"Actually, I don't want to rule you. I never mentioned those two words from beginning to end. Creating a kingdom is simply a way to make myself more efficient. It's a pity that none of you understand me!"
Wanda twisted her graceful waist and walked among the ruins littered with corpses and severed limbs. The heels of her high-heeled boots were stained with layers of blood.
"God has no mercy for humans. Only humans can save themselves." Longing shone in Wanda's eyes. "Is a world filled with suffering and sorrow... really worth preserving? I will overturn this world, and even the entire universe. I hope the fire will spread across the earth once more, and a new generation of humanity will be born."
"There will be no suspicion, no war. Everyone will coexist peacefully. Neighbors will greet one another with smiles. The earth will no longer be divided into more than two hundred countries. It will become one, united to overcome every difficulty. This is the ultimate form of the world!"
"And I! I will be the creator of that new world! I am the mother of all things! We will meet again in the new world."
"Fuck you!"
Eric leaned against the broken wall in embarrassment, dust falling across his gray hair. The helmet that blocked telepathy was being toyed with in Wanda's hand, gradually compressed into a ball before she casually tossed it aside.
With his withered arms, Eric struggled to lift himself. Even with all his strength, he could not move Wanda in the slightest.
The once-invincible Magneto had also declined. Time was the most powerful weapon for defeating a person.
"Sorry... for causing trouble for you." Charles slumped against the little yellow car, wearing a bitter smile. His conscience weighed heavily on him after his old friend had been dragged into this deadly situation.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Eric forced a smile. "It's your honor to die with me. How many people would love to have the chance to die alongside me?"
"Besides... I'm not even sure I'm going to die yet. Don't say anything so depressing. I'll kill you first!"
Eric could not stand Charles's attitude. No matter what happened in the world, Charles always seemed to understand it, as though he could see the entire situation at a glance.
Ever since the two had met, this like-minded friend had displayed extraordinary talent and a broad perspective. He always tried to understand everyone with good intentions, even those with ulterior motives. Charles still approached them with the same innocent sincerity.
Eric hated people like that most.
He had grown up in a concentration camp. In that era, the words "concentration camp" meant hell.
No—something even worse than hell.
The devil would not methodically use poison gas to murder people, nor would he conduct experiments on human beings, cut open their bodies, soak their hearts, livers, spleens, and lungs in formalin, and display them as though they were exhibits.
The most unforgettable memory of Eric's life was not meeting Charles, nor the sword, nor facing the Apocalypse. It was his helpless and tragic childhood.
In the concentration camp, he had witnessed the darkest side of humanity. It made him believe that the world was filled with people who could never truly trust one another. Someone who smiled at you one second might stab you the next.
He had seen too much of that. He had long since grown accustomed to it, to the point that it had become part of who he was.
Until he met Charles.
That cheerful optimist looked like a member of the upper class, yet he had no interest in living that kind of life. Instead, he spent his days with people like Eric, people who were not even considered respectable by society—joking around, causing trouble, training together, and fighting side by side.
How could someone like that damned man exist?
Eric laughed bitterly to himself as he struggled upright, forcing his battered body to stand. With a solemn and mournful expression, he faced the final villain despite his physical condition.
"It really is... Eric, you're still so obsessed with saving face."
"That's better than you, old man!" Eric cursed angrily. He raised his arms, fury surging to his forehead as his gaunt face flushed red.
In an instant, the earth shook and the mountains seemed to tremble.
Even Wanda's expression changed slightly.
What was she seeing?
An entire city was being uprooted. Metal covered the sky, and Wanda's expression darkened. This level of metal frenzy could actually pose a threat to her.
Wanda suddenly stopped, a playful smile appearing on her lips.
"Turn it into water."
The simple words left her mouth.
Eric instantly lost his strength, his fear exposed for all to see.
The metal tide filling the sky... turned into rain.
Raindrops fell upon the ground, washing away the city's blood and destruction. Crimson stains mixed with the rain and gradually spread across the ground, covering the corpses and washing the bodies of the dead.
It was the last dignity Wanda granted them.
"This rain is the only mercy and patience I have left for you. Don't disappoint me. Just let it go."
Wanda opened her arms as though embracing the entire world.
