When Dark Phoenix blocked the earlier Dimension Slash with effortless ease, Richard understood immediately that this version of her was far beyond the film portrayal. She was not comic-tier omnipotence incarnate, but she was clearly operating several levels above the cinematic depiction.
In the film, Wolverine's adamantium claws had pierced her. If that was possible there, then a true spatial severance like Dimension Slash would have been fatal. The fact that she remained unscathed here meant one thing—this Dark Phoenix was operating on a higher scale entirely.
He abandoned the idea of relying primarily on his X-gene abilities.
Even the "ordinary" Dimension Slash he had used moments earlier exceeded most of his mutant powers in raw lethality. If that failed, then throwing lesser abilities at her would accomplish nothing.
Template skills, then.
He exhaled slowly and shifted his grip. Both hands wrapped around Masamune's hilt. Under Dark Phoenix's watchful gaze, he pulled in opposite directions.
Steel separated.
The Yama Blade slid free.
Masamune in his left hand. Yama in his right.
Dark Phoenix didn't understand the significance, but she reacted instinctively. Her palm lifted toward him.
Phoenix Force surged.
This time the attack was visible—condensed dark-red energy firing like a focused beam.
Richard did not teleport. He did not absorb it.
He swung.
Eight Swords Flash.
Eight seamless arcs erupted in an instant, slicing into the incoming Phoenix beam.
Though traditionally an offensive technique, Level 4 mastery had evolved it. He could now cut matter and energy alike. Only mind and soul lay beyond its edge.
The Phoenix Force was primordial cosmic energy—born at the dawn of existence, embodiment of life and psychic power, nexus of all spiritual consciousness.
A complete Phoenix Force was beyond him. Even with perfected templates of Vergil, Superboy-Prime, or Darkseid, he might still fail.
But this was incomplete.
More importantly, Jean's integration was crude.
Her control was fundamental. Raw. Powerful—but unsophisticated.
The beam fractured under Eight Swords Flash, scattering into violent fragments.
Simultaneously, his right arm moved.
Dimension Slash.
Space warped again around her. Crescent distortions carved inward from all angles.
Chi—chi—chi—
Again, the Phoenix Force manifested as a full spherical defense. The slashes failed to reach her body.
He wasn't surprised.
He was watching the energy flow.
The moment she shifted to full defensive output, the attacking Phoenix beam weakened perceptibly.
Subtle—but real.
She could not optimize both simultaneously.
A mind prison leaves rust.
Jean had been suppressed for years by Professor X's psychic cage. Dark Phoenix was powerful, yes—but inexperienced.
A rookie.
Just like Magneto's clone had been.
Richard had less than a year in this universe, yet his combat density far exceeded hers. He had fought constantly. Tested constantly. Refined constantly.
Raw power without refinement was exploitable.
He lifted Yama Blade again.
Dimension Slash—maximum output.
This time hundreds of spatial crescents formed. Magic surged heavily, but with over 5,000 reserves, he could afford it.
The storm descended on her.
She responded as expected—total spherical defense.
For over ten seconds, the sky screamed with spatial distortions.
Then—
Teleport.
Richard vanished.
Dark Phoenix felt no fear.
She interpreted retreat as weakness.
She began searching with psychic senses.
There.
Behind the main building. In the forest lake.
She shifted tactics.
Instead of firing beams, she exerted matter control. Phoenix Force engulfed the entire lake.
Water decomposed instantly—hydrogen, oxygen, atomic breakdown.
The lake evaporated violently.
Richard's figure was revealed within.
She smiled.
Phoenix energy compressed around him like a cage.
She raised her hand to disassemble him at the atomic level.
Then—
A blade pierced her from behind.
Careless Angel.
Masamune, wrapped in dark violet flame, passed cleanly through her torso.
The effect triggered instantly.
Her life-state collapsed to critical.
She was struck by a near-death causality condition, ignoring durability and defense.
She staggered forward.
The Richard trapped in the lake dissipated into vapor.
A clone.
Energy materialization and water control had formed a decoy infused with his magical signature. Sufficient to deceive her senses.
The real Richard had turned invisible, suppressing his energy fluctuations, circling patiently behind her.
She had been baited.
Rookies overcommit.
Before she could stabilize, he teleported in front of her falling body.
Yama Blade flashed.
Separation.
The blade passed through her as if through mist.
A cloud of black smoke erupted outward.
From that smoke, another figure formed.
A second Dark Phoenix.
The black mist condensed fully—solidifying into a physical duplicate.
Jean's original body collapsed unconscious onto the grass.
The newly separated Dark Phoenix hovered shakily, staring at her own hands in disbelief.
For the first time, uncertainty flickered across her face.
Richard stood calmly before her, both swords lowered but ready.
"How does it feel," he asked evenly, "to have your own body?"
He tilted his head slightly.
"Ms. Dark Phoenix."
.....
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