Chương 127: Chapter 127: Stephen Arrives 

After enjoying a peaceful, relaxing two-day break in Kamar-Taj, Luke finally emerged from the Dark Dimension. He held a massive, beautifully inscribed, glowing Dark Energy Crystal in his hand and offered a highly satisfied smile. 

After forty-eight hours of intense, complex magical experimentation, he had successfully engineered a highly stable, self-recharging energy matrix! He had meticulously engraved localized 'Energy Siphon' runes directly onto the surface of the crystals. Now, when utilized in conjunction with the enchanted weaponry forged by Mordo's armory, his Shadow Ninja army would receive a massive, game-changing tactical upgrade. They essentially possessed infinitely rechargeable magical batteries! 

Currently, he had successfully manufactured over ten thousand of these specialized self-recharging crystals. They were all safely stored within the Dark Dimension, passively absorbing ambient energy until they were fully charged and ready for deployment. This initial batch was more than sufficient to supply his immediate forces. 

Stepping out of the Grand Library, Luke took a deep breath of the crisp, freezing Himalayan mountain air, feeling incredibly relaxed. 

After a quick stretch, he casually strolled toward the courtyard to see how Tony Stark was faring with his magical studies. 

Approaching the courtyard, Luke was surprised to see Tony actively moderating a massive, highly structured debate between the Kamar-Taj sorcerers and the Asgardian Royal Sorcerer Battalion, with Megatron sitting nearby providing occasional commentary. 

Tony was holding a sleek tablet, aggressively firing off highly complex, hypothetical magical physics questions. The sorcerers from both factions were actively collaborating, intensely debating the most efficient, logical solutions to his problems. 

Wow. He actually managed to completely unify the two feuding factions and transform their aggressive shouting matches into a highly efficient, cooperative brainstorming session. 

Tony diligently noted down a complex runic equation provided by an Asgardian sorcerer, then looked up and spotted Luke approaching. 

"Alright, everyone! Let's take a quick fifteen-minute break! There's an infinite supply of free, iced watermelon juice at the refreshment stall over there! Help yourselves!" Tony announced cheerfully, clapping his hands. He then walked over to Luke, handing him a glass of juice. 

"It seems you've integrated quite well. You've got them actively solving complex magical theorems for you," Luke noted, highly impressed. 

"It's all about establishing proper academic methodology," Tony smirked, taking a sip of his juice. "I simply provided a few clear, irrefutable examples demonstrating the massive difference in output between a structured, scientific debate and mindless, emotional bickering. Plus, casually mentioning that I was providing unlimited, free premium refreshments actively incentivized them to cooperate." 

Luke glanced toward the refreshment stall. He noticed a Kamar-Taj sorcerer who had been aggressively screaming at the Asgardians two days ago was now casually chatting and laughing with them over a plate of fried chicken. 

"You genuinely did an excellent job," Luke praised. He noticed the thick, highly detailed notebook tucked under Tony's arm. 

"So, how are your studies progressing? Are you actually comprehending those ancient, esoteric grimoires?" Luke asked playfully, anticipating complaints about the confusing mystical metaphors. 

Tony rolled his eyes in profound exasperation. "Honestly? I came here expecting to study ancient, glowing, dust-covered scrolls written on genuine human skin or something dramatic. Instead, half the books in the primary syllabus are literally freshly printed, mass-market paperbacks! For a minute, I legitimately thought Kamar-Taj secretly operated a massive commercial printing press in the basement!" 

Seeing Luke fighting back a laugh, Tony continued. "And yes, reading the highly complex, metaphor-heavy classical Chinese texts was incredibly frustrating and highly inefficient. But... I possess a massive, insurmountable tactical advantage." 

"You're an unparalleled genius, so you simply deciphered the linguistic cipher?" Luke asked. 

"No. I'm incredibly, unfathomably rich," Tony stated proudly, lifting his chin. 