The heavy rain washed over the city, turning the ruined streets of New York upside down. The crimson landscape seemed to split in two, half reflected on the ground and half mirrored in the water.
Eric was desperate. Without metal, he was no different from an ordinary old man. He was stronger than most, but he was old.
"No more... no more..." He looked around and saw that almost none of the Avengers could still stand. Even the supposedly immortal Deadpool, Wade Wilson, was now buried miserably underground, with only one middle finger sticking out of the earth, displaying his unyielding spirit.
Wanda approached step by step. She gently placed her palm against Charles's bald head and said compassionately, "Professor, you should understand my situation. Isn't the living environment of mutants like this as well? They are misunderstood and bullied. They are obviously... a more powerful race, yet they are controlled by powerless humans."
Wanda was like a mother gently coaxing an old child, her voice soft and her eyes tender.
If there had not been so much blood on her hands, it might even have been a beautiful scene.
"You should discuss that with Eric. He's very interested in overthrowing human governments."
Charles did not dare move. The murderous intent hidden within the woman was as sharp as a steel needle. All it would take was the slightest movement for it to pierce through the old man's frail body.
He was not afraid of death. He had never been afraid of death.
In another life, Charles had even sacrificed himself to buy Strange time. He was a wise man with a kind heart and a deep sense of compassion.
Unfortunately, that had failed him here. His blind trust and kindness had only resulted in endless suffering. To others, those qualities looked like weakness—an invitation to be bullied.
Wanda was right.
She had sympathized with the plight of mutants... once.
"I'm sorry, but I don't agree with you."
Charles smiled faintly and shook his head. At his age, even a little force could have made him collapse.
"That's a shame."
Wanda withdrew her hand in disappointment and snapped her fingers.
Boom!
Charles's head exploded like a watermelon, red and white matter spraying everywhere.
Eric was stunned, utterly confused.
"Professor!!!"
Scott roared in agony.
That gentle old man—the man who had taught them, watched them grow, and protected them along the way—had just died like this?
"Ah!!! I'm going to kill you!!!"
Scott tore off his glasses, releasing his optic blasts without restraint. It was the first time he had unleashed his power with absolutely no regard for the consequences.
In the past, under Charles's protection, he had been willing to remain an ordinary X-Man, carefully controlling his power because he feared hurting innocent people.
Even when Jean died, he had never truly fought without holding back.
Now Scott no longer had any reason to restrain himself.
Cyclops was connected to another parallel universe, one filled with an inexhaustible source of Cyclops energy. After decades of mastering his abilities, Scott had gradually understood the source of his power, yet he had still chosen to conceal it and refrain from unleashing its full potential.
Wanda frowned.
She suddenly sensed an enormous and inexplicable power hidden within this seemingly weak man. She carefully examined him, but there was nothing particularly remarkable about Scott's body.
Then where was this power coming from?
Before she could think any further, a blazing red beam tore through the air. Terrifying power, exceeding the speed of sound, slammed into Wanda.
The violent force instantly shredded her clothes and drove her backward, smashing through countless buildings until she disappeared from everyone's sight.
After a long while, Scott collapsed unsteadily to the ground, lifeless.
He was using his own life to unleash that energy. Once the restraint containing his optic blasts was destroyed, the power could no longer be shut off. Only when the host collapsed from exhaustion could the violent beam finally stop.
Had they won?
Of course not.
Wanda returned to where she had been standing the next moment.
Scott's sacrifice had accomplished nothing. He could only die in vain.
"Interesting. Energy from another universe." Wanda sounded slightly surprised. She had not expected someone like this to be hiding among this group. In the early days, perhaps this attack could have wiped her out.
Unfortunately, it was too late now.
"Do you still want to continue fighting? I'll give you a chance to fulfill your wish."
The woman shouted arrogantly, but no one answered. They were all terrified, their courage crushed by what they had witnessed.
"Are you ready to drop the nuclear bomb?" Philko asked.
"Hold on."
Nick Fury replied in a muffled voice.
"What are you waiting for?"
Philko could no longer contain his doubt. The nuclear strike should have been launched ten minutes ago, yet Nick Fury had kept delaying it. He could not understand. The Avengers had already been defeated. If they waited any longer, the nuclear bomb might arrive too late.
"Wait for a silver light."
"Silver... light?"
