We do not know when humans invented the first mirror. At first, humans only looked at the surface of water, just like Narcissus in ancient Greek mythology saw his own reflection, and thus humanity recognized their own image.
In many ancient cultures, a reflection in water was often believed to be where a person's soul resided, and seeing one's own reflection was often considered very dangerous.
Therefore, when the first mirror was created, it was natural for humans to regard it as a magical object.
And indeed, the earliest tool humans used to peer into other realms was the mirror.
Although the scene reflected in the mirror might not be real, the mirror could resonate with the reflected object, such as the environment, reality, or people.
Thus, in many legends, there is the saying that there is another world inside the mirror.
When Salomon was about to practice spells, the Sorcerer Supreme provided a safer place, which was the Mirror Dimension.
And the simplest way to enter the Mirror Dimension is to wear a Sling Ring from Kamar-Taj.
In Salomon's opinion, the Sling Ring was completely a shortcut prepared by the Sorcerer Supreme for the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj.
The Sorcerer Supreme inscribed spell formations on the Sling Rings, allowing the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj to easily use advanced magic like portals by using the rings.
The Sorcerer Supreme linked the distance of the portals and the size of the Mirror Dimension to the sorcerers' magical power, rather than their magical proficiency.
This lazy approach did indeed save a lot of trouble and also gave the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj unparalleled mobility; even the Sorcerer Supreme sometimes used the Sling Ring.
The reason the Sorcerer Supreme specifically chose the Mirror Dimension for this lesson today was not only because practicing spells in the Mirror Dimension would not cause destruction in reality, but also because the Ancient One did not want other sorcerers of Kamar-Taj to know things they shouldn't know.
"Salomon, your Stigma is the Mark of the Sage, proof that you are qualified to attain true wisdom, and the Stigma has brought you knowledge," the Sorcerer Supreme, wearing a black mystic robe, stood before Salomon and said.
"But there are infinite dangers in this universe, dangers you have never witnessed; you must experience them firsthand."
"Dangers?" Salomon looked down at his hands.
He was wearing a black mystic robe of the same style as the Sorcerer Supreme, but on the outermost layer, he wore a coat made of red holy shroud, which had a tail that reached his calves and was fastened to Salomon's body with seven silver chains.
After the previous holy shroud was burned, the Sorcerer Supreme took out new holy shroud to make robes and added protective spells to them.
Although Salomon could initially control the power of the Stigma, the Sorcerer Supreme still believed he needed restraint, otherwise the powerful Stigma would endlessly refine his life force.
After a treatment, Salomon was much thinner, his hair was shorter, and he looked much colder.
"Yes," the Sorcerer Supreme nodded and said, "For example, Dormammu. He constantly watches this planet, wanting to swallow Earth into his Dark Dimension. Only a few senior sorcerers in Kamar-Taj have heard this name, but this lesson is something they have never experienced, and I have chosen you to learn it."
"Learn what?"
"Learn balance."
The Sorcerer Supreme placed her hand on Salomon's forehead and performed the astral projection spell.
This was the first time Salomon had experienced astral projection; this spell is a manifestation of the soul and spirit, and his spiritual body looked no different from his physical body.
Immediately after, the Sorcerer Supreme pushed Salomon's spiritual body forcefully without explanation, and Salomon felt himself falling rapidly at an extremely high speed.
He fell into a colorful tunnel.
Everything around him, whether it was starlight or scenery, was rapidly distorting.
The rapid changes in color almost made Salomon's spiritual body feel intensely nauseous.
Salomon felt so small, he couldn't help himself, rapidly passing through one dimension and space after another.
But soon he was free.
When he passed through a pitch-black curtain, he stopped falling, and he saw a dark, dead space.
Here, countless shattered planets were stained black, growing deformed and bizarre limbs, like disgusting tumors.
Everything in this starry sky was covered with thick, black energy, and nauseating colorful streams of light spread across them.
Salomon widened his eyes to look, but he couldn't remember any of the scenes here.
The strange and colorful lights in the darkness poured into his pupils, and an unending, maddening murmur echoed in his ears.
Salomon slowly passed between those planets like an ant.
He didn't know how long he had been there; time had lost its concept here, and he was constantly being subjected to the baptism of those crazy whispers.