"I noticed that the Chief Librarian, Wong, seemed to have a significant amount of free time on his hands. So, I simply offered to pay him exactly ten thousand dollars in cash for every single foundational textbook he successfully, meticulously translated into plain, modern English for me. Naturally, my comprehension rate skyrocketed." 1

"Wow. I honestly didn't anticipate you aggressively deploying your financial superpowers on the Chief Librarian," Luke shook his head, thoroughly amused. 

Tony smirked, looking incredibly smug. 

"So... Wong is actually sitting in the library manually translating textbooks for you?" 

"Why wouldn't I?" A deep, serious voice suddenly spoke up from behind them. 

Wong emerged from the library, holding a massive, freshly bound stack of papers. He handed the stack directly to Tony. "This is significantly more lucrative and vastly less physically painful than participating in underground fighting rings." 

"With this specific volume, I have officially concluded the translation of the entire foundational magical curriculum. Once you successfully internalize these texts, you will possess a comprehensive, fundamental understanding of localized magical theory," Wong stated respectfully. 

Tony nodded in satisfaction. T.H.U.R.S.D.A.Y. smoothly descended from the sky, gently took the heavy manuscript, and flew back to the designated study area. 

Wong glanced toward the courtyard, noting the highly peaceful, cooperative atmosphere between the previously feuding factions. He shot Tony a highly respectful thumbs-up before retreating back into the quiet sanctuary of the library. 

"It appears you've successfully earned the profound respect of the Chief Librarian," Luke noted. 

"Well, previously, the chaotic, aggressive shouting matches occurring directly outside the library were severely disrupting the concentration of the scholars studying inside. Wong was highly stressed by the situation," Tony explained. 

While experienced sorcerers could easily tune out mundane noise, the intense, passionate debates regarding foundational magical theory inadvertently distracted the studying scholars, drawing their focus away from their texts. 

By successfully organizing and pacifying the debates, Tony had solved a massive logistical headache for Wong. Naturally, Wong was highly appreciative and extremely motivated to provide fast, accurate translations for the billionaire. 

Luke nodded in understanding. Tony checked his watch. 

"Alright, the break is over. I need to get back to my research. Are we still meeting up for lunch later?" 

"Absolutely," Luke agreed, watching Tony confidently stride back to lead the brainstorming session. 

With Tony completely occupied, Luke breathed a sigh of relief. Remembering his other primary responsibility, he strolled toward the bustling food street to check on Galacta. 

Sure enough, he found her happily wandering between stalls, expertly balancing several massive, towering plates of various local delicacies. 

"I assume Tony is still covering the tab?" Luke asked, walking up beside her. 

Galacta nodded enthusiastically, her cheeks stuffed with food. "Tony Stark is an incredibly generous, fantastic human being." 

Hearing the absolute, supreme cosmic entity casually issue Tony Stark a 'Good Guy' card, Luke couldn't help but laugh. 

"Has anything interesting happened over the past two days?" Luke asked. 

"Aside from a minor Dimensional Demon avatar attempting to infiltrate Earth yesterday, nothing significant," Galacta replied casually, rapidly swallowing the massive plate of food. 

Luke nodded. Given her cheerful demeanor, the unfortunate demon avatar had clearly been rapidly converted into a post-lunch dessert. 

Watching her happily devour the mundane food, Luke asked curiously, "Has your Cosmic Tapeworm fully regenerated its capacity yet?" 

Galacta nodded. "It has regenerated significantly. I anticipate my absolute, agonizing Cosmic Hunger will fully return very soon. Did you want to attempt another extraction?" 

Remembering the incredibly squishy, immensely satisfying texture of the tiny Shadow-Eater, Luke nodded eagerly. "Yes, let's absolutely extract another sample when it's ready." 

While he already possessed the massive, twenty-meter-tall apocalyptic variant, having a tiny, baseball-sized version purely as a stress-relieving pet sounded fantastic. 

