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*****
When the entire world stands against you, what do you do?
Everyone has an answer buried in their heart. Zoro Sparta, the warrior summoned by Mike, gave his answer with the edge of his blade.
If the world is your enemy, then you simply... cut the world apart.
The blade within the scabbard hissed as it was unleashed with the precision of a master Iaijutsu strike. Two blades crossed in a lethal arc, and the reality controlled by the Phoenix quietly shattered.
It looked as though a mirror had been struck, black fissures spider-webbing across the fabric of the dimension. The space controlled by the Phoenix fractured into jagged shards. These spatial fragments took flight, following the direction of Zoro Sparta's swing like a localized hurricane of void, sweeping toward the Phoenix.
The Phoenix thrust her hands forward, the Phoenix Force surging out to collide violently with the spatial debris. The two titanic forces acted like warring armies, devouring one another. At the point of impact, a sphere of absolute, cosmic darkness formed—a miniature abyss.
Suddenly, golden energy erupted from the Phoenix's back, sweeping behind her like a pair of celestial wings.
CLANG!
With a thunderous boom, two brilliant streaks of sword-light collided with the wings. Zoro Sparta had appeared behind the Phoenix in the blink of an eye. The silver radiance of the blades tangled with the golden Phoenix Force, exploding outward like a collapsing nebula.
Cutting. Decomposing.
Mike retreated, positioning himself in front of Gwen and her group to shield them from the shockwaves. Gwen nodded to Mike, her eyes glued to the battle. She had never seen anyone suppress the Phoenix quite like this.
Yes—suppress.
Since the moment the exchange began, the Phoenix had lost the initiative. She was trapped in a cycle of constant defense, a sight Gwen found almost surreal.
"Don't worry," Mike said suddenly. "She won't last much longer."
"Yeah!" Gwen nodded vigorously.
No sooner had Mike spoken than the intensity of the fight reached a fever pitch. Amidst the endless flashes of blades, the shrill cries of the phoenix echoed. Destruction and ruin claimed the area; the very ground was being unmade.
Suddenly, a low, rhythmic chant resonated through the storm of steel:
"Nine Mountains and Eight Seas... constitute one world. A thousand worlds form a 'Small Chiliocosm.' Triple that, and there is nothing I cannot cut... Three-Sword Style Secret Technique: Billion-fold Great Trichiliocosm!"
Listening to the chant, Mike's eye twitched slightly. This guy... he's actually pulling off a cooler entrance than me.
As the final words fell, the world seemed to freeze. Then, a single line of sword-light flashed across the horizon as if cleaving the universe in two.
A thin black line appeared across the golden Phoenix Force that had threatened to swallow the sky. A second later, the golden world shattered. The Phoenix Force scattered in all directions, letting out a mournful wail.
Amidst a cry of agony, the Phoenix's current state was revealed to the onlookers.
Her body was covered in golden cracks, and energy leaked from her wounds like liquid light. Two of Zoro Sparta's blades were buried in her chest. The third blade, held in his teeth, had been aimed at her throat but was caught by her bare hand at the last moment.
Because of the proximity of the blade to her neck, the two stood mere inches apart, their faces close in a strangely intimate, yet lethal, pose.
Suddenly, a tragic smile touched the Phoenix's lips. She let go of the blade in his mouth.
Zoro Sparta paused, the blade poised at her throat. He didn't follow through with the kill. He felt her hostility and killing intent vanish in an instant.
Seeing his hesitation, the Phoenix let out a self-deprecating laugh. "Even a 'trash' summon like you noticed?"
Zoro Sparta went silent for a moment before suddenly grinning. "Ha. If I'm trash, then you're less than trash."
The Phoenix blinked, let out a soft huff, and turned her gaze toward Mike. "I admit... you won," she said, her voice laced with unwilling resignation.
She truly was bitter. From the start of this battle, Mike Kent hadn't even lifted a finger himself. Was the gap between them truly so vast?
Mike flickered across the battlefield, appearing before her. Zoro Sparta gave Mike a short nod before dissolving into points of light. Mike nodded back calmly and looked at the Phoenix.
"I won," he stated, as if announcing the most mundane fact in the world.
His tone made the Phoenix pause. She then said coldly, "I didn't lose to you. I was simply... abandoned by it."
"Did it ever occur to you," Mike countered, watching the volatile energy leaking from her form, "that your nature is exactly why it abandoned you?"
The Phoenix remained silent. Eventually, she whispered, "None of that matters anymore."
"No," Mike agreed. "It doesn't."
Because she had already been defeated.
With a thought, the Phoenix sent a telepathic command to Dark Superman and Faora. The two immediately broke away from Clark and Oren, flying to her side. Seeing the Phoenix's broken state, a flicker of joy flashed in their eyes.
Is she finally falling?
Noticing their expressions, the Phoenix gave a mocking smile. "You're free now."
The hatred in their eyes was palpable. Even so, they had been forced to obey her every whim. She had delighted in the twisted irony of preserving their consciousness while forcing them to serve their greatest enemy.
"Don't look at me like that. Before I go, I've prepared a gift for you," the Phoenix said with a light chuckle. "Think of it as a reward for your years of service!"
Hearing this, their expressions soured further. Being forced to do something, only to have the oppressor act as though they were doing you a favor, was a nauseating feeling.
Clark and Oren flew down, landing behind Mike. All three looked at the Phoenix with complicated expressions.
Mike arched an eyebrow. "You're being this kind-hearted?"
A wave of genuine sadness suddenly washed over the Phoenix's face. She simply wanted others to understand what she had endured: being created, being used as a weapon, being forced into a life she never chose.
Yes, this Phoenix—Madelyne Pryor—was a creation. She was a clone made from Jean Grey's DNA.
