Chapter 70: Chapter 70: The Making of Adversaries

Golden leaves drifted past the windows of Kamar-Taj as autumn painted the distant mountains in brilliant colors. A month had passed since Arthur’s first portal creation, bringing dramatic changes to his capabilities with the mystic arts.

His progress with spatial manipulation had become the talk of the sanctuary. Where other students struggled for weeks to maintain stable portals beyond a few miles, Arthur could effortlessly open gateways to locations on the other side of the planet.

The Mirror Dimension bent to his will with remarkable ease. He’d begun learning to manipulate space within it—altering distances, creating loops, and reshaping reality itself.

Recently, he’d even started practicing astral projection. The technique proved invaluable for studying while his physical body slept—something he’d remembered from his knowledge of Strange’s future methods.

During these nocturnal excursions, he devoured the vast collection of tomes in the Kamar-Taj library. Every moment had purpose now.

“Your affinity for spatial magic continues to impress,” the Ancient One remarked during one of their private sessions in late September.

She observed as Arthur maintained three separate portals simultaneously—one to London, one to New York, and one to Hong Kong.

“You’ve achieved in months what takes most sorcerers years to master.”

Arthur closed the portals with a fluid gesture. “But my progress in other areas remains inconsistent.”

“For your sake, I hope the other trainees didn’t hear that,” she said with a hint of amusement. “Most of them will take years to get where you are now. Don’t reach too high too fast—it’s perfectly fine to have a specialty and be proud of it.”

Arthur nodded, though privately he remained determined to improve across all disciplines. While his spatial mastery had reached near-master level, he pursued balanced advancement in every area.

“Your sparring matches with Kaecilius have become quite the spectacle,” she continued. “In these few months you two have reached a level many take years to reach.”

“Kaecilius’s progress has really been impressive,” Arthur acknowledged. “I guess having me defeat him in the sparring matches has made him work harder.”

“Yes,” the Ancient One agreed simply.

“Will this cause a stronger enemy for the sanctuary in the future?” Arthur asked, testing her reaction.

“Or a protector.”

Arthur did not share such confidence. Despite their frequent training interactions, he maintained deliberate distance from Kaecilius. Knowing the man’s eventual betrayal made genuine friendship impossible—that barrier always stopped him from engaging beyond necessity.

Several times, Arthur had considered attempting to change Kaecilius’s trajectory. But each conversation revealed the depth of his grief and fixation on restoring his lost family.

The seeds of darkness were already deeply rooted. Arthur felt clueless about how to change that fundamental reality.

“Your afternoon sparring session begins soon,” the Ancient One noted.

Arthur nodded. These daily sparring matches had become routine—and crucial. Using magic in actual combat helped him understand spells more deeply, making their application more fluid.

This was something Arthur appreciated about Kamar-Taj’s training philosophy. Unlike Hogwarts, where duels were rare, students here learned to properly defend themselves in real combat situations.

—

Later that afternoon, Arthur was packing a small bag when Kaecilius appeared in his doorway.

“Another trip to London?” the man asked, leaning against the frame.

Arthur didn’t look up. “SAT examinations tomorrow.”

Kaecilius always tried to interact with Arthur, recognizing that he possessed more knowledge about the world and other forms of magic. But Arthur had no interest in sharing anything with him.

“You’re still pursuing that mundane path?” Kaecilius entered uninvited, studying Arthur’s sparse quarters. “I don’t understand the appeal of ordinary education when you could be mastering powers beyond imagination here.”

“Different tools for different goals,” Arthur replied, securing his bag.

“What goal requires learning basic mathematics when you can reshape reality itself?” Kaecilius pressed, genuine curiosity in his voice.

Arthur finally met his gaze. “Maybe someday someone will defeat a sorcerer using technology learned at those ’ordinary’ schools.”

Kaecilius laughed, but the sound held no humor. “Technology against magic? That’s naive, Hayes.”

Arthur felt he must arrange for Iron Man to spar with Kaecilius in the future. That would be an interesting demonstration.

“Is it?” Arthur opened a portal to London’s busy streets. “You assume magic is always superior. I prefer keeping options open.”

He stepped toward the gateway, then paused. “You’re brilliant, Kaecilius. But brilliance without wisdom leads to dangerous places.”

Before the other man could respond, Arthur stepped through the portal and disappeared.

Arthur wondered briefly if his detachment and their rivalry might actually be pushing Kaecilius further toward his dark path. But Arthur wasn’t too worried—as long as the Ancient One was here, she could handle any developments.

