Marvel: Hunter

Chapter 429 429: Feeling

"Himalyan Mountain millennium tea leaves,"

"Freshly picked."

Watching the Bounty Hunter take a sip from the steaming cup on the small table, the Ancient One smiled faintly.

Yet even as they served and drank tea, she still couldn't see the face beneath the Bounty Hunter's hood. Strange, wasn't it?

Naturally, this was also an effect of the Hunter suit. As long as the hood was worn, unless one stood at a level truly beyond the Marvel universe, it was impossible to see through its concealment.

"Good tea."

Blaine did not hold back his praise.

"Where's Stephen Strange? Why haven't I seen him?"

The conversation had grown a little quiet, but Blaine spoke—not only to fill the silence, but also to probe the Ancient One.

"Stephen Strange?"

"Oh, you mean the neurosurgeon?"

"Hm? Why would you see him now?"

Hearing her reply, Blaine frowned slightly, set down his teacup, and asked,

"You mean… he hasn't come yet?"

"You came early."

"Stephen Strange is still working as a doctor in New York."

"He eludes me just as much as you do,"

"I cannot see your true nature either."

"As for Stephen Strange, he may one day replace me, and become the next Sorcerer Supreme."

"So…"

"And you?"

"Bounty Hunter—what is your purpose?"

At the end, the Ancient One took a sip of tea and asked calmly.

"Me…"

"You mean my purpose as a Bounty Hunter, or my purpose for coming to Kamar-Taj?"

Facing the Ancient One, Blaine felt there was no need for tricks. In some ways, they stood on the same level—at least, that was how he saw it. Strength aside, there was no point in deception.

Lies and schemes would not work here. Even without mind-reading, neither of them could truly hide anything from the other. As for the ruthlessness he showed others, there was no need to conceal it. It was better to speak plainly, like two old acquaintances.

"That depends on what you wish to hear."

The Ancient One showed no reaction. She finished her tea in one gulp, glanced at Blaine, and calmly poured herself another cup. At the same time, she gestured, asking if he wanted more.

"If you had asked me that before,"

"I would've said my purpose was to live for myself, to complete more missions and earn more money."

"But now… honestly, I don't even know if this universe is worth working for."

"I have too many secrets, so many that even I can't see them clearly."

"Right now, I just want to unravel those mysteries, and… live a little more clearly."

Blaine sighed, shook his head slightly, ignored the offer to refill his tea, and spoke openly about the confusion that had been building within him—ever since he began questioning his own origins, ever since fragments of memory and inexplicable visions, like the battleships on the moon, had begun to surface.

"Is that why you came here today?"

"I'm afraid… I don't have the answer you're looking for."

The Ancient One poured herself another cup of tea and looked at Blaine again. Though she was always willing to guide others, when it came to people seeking answers, she usually revealed only what she chose to.

But now, she couldn't even see through the person in front of her—how was she supposed to know anything at all?

"No."

Fortunately, Blaine had no real intention of uncovering his origins or secrets through the Ancient One.

"Would you believe me if I said I came here to learn from you?"

Blaine picked up his teacup, drained it in one gulp, then looked at her with a faint smirk. The confusion he'd voiced earlier had already been sorted out in his mind; he had only said it to stir her curiosity.

"You want to learn magic?"

"And yet, you already know it."

"True magic is not meant for killing."

"It is not meant to satisfy someone driven only by selfish desires."

The Ancient One spoke with quiet displeasure.

"Let's not talk about me for now."

"I've said enough."

"It's time for you to talk about your own matters."

"If I'm not mistaken… you've already foreseen the end of your life."

Blaine sat upright, arms folded, looking at her with calm certainty. Even though Stephen Strange had yet to arrive, and events had not unfolded to that point, Blaine's knowledge of the broader trajectory gave him confidence to speak.

"Yes."

"Soon."

"I'm waiting for Stephen Strange."

"It has been too long… so long I can no longer count the passing of seasons."

"I'm tired."

"It's time for me to rest."

If an ordinary person spoke so calmly about their own death, it would sound absurd. But the Ancient One accepted it with complete composure, as though it were nothing more than a natural conclusion.

"You already know my secret."

"Then why didn't you say anything?"

"I don't know why, but ever since I first saw you…"

"I've had a strange sense of familiarity."

"As if we've met before… as if we already know each other."

At this moment, Blaine and the Ancient One truly resembled old friends reunited after many years—sitting face to face, speaking at length, sharing nothing more than two cups of tea.

In truth, Blaine had improvised those words. He had once encountered Agamotto, the ancient Sorcerer Supreme, and was naturally familiar with the aura of magic the Ancient One carried.

But while Blaine understood the source of that feeling, the Ancient One did not. Judging by her expression, she seemed genuinely surprised to hear it echoed back.

"I don't know why… but I feel it too,"

"As if we once fought side by side, as if we lived and died together."

"And yet… that feeling doesn't belong to us."

"It feels like… another version of us."

"You may think I'm speaking nonsense,"

"But I'm only describing what I feel."

Nonsense? Blaine didn't think so at all.

In fact, he was startled. The Ancient One had managed to infer something so close to the truth from nothing but instinct. That sense of familiarity did not belong to Blaine and the Ancient One—but to Agamotto and the ancient Bounty Hunters.

At that realization, even Blaine felt a flicker of shock. The Sorcerer Supreme truly lived up to the title—the successor to Agamotto was no ordinary figure.

*************************************

You can get access to early chapters on patr*on

If you like my work and you want to support me then you can become my patron on patre*n.

My patr*on account is Lord_Immortal_0170