The fate of the Jean Grey in this world was vastly different from the one in Mike's universe. After her powers were discovered, she was hunted and experimented upon. During the era of the Stars, she fell into the hands of Mr. Sinister.
Jean died in an accident during those experiments. Unwilling to lose such a perfect specimen, Sinister created a clone: Madelyne.
When Mike had destroyed the Stars, the young Madelyne had survived because she was in an isolated, independent laboratory. Left to drift alone in a harsh world, her personality became cruel and twisted. When the Phoenix Force arrived on Earth, she became its host.
Now, abandoned by the force and facing death, she remembered the girl she once was. Whether it was a final moment of clarity or a desire to leave one spark of goodness in her tragic life, she did one last thing before the Phoenix Force could flee her body.
She reached out with the last of her power and manipulated the minds of every survivor on the planet. She modified their memories, ensuring that the world would remember the "Dark Superman" and "Faora" who served her as merely "cloned puppets" she had created, rather than the real heroes.
Mike's eyes shifted. Having mastered powerful telepathy himself, he immediately sensed her intent as the memory-wipe swept across the globe. He looked at her with a strange expression and gave a small nod.
It was the only good thing the woman had ever done. He felt no gratitude—she was still the architect of this apocalypse—but he acknowledged the gesture.
The Phoenix let out a low, final laugh. Just before the energy left her entirely, she seemed to receive a final message from the cosmic force. She looked at Mike and smiled. "The shattered fragments of the Phoenix Force are converging. One day, you might face the True Phoenix."
"I hope you can remain this calm when that day comes."
"Oh, and one more thing... as the fragments gather, you might see some very... 'interesting' things happen."
Without giving Mike a chance to interrogate her further, a golden tide of energy erupted from her body with a deafening phoenix cry. In the next instant, Madelyne Pryor's body shattered into fine dust, vanishing into the wind.
She decomposed her own body? Mike mused, looking up at the lingering energy.
After leaving its host, the Phoenix Force didn't vanish. Instead, it hovered above Mike and Gwen's group like a thin, golden veil of clouds, drifting as if searching for something.
"Looking for a host?" Mike speculated.
The Phoenix Force always chose a host. Since it had discarded Madelyne, it likely had its sights on someone more suitable. Or perhaps... it was related to what she said about the "convergence."
"I have a feeling that force is going to be a headache later," Mike muttered, shaking his head. He turned toward the alternate Clark and Faora, a smile returning to his face.
"It's over. You're free."
With the Phoenix dead, her mental shackles had dissolved. Dark Superman squeezed out a strained smile, while Faora looked toward Oren with hesitation. She had fought her son so fiercely; would he still want her as a mother?
Before she could speak, Oren vanished from his spot and lunged forward, throwing his arms around his father and mother.
Faora's face broke into a smile, and Dark Superman patted Oren's back. "You've grown up, son. These past few years... thank you for bearing the weight."
Oren's eyes were red, but he said nothing, only hugging them tighter. Faora, the cold warrior queen, felt tears welling in her eyes.
Dark Superman eventually pulled back, looking at Mike with a bitter expression. "It's not over yet."
Mike arched an eyebrow. Knowing Clark's personality, he already knew what was coming. The Clark standing beside Mike also looked on with a complicated gaze.
"Dad... the Phoenix is gone, but the damage Faora and I caused to this world—the people we hurt—won't just disappear. We've done too many terrible things. I..."
"So, you plan to just die?" Mike interrupted coldly. "After the war is over? After Oren and Gwen risked everything to save you? You're going to choose a worthless death?"
Dark Superman lowered his head. Faora pulled Oren closer.
"Death won't wash away your mistakes," Mike continued. "Dying is the easy way out. Have you thought about those who are still alive? If you want to feel better, use every day you have left to fight for this world and this planet again."
Gwen stepped forward, looking at Dark Superman with intensity. "This world needs you. If another crisis like this happens, Oren and I won't be enough. We could be killed, tortured, or controlled. Does that... does that not matter to you?"
Gwen's words hit them like physical blows. The thought of their children suffering in a world without them was their greatest fear.
Faora's eyes flickered. "Clark..." she whispered. She didn't want to die; she didn't want Oren to lose his mother. But if Clark chose death, she would follow him without hesitation. Their bond, forged in war and shared tragedy, was deeper than any ordinary marriage.
Dark Superman's eyes were filled with inner conflict.
Suddenly, Mike sneered. "If you commit suicide, I'll take Gwen and Oren back to my world. Then, before I leave, I'll turn every living being in this universe into dust!"
Dark Superman: "!"
So, the real final boss is my father?
Dark Superman let out a helpless laugh. It seemed he was still "important" after all.
"I understand," he said, nodding solemnly to Mike. "I'll give up on that thought."
Mike nodded in satisfaction, a warm smile returning to his face. He patted the shoulder of the Clark from his own universe. "So? What do you think of your future self?"
Clark rubbed the back of his head. "It's... a little weird."
A dark, middle-aged version of himself with Faora as a wife...
Dark Superman couldn't help but ask, "In your world, is Faora your wife too?"
Faora's ears perked up curiously.
Clark shook his head without hesitation. "No, we're still enemies. My fiancée back home is Hope."
"Hope, huh..." Dark Superman nodded. "As I expected." They shared the same childhood, so he knew Hope Pym/Van Dyne as well.
Suddenly, two icy glares landed on Dark Superman.
He felt a chill and quickly added, "I mean—I don't even see what's so great about Hope!" He winked at the younger Clark. "When you're... doing certain things, you have to be careful and hold back your strength, right?"
Mike and the others: "?"
This Dark Superman is a bit of a pervert!
(End of Chapter)