章 94: Chapter 094 – Request
[2009 – August]
Jean knew that Elijah had been struggling with the thought that he was not in control of his own actions, as he had told her so after recounting to her how he had found Arya.
Jean had met many people in her life and had heard and seen their innermost thoughts, so even though she could not hear Elijah's, after spending so much time with him every day, she knew that his desire for freedom was simply unmatched.
It was as if he was thirsting for it with every fiber of his being, and Jean never failed to see the shadow of this thirst in his eyes every waking minute. The only times when that wasn't the case was when they were intimate with each other, his passion and affection replacing any other emotions in his loving gaze.
So, the fact that he had been restless as he thought about things like 'fate', had not come as a surprise to her.
Jean herself though had been unable to help Elijah with that as she differed from him in this aspect.
She did believe that she was the maker of her own fate, that her actions would shape the path she for her future, but Jean also didn't have a problem with believing in a greater power.
It was somewhat counter-intuitive considering that she was the successor of a true omnipotent being, with the Phoenix Force being akin to a divine entity that had absolute control over the aspects of Life, Fire, and Rebirth.
Still, beliefs were not something that had to be rational, as they existed primarily for people to find comfort when rationality failed to provide an answer.
Jean certainly didn't have all the answers, and so she was not averse to believing in something elusive like 'fate'. These beliefs also didn't make her feel less in control but just helped her in accepting that there were things for which she had no answer, so that she could move past them.
In a way, it had thus been hard for her to find the right words to comfort Elijah the last few days during which he had been struggling with those thoughts.
Now listening to the Ancient One's words, Jean couldn't help but marvel at the wisdom her simple words carried while noticing how Elijah seemed to have found the answers that he had been looking for.
Looking gratefully at the older woman, Jean softly placed one of her hands on Elijah's arm as she felt relieved that her love had regained his unbending spirit, calm determination returning to his beautiful green eyes.
…
Placing my left hand on Jean's leg, my thumb brushed over her jeans-clad thigh intimately in response to her soft touch, while I fished out an object from my pocket with my other hand.
"I have been able to use my own powers to replace the ring's ability to open portals around the world.", I said in reply to the Ancient One's question as I presented her the Sling Ring she had lent me, "But I can't replicate the other abilities of the ring without your help."
"I know that traveling to other dimensions by using the Sling Ring is possible, but that's not something an untrained rookie in sorcery like me can accomplish.", I continued, "Profound magical knowledge is needed to use the ring for something like that. Knowledge, I do not possess."
"Why would you want to travel to other dimensions, Elijah? If you know that the ring is capable of such, you should know the dangers of such an endeavor.", the Ancient One asked with a small frown.
Sighing lightly, I replied: "I do know the dangers, Ancient One. But there is a dimension that I want to visit, one that poses no threat to me."
"Which dimension?", she inquired with a raised brow.
"The Darkforce Dimension.", I answered honestly.
"Why?", she continued, with a hint of surprise in her eyes, "The Darkforce Dimension is without life, except for a few beings that stumbled upon it by accident. Nothing exists there besides Darkforce, which only serves in driving mad those who come in contact with it. Forcing them to endlessly try and devour everything that is 'light' and 'pure'."
"I cannot tell you why I want to go there, though you can rest assured that it is impossible for Darkforce to corrupt my mind. Nothing can penetrate my mental barrier.", I stated calmly, lightly lowering my head in apology.
I knew it wasn't exactly polite to ask for a favour while refusing to answer her questions but some things simply could not be shared with others so easily. I was grateful for the Ancient One's help in the past and I would repay the favour to the best of my abilities, but that didn't mean I trusted her unconditionally like I did with Jean and Emma.
I did have a favourable impression of her and some measure of trust, but that wasn't enough to disclose to her what I had planned for the Darkforce Dimension.
"Hmm.", the Ancient One paused for several moments, frowning slightly as she was in deep thought before stating in her clear voice, "I cannot teach you how to use the Sling Ring to travel to other dimensions, Elijah."
"That kind of knowledge is much too dangerous to be taught lightly, as it would allow you to open portals to much more dangerous places than just the Darkforce Dimension. Even in Kamar-Taj, such knowledge is only available for those that have reached the rank of a Master. Teaching an outsider something like that as a favour is not something I can do.", she ended while shaking her head.
I knew that she meant places like the Dark Dimension and Hell when she talked about more dangerous places, as both of those places were inhabited by incredibly powerful beings, especially the former that housed Dormammu.
Truthfully, I hadn't been sure if Hell existed in this Universe, or the Darkforce Dimension, though I had asked Selene about them and others, who had told me that they did in fact exist.
Selene was also the one that I planned to ask to help me find my way into the Darkforce Dimension in case the Ancient One rejected my request, as the Dark Priestess was naturally in my debt due to my promise that I would help her fight Apocalypse.
Still, I had absolutely no trust in Selene as I knew that she was cunning and liked to scheme, so I would much rather owe the Ancient One a favour instead of asking the Dark Priestess for help. Not to mention that I did not want her to know that I was looking for a way into the Darkforce Dimension.
The less Selene knew about me, the less she could use against me.
"I did not expect you to.", I responded calmly, "Though I hoped that you might be willing to open a portal to the Darkforce Dimension for me."
…
Silently contemplating the young man's request, the Ancient One knew that she could not rely on the Eye of Agamotto for this decision as Elijah had already escaped the Time Stone's abilities for prediction after all.
It was a rather intimidating thought to be honest as the Ancient One knew only of a handful of existences that were capable of doing the same, though none of them were seventeen, or had the favour and love of the Phoenix Force's host.
This though also meant that Kamar-Taj could benefit greatly from a favour of his, considering the incredible power Elijah was inevitably going to wield.
Not to mention that she knew enough about the boy from her past uses of the Eye, to know that Elijah was not a reckless or villainous person, so his desire to visit the Darkforce Dimension would most likely not bring any harm to others.
And so, while she was not willing to risk teaching him how to open a portal to other dimensions by himself, the Ancient One found herself inclined to agree to the young Frost's request.
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GodOfFreedom
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This story has more than 80 advanced chapters on my p@treon account. I will probably only upload it here occasionally, as this account isn't a priority of mine and just exists to stop others from stealing my intellectual property.
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