Capítulo 303: Mutant Kind
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(General P.O.V)
"We...died, didn't we?"
Charles asked the Ancient One.
Both were in the former's mind scape, the beautiful field of land behind the Xavier Mansion.
The Ancient One said nothing. Her silence was apparently all the answer Charles needed. He nodded and turned his gaze towards the forest a bit further from the mansion, past the field.
"Raven and I used to play on those woods over there."
He told her.
"She would change forms to our groundskeeper, trying to scare me away. There were wolf packs up until the 40's, you see. Before my grandfather killed most of them."
Charles smiled.
"My parents would worry endlessly, so I was prohibited from ever going there."
"She certainly brought out the teen rebellion phase out of you huh?"
The Ancient One joked making Charles chuckle and shake his head.
"That she did. Shape shifting into the groundskeeper was one of the many pranks she tried to pull on me. Didn't work."
He tapped his temple.
"Ah the telepathy."
The Ancient One said.
"Yes. But also the lazy eye. She could never get that small detail right."
Both of them shared another laugh.
Then they quieted down as they walked.
"Charles, the world is at a precipice of change."
Xavier sighed.
"You don't think we should keep on hiding."
He realized.
The Ancient One shook her head.
"I can't tell you what comes next. I used to see it all so clearly but ever since 'he' arrived, my gaze has been clouded. What I do know, is that he is the most powerful thing I have ever known."
She stopped, forcing Charles to turn and face her.
"This might be the Salvation the mutant race needs."
She informed him.
"You think I should...ask for his help?"
Charles wondered but strangely the Ancient One shook her head.
"No. Just accept it. It's already begun. Whether we like it or not, everything is different now."
Charles frowned.
"Those are not the words I would expect from you."
"I know." The Ancient One nodded.
"The notion of morality is intricately interwoven with pride. We pride ourselves on self-worthiness and belief in our strength. Readily do we stand in opposition to someone trying to force their way of thinking unto us. But that's where things get confusing. It's not immoral to look at a higher being for guidance or authority. We have been doing it for millennia."
Charles shook his head.
"You're preaching to me. Nothing is worth freedom."
"Not even peace? Or life?"
The Ancient One walked closer to him.
"Do you know what I saw for the mutant race?"
She closed her eyes and their environment changed.
They stood in the midst of a burning city. Charles could hear the cries of thousands of people as huge, red and purple robots with a yellow core on their breast plate descended. Then he could see the devastation they wrought. He saw Magneto and his brotherhood, his own X-Men, Storm, Cyclops, Nightcrawler and many others, dead or dying.
None of them survived the robots. The scene changed back to the peaceful plains of the Xavier compound. Charles lost strength and fell to his knees, his hands held him up as he took in shaky breaths.
"What...what was that?"
"One of the many tribulations the Mutant race goes through. It's not even the worst."
She answered, helping him up to his feet with telekinesis.
"Thank you."
Xavier nodded her way before closing his eyes and pinching his forehead.
"I...I don't know alot about him. He gave me my legs back and was amiable to our intrusion. Not to mention, that was the most traumatizing thing I have ever seen. To keep my student's safe... I will do it."
He murmured to himself.
"What does he offer?"
He directed the question to the Ancient One who smiled.
"Simple, he's offering to create an entirely new dimension for all mutant kind, if you allow him to study your mutant physiology and powers."
Xavier was shocked to his core.
"Create a dimension?"
(Elsewhere)
The Ancient One opened her eyes.
"He accepted the terms."
She told Aden who was tinkering with the Time Stone.
The White Shadow, Aden's Homunculi puppet nodded, getting up from his seat. He threw the time stone at the Ancient One, who simply watched it land in her palms.
"Get everything ready. Once I come back, we shall begin."
He told her.
"Off to see Charles then?"
The Ancient One wondered.
"Hmm."
Aden hummed, a yellow portal forming before him. A frown marred his features.
"I suspect, you still have questions."
The Ancient One spoke up, noticing his hesitance to leave.
The White Shadow turned to face her.
"The Infinity Stones, they're not really power incarnate are they? At least not in the traditional sense. It's all about... control."
The Ancient One had a thoughtful expression on her face.
"I don't completely understand."
The White Shadow sat down on his previous position, palms held together in a contemplative gesture.
