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Charles's voice was low but steady.
His physical condition seemed to have improved significantly; not only did he remember Logan, but his formerly cloudy and hazy eyes also held a faint glimmer of light.
He gazed at the sea and said to Logan:
"Those children… their future needs someone to protect them, and the future of Mutants also needs someone to guide them, Logan… Besides you, there is no one else now."
"I know, but I'm not suitable."
"There's nothing unsuitable about it, Logan. At first, I also thought I wasn't suitable. When the school students were forcibly conscripted, I drank every day, living a more decadent life than you.
"But in the end… you know, the Mutant school has continued to this day…"
Charles recalled the past.
Compared to Logan, his life was no less exciting.
In his youth, he met Mystique and Magneto, formed the first X-Men, and later established the world's first school for Mutants based on his family's estate.
From then until now, for over sixty years, Charles has never given up protecting Mutants.
By this point, Charles couldn't even remember why he had done it in the first place.
He just kept doing it, so he had to keep doing it.
But now, Charles was powerless to continue, and he had originally thought he wouldn't have to worry about such matters anymore.
After all, Mutants were slowly disappearing.
Charles had once wondered if this would be the best outcome for Mutants.
With Mutants gone, completely integrated with humans, there would be no more conflicts between humans and Mutants.
But the appearance of Laura, and the emergence of new Mutants, made Charles realize that Mutants would eventually exist in the world again.
As long as there were ambitious individuals, even if Mutants truly disappeared, they would create new Mutants.
And the new Mutants needed a leader who could guide them and lead them on the right path.
Kevin couldn't do it; Charles knew that.
Because he would eventually leave, Charles understood Kevin wouldn't stay here.
So it could only be Logan, and only Logan, to inherit everything from him.
"I won't do a good job."
"No one does well at first. I was like that, and you are too. Take your time… you'll do well."
Charles said earnestly.
This time, Logan no longer refused. He stood beside Charles, watching the sunset with him, and after a long time, he said:
"I'll try to do it, but I'm not sure if I can achieve what you're talking about."
"That's good, that's good…"
Charles smiled. He extended his hand to Logan, and their palms clasped tightly:
"…This way, I can rest assured."
Before this, Charles had also worried that Logan would commit suicide somewhere after his death.
Logan always carried that Adamantium bullet with him, and Charles knew about it.
This was also something Charles couldn't let go of.
But now, Logan was starting to get younger and had a new goal, and Charles finally felt at ease.
He patted Logan's hand and then looked at Caliban.
"Caliban…"
Caliban stood in the shadows, avoiding the sunlight. He risked being exposed to the sun to reveal his face and met Charles's gaze.
Charles looked at him and said:
"Thank you for taking care of me for over a year. I know, sometimes when I had an episode, you would feel very uncomfortable. I'm truly… truly sorry…"
"It's okay, I'm used to it."
"I'm sorry, you, and my students, the poor innocent ones, I'm sorry to you and to them…"
"Charles, stop talking. None of us care."
"I know, but I care, yet now I can't do anything but say I'm sorry to you all… I'm sorry…"
Tears welled up in Charles's eyes.
He, who had fought his entire life for peace between Mutants and humans, at the end of his life, due to his illness, had caused the deaths of his most prized student and hundreds of innocent passersby.
No matter what others said, Charles knew this was his fault.
It was his fault.
No matter what others said, it could not hide this fact.
Charles murmured many apologies, apologizing to those who had died because of him.
After a short while, he turned his gaze to Kevin, who had remained silent.
"Kevin…"
He said, extending his hand to Kevin:
"…Thank you for everything you've done. So, if you don't mind, would you shake my hand?"
"…Yes."
Kevin didn't refuse. He walked to Charles's side and took his other hand.
And the moment their palms touched, Kevin heard Charles's voice in his mind:
'I know, Kevin, you don't belong to us, nor do you belong to this world, but no matter what your purpose is, everything you've done is salvation for us, and everyone can see that you've helped us.
'Thank you for everything you've done for us, and thank you for helping Logan find the motivation to live… Kevin, in the end, consider it the ramblings of an old man saying goodbye, will you listen to me for a moment?
'Your power is very strong, Kevin, and it will become stronger and stronger in the future. I cannot see where your future lies, but I hope… you never lose your mind to powerful strength.
'You are not a bad child, I know that, and I hope you never are… I don't ask you to become an X-Men, or… or any other Superhero. I only hope you can hold on to your true self.
'Never… never… never let yourself become someone even you despise.'
