When he had been chatting with the Ancient One about Kama Taj before, Finney had wondered if he could bring Skye to study with him if he ever came here. So he had asked the Ancient One about it.
At the time, the Ancient One had responded with a question of her own: "What do you think magic is?"
Finney hadn't known how to answer.
The Ancient One explained that nearly everyone who came to Kama Taj had a story. They had gone through hardships, life-changing events, and numerous layers of screening. Their wills had been tested over and over again.
Magic, she said, requires not just talent, but also spiritual strength. It's not easy to communicate with and guide the energies between heaven and earth. Learning magic even requires breaking one's own perception of common sense. That's not a simple thing. And before you can convince the energy to work with you, you must first convince yourself that it's even possible.
After hearing this, Finney felt it might be difficult for Skye to learn magic.
Sure, she'd had a rough childhood, but after being adopted by his parents, she'd led a pretty happy life. She was also a genius hacker—someone who firmly lived on the side of science and technology. If she wanted to learn magic, she might have to abandon some of her scientific beliefs. That could go directly against her core worldview.
Magic is a kind of miraculous power. And the word "miracle" often defies science. While the end results of both may occasionally overlap, the thinking behind them tends to be in conflict.
Just look at Doctor Strange. Despite having immense talent for magic in the future, he only started learning it after falling into utter despair—when science and medicine had completely failed him. That's what forced him to change his beliefs and embrace the mystical arts.
So, experience and perspective aren't everything, but they do play a huge role.
That's why Finney figured the chances of Skye successfully learning magic were low—at least for now. Maybe once the world changes, once aliens and mutants start appearing more frequently, and once her mindset matures a bit more, she'll be ready. Maybe then she'd be more open to the possibilities.
Still, the Ancient One hadn't said no. She hadn't objected to the idea of Skye giving it a try. So Finney decided to bring her along and let her see for herself.
When he arrived at Skye's room, she was already sitting cross-legged on the bed, waiting with a serious and slightly worried expression. The more she learned about Finney's secret life, the more concerned she became.
"Don't look so nervous," Finney said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I didn't tell you before, but I've been looking for a place to learn magic. And today, I found it."
Skye blinked. She remembered Finney had mentioned something like that about a month ago—and had even said he'd ask if she could come study too.
"There's really magic in this world?" she asked skeptically. Even though she had already seen superpowers firsthand, fully changing her understanding of the world was still a huge leap. That's exactly why Finney thought it would be difficult for her to learn magic right now.
"Of course there is. But what I'm learning is technically called a 'secret art,'" Finney corrected after thinking for a moment.
"Is there really a difference?" Skye asked, frowning.
"Maybe just a difference in what people call it," Finney shrugged. "If you're curious, I'll take you to see it tomorrow. If you want to try learning, you can give it a shot too."
Even though the odds were low, he still thought it would be cool if Skye turned out to be one of those rare people with natural magical talent—like Doctor Strange.
"Really?" Skye asked, eyes lighting up. Who could resist the temptation of magic?
"Yup. So get some rest. We're heading out tomorrow."
Finney didn't want to talk too much about it. He figured it would be better if Skye discovered the mysteries of magic on her own. That way, she might be more open to changing her beliefs.
But the next morning at breakfast, he was surprised to find Skye with dark circles under her eyes. Finney couldn't help laughing.
"I told you to rest early. What happened?"
"It's your fault!" Skye yawned and glared at him. "I got too excited about learning magic and ended up researching all night online. Didn't even realize the sun came up."
Luckily, because of the time difference, Finney had planned to leave in the evening anyway. He'd already told his parents earlier that he'd be staying at the shop tonight, so they wouldn't worry.
He and Skye arrived at the store first. After making sure she could catch up on some sleep, Finney opened the store alone and spent the day practicing his magic skills.
At 7 p.m. New York time, the two of them drove to the New York Sanctuary.
"This is it?" Skye asked nervously, standing outside the building. She pulled out a small makeup mirror from her bag, touched up her face, and asked again, "I don't look weird or anything, right?"
"You're fine, you're fine. Let's go already!" Finney rolled his eyes, grabbed her hand, and opened the door.
This time, the hall inside wasn't empty. Two young mages sat in the corner, sipping tea and reading. Apparently, they hadn't been here the day before, so they didn't recognize Finney. They both looked up warily.
"Hello, I'm here to see Master Daniel," Finney said politely.
"Wait a moment." One of them nodded and went upstairs to get him.
Soon, Daniel came down to greet them. Finney introduced Skye, and after a quick hello, they headed to the same place as yesterday, where Daniel opened the portal.
When the magical portal opened before her eyes, Skye gasped. Her eyes widened, and she instinctively reached for Finney's hand, gripping it tightly. She couldn't calm her nerves.
"I won't be going with you," Daniel said. Since he had already guided them once yesterday, he stayed behind this time. After the pair walked through the portal, it closed behind them.
Finney didn't mind. He thanked Daniel sincerely, then led the wide-eyed and stunned Skye through the portal into Kama Taj.
"Was… was that magic?" Skye asked, staring around as the scene shifted from the New York Sanctuary to a completely different world.
They passed through the library and into the courtyard. The pale, early morning sky stretched above them.
She had assumed Finney chose to leave at night just to let her rest in the morning. But now, seeing the sun in a totally different sky, she understood what was really going on.
"Where are we now?" she asked, still in shock.
It was early morning in Kama Taj, and many mages were already up practicing. Because the Ancient One had introduced Finney yesterday, many of them recognized him and nodded politely in greeting.
"Kathmandu," Finney replied with a slight accent, trying to sound local. "Kama Taj—home of the mystic arts."
"The Himalayas?" Skye asked. She wasn't sure where Kathmandu was, but she remembered what Finney had said yesterday.
When he nodded, she couldn't help but gasp again. "But we were just in New York…"
"That's magic for you!" Finney said with a grin. "Alright, enough gawking. Let's go meet my teacher—the Ancient One."