By the time night settled over the city, they had already driven from the outskirts of New York into the dense heart of Midtown Manhattan. The glowing skyline rose around them like a forest of steel and glass, traffic humming through the streets in restless waves. Rogue barely noticed the change in scenery, though. She had been deep in thought the entire ride, staring out the window with a distant look in her eyes.
After a long silence, she suddenly looked up and studied Ethan Voss carefully. Her brows knitted together in suspicion as she tried to make sense of the man sitting beside her.
"So… are you part of another X-Men group or something like that?" she asked cautiously. "Some kind of secret organization?"
Ethan laughed lightly, clearly amused by the question. He leaned back in his seat as the city lights flashed across his face through the windshield.
"Something like that," he replied casually. "But my vision isn't limited to mutants. What I'm thinking about includes everyone—humans, mutants, even vampires. People from America, people from other countries, people across the entire planet… and maybe even people from beyond it."
Rogue blinked at him, her expression slowly turning blank.
"I feel like you're talking nonsense," she said honestly, shaking her head.
Ethan only smiled at her confusion. "You'll have a chance to see for yourself soon enough."
The car suddenly screeched to a halt at the curb, tires giving a sharp squeal against the pavement. Ethan stepped out smoothly and opened the passenger door for her.
Rogue climbed out and looked around in surprise. Towering skyscrapers surrounded them on every side, their windows glowing against the night sky. They were standing in front of one particular building that stretched high above the surrounding street.
Typhon Building.
A uniformed doorman hurried toward them immediately. Ethan tossed him the car keys with an easy flick of his wrist, not even slowing his stride as he headed toward the entrance.
With a casual wave of his hand, he gestured for Rogue to follow.
"What are we doing here?" she asked, still trying to keep up with everything that was happening. "What exactly are you planning?"
Ethan pushed open the glass doors and walked inside as if he owned the place.
"Didn't I tell you already?" he said with a grin. "I'm much richer than Professor Xavier. This place is my territory."
The Typhon Building rose forty-two floors above Manhattan and functioned as both a commercial center and a scientific research facility. Several levels housed advanced pharmaceutical laboratories, while other floors were dedicated to experimental technology projects.
Ethan had already begun planning a brand-new company that would occupy the sixth through tenth floors. The company would be called Future Defense Systems and Individual Weapons Company, specializing in cutting-edge defensive equipment and advanced personal weapons technology.
It wasn't that Ethan lacked the ambition to produce aircraft, artillery, or tanks. The real problem was competition. The American arms industry was dominated by enormous corporations with decades of influence, political connections, and established military contracts. Even with billions of dollars in capital, challenging them head-on would be extremely difficult.
Instead, Ethan chose a smarter route. By focusing on defensive equipment and advanced personal weapons, he could carve out a specialized market while also supporting his own long-term plans.
The personal weapons would eventually complement his enhanced soldiers, while the defensive technologies had far broader commercial potential. With the right innovations, he could quietly reshape an entire industry.
At the very top of the building sat an enormous luxury suite that covered thousands of square meters. It featured a glass-floored rooftop garden open to the sky, complete with manicured greenery and panoramic views of the city.
The suite had been designed with one goal in mind—to rival a certain billionaire's famously extravagant tower.
When Ethan brought Rogue inside, his phone suddenly rang. He answered quickly and stepped aside, gesturing for her to make herself comfortable.
"Pick whichever room you like," he said before walking away to take the call.
When he returned several minutes later, he found Rogue sitting stiffly on the sofa with her arms crossed tightly. She stared straight ahead, unmoving, as if she had frozen in place.
Ethan tilted his head in confusion.
"What's wrong?"
Rogue hesitated for a moment before sighing softly.
"I don't know," she admitted. Her eyes drifted across the enormous living space around her. "You've got a mansion in the sky, a sports car, money everywhere… but I still don't understand why you're helping me. I don't have anything."
Ethan shrugged casually.
"My reason might sound a little ridiculous."
Rogue frowned, clearly not following.
"What do you mean?"
Ethan looked out through the massive glass windows at the glittering city beyond. His voice softened slightly.
"I want to build a paradise," he said slowly. "A place where anyone who deserves happiness can live. A place without hatred, without poverty."
He spoke calmly, but there was a strange conviction behind his words.
"A world where the wind is gentle, the clouds drift lazily, and life moves at its own peaceful pace. A world that feels like a fairy tale," he continued. "Where Cinderella still marries the prince, and the Little Mermaid doesn't have to die for love. A world where every story gets a happy ending."
Rogue stared at him as if her entire understanding of reality had just been shaken.
For a moment she honestly thought he was joking again.
"You… you're really…" she stammered.
"Naive?" Ethan finished with a smile.
Rogue nodded slowly.
Ethan chuckled under his breath. To him, this world was only a stepping stone on his path to greater power, but that didn't mean he couldn't reshape it along the way. If he wanted to create paradise, then paradise was exactly what he would create.
"No matter what I say," he said, turning toward her, "it's better if you see it yourself."
With a single thought, a glowing portal suddenly appeared in midair directly in front of them.
Rogue froze.