Just as Salomon thought he was about to go mad, he saw a huge face.
That incredibly massive face seemed to be composed of that viscous black energy, and the size of one eye was comparable to a planet.
When the owner of that face saw Salomon, a deafening roar erupted.
That sound made Salomon's spiritual body tremble and the deformed planets crack.
Even though Salomon covered his ears, he couldn't stop the sound from entering his soul.
It seemed like curses, it seemed like damnation, Salomon couldn't hear anything clearly.
The owner of that face raised a giant palm from the darkness and slapped violently towards Salomon.
Salomon felt like he was standing beneath a collapsing mountain; the palm was accompanied by strong winds and meteors.
When he looked up, he could only see a shadow large enough to cover an entire planet pressing down on him.
The terror of this colossal being falling from the sky made him tremble uncontrollably.
When Salomon woke up with a start, he found himself still in the Mirror Dimension of Kamar-Taj.
The Sorcerer Supreme was also sitting opposite him.
Salomon sat cross-legged on the ground, his face pale, covered in cold sweat, and his head felt heavy.
Those chaotic whispers and dizziness still lingered in his mind.
Now he just wanted to empty everything in his stomach and then get a good night's sleep.
"That was..." He forced himself to gather his spirits and asked the Sorcerer Supreme.
"Dormammu, the Lord of the Dark Dimension," the Sorcerer Supreme's expression remained unchanged, "I think you have already witnessed him."
Salomon suppressed the urge to vomit and nodded.
In fact, the Sorcerer Supreme's education of Salomon was completely different from her future education of Strange.
The Sorcerer Supreme only gave Strange a general impression of the Dark Dimension, so that he would not fall into Dormammu's trap.
Therefore, Strange initially only had a fleeting glimpse of the Dark Dimension.
As for Salomon, the Sorcerer Supreme chose to let him face the Dark Dimension directly.
The Sorcerer Supreme wanted to teach Salomon everything she knew about the Dark Dimension.
The Sorcerer Supreme had different expectations for the two because she planned to place a heavier burden on Salomon.
Because the Sorcerer Supreme knew that Salomon possessed innate knowledge, even without entering Kamar-Taj, Salomon would be able to become a powerful enough sorcerer in the future.
Therefore, this burden was something she forcibly placed on Salomon.
In this school, if someone is the 'face' (public figure), someone must be the 'lining' (behind the scenes).
The 'face' must not be stained with any dust; if blood is shed, the 'lining' must conceal it.
If it cannot be concealed and leaks onto the 'face', it is a major event that destroys the sect.
If the 'face' offers someone a cigarette, the 'lining' might have to eliminate someone.
If the future Strange is the 'face' of Kamar-Taj, then the Sorcerer Supreme planned for Salomon to be the 'lining' of Kamar-Taj.
The Sorcerer Supreme not only drew upon the magic of the Vishanti, but part of the reason for her power was because she had drawn enough magic from the Dark Dimension.
This magic made her far more powerful than ordinary sorcerers, even more powerful than many demon gods, and even allowed her to contend with the God-King Odin in a human body.
This was something Salomon did not know, but even if he knew about it, he would not have any resentment towards the Sorcerer Supreme.
He wasn't some protagonist from a 'Dragon King' novel where everyone must be good to him unconditionally; that was impossible.
Salomon never thought he was very important, and the so-called 'kingly aura' did not exist.
He knew how lazy he was; if he could lie down, he wouldn't sit.
And it was natural that the Sorcerer Supreme had plans for raising a child with no relatives, something Salomon was well aware of.
In fact, even if the Sorcerer Supreme hadn't guided Salomon to explore the Dark Dimension, with his exploration of knowledge and curiosity about magic, one day Salomon would have explored it on his own.
And now having an experienced mentor was also a good thing.
Therefore, Salomon nodded, indicating that he was very interested in the Dark Dimension.
But even so, the Sorcerer Supreme still felt a little guilty because she knew how dangerous the Dark Dimension was, yet she had pushed Salomon into it.
Perhaps this was the reason the Sorcerer Supreme unconsciously favored Salomon.
"Balance and restraint are what you need to learn, Salomon," the Sorcerer Supreme lowered her head and picked up her teacup, not wanting Salomon to see her expression.
"This is your first lesson."