Charles spoke in Kevin's mind, then silently released Kevin's hand and earnestly told Kevin:
"Kevin… The world will get better, I believe, and you will get better too."
"…"
Kevin stopped speaking. He looked down at his hand clasped with Charles's, silent for a long time.
Charles didn't bother him with anything else. After saying these things to Kevin, he finally turned his gaze to the youngest child among everyone.
He gazed at Laura Kinney, as if gazing at the most beautiful treasure in the world.
He reached out to Laura, and Laura obediently took his hand.
Charles tightly held Laura's small hand, stroking the area where the metal claws would pop out, his lips trembling slightly as he spoke:
"Laura…"
"Hmm."
"It's good, you truly exist… New Mutants truly exist…
"Laura, Logan… actually needs companionship very much, someone like him to accompany him. I know, you may not truly see him as a father yet, but in your long lives, only you can accompany Logan…
"Laura, watch over him for me. Watch over him… let him work well, live well, and… live well in this imperfect but beautiful world."
"Charles…"
Laura seemed to sense something. She called Charles's name, her voice trembling.
But Charles seemed not to hear, merely gazing at the distant sea and murmuring to himself:
"…Yes, this world… has never been as beautiful as imagined, but it is still the world we live in. Mutants… humans… should never fight each other. Oh, old friend… how I wish you could understand me…
"How I wish…"
In his final moments, Charles thought of Erik, of the old friend he had known and understood, yet been lifelong adversaries with.
He didn't know where his old friend was, nor if he was still alive.
But in these last moments, Charles seemed to see the figure of his old friend.
Not just Erik, Mystique Raven, Beast Hank, his student Jean Grey, Cyclops Scott, Storm Ororo, and many… many more people gathered around him, reaching out to him.
At this moment, they no longer needed to be adversaries, but could smile and hold hands as they went to that unknown place no one knew.
Perhaps it was heaven, perhaps it was hell.
But no matter what, Charles Xavier's life ended here.
"Logan…"
Charles called Logan's name one last time.
Logan immediately came to Charles's side and took his hand.
"Logan…" Charles repeated, looking at the sun about to dip below the horizon, "…The sunset on the rising sun is truly beautiful."
As his words fell, accompanied by the fading afterglow of the sunset on the sea, the light in Charles's eyes completely vanished.
A silence fell over the ship. Feeling Charles's hand completely lose strength, Logan let out a long breath.
He tried to calm himself, tried to steady his breathing, but the more he tried, the more ragged his breaths became.
Finally, he couldn't stand, half-kneeling on the deck, his forehead resting on the back of Charles's hand, emitting a soft but profoundly sad whimper.
Charles was dead.
It was true death, not the self-staged fake death like Kevin's.
This legendary figure, who had worked tirelessly his entire life, raising countless X-Men for the world, died on an ordinary yacht.
He was not surrounded by his most prized students, nor his best friends from the past.
All he had was a wolf he had picked up, Caliban who had never joined the X-Men, an otherworldly person he had known for less than a month, and a… young new Mutant.
No wife, no son, no grandchildren filling the hall.
His solitary life ended just like that.
Logan clutched Charles's hand, whimpering like a wounded wild wolf.
His whimpers started softly but grew louder and louder, finally turning into uncontrollable, loud sobs.
Laura was the same; she even started wailing earlier than Logan.
Although she was very young, she already understood what death was.
Even Caliban was the same.
He curled up in the shadows, looking down at the deck, silently shedding tears.
The only person not crying among them was Kevin.
Because Kevin's relationship with Charles wasn't that deep.
But even so, Kevin's eyes were red, and a strangely melancholic atmosphere arose, causing his eyes to begin secreting liquid.
Perhaps to avoid crying embarrassingly, Kevin turned his head to look at the sea. He murmured softly:
"At least… we're on the rising sun…"
Yes, compared to the Charles in the movie, who died silently without even conveying a single word or being moved to a ship, at least the Charles here was happy in his final moments.
He had his own ship, was accompanied by Logan, who was like a son, and had Laura, who was like a granddaughter, by his side.
Even his ideals had successors, and Charles could leave this world peacefully with a relieved smile, without a single regret.
This was already the most perfect ending, wasn't it?
What more could Kevin ask for?
Besides, what could Kevin do now about a human's natural death from old age?
This ending was already enough for Logan and his people.
It was truly enough.
"…We are still on the rising sun."
Kevin repeated again.
But this time, he could no longer maintain his calm expression. Liquid slid down his face, dripping into the sea, merging with the seawater.
At least.
They were on the rising sun.
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