Galacta beamed with genuine joy. Not only would the extraction spare her the terrifying agony of the Hunger, but she would also get to play with the squishy little black ball again! 

Seeing that Galacta was perfectly content, Luke left her to finish her meal and casually strolled toward the Ancient One's private pavilion. 

However, as he approached the entrance, he was highly surprised to hear a loud, incredibly arrogant, and highly agitated voice echoing from within. 

"There is absolutely no such thing as 'spiritual energy' or an 'astral body'! Humanity is a purely biological, entirely material construct! We are nothing more than highly complex meat machines! That is the absolute, scientific truth!" 

Wow. Who has the absolute audacity to scream at the Sorcerer Supreme in her own home? 

Luke quickly jogged up the steps and entered the pavilion. He saw a deeply unkempt, heavily bearded, thoroughly exhausted-looking homeless man aggressively lecturing the Ancient One on the fundamental nature of reality. 

"You are nothing more than a microscopic, entirely insignificant, fleeting speck of dust in an uncaring, entirely material universe!" the man ranted, waving his severely trembling, scarred hands. 

Ah. Stephen Strange has finally arrived. 

Luke carefully observed the ragged, desperate man. It was genuinely difficult to reconcile this pathetic, broken individual with the image of the brilliant, arrogant, highly polished neurosurgeon—or the future Sorcerer Supreme. 

Noticing Mordo standing silently in the corner, watching the confrontation with mild amusement, Luke walked over and stood beside him. 

Seeing the Ancient One's face darken slightly in profound annoyance as she attempted to patiently, verbally deconstruct Stephen's arrogant materialism, Luke shook his head helplessly. He leaned toward Mordo. 

"Where exactly did you find this guy?" 

"The Ancient One explicitly instructed me to actively recruit 'fresh blood' for Kamar-Taj to staff the new magical armory," Mordo replied, shrugging. "While scouting, I discovered him desperately seeking a miracle cure for his hands. Despite his current physical condition and blinding arrogance, his baseline spiritual potential and intellectual capacity are absolutely staggering. Once he fundamentally accepts the reality of magic, he will master our arts incredibly quickly." 

Luke nodded slowly. The Ancient One is an absolute master manipulator. She orchestrated this entire scenario perfectly. 

Across the room, the Ancient One felt a subtle, highly localized shift in the ambient magical energy. She instantly knew Luke was standing in the corner, likely silently mocking her. 

Her already strained patience finally snapped. Just as she turned to shoot Luke a highly annoyed glare, Stephen aggressively stepped forward, aggressively poking a trembling finger directly at her chest. 

"I have seen through your pathetic, mystical charlatans—" 

Before Stephen could finish his insult, the Ancient One casually, effortlessly shoved her palm directly into his chest. 

With a terrifying, ethereal WHUMP, she violently blasted Stephen's glowing, translucent astral form completely out of his physical body! 

"What the... what the hell?!" Stephen's astral form stared down at his own glowing, transparent hands in absolute, mind-boggling horror. 

"Uh... I hate to interrupt your existential crisis, but currently, you are the literal definition of a ghost," Luke chuckled, casually strolling over to the panicking astral projection. 

Stephen stared at Luke, completely paralyzed by shock and confusion. 

THUD! 

A loud, heavy sound suddenly echoed through the room. Stephen's physical body, completely devoid of its animating spirit, had instantly collapsed, violently face-planting directly onto the hard wooden floor. 

"Whoa!" Stephen's astral form panicked. He instinctively reached out, desperately trying to catch his own falling body, but his glowing hands simply phased uselessly right through the physical matter. 

The Ancient One slowly turned her head, fixing Luke with a highly pointed, deeply unamused stare. 

Luke caught the look and offered an incredibly awkward, highly sheepish smile. He turned to Mordo, attempting to deflect the blame. 

"Hey! Why didn't you step forward and catch him?!" 

