too much to believe."
Many thanks to silverr for beta. :)
Forget Everything You Think You Know
Stephen is skeptical when Mordo tells him that there is more to Kamar-Taj than meets the eye. He is not a believer, he doesn't seek revelation, he is fixed on one clear objective—getting cured. He is interested only in experimental treatment; he doesn't want to hear about astral projections and magic tricks. There is a scientific explanation for out-of-body experiences. Nothing apart from the material world exists.
The Ancient One quickly shows him his place and how little he knows. The next minutes—that might be as well hours—are the craziest in his life. His senses go mad; he feels as if he has been blasted into space, just to be torn down. He keeps falling and falling, thorough realms without boundaries, filled with phenomena and visions his terrified and overwhelmed mind is not able to comprehend. When he when he returns to 'reality' his eyes are open to what is beyond it. He begs the Ancient One to teach him. When she refuses, he doesn't leave her doorstep until she accepts him back.
He gets his chance. After the initial shock he is surprised how quickly he adjust to his new normal. When he finally forgets about his shaking, unsteady hands, magic comes to him naturally. Casting more and more complicated spells and opening gateways in the library to steal books Wong refuses to lend him is no challenge for him.
It is almost as if magic is running in his blood. As if he was born for this. An absurd thought that his more rational part—the scientist he still perceives himself to be—rejects. He keeps telling himself that all he needs is to learn enough to repair the severely damaged nerves in his hands. Then he will be complete again.
At the same time he doesn't think much about returning to the outside world. He feels at peace here, maybe first time in his life. He is not pursuing materialistic goal. Public recognition, fame, wealth... It all seems irrelevant now. Petty. He reminds himself with a mix of amusement and embarrassment how disrespectful he once was toward the Ancient One's teaching.
When his body sleeps, his astral form devours a book after book. Maybe Astronomia Nova, Beyond the Realms of Perception and The Key of Salomon are not essential to achieve his goal, but they are fascinating. He even starts to wonder if any powerful relic will be ever willing to come to him.
Kamar-Taj is indeed like nothing he thought he knew. It is like a gateway to a whole new universe. The longer he is here, the more ready he is to plunge into it.