Some mutants chose to leave, seeing Clarkia as yet another failed attempt. Their leader went mad, wanting to send them to their deaths. The plan to rebuild Utopia could never be completed. It's better to return early, and still eke out a few more days.
The White Queen wasn't as pessimistic, but she also chose to leave. Because she realized that she and the two existing leaders of Clarkia were not of the same mind. They might never be able to understand each other. Continuing to coexist would only lead to Clarkia's disintegration.
However, Sebastian chose to stay. Not because of his strong ties or loyalty, but because Magneto unwaveringly chose to protect the vulnerable, which was beneficial for him since he was part of the vulnerable group. Therefore, he was willing to stand on their side.
Many mutants also chose to stay. Their numbers far exceeded Magneto's expectations, and not all were Epsilon Class mutants; quite a few Alpha-levels also chose to stay. Despite knowing they might become candidates for the next raid team, just like those before them who generously gave their lives, they still chose to stay.
And Magneto's decision spread throughout the world along with those leaving mutants. Many said he was crazy, and many laughed at him for being foolish. However, governments around the world treated this matter with utmost seriousness, as it was actually a very frightening signal—the mutants were consolidating their community spirit.
Previously, mutants didn't have much community spirit; of course, some might say their community spirit was "resisting oppression, striving for independence." That could be considered a type of spirit. But the problem lay in the fact that they opposed external oppression, which meant that once the external oppression disappeared, the spirit couldn't be sustained.
So humans always dealt with mutants by pitting one faction against another. They would ally with one faction and persecute another. The persecuted faction was always resisting, but the faction that was allied felt there was nothing to resist against, and even helped ordinary people suppress mutants to gain greater benefits. Therefore, they were never able to unite.
But now, a new thought appeared within the mutant community. The slogan Magneto raised, "Not abandoning any mutant," was quickly consolidating into a new community spirit. This would become their belief, becoming their creed to forge ahead, risking their lives, making them warriors who could not be bought by interests.
Once this spirit takes shape, human governments will no longer be able to provoke internal strife so easily. Mutants will coalesce into a formidable force under the guidance of this thought.
As anticipated, the White Queen and a group of mutants left, but another group came. They were the ones who didn't quite get along with the Mutant Brotherhood and the X-Men, most of whom had their own forces, thus didn't arrive at the establishment of Clarkia immediately, instead always watching closely.
And very soon, an unexpected visitor arrived. Magneto tensed his nerves—Apocalypse, the progenitor of mutants, had arrived.
He was a tall giant clad in armor, with remnants of Egypt's desert sands on him. His followers surrounded him. At the moment he appeared in the teleportation portal, almost all mutants sensed something—an urge stirred within their primitive bloodline.
Magneto descended in the center of the teleportation portal hall. He gazed at this towering figure, seeing not disdain and cruelty, but a deeper, ancient wisdom.
"What? Not happy to see me?" Apocalypse asked Magneto.
Magneto didn't relax his guard at all, knowing that Apocalypse was an absolute radical, and so radical that even Magneto, a radical himself, found it hard to accept. Upon awakening, he immediately used immense power to conquer all mutants and wanted to lead them to utterly destroy human civilization, leaving only mutants on Earth. His arrival might not be good news.
"Don't get me wrong," Apocalypse said, "You've already met Moira, right?"
Magneto squinted his eyes, Apocalypse said: "Alright, we'll discuss reincarnation later. I didn't expect you to make such a bold decision. Magneto, tell me, what kind of mutant nation do you want?"
Magneto didn't know if his ideal answer was "to rule the entire Earth and cosmos". But he didn't want to use this answer to please Apocalypse, so he truthfully said, "A true homeland belonging to mutants. Where any mutant here won't be in danger. We help each other, vow forever to protect and save each other."
"Good," Apocalypse said without raising his head as he walked past him, "Remember what you said today."
Magneto watched him, suddenly shouting: "Apocalypse, do you think this can be achieved?"
"It's not important," Apocalypse turned to look at him and said, "At least you're not a coward who doesn't even dare to dream. That's enough."
For some reason, Magneto felt Apocalypse bore no hostility. He just mentioned reincarnation. As the first mutant on Earth, Apocalypse was ancient enough; he might have experienced Moira's nine reincarnation cycles entirely and played a significant role in them. Perhaps everything now was the situation he desired.
Apocalypse's arrival shocked everyone. His ancient lineage was proof of his immense power, inspiring every mutant.
And shortly thereafter, another unexpected person arrived—Namor, the mutant who didn't seem like a mutant.
