The Ancient One
[The Ancient One catches Kaecilius and his Zealots stealing a page from the Book of Cagliostro which is a spell necessary to summon Dormammu to Earth. She appears hooded in front of them.]
Master Kaecilius, that ritual will only bring you sorrow.
Kaecilius
[Kaecilius and the Zealots attempt to escape from the Ancient One through the London Sanctum and in the city. They find themselves trapped in the mirror world by the Ancient One, who shows herself in front of the group.]
Hypocrite!
The Ancient One
You're a man looking at the world through a keyhole. You've spent your whole life trying to widen that keyhole. To see more. To know more. And now on hearing that it can be widened, in ways you can't imagine, you reject the possibility.
Strange
No, I reject it because I do not believe in fairy tales about chakras or energy or the power of belief. There is no such thing as spirit! We are made of matter and nothing more. We're just another tiny, momentary speck in an indifferent universe.
The Ancient One
You think too little of yourself.
Strange
Oh, you think you see through me, do you? Well, you don't. But I see through you!
Strange
[She strikes his astral form out of his body.]
What did you just do to me?!
The Ancient One
I pushed your astral form out of your physical form.
Strange
What's in that tea? Psilocybin? LSD?
The Ancient One
It's just tea. With a little honey.
Strange
What just happened?
The Ancient One
For a moment, you entered the astral dimension. A place where the soul exists apart from the body.
Strange
Why are you doing this to me?
The Ancient One
To show you just how much you don't know. Open your eye!
The Ancient One
[She touches Strange's forehead and blasts him into a kaleidoscopic astral journey.]
You think you know how the world works? You think that this material universe is all there is? What is "real"? What mysteries lie beyond the reach of your senses? At the root of existence, mind and matter meet. Thoughts form reality. This universe is only one of an infinite number. Worlds without end. Some benevolent and life-giving, others filled with malice and hunger. Dark places where powers older than time lie, ravenous and waiting. Who are you in this vast multiverse, Mr. Strange?
The Ancient One
[Strange returns to Kamar-Taj and lands at the Ancient One's feet.]
Have you seen that before in a gift shop?
Strange
[After a long beat]
Teach me.
The Ancient One
No.
The Ancient One
[The Ancient One talks to Doctor Strange in their astral forms as she dies]
I've spent so many years peering through time, looking at this exact moment. But I can't see past it. I've prevented countless terrible futures, and after each one, there's always another, and they all lead here but never further.
Strange
You think this is where you die.
The Ancient One
You wonder what I see in your future?
Strange
No. Yes.
The Ancient One
I never saw your future, only its possibilities. You have such a capacity for goodness. You've always excelled, but not because you crave success, but because of your fear of failure.
Strange
It's what made me a great doctor.
The Ancient One
It's precisely what's kept you from greatness. Arrogance and fear still keep you from learning the simplest and most significant lesson of all.
Strange
Which is?
The Ancient One
It's not about you. When you first came to me, you asked me how I was able to heal Jonathan Pangborn. I didn't. He channels dimensional energy directly into his own body.
Strange
He uses magic to walk.
The Ancient One
Constantly. He had a choice, to return to his own life or to serve something greater than himself.
Strange
So I could have my hands back again. My old life?
The Ancient One
You could, and the world would be all the lesser for it. I hated drawing power from the Dark Dimension, but as you well know, sometimes, one must break the rules in order to serve the greater good.
Strange
Mordo won't see it that way.
The Ancient One
Mordo's soul is rigid and unmovable, forged by the fires of his youth. He needs your flexibility, just as you need his strength. Only together do you stand a chance of stopping Dormammu.
Strange
I'm not ready.
The Ancient One
No one ever is. We don't get to choose our time. [Takes his hand] Death is what gives life meaning. To know your days are numbered, and your time is short. You'd think after all this time, I'd be ready. But look at me. Stretching one moment out into a thousand…just so that I can watch the snow.
[Her grasp on Strange's hand vanishes as she dies.]
