Even If Dio was a real doctor, there was no way he wouldn’t be sentenced to malpractice right now for doing something like this! His action wouldn’t be considered as saving people, but killing people! Stephen obviously couldn’t speak due to the pain and the blood accumulating on his stomach, but the next thing he felt was extreme comfort as the warm light returned once again, healing his body.
The Ancient One’s judgement was correct. Dio’s power had so much potential that the Sorcerer Supreme couldn’t do. He could easily save Stephen’s life with the life energy that he had, but Stephen was extremely excited for Dio’s healing ability as he could gradually feel his hands again!
If he hadn’t followed the Ancient One’s teaching, he would be wallowing his own inability to use his hands while constantly frustrated about the treatment that he desperately needed. But now, it wasn’t an illusion!
“What did you do? please, tell me what did you do!” Stephen said with an excited expression. He spent all his fortune to find anything that could heal back his arm and even gave it all up to study in Kamar-Taj. But this man turned out to be his saviour all along!
He never wanted to be a wizard, all he ever wanted was to return to being Dr. Strange. He already tried all treatments, and it all failed. Even now that he had the magic power, he still couldn’t fix his hand.
“This is the energy of life!” Dio said calmly.
“Can it cure my hand?” Stephen asked curiously.
“In theory, it can cure everything,” Dio said indifferently.
Stephen trembled in excitement as he knew that he could fix his crippled hands now. He finally found the answer that he has searched for all these years!
“Please, I need you to fix my hand! I will do anything if you do!” Stephen said confidently.
“I don’t have any interest in doing that! But you should be glad that you have a good teacher. Otherwise, I wouldn’t waste my precious time on you!” Dio said indifferently.
Stephen was surprised to hear what Dio said, a teacher? The only one that Stephen considered to be his teacher was the Ancient One!
“You mean the Ancient One?” Stephen asked confusedly.
“Well, it is time for me to go, and you should take care of yourself!” Dio said as he started to walk away from Stephen.
Stephen tried to talk again and asked for Dio to wait, but it was for naught as Dio suddenly disappeared before Stephen could finish his sentence. Stephen was disappointed, he thought he found his hope once again, but it disappeared yet again! His mind was getting tortured by this constant misplaced hope. But now he knew for certain that the Ancient One knew that guy. He was determined to find out about that guy as soon as possible!
Stephen ignored everyone who looked at him weirdly and immediately returned to the New York Sanctuary. At the same time, Dio didn’t actually disappear. He just shrank down to ant size and got back to Wanda.
. . . . . . . .
“Cloak of Levitation choose you?” Karl Mordo surprisedly said as Stephen returned with the cloak hovering on his shoulder. But Stephen didn’t have any word for it as he just saw the cloak as a nuisance, like a child that constantly wanted attention.
“That’s great! It’s not an easy artifact to control!” The Ancient One said as she suddenly appeared in the sanctuary. But it made Stephen’s work much easier as he wanted to find her as soon as possible.
“What is life energy?” Stephen asked curiously. He should be asking Kaecillus’ whereabouts but changed his mind after meeting Dio.
“A very precious thing in all realms. It was the essence of life itself!” The Ancient One answered with a smile on her face.
“Can it cure my hand?” Stephen asked hopefully.
“Of course.” The Ancient One nodded honestly.
“Where could I find this life energy, and how could I use it?” Stephen asked excitedly.
“That is a question that I yet have the answer.” The Ancient One said honestly.
“But you know who has this energy, right?” Stephen asked impatiently.
“You already experienced it for yourself. Why did you ask me again?” The Ancient One said confusedly.
“Why? You knew of the energy that could fix my hand, but you didn’t tell me on purpose! why didn’t you tell me anything about it?” Stephen asked angrily.
“Now you know about it, but does it cure your hands?” The Ancient One answered calmly. The Ancient One’s answer immediately calmed Stephen down as he started to think about the man he met earlier.
“Could you at least tell me who this person is? I have to fix my hands no matter what!” Stephen said with a frown on his face.
“When things have calmed down, I will take you to meet him, but now we have another pressing matter. London Sanctuary has fallen, and now, only New York and Hong Kong Sanctuary is left to defend against the Dimension Invasion. You will be staying here and protect this New York Sanctuary, Master Strange!” The Ancient One said solemnly.
“I am not Master Strange. I am Dr. Strange! I am here just to heal my hands, not fighting against some master sorcerer! I have sworn that I would never harm anyone, let alone kill! That is my sworn duty as a doctor to heal, not to kill!” Stephen said frustratedly.
“You are here to save yourself, and now, I have given you a better purpose in life.” The Ancient One said solemnly.
“You see through me, as always,” Stephen said with a frown on his face.
“I have seen many things, and some of it would never change. Your expanded ego would cause a delusion for you in the future as you have already seen this kind of life. It would be the end of you.” The Ancient One said solemnly.
The Ancient One has seen many possible futures for Stephen. He would become the strongest Sorcerer Supreme or died miserably if he chose another life. It was because there was no other way for Stephen to live as he wouldn’t be able to heal his hands without becoming the next Sorcerer Supreme.
That was also why the Ancient One never told Stephen about Dio, as he would leave behind the sorcery study and chase after Dio to heal his hands. Without the obsession to heal his hands, Stephen would never be able to study sorcery as enthusiastic as he currently was.
“You have your own share of secrets, don’t you? I looked into the book of Cagliostro, and there is one missing part there when I looked closely. You are drawing energy from the dark dimension, aren’t you?” Stephen said with a frown on his face.