"You guys sure picked a good spot," Namor said with sarcasm, "Don't you know Nemo Point is not only far from land but also far from Atlantis?"
Magneto walked over, patting his arm, "I didn't expect you to come. Previously, you rejected our invitation."
Namor paused briefly, looking into Magneto's eyes, and said, "You say you will accept and help all mutants, is that true?"
Magneto nodded and said, "Yes, I assure you. But why do you ask? Don't you still have Atlantis?"
"It's precisely for Atlantis," Namor said seriously, "Humans will never accept us. That damned Little Mustache has killed so many of us. Those submarines are always lurking around us. I'm worried that one day, Atlantis will..."
Namor stopped his words, holding his weapon tightly, and after a moment, he continued, "I'm not asking you to protect the Sea Clan. I just hope that my joining will give some people pause, at least letting them know what mutants can do to protect their kin. That's enough."
Watching him leave, Magneto felt a mix of emotions. For a long time, he was reluctant to admit that mutants like Namor, who leaned towards 'foreigners,' were his compatriots, because they never did anything for mutants, only caring for their own little corner.
However, during the time of establishing Clarkia, Magneto had to admit that when a person feels a sense of belonging to a place and a community, they are willing to give everything for it. Mutants cannot easily forsake the place that birthed and raised them, just as Magneto is unwilling to abandon Clarkia.
This time, Namor's visit might be for complex reasons, perhaps to ally with Clarkia and find a way out for Atlantis, or maybe, as he said, to demonstrate to humans that a nation led by mutants is not to be trifled with. But regardless, his arrival at this time is a strong support for the ideology proposed by Magneto.
Then came another powerful ally. That was General Chasing, a powerful Omega-level mutant with telepathy and very comprehensive spiritual energy abilities. He is also one of the relatively ancient mutants, who had been in slumber until not long ago. However, his arrival was not due to supporting Magneto's ideals, but simply because he heard about Clarkia. He believes that mutants indeed should have their own country, thus he came.
Magneto found him somewhat troublesome because this guy is an overly zealous Christian, his mind filled with Crusades. He insists on preaching in Clarkia. But fortunately, Clarkia Island is not lacking in powerful mutants, which should be able to suppress him somewhat.
Subsequently, Storm also returned. She hadn't really left Clarkia before; it was just due to some reasons she went to Wakanda. And precisely because of her, Wakanda, which has the most conflicting interests with Clarkia, did not voice out at the United Nations General Assembly.
"Great diplomatic work, Ororo." Magneto walked over and patted her on the shoulder. Storm couldn't help but roll her eyes and said, "Don't make me do this job again, I'm so tired of it."
She paused and then said, "I heard you also plan to rescue the raid team. I don't object to your decision, but what's your plan? Humans will certainly be more prepared."
"I'm pondering over it too," Magneto said, "I plan to go personally, so I won't act rashly and get myself killed."
"You're going personally?!" Storm raised her voice and said, "Absolutely not. You're the leader of the mutants. If you die there, humans would be overjoyed!"
"I said I will consider it carefully," Magneto said.
"Really, no one can be more stubborn than you!" Storm shouted at him angrily and then flew away.
Gathering again in the Central Royal Court meeting room, Magneto was surprised to find that not only had their Omega-level and Alpha-level mutants not decreased, but they had increased.
"Because you are strong enough," Shiller, standing beside him, said softly, "Many people are not afraid of making mistakes, only of indecision. It turns out that a strong stance against the world can attract more capable individuals."
Magneto furrowed his brows slightly, wasn't he strong enough?
Shiller seemed to see what he was thinking and shook his head, saying, "Your temper is much better than Magnetos in other universes. You both are."
Magneto couldn't help but glance at Professor X. Being someone who knew the professor inside out, Magneto was very aware that Professor X's temper was not as mild as he seemed, perhaps even worse than his own. Were the professors in other universes worse?
Only now did Magneto realize that these people might not be here just for his ideology, but for his displayed indomitable and fierce spirit.
Previously, Clarkia's leadership was inclined towards peaceful resolutions. Developing drugs, attending the United Nations General Assembly. These methods seemed a bit too civilized and would certainly be sneered at by those vigilante criminals among mutants.
In their view, cooperating with humans is purely appeasement, even selling out the interests of mutants. These hardliners certainly would not choose to join. But Magneto's stance of not sparing loss to fight to the death with the Red Orchid Factory suited these people's tastes, making them rush over non-stop.
With both hands supporting the table, Magneto said, "Since everyone is here, let's study exactly how to solve the Red Orchid Factory and rescue the raid team's consciousness from the factory system."