Her eyes widened as she stared at the swirling light, then slowly turned to look at Ethan again. Her brain felt completely numb after everything she had witnessed that night.
She didn't even know what counted as impossible anymore.
Ethan gently took her gloved hand and gave her a reassuring smile.
"I told you already," he said. "I'm a man of many talents. Come on. Let me show you my paradise."
They stepped through the portal together.
In the blink of an eye, the scenery around them changed completely.
They arrived in a peaceful little town where warm sunlight poured down from a bright blue sky. The temperature was perfect, the air fresh and clean, and a gentle breeze drifted across the fields.
At that exact moment, Ethan's soul trembled.
His connection with the Divine Kingdom suddenly shifted in a subtle but unmistakable way. Something deep within the realm reacted instantly to Rogue's presence.
More precisely, it reacted to her power.
Within a single moment, Ethan felt as though he had grasped a completely new understanding.
Rogue's mutant ability—her power to copy the abilities of others.
Except inside his Divine Kingdom, that ability had evolved into something far greater.
Within the boundaries of this realm, Ethan could freely copy, strip away, or grant mutant abilities at will.
Even more incredible, he could control the process perfectly, ensuring that no one would be harmed during the transfer.
A realization struck him like lightning.
The Divine Kingdom itself could read, analyze, and replicate the powers of mutants.
For a long time, Ethan had sensed a barrier between himself and the world beyond the realm. He believed that expanding the population inside the kingdom might slowly weaken that barrier over time.
But now he understood something new.
Mutants could break that barrier far faster.
Before this moment, Ethan had only planned to maintain a friendly relationship with the X-Men and quietly recruit a few mutants to his side.
Now, however, everything had changed.
If mutants could accelerate the evolution of the Divine Kingdom, then his paradise would need to become a true sanctuary for mutants as well.
While Ethan quietly adjusted his plans for the future, Rogue stood beneath the warm sunlight staring up at the sky in stunned disbelief.
"Where… where are we?" she asked slowly. "The other side of the Earth?"
Before Ethan could answer, a group of children playing near the roadside suddenly noticed them.
They ran toward him excitedly.
"Mr. Voss! Mr. Voss!" one of them shouted happily. "Come pick red pears with us!"
The group included children ranging from about six or seven years old to roughly twelve. Their laughter filled the air as they crowded around him.
Ethan looked at them in surprise.
"Tucker, Josh," he said, raising an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you two be in school right now?"
The oldest boy, Tucker, grinned brightly.
"Today's the town's founding day," he explained. "Everything's closed, so everyone's celebrating. There's going to be a bonfire party tonight too."
Ethan suddenly remembered.
There really was a festival like that here, a holiday created to commemorate the founding of the town inside the Divine Kingdom.
"Did the people from the mountain base come down yet?" he asked.
"They did!" Tucker said excitedly. "That scary-looking uncle is having a drinking contest with the mayor. I heard he's about to lose!"
"The mayor cheated!" a little girl shouted loudly. "He let the other people challenge that fierce old man first!"
Ethan raised an eyebrow in amusement before turning toward Rogue.
"Let's go pick some red pears," he said casually. "Otherwise those guys might drag me into their drinking contest later."
Rogue was still half-dazed by everything she had seen. She nodded slowly and followed along.
As they walked, Josh quietly nudged Ethan with his elbow. The boy glanced toward Rogue and gave Ethan a mischievous wink.
"Is she your girlfriend?" he whispered.
Ethan nearly choked.
"Cough—cough—!"
He quickly ruffled Josh's hair.
"Don't talk nonsense," he scolded. "We just met. Kids shouldn't be thinking about that stuff already. And watch your manners."
Josh struggled to escape his grip.
"That's what they say in the movies!" he protested. "'Girlfriend' just means girlfriend!"
Beside them, Rogue's cheeks turned bright red. She quickly turned her head away and pretended to admire the scenery.
Ethan shook his head helplessly.
As one of New York's most famous young billionaires, his reputation for dating was widely known. Still, he followed a very clear personal rule.
He could share his body, but never his heart.
For Ethan, relationships were nothing more than casual flirtation within the world of adult dating.
With his mood lifted by the discovery of Rogue's importance to the Divine Kingdom, he happily led the children toward the orchard on the eastern side of town.
The orchard stretched across several gentle hills and contained far more than just pear trees. Apples, apricots, and grapevines filled the surrounding fields as well.
The owners were all familiar faces from the town. Anyone could come and pick fruit whenever they liked, as long as they didn't waste it.
Soon Ethan, Rogue, and the group of energetic children were laughing together among the trees.
This was the reason Ethan had built towns inside the Divine Kingdom in the first place. Here, he could finally relax his guard and live simply, even if only for a while.
Even the scientists and Hydra soldiers stationed at the mountain base could come down here and temporarily return to normal life. Though they were isolated from the outside world, this place allowed them to reconnect with something that still felt like society.
After the fruit picking ended, Rogue followed the children to the evening bonfire celebration in the town square.
Ethan, however, returned alone to the Typhon Building, because he could already sense that a few important guests would soon be arriving.