Mordo stared back, absolutely bewildered, raising his empty hands defensively. 

Are you serious?! I was standing on the complete opposite side of the room! You literally walked right up to him! Why didn't YOU catch him?! 

Luke rolled his eyes, ignoring Mordo's silent protest. He reached down, effortlessly grabbed the collar of Stephen's unconscious physical body, and yanked it upright. With a casual wave of his hand, he aggressively shoved Stephen's glowing astral form back into the physical shell. 

Stephen violently gasped for air, his eyes snapping open. He stumbled backward, staring at the Ancient One in sheer terror. 

"What... what exactly did you just do to me?!" Stephen demanded, his voice shaking. 

"She forcefully ejected your astral projection from your physical vessel. I subsequently shoved it back in. You're welcome," Luke smiled brightly, helpfully dusting off Stephen's dirty jacket. 

Stephen took a deep, shuddering breath, his hyper-rational mind desperately rejecting the impossible reality he had just experienced. He aggressively pointed at his empty teacup. 

"What the hell did you put in that tea?! Psilocybin?! LSD?! What kind of potent hallucinogenic cocktail was that?!" 

Luke sighed in profound exasperation. In the movie, Stephen accepted reality relatively quickly after his astral trip. Why is he being so incredibly stubborn and willfully ignorant right now? 

"I give up. He's entirely your problem," Luke muttered, stepping away. He casually grabbed a heavy wooden chair and dragged it to the center of the room. 

The Ancient One shook her head sadly. "It was completely ordinary tea. I merely added a touch of honey." 

"Then explain exactly what I just experienced!" Stephen demanded, frantically looking around the room, trying to find the hidden projectors or drug dispensers. 

The Ancient One noticed Luke positioning the chair directly behind Stephen. She offered a faint, highly mysterious smile. 

"Exactly as he stated. I forcefully pushed your astral form completely out of your physical vessel, forcing you to briefly perceive the Astral Dimension." 

"What?" Stephen frowned, highly confused. 

"It is a parallel dimensional plane where the soul exists entirely independent of physical matter." 

"That is biologically and physically impossible," Stephen muttered, desperately clinging to his shattered worldview. 

"Oh, for the love of God. Just force-feed him the multiverse trip already! Shatter his pathetic worldview so we can rebuild it properly. Come on, I'm ready for the show, and he desperately needs it," Luke interrupted, thoroughly annoyed by Stephen's stubbornness. 

Without warning, Luke violently shoved the heavy wooden chair forward, aggressively forcing the stumbling Stephen to collapse into the seat. 

"What are you doing?!" Stephen panicked, desperately trying to stand up, but Luke casually placed a hand on his shoulder, effortlessly pinning the former surgeon to the chair with terrifying strength. 

"Sometimes, when you're completely powerless to resist the inevitable... you just have to sit back and enjoy the ride. Keep your eyes open," Luke whispered ominously into Stephen's ear. 

Stephen instinctively looked forward, his eyes wide with fear. 

The Ancient One calmly stepped forward and placed her thumb directly between Stephen's eyes. 

Instantly, Stephen's vision violently warped and fractured! The physical room completely dissolved! He felt a terrifying, incomprehensible force violently yank him backward, aggressively launching his consciousness out of the material plane and hurling it through the infinite, chaotic, mind-shattering expanse of the multiverse! 

Luke watched Stephen's physical body go completely slack in the chair, his eyes rolling back in his head. 

"Hey... did you happen to dial down the intensity of the trip for him?" Luke asked, suddenly remembering his own terrifying, highly traumatic initial experience being thrown through the multiverse by the Ancient One. 

The Ancient One paused, her expression turning slightly thoughtful, followed by a faint, slightly sadistic smile. 

"Perhaps... I applied slightly too much force?" 

"Ah. Right." 

Luke looked down at the completely paralyzed, drooling physical shell of Stephen Strange. 

Well... good luck, buddy.