—

Time passed in its steady rhythm. November brought crisp, biting cold to Kamar-Taj. The mountains disappeared behind low clouds for days at a time, and students increasingly practiced indoors. Arthur’s SAT results had arrived—perfect scores, as expected—and his MIT application was complete, submitted with confident expectation of acceptance.

“You applied only to MIT?” Master Singh asked during a meditation session. “No alternatives?”

“No need,” Arthur replied. “My A-levels and SAT scores should easily get me admitted.”

The older sorcerer studied him thoughtfully. “Confidence becomes arrogance when we fail to prepare for unexpected outcomes.”

Arthur merely smiled. He didn’t think someone with his scores could get rejected. These were scores he could only have dreamed of in his previous life.

Meanwhile, his mystic training continued advancing in distinctly uneven ways. While he had reached what many considered master-level proficiency in spatial manipulation, his progress in other areas remained merely above average.

Kaecilius had developed impressive abilities with energy projection and matter transformation, though his attempts at spatial manipulation remained average. It created an interesting dynamic during their training sessions—each with distinct strengths, neither fully rounded.

“sparring session after evening meditation,” Master Lhakpa announced to the advanced students. “Hayes and Kaecilius will demonstrate combat applications.”

Arthur felt several students exchange glances. Their matches had become something of an event at Kamar-Taj.

—

The training hall filled with observers as evening approached. Students and masters gathered in a wide circle around the central practice area.

Arthur and Kaecilius faced each other, bowing formally before taking their positions.

“Begin when ready,” Master Lhakpa called.

Kaecilius moved first, hands tracing careful patterns through the air. Golden energy flowed from his fingers, forming into twin whips that cracked toward Arthur with impressive precision.

Arthur raised his hands, constructing a basic shield of golden light. The whips struck it, sending sparks cascading to the floor. He felt the impact jar his arms—Kaecilius’s power had definitely improved.

Arthur retaliated with his own energy bolt, but Kaecilius deflected it easily with a circular shield. They exchanged several more attacks, each testing the other’s defenses.

Then Arthur saw his opening. As Kaecilius wound up for another whip attack, Arthur began the circular motion with his sling ring. The portal took only a second to fully form but it was still long enough for Kaecilius to notice.

“Not this time,” Kaecilius growled, redirecting his attack toward the forming gateway.

Arthur quickly closed the unstable portal and rolled to the side, Kaecilius’s energy whip scorching the floor where he’d been standing.

“You’re getting predictable, Hayes,” Kaecilius called out.

Arthur didn’t respond. Instead, he formed another shield to block an incoming energy dart, then began working his sling ring again. This time he completed the motion faster.

The portal opened behind Kaecilius, but the man sensed it immediately and spun around. Arthur’s energy bolt, fired through the gateway, passed harmlessly to the side.

Kaecilius pressed his advantage, unleashing a barrage of energy constructs. Arthur found himself on the defensive, his shields taking hit after hit.

Then suddenly Arthur smiled and opened a portal directly in front of his shield. Kaecilius’s next attack passed through the gateway and—

“Argh!” Kaecilius stumbled as his own energy bolt struck him in the back, emerging from the second portal Arthur had quietly opened behind him.

The distraction was all Arthur needed. He closed the distance with enhanced speed and agility, tackling Kaecilius to the ground before the man could recover.

They grappled briefly, but Arthur’s physical prowess gave him the advantage. He pinned Kaecilius and manifested a simple energy blade at his throat.

“Match to Hayes,” Master Lhakpa declared.

The hall buzzed with conversations. Arthur helped Kaecilius to his feet, offering a respectful bow.

But Kaecilius’s face was flushed with frustration. “Your portals are a crutch,” he muttered low enough that only Arthur could hear. “One day you’ll face an opponent they can’t save you from.”

“Maybe,” Arthur replied quietly. “But not today.”

As the crowd dispersed, Arthur noticed the Ancient One watching from the shadows near the entrance. Her expression was unreadable, but something in her gaze suggested she saw more in their rivalry than simple competition.

Arthur pushed the thought aside. Kaecilius’s future was not his responsibility to change. His own path was clear—complete his mystic training, attend MIT, and prepare for the challenges he knew were coming.

Some destinies couldn’t be altered.

Others were meant to be forged.

And judging by the way Kaecilius stalked from the training hall, his jaw clenched with barely contained rage, Arthur wondered if he was witnessing the birth of something truly dangerous.

The thought should have worried him more than it did.

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