Ruins of Auschwitz Concentration Camp, Marvel World, Poland
This once notorious concentration camp had brutally slaughtered nearly four million Jews.
The ruined remnants of Auschwitz stood as a haunting reminder of the past. Time had worn the once-notorious concentration camp to little more than crumbling walls and overgrown pathways, but the ghosts of history lingered.
Today, however, it was not the past that mattered. It was the future.
Five figures stood among the ruins: Apocalypse, Magneto, Storm, Psylocke, and Angel.
Erik stood apart from the others, his back turned, his gaze locked onto the ground. His voice, when he finally spoke, was raw with emotion.
"You shouldn't have brought me here."
Apocalypse approached, his towering form casting a long shadow in the dim light. His lips curled into something hardly resembling a smile.
"Are you afraid?" His voice was deep and laced with ancient power. "This is where you were born, Erik. This is where your destiny begins."
"Destiny?" He turned, his eyes fraught with pain. "Who are you to speak of my destiny?"
Apocalypse met his gaze, unbothered. "I have been known by many names. The Sun God. The First Mutant. Even Jehovah to some. But I am none of those things. I am the force that will burn away this world's illusions and reshape it in truth."
With deliberate slowness, he extended his hand. "You, Erik, are meant for more than human suffering. You are meant to rule."
Before Magneto could respond, Apocalypse grasped his hand.
A pulse of energy surged through Magneto's body. His breath hitched as an ancient, intoxicating power wrapped itself around his very essence. It whispered to him, called to him, demanded to be felt.
"Can you feel it?" Apocalypse's voice was almost a whisper now, but it echoed like thunder. "The metal buried deep beneath your feet. The power within you, untapped, waiting to be unleashed."
Magneto gasped as his fingers curled into the dirt. The earth trembled. Metallic dust swirled into his palm, forming a perfect sphere, a magnetic core of limitless potential.
Then, with an ear-splitting roar, an eruption of steel burst from the ground. Twisted metal and shattered debris coiled and twisted like dragons, rising toward the heavens. The ruins of Auschwitz crumbled further, unable to withstand the force.
Storm, Psylocke, and Angel stepped back instinctively, awed by the raw display of power.
Apocalypse smiled, his eyes burning with conviction.
"The world built by humans will end." His voice rose with conviction. "We will destroy it and build a better world in its place."
And then~
A voice interrupted.
"Uh, excuse me, Mr. Apocalypse?"
The unexpected intrusion silenced the group. They turned as one, their eyes locking onto a lone figure stepping through the chaotic storm of magnetized steel.
He walked through the torrent of metal as if it were a gentle breeze. A young man, hands in his pockets, a faint smile on his lips.
Psylocke's grip tightened around the energy sword forming in her hand. Angel spread his metal wings, prepared for battle.
Apocalypse narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"
The young man gave a small nod. "Soren Macaluso. I'm the doctor."
Silence. Then, a scoff from Angel. "A doctor?"
Soren ignored him, focusing solely on Apocalypse. "You want to rule the world, but you might want to get a check-up first."
Apocalypse's eyes darkened. "Explain."
Soren Macaluso smirked. "Thousands of years in hibernation haven't been kind to your body, have they? Your cells are on the verge of collapse. You're forcing yourself to stay alive through sheer willpower and mutant ability, but let's be real, how much longer can that last?"
Apocalypse remained still, but his fingers twitched.
Soren continued. "You think you can rebuild the world, but with that body? You're running on fumes, my guy."
Storm and Psylocke exchanged wary glances.
Finally, Apocalypse spoke. "And you claim you can fix this?"
Soren shrugged. "With the right payment? Even a corpse can be brought back to life." He reached into his pocket and tossed something at Apocalypse, and he dissipated in show lights and spectacle.
A card flew at Apocalypse.
Apocalypse caught it effortlessly, glancing down at the words printed in bold lettering:
Everlife Medical Center: Attending Physician, Soren Macaluso
Below, an address. A small town on the outskirts of Cairo.
A slow smile crept across Apocalypse's face.
"Master… do you trust him?" Storm asked hesitantly.
Apocalypse ran his fingers over the card thoughtfully. Then, without looking up, he answered:
"When Erik has fully awakened his power… we will go and see."
In the dim glow of the desert sunset, a small town lay quietly beneath the endless sky. The streets were empty, the distant dunes shifting in the wind like sleeping scorpions.
Inside an unassuming medical clinic, a man sat by a window, watching the last light of the day fade into darkness.
Soren Macaluso.
Unlike the people outside these walls, he did not belong to this world.
He was a traverser, a man who had inexplicably awakened in the Marvel universe a month ago.
And he wasn't alone.
The moment he arrived, a voice echoed in his mind, mechanically delivering a message that changed everything:
[Physician System Activated]
At first, Soren had no idea what was happening. He found himself in a fully equipped medical clinic, one that seemed ordinary, until the system revealed its secrets.
Here, within these walls, he was not just a doctor.
He was God.
The system granted him terrifying abilities.
As long as Soren remained inside his clinic, he controlled the lives of everyone who stepped through the doors. Their strength, their abilities, none of it mattered. Inside this place, even the strongest beings in the universe would be at his mercy.
But that wasn't all. He could heal anything.
Injuries. Illness. Poisons. Genetic mutations. Even death itself.
And every patient he treated gave him a reward.
For each healing, he gained task points. Accumulate enough, and the system would grant him a new ability from his patient. A god-like power.
But there was a problem.
Soren had been given an initial mission, to prove himself.
[Initial Task: Prove that you have the ability to attract patients.]
[Requirement: Heal at least one A-level or higher individual within the first two treatments.]
On paper, it seemed simple. But in reality, it was a nightmare.
He was trapped. The system had placed a restriction… until the task was complete, he could not move the clinic. Which meant he had to sit here and wait for someone powerful to waltz in.
For a month, he had watched and waited, hoping for a worthy patient.
Nobody.
Most of the people in this small town were ordinary villagers. The strongest fighters were mercenaries at best, nowhere near A-level.
Soren was growing desperate. Then, a few days ago, everything changed.
News spread like wildfire. Nuclear warheads around the world had mysteriously launched into space and detonated.
A god-like mutant, a being who called himself Apocalypse, had awakened.
This was it. His chance.
If Apocalypse was as powerful as the rumors claimed, he was far beyond A-level.
If Soren could treat him, not only would he complete his task, he might gain an ability strong enough to survive this horrific world.
His fingers tapped against the wooden table as he stared at the card he had prepared days ago.
All that was left… was to wait.
"Come on, Apocalypse… don't keep me waiting."
꧁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