Charles's psychic power surged into Erik's shattered consciousness.
The golden imprint left by Apocalypse struggled violently, ancient runes writhing like living things.
Charles didn't retreat. He poured in decades of accumulated power, calling his old friend's name again and again.
Erik—those who died are gone, but the living still need you!
His voice echoed through the void.
Do you remember our vow? Mutants and humans, coexisting in peace. Apocalypse brings only destruction—and you were never a destroyer.
A flicker of light appeared in Erik's hollow eyes.
Suppressed memories surged forth—Magda's smile, Nina running through the grass, long nights debating ideals with Charles over a chessboard, the countless mutants who had followed him.
"Charles…" Erik's voice was hoarse. "Can I still atone?"
"You don't need atonement, my friend," Charles said with a tired smile. "Just be yourself again."
High above—
Erik's body trembled.
The golden runes covering his eyes suddenly erupted into silver-white light.
His magnetic field—his true power—exploded outward. Metal within ten kilometers began to tremble.
Apocalypse paused and turned, shock appearing on his face for the first time.
The massive metallic sphere above the school—over fifty meters wide—began to crack.
"Impossible…" Apocalypse growled. "My mark is absolute!"
Erik roared in response.
"Absolute?" He raised his hands, silver-white light spiraling in his palms. "Who do you think you are—God?!"
The metal sphere exploded.
Tens of thousands of steel fragments reassembled midair into over a hundred massive spears, each ten meters long, each radiating terrifying power.
"This strike… is for those who died by my hand!"
Erik's voice was filled with grief and fury.
The spears rained down toward Apocalypse.
Apocalypse raised his hand. His golden domain contracted into a cocoon of light.
The spears slammed into it with deafening force, shockwaves compressing the air into white blasts. But the deflected spears curved midair, striking again from behind.
Apocalypse frowned, forced to divide his focus.
Hang moved.
The Dark Trident became a streak of black light, its tip wrapped in Death Law, piercing directly toward a crack in the golden cocoon. Space Law condensed at its tip, drilling through.
Slash—
The shield split open.
The trident pierced through, carving a deep wound across Apocalypse's shoulder. Golden blood sprayed out—only to be devoured into ash by Death Law.
Apocalypse roared in pain.
His face twisted with fury.
Injured.
A mere anomaly—and a broken Horseman—had drawn his blood.
"You… will die!"
His eyes became blazing golden flames as he spread his arms.
Power surged wildly. Space warped and twisted.
Molecular Manipulation. Energy Amplification. Spatial Distortion. Matter Reconstruction.
Four law-level abilities erupted simultaneously.
The golden domain expanded violently—instantly engulfing Erik.
Erik barely formed a magnetic shield before being struck.
He plummeted from the sky, smashing through three trees and carving a five-meter crater into the ground, blood spraying from his mouth.
"Erik!" Charles cried out through the communicator.
Hang's expression darkened.
He hadn't copied magnetic control yet—Magneto couldn't die here.
"…Fine. I'll use this chance to fully awaken Jean's Phoenix Force. I've waited long enough—it's time to harvest."
Hang turned toward the medical bay.
Jean Grey gritted her teeth, hands pressed against the ground, barely maintaining a golden-red barrier to protect the injured students behind her.
Veins bulged across her forehead. Her body trembled—on the verge of collapse.
But deep within her—
Hang could feel it.
That power suppressed for over a decade was raging, slamming against the cage of her consciousness, desperate to break free.
It's time.
Hang took a deep breath. The Dark Trident dissolved into black particles, merging back into his body.
He didn't attack again.
Instead, he teleported thirty meters above the ruins of the medical bay, hands clasping together.
Ten laws gathered in his palms:
Space. Time. Force. Life. Death. Mind. Reality. Soul. Body. Devouring.
They condensed into a fist-sized sphere, radiating a heart-stopping aura.
This wasn't for attack.
Hang tossed it into the sky.
At a height of one hundred meters, it exploded into countless multicolored threads, forming a vast net that covered the entire school.
These threads were markers, locking onto every lifeform at the level of laws themselves.
Apocalypse understood instantly. A cruel smile spread across his face.
"You wish to protect them? Pathetic compassion. I'll show you how fragile your 'protection' truly is!"
He shifted targets.
Both hands came together—
A torrent of golden destruction surged toward the medical bay.
Where it passed, space tore apart, earth shattered, and air burned into plasma, blazing with blinding white light.
Jean's pupils shrank.
That attack could erase everything within a hundred meters instantly.
Scott. Ororo. Psylocke. Angel. The children in the shelter—
None would survive.
"No… no…" Jean's voice trembled.
She pushed the Phoenix Force desperately, trying to build a stronger defense.
But the power was chaotic—sometimes gentle, sometimes violent—unable to stabilize. Golden-red flames surged wildly around her.
At the critical moment—
Hang appeared before her.
He didn't defend.
Didn't block.
He simply turned, placing his hands on her shoulders, his deep gaze locking onto her terrified eyes.
"Jean. Listen to me."
His voice was soft—but cut through the chaos clearly.
"The Phoenix inside you was never your enemy. It is the universe's primal force of creation and destruction. It chose you because it believes you can wield it."
"You've always been afraid—afraid of its power, afraid of hurting those you love."
Tears filled Jean's eyes.
"I can't… I can't control it… every time I let go, it—"
"Then don't control it."
Hang cut her off, unwavering.
"Power doesn't need control—it needs guidance. The Phoenix longs to protect, to renew. And you are its direction."
"Don't think about suppressing it. Tell it what you want to protect."
The golden destruction was already upon them. Heat whipped through Jean's hair.
Every cell in her body screamed in terror.
But Hang stood firm before her—unmoving.
Jean stopped trembling.
She closed her eyes.
Her consciousness sank into a burning mental world.
A flaming phoenix circled above, its wings stirring apocalyptic fire.
This time—
She didn't run.
Didn't try to cage it.
She opened her arms and walked into the flames.
I want to protect them, she whispered.
Everyone. Everyone who believes in me. Everyone who hasn't seen tomorrow's sun.
Phoenix… if you truly chose me… then lend me your power.
The phoenix tilted its head.
For the first time, warmth appeared in its blazing eyes.
It lowered its head—
And gently pressed its burning forehead against Jean's chest.
Endless golden-red flames softened into a warm current, flowing into every cell, every thought.
Jean's eyes snapped open.
Her pupils became pure golden fire.
Her hair rose without wind, each strand tipped with flame.
Power erupted.
A pillar of golden-red fire shot into the sky—tearing through Apocalypse's attack, devouring it entirely.
The golden torrent stopped ten meters from the medical bay—
Blocked.
Not by a wall—
But by a domain of fire.
A pure Phoenix domain.
Golden-red flames burned at its edges, while inside, warmth and protection embraced all within.
The students hiding in the ruins felt it—
A gentle, protective force.
Hang smiled.
He released Jean's shoulders and stepped back.
[SP-Level Ability Copied: Phoenix Force.]
The Phoenix Force within Jean was no longer chaotic.
It had fully merged with her will.
Its level—
Far surpassed the limits of this clone.
Apocalypse's smile froze.
He could feel it—
Within that golden-red flame lay power capable of threatening his very existence.
"This… what is this…"
For the first time—
His voice trembled.
Jean slowly lifted her head.
Golden fire burned in her eyes, yet her voice was calm.
"This is the power of the future you speak of."
"Apocalypse—your era ended five thousand years ago."
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