"I can't harness the energy of the time stone. I can create a time stone but it wouldn't be Power, it would be a key to one of the pillars of Reality, time. A key bound to one dimension or universe or realm. It's all control, tapping into what is already there, just unrefined."
He leaned in.
"That's why you Sorcerers cannot manipulate time without the time stone. Were it any other source of power, you could study it, replicate it's effects like you do with normal spells, like you did with my power. Hundreds of you could tap into it and harness it's energy, but it's only a key, a key meant to be used in the hands of the one holding it. Which means it's useless to me. A piece of junk. I can't use it."
"Enlightening, for sure."
The Ancient One replied, not knowing what else to say.
"Tell me something, Ancient One." The Homunculi puppet said out of the blue.
"What do you know about Celestials, the eternals and deviants?"
The Ancient One blinked.
"I have no doubt that you have come across some references and I'm fascinated by what you think is the connection between them all, apart from the Eternals and Deviants sharing the same heritage."
Aden explained.
The Ancient One smiled warmly, pouring both of them tea from a steaming kettle.
"Ah, a question I can answer. You really know how to treat a lady. How can I say no to a foray into understanding the cosmic forces that shape our reality?"
She took a sip as the White Shadow snorted.
"To start us off, Celestials are beings of immense power who travel the universe, creating and shaping worlds according to their own inscrutable designs. They are the architects of the cosmic order, and their influence is felt across countless galaxies."
Aden nodded, already aware of that.
"And what about the Eternals and the Deviants? How do they fit into this 'grand design'?"
The Ancient One took a sip of her tea, sighing in the process.
"That brings us to the connection between all three. Cosmic energy."
Aden's eyes blazed with interest.
"The Eternals and the Deviants were created by the Celestials as part of their grand experiment in life. Both were imbued with cosmic energy, which granted them incredible powers and longevity. They were meant to be the guardians of the Celestials' creations, ensuring that life on each world would flourish according to the Celestials' plans."
Aden leaned in, fascinated as well as impatient.
"The Deviants were a different story," the Ancient One said, her tone growing darker. "They were also created by the Celestials, but their purpose was more insidious. They were meant to be the harbingers of chaos and destruction, meant to test the resilience of the Celestials' creations and weed out any weaknesses."
Aden frowned, musing.
"Cruelty seems to be a common theme with most cosmic entities. And what about cosmic energy? How does that fit into all of this?"
The Ancient One smiled again, falling into the role of instructor seamlessly.
"Cosmic energy is the life force that permeates the universe. It is the source of all power, and it flows through all living things. The Celestials harness this energy to create and shape worlds, and the Eternals draw upon it to wield their incredible abilities. The Deviants, too, are infused with cosmic energy, but they twist and corrupt it to their own destructive ends."
The explanation felt lacking. He frowned, asking what he should have started with from the beginning.
"Can a normal human tap into it?"
The Ancient One blinked before her eyes widened in realization.
"That's why you wanted to study mutants. You were already aware of everything I just explained, weren't you?"
Aden said nothing, causing the Ancient One to shake her head at how she had been duped.
"I can't tell you if it is possible or not. Through a rare occurrence? Maybe."
"It is." Aden informed her with confidence.
"Though only a select few species with genetic advantages."
"You said normal humans, correct?"
The Ancient One prompted.
"Yes, I believe it's possible. One might say mutantkind is a distant cousin to both the Eternals and Deviants."
Aden answered.
"And because both species are more mechanical than biological...you believe you can glean more from studying mutant biology than the other two."
She connected the dots.
"Correct."
The White Shadow smiled.
"That's a far stretch."
The Ancient One shook her head, pouring cold water over his logic.
"I'm aware. But I have a long history of always finding a way to do the impossible."
Aden told her, getting up.
This time he didn't bother with a portal, he simply unravelled into energy, briefly saluting the Ancient One.
In the Nexus of all realities, the Avatar opened his eyes.
"So you have decided then?"
Uatu asked.
"Yes."
Aden straightened from his meditative position.
"I have made little to no progress here. Maybe there's a chance down there."
"Maybe."
Uatu stated.
What Aden did not tell him was that he was also interested in the Mutant gene for another purpose. He hadn't forgotten about the creation of the strongest race, the Quintes. Gaea would have a field day if he brought back samples of the X-gene for her.
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