Ebony was in a chamber with three masters who all left the room through different portals leading to locations around the planet. Ebony stared up at a revolving silver model of Mobius when Merlina entered "You think I was wrong to cast him out?" "Five hours later, he's still on your doorstep. There's a strength to him". Ebony looked sceptical "Stubbornness, arrogance, ambition. I've seen it all before" "He reminds you of Omen?" "I cannot lead another gifted student to power only to lose them to the darkness". Merlina steps closer "You didn't lose me. I wanted power to defeat my enemies. Instead, you gave me the power to defeat my demons. And to live within the natural law" "We never lose our demons, Merlina. We only learn to live above them". Merlina sighs "Omen stills has the stolen pages. If he deciphers them, he could bring ruin upon us all. There may be dark days ahead. There may be arrogance in Khan, but I have also seen a strong will and a great compassion. Perhaps we could use someone like him".
At nighttime Khan now exhausted was still weakly hitting his hand against the door "Don't shut me out. Please". His hands were bruised and partially bleeding. He finally gives up and sinks down against the door. He couldn't feel his hands anymore "I haven't got anywhere else to go". The door opened and Khan looked up to see Merlina "Thank you" he said gratefully.
Merlina showed him to a modest looking room "Bathe. Rest. Meditate if you can. The Ancient One will send for you". Merlina lights incense and hands Khan a small piece of paper. Khan didn't know what the word on the paper meant "What's this? My mantra?". Merlina smiles "The Wi-Fi password". She opens the door and smiles back pleasantly at Khan "We're not savages" she leaves. Khan puts the paper down and sits by the window exhausted. He stares out before he takes off his headband and looks in the inside where the headband was engraved with Perci's name from when she bought it for him.
Ebony and Khan were both sitting with their legs crossed opposite one another "The language of the mystic arts is as old as civilization. The sorcerers of antiquity called the use of this language spells. But if that word offends your modern sensibilities, you can call it a program. The source code that shapes reality". Ebony gestured with her hands and a sparking orange shape appeared in front of her, amazing Khan. Ebony made a circular symbol "Drawn from other dimensions of the multiverse to cast spells, to conjure shields and weapons to make magic" the symbol disappeared. Khan sighed "But even if my fingers could do that my hands would just be waving in the air. How do I get from here to there?". Ebony smiled "How did you get to reattach severed nerves and put a damaged spine back together bone by bone?". Khan slowly shrugged "Study and practice, years of it". Ebony nodded
Khan entered the library holding a pile of books and walked over to a desk where a brown fox with a white beard and wearing a hooded robe. He turned to Khan "Mr Khan" "Uh, Khan, please. And you are?" "Merlin". Khan nodded "Merlin. Did your parents know you were gonna be a wizard or did you just get lucky?". Khan laughed at his own joke, but Merlin remained stony faced and took all the books. He examined it "The Book of the Invisible Sun. Astronomia Nova. Codex Imperium. Key of Solomon. You finished all of these?" "Yup". Merlin considered him "Come with me". Merlin led him into a different part of the library "This section is for masters only but at my discretion, others may use it. You should start with Maxim's Primer. How's your sanskrit?" "I'm fluent in Google Translate" "Vedic, classical Sanskrit". Merlin gives him a few books when Khan sees the books that were locked up "What're those?" "The Ancient One's private collection" "So, they're forbidden?". Merlin shakes his head "No knowledge here is forbidden. Only certain practices. Those books are far too advanced for anyone other than the Sorcerer Supreme". Khan took one of the books "This one's got pages missing" "That's the book of Cagliostro. A study of time. One of the rituals was stolen from a former master. The Zealot, Omen. Just after he killed the former librarian and relieved him of his head. I am now the guardian of these books. So, if a volume from this collection should be stolen again, I'd know it and you'd be dead before you ever left the compound". Merlin took the book from Khan who gulped "What if it's just overdue? Any late fees I should know about? Maiming, perhaps?". Merlin said nothing and gave Khan the other books. Khan rolled his eyes "People used to think that I was funny" "Did they work for you?". Khan didn't really have a retort for that "Alright. Well, it's been lovely talking to you. Thank you for the books and for the horrifying story and for the threat upon my life. It's been fun" he quickly left.
In a church lit by candles, Omen takes out the page he stole. He places it down on the floor and his acolytes formed a circle around the page. Omen conjures a symbol on the page "We will now receive the power to destroy the one who betrayed us. The one who betrays the world". The acolytes all began to chant, and their fur started to turn into a purple crystalline material. The patterns on the floor started changing and Omen sees an image of glowing yellow eyes. The church begins to morph around them.
Khan was in the courtyard practicing with other students, all doing the same moves to perform a spell. Everyone but Khan is able to form a fiery symbol, but he copies their movements. He starts to look frustrated. Merlina steps in front of the group "Please pick up your weapons". All the students pick up different golden objects on their left side. Khan picked up a golden staff with red and blue tips on both ends which he was told was called the Atom-bat. Merlina walks through the crowd handing out small green jewels "Mastery of the warp ring is essential to the mystic arts. Opening them allows us to travel through the multiverse. All you need to do is focus". Khan took one of the jewels. He didn't know what to do and he watched the other students. They all held the jewels close to their weapons and it flew halfway into the weapons. Khan slowly did the same. The jewel jumped out of his hand making it flinch back. The jewel split into eight parts and attached four to each end of the staff. The students line up and waved their weapons which were now armed with the jewels.
Merlina watched them "Visualize. See the destination in your mind. Look beyond the world in front of you. Imagine every detail. The clearer the picture, the quicker and easier the gateway will come". Golden rings appeared in front of each student creating a portal to a different place. Khan kept waving his bat, but nothing happened. Merlina sees Ebony coming towards them "And stop". Khan sighed in frustration. Ebony stepped forward "I would like a moment alone with Mr Khan" "Of course". Merlina leads the other students out of the courtyard. Khan walked over to Ebony and sighed "My hands" "It's not about your hands" "How is this not about my hands". Ebony nods to a hedgehog wearing a robe on her left side. The hedgehog stepped forward and revealed his left arm or where his arm once was. He makes gestures with his other hand and is still capable of forming the energy in front of him "Thank you, Master Hamir" Ebony said. Khan stared at the hedgehog as Ebony watched him "You cannot beat a river into submission. You have to surrender to its current and use its power as your own". Khan didn't understand "I control it by surrendering control? That doesn't make any sense" "Not everything does. Not everything has to. Your intellect has taken you far in life, but it will take you no further. Surrender, Khan. Silence your ego and your power will rise. Come with me". Ebony effortlessly opens a warp ring portal and they both step through onto a snowy mountain top. Ebony admires the view "Beautiful". Khan was shivering "Yeah, right, beautiful. Freezing but beautiful" "At this temperature a person can last for 30 minutes before suffering permanent loss of function and then death. But you'll likely go into shock within the first two". Khan glanced at her "What?" "Surrender, Khan". She walked back through the portal, and it closed before Khan to get through "No, wait!". He fell into the snow and looked around scared for his life.