Jean hovered in midair, golden-red flames spiraling around her. She raised her right hand, fingers curling slightly as the Phoenix Force condensed into a blazing spear of light.
The arrogance on Apocalypse's face vanished.
He could feel it—the nature of that power was beyond his understanding. This wasn't mere energy. It was something on a multiversal level.
Impossible… how could such power exist within a mortal…
His voice trembled as he raised both hands, channeling his golden domain into a defensive barrier.
Jean did not respond.
Her consciousness was fully synchronized with the Phoenix Force. She could clearly sense its will—it wanted to burn the tyrant before her into nothingness.
The spear flew.
A streak of golden-red light tore across the sky, ripping space apart and scorching a裂缝 through the atmosphere. Apocalypse's golden domain was like paper before it—instantly shredded.
With a roar, Apocalypse poured all his power into molecular manipulation, trying to disintegrate the spear. But the Phoenix Force did not obey physical laws.
The spear pierced through his chest.
There was no blood. No scream.
His body began to disintegrate from the wound, breaking into countless golden particles. They struggled for a brief second in the air—before being burned into absolute nothingness by the Phoenix Force.
Everyone at Xavier's School stood frozen.
The eternal mutant who had ruled ancient Egypt for thousands of years… was gone. Not sealed, not defeated—erased.
Erik lay in a crater, staring at the golden-red figure in the sky, his throat tight. He had seen countless powerful mutants—but never anything like this.
Through Cerebro, Charles perceived everything, cold sweat dripping down his temples. Jean's Phoenix Force had awakened—this should have been a good thing—but its intensity far exceeded his expectations.
Levi stood atop the ruins.
He sensed something was wrong.
After Apocalypse's death, the Phoenix Force hadn't calmed—it had grown even more violent. Without a clear target, it began releasing energy outward.
Golden-red flames erupted from Jean, forming a massive tornado over a hundred meters wide, expanding wildly. Wherever it passed, grass, trees, buildings—everything turned to ash.
This is bad.
Levi's pupils shrank. The awakening had been too abrupt. Jean could control it briefly, but once the threat was gone, the power would spiral out of control.
At the center of the storm, Jean clutched her head, screaming in agony. She could feel the flames devouring her sanity, urging her to burn everything.
"Jean!"
Scott rushed forward, but after ten meters, the heatwave forced him back. Even the edges of his visor began to warp.
Ororo summoned storm clouds, trying to extinguish the flames—but lightning evaporated the moment it touched the tornado.
"We can't even get close…" she gritted her teeth.
Psylocke and Angel attempted to approach from the air, but the heat and energy shockwaves forced them back before they could enter a hundred-meter radius. Angel's metal wings screeched under the heat, forcing him to retreat.
In the underground shelter, the children huddled together, terrified. The kind, gentle Jean they knew now looked like a god of destruction.
Inside the Cerebro chamber, Charles desperately reached out with his mind—but every time he touched the edge of Jean's consciousness, the Phoenix Force burned him back. Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, his face pale.
"I can't… her mind is sealed too tightly…"
Erik climbed out of the crater, staring at the storm.
"If we don't stop her, the entire school—no, all of New York—will be destroyed."
His meaning was clear.
If necessary… extreme measures.
Charles closed his eyes, his fingers trembling. Erase Jean's consciousness? The girl who grew up here… who saw him as a father?
He couldn't do it.
Levi moved.
Without hesitation, he walked straight toward the golden-red tornado, each step steady.
"Levi, are you insane?!" Scott shouted.
"Even Professor Xavier can't get close—you'll be burned to ashes!"
Levi didn't look back. He simply raised his right hand.
A golden-red flame appeared in his palm.
The Phoenix Force—copied just moments ago.
It was enough to keep him from being destroyed by the storm. The flames formed a thin protective layer around him, shielding him from the heat and energy.
He stepped into the tornado.
The raging flames lunged at him, tearing at his defenses. He replenished them as they burned away, advancing step by step toward Jean.
Fifty meters. Forty. Thirty.
Twenty. Fifteen.
Erik's eyes widened—he couldn't believe someone could endure that force for so long.
Ten meters.
One meter.
Levi saw her eyes.
Behind the golden-red blaze was a trace of clarity… desperation… and a silent plea. She was struggling, desperately suppressing the power—but the Phoenix Force was too strong.
Levi reached out, pushing through the flames, and pressed his hand against her forehead.
Scorching heat.
Enough to melt steel—but he held firm. His flesh charred and regenerated repeatedly as he mobilized every law within him—space, time, mind, life, death, reality, soul, body, force, devouring.
Ten laws activated simultaneously, forming a fragile channel between him and Jean.
It could collapse at any moment—but Levi held it steady, sending his consciousness through.
Inside—
A sea of fire.
Golden-red flames consumed everything. Jean's consciousness curled at the center, barely holding on. Above her, a fiery phoenix circled, pouring in endless power—but far too much.
Like pouring a river into a cup.
Levi manifested within the fire, walking forward despite the flames burning him with every step.
Jean looked up, tears forming in her blazing eyes—only to evaporate instantly.
"I can't control it… Levi… it's too strong…"
Levi crouched, gripping her shoulders.
"I know. But Jean—do you remember what I said about the perfect cycle?"
She froze.
"The Phoenix Force doesn't need suppression—it needs an outlet."
His voice was calm.
"Your X-gene is the container. Your telekinesis is the turbine. The Phoenix Force is the water. Right now, the flow is too strong, so it overflows."
Jean bit her lip, confused.
Levi took a deep breath and activated Ability Amplification—an SSS-level power he had copied from Apocalypse, stripped of its control aspect, leaving only pure enhancement.
"What I'm going to do… is strengthen your turbine."
His hands glowed as he pressed them to her forehead.
"But it will hurt. More than anything you've ever felt. Are you ready?"
Jean met his eyes—saw the certainty, the trust.
She nodded.
"Do it."
The amplification began.
Golden light surged into her consciousness, spreading through her X-gene at the deepest level—reconstructing, strengthening, evolving.
Jean screamed.
It felt like countless burning needles piercing her soul, every cell torn apart and rebuilt. In reality, her body convulsed violently, blood seeping from her eyes, nose, ears.
Levi didn't stop.
The amplification reached her telekinetic core. The once small energy source expanded—doubling, multiplying, surging tenfold in seconds.
At the same time, Levi carved a complex circuit into her consciousness using mental laws.
The circuit connected her X-gene, telekinesis, and the Phoenix Force—forming a perfect loop.
The Phoenix Force no longer surged directly into her body. It flowed into the circuit.
Part of it reinforced her genes. Part transformed into telekinetic power. The remainder cycled back into the Phoenix.
A perfect system.
Like water driving a turbine, generating energy that sustains the system itself.
The loop was complete.
The raging flames suddenly calmed—not gone, but controlled. They flowed through the circuit, each cycle making Jean stronger.
She opened her eyes.
The flames still burned—but now with quiet authority, not chaos.
In reality, the massive tornado shrank, then collapsed inward, returning fully to her body. The heat dissipated. The air cleared.
Jean slowly descended, landing firmly.
She raised her hand. A golden-red flame flickered gently in her palm.
She increased its output—it expanded instantly.
She reduced it—it shrank to a spark.
Perfect control.
Levi stepped back, his burns rapidly healing. Watching her, he smiled.
Success.
Through Cerebro, Charles sensed her stability and collapsed into his chair, tears streaming down his face.
Erik stood at the crater's edge, speechless.
Moments ago, she had been on the brink of destruction.
Now—
She stood at the very peak of mutant power.
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