The night had deepened by the time Soren and Jean finally surrendered to sleep, their bodies tangled beneath the soft sheets, warmth shared in the hush between heartbeats.
The air still carried the heat of their closeness, the quiet afterglow of passion lingering like perfume.
Outside, the city pulsed in the distance, but within these four walls, there was only the rhythm of their breathing and the soft brush of skin against skin.
By the time morning arrived, golden sunlight spilled through the windows like a lover's touch, stretching across the bed and bathing them in a gentle glow.
Soren stretched and smiled at the sight of Jean, who was still drowsily rubbing her eyes.
"Jean." He said softly.
"Stay here for a while, won't you? There's no rush to head back to the Academy right now."
Since stopping Magneto's conspiracy, the mutant world had settled into an uneasy calm, no sudden crises, just a rare stretch of peace.
Jean smiled warmly, brushing her red hair out of her face.
"I think I will. It's… nice here."
After a simple breakfast together, fresh bread, fruit, and tea, Soren opened up his medical hall for the day.
Business had been steady; even though his real goals demanded far more task points than he could earn treating minor ailments, he knew the value of patience.
Every life he touched, every wound he healed, brought him a little closer.
But today, the first visitor surprised him.
His neighbor, a middle-aged man with worry etched into his face, stood at the entrance. He was a familiar figure, often greeting Soren in passing, sometimes stopping to chat about the weather or news from town.
But more than that, Soren remembered his adorable little daughter, a bright, cheerful child who loved waving at him from across the street and had affectionately started calling him "Uncle Soren."
Today, though, the man's eyes were anxious.
"Doctor Soren… please, could you help my daughter?"
His voice wavered. "She burned her arm a couple of days ago. The hospital treated it, but they said… there might be scars."
Soren placed a reassuring hand on the man's shoulder.
"Don't worry. Bring her in, I'll take care of it."
Moments later, the man returned with the little girl, her delicate arm still wrapped in gauze. She looked pale, her face a little tired, but the moment she spotted Soren, her whole expression lit up.
"Hello, Uncle Soren!" She chirped.
Soren's heart softened. Kneeling down, he gently ruffled her hair.
"Hey there, kiddo. Uncle's going to fix you up, okay? No pain, and no more scars."
"Really?" She blinked up at him, wide-eyed.
"Really." He smiled, his hand glowing faintly.
Carefully, he peeled away the gauze. The burn was healing, but the skin was badly damaged, raw.
A conventional recovery might have left lasting scars. But that wasn't going to happen here.
"Hold still for me, alright?" Soren said gently, his palm hovering over the wound.
The light enveloped the little girl's arm, shimmering softly. She watched in quiet fascination, unafraid, her big eyes reflecting the glow.
Within moments, the damaged skin mended before their eyes, fresh, smooth, flawless.
The little girl gasped, staring at her now-perfect arm.
"It's all better! It doesn't hurt anymore!"
She grinned up at him. "Thank you, Uncle Soren!"
Soren laughed softly.
"A small thing. You come play with Uncle when you're feeling better, alright?"
He refused to accept payment, instead walking them to the door.
The little girl waved enthusiastically as she left.
On her way out, she spotted Jean sitting by the window.
"Wow, you're really pretty!" The girl exclaimed innocently, making Jean chuckle.
"Aren't you sweet." Jean said, playfully pinching the girl's cheek.
The little girl giggled and skipped away.
Days passed quietly.
Jean stayed, finding comfort in the simple rhythm of life at the medical hall.
Each day, after closing, Soren would take her along to his uninhabited island, where construction was progressing at astonishing speed.
The once-wild place was transforming into the grand palace-villa structure taking shape at the center, surrounded by carefully plotted gardens and fields.
The island seemed to suit Jean.
Something about its untouched beauty, the sense of quiet power lingering in the earth, calmed her in ways she couldn't explain.
Jean inhaled deeply, letting the fresh island air fill her lungs. She smiled, turning to him.
"Soren, this place is incredible. It's yours now… but does it have a name?"
Soren chuckled, feeling at ease for the first time in a while.
"Not yet." He admitted. "Why don't you pick one?"
Jean's eyes sparkled mischievously. She tapped her finger against her chin, pretending to consider it with deep seriousness.
"Well… since people call you the Miracle Doctor, maybe we should go with… Miracle Island!" She announced proudly.
Soren groaned, laughing as he shook his head.
"Please no. That's far too on the nose. I expected something at least a little poetic."
Jean shrugged, grinning. "Alright, alright. How about… Soren Island?"
She wrinkled her nose immediately. "Ugh. No. That's worse."
He smirked at her playful disdain, then turned his gaze toward the horizon. The waves shimmered under the sunlight, as if listening.
After a quiet moment, he spoke, voice low and thoughtful.
"I've got it. Since this place will be hidden, a sanctuary no one can find unless I allow it, let's call it… Macaluso Island."
He let the name linger in the air, tasting the weight of it.
Jean repeated it softly. "Macaluso Island… Jean… Macaluso…"
A smile curved her lips, warm and approving.
"I like it."
And just like that, the island had a name, born not from grandeur or legacy, but from a quiet moment shared between two hearts at peace.
In the days that followed, construction was completed.
The palace now stood in full splendor at the heart of the island, surrounded by lush green courtyards, pristine walkways, and crystal-clear freshwater streams. The architecture reflected both ancient and futuristic sensibilities, towering, gleaming spires, and stone walls carved with intricate, celestial patterns.
Soren personally oversaw every detail and even took a trip out to sea to retrieve Zilant.
He quietly brought the creature to Macaluso Island, warning it to stay out of sight for now. The workers weren't quite ready to see a living myth gliding over their heads.
After three days, with the final renovations done and the last of the laborers paid and dismissed, Soren sent official thanks to the authorities and even exchanged a few pleasantries with General Ross, who was especially pleased with Soren's "community spirit."
Now, at last, it was time.
The sun was dipping toward the horizon again when Soren stood alone at the island's center. Jean wasn't with him this time, this was something he needed to do by himself.
He closed his eyes, taking a steady breath, and activated his potential awakening to its full extent.
At once, the world around him changed.
His awareness extended outward in rippling waves, his senses sharpening to perceive the very pulse of the Earth's magnetic field.
Every fluctuation, every tremor, and every metallic grain in the soil came alive in his mind. The currents beneath the ocean, the pull of the distant poles, the crackling hum of natural energy buried deep within the crust, he felt it all.
And it was powerful.
Magnetic Field Control Lv 10
The island's foundation, buried in stone and earth for millennia, pressed heavily against him, millions of tons of unyielding weight.
But he was ready.
"Rise." Soren commanded.
Power surged through his body. A brilliant aura radiated from him as the magnetic fields around the island began to twist and bend to his will.
His body slowly lifted into the air, floating above the ground as energy crackled like a living storm around him.
Beneath the island, colossal cracks spread through the rock bed. The sound was deafening, a grinding roar that seemed to shake the ocean itself. Churning waves crashed against the shore as the magnetic force he summoned gathered in invisible, spiraling threads.
"Rise!"
Soren's face was flushed with exertion.
The sheer magnitude of controlling the island's mass was staggering, threatening to pull itself apart if the control slipped for even a moment.
"Rise!!!"
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
Fellow Phantoms and aspiring Phantoms to be, if you seek to access advanced parts of this story procced to my shadowy realm of p@treon.
PhantomDream