Wanda stopped moving.
Her expression turned solemn as she looked into the distance.
The direction of the North Pole.
She was certain that everyone there had been slaughtered. There was no way anyone could still be alive.
And yet...
"Pietro?" Wanda murmured. "There's also a strange presence I don't recognize."
"But... so strong."
Wanda's expression instantly became serious.
That man's aura was extremely unstable, like a nuclear bomb on the verge of detonation. Normally it would remain dormant and harmless, but once triggered...
It would be a disaster.
Less than a minute later, a silver phantom tore across the ground. Countless afterimages stretched behind it, moving so quickly that they seemed to blur together.
"Huh... huh..." Pietro breathed heavily, hands resting on his knees. Running all the way here had inevitably exhausted the speedster.
"Where's Charles?"
Pietro lowered the girl from his back and asked the people around him.
"Hi, Wanda. Long time no see. Have you been into Gothic horror lately?"
Pietro spoke casually, a smile on his face.
She was his biological sister. No matter how frightening she looked, he would never simply abandon her.
"Nick Fury got me out of prison, Wanda." He suddenly looked around in confusion. "What... happened here? Wanda, why are you like this? Where are Tom and Billy?"
Pietro's nerves finally registered that something was wrong.
The sister standing before him was completely different from the one he remembered.
"Oh, brother. You really don't know anything?"
Wanda tilted her head.
"Damn it! Why does this guy talk so much?" Nick Fury muttered angrily, rubbing his forehead.
As soon as he learned about the origin of the red mist, he had taken Pietro out of his cell to keep him from being infected by Wanda's magic and transformed into a monster.
Just imagine what would happen if a speedster became infected.
The consequences would be unimaginable.
Pietro might spread the infection across the entire world in less than two days.
Pietro still wanted to ask more, but the girl behind him could no longer endure it.
"Ah!!!"
Black-and-red flames erupted, completely engulfing the girl's slender body. Every inch of her skin burned with blazing fire, and even her pupils were filled with flames.
"Is that a bug?" Wanda understood the moment she saw the girl. "Charles... I didn't realize you had a hidden agenda. To delay her arrival, you even gave up your own life."
She could not understand why the old man would make such a choice.
"Hope!"
Pietro shouted and tried to approach the girl, but the burning flames forced him back.
Hope Summers, the second Phoenix host after the death of Jean Grey.
After the Dark Phoenix incident, the Phoenix Force's warriors were scattered and expelled into the depths of the universe. Yet no one noticed that a fragment of the Phoenix Force had hidden itself within an innocent girl on the battlefield.
Later, awakened by the Phoenix Force, Hope also became a mutant and was sent to Xavier's Academy for the Gifted.
The first time Charles saw her, he noticed the Phoenix Force hidden deep within her body.
So, on Hope's first day at the school, the Phoenix Force erupted, igniting the flames of revenge and slaughtering the school.
On that same first day, Hope lost control and was locked in a cell.
"Is she the host of the Phoenix Force? I've heard of it."
A solemn expression flashed across Wanda's eyes.
The Phoenix Force was a terrifying power that could be counted among the three strongest forces in the universe alongside the Power of Chaos. It was no less powerful than her own.
Wanda smiled.
If she possessed the full Phoenix Force, she would have fled immediately. Even if she were at Jean's level, she would have to think twice.
But now...
Hope only possessed one-fifth of the Phoenix Force.
Sorry, but Wanda truly did not think much of it.
"What if I'm added to the equation?"
Ten thousand bolts of lightning exploded through the clouds before suddenly descending and striking Wanda.
The woman turned to ash in an instant, only to reform the next second.
Sif stood there holding Mjolnir, tears at the corners of her eyes and her pupils wide with furious hatred.
Gig... giggle...
A series of cracking sounds came from shifting bones.
Frank stood with his skull-like face exposed, thick black chains extending from his arms as hellfire burned within his empty eye sockets.
On the other side, silver light spread across Mark's body. Moonlight Knight twirled two short sticks in his hands.
"I'll avenge Steven. In the end, you'll be sent to the other side of the underworld!"
__________________________________________
You can read early chapters on Patr*on. If you enjoy my work and would like to support me, consider becoming a patron. My Patr*on username is Renzo28557.