The energy signature was somewhat familiar to him. It felt too close to an Infinity Stone's energy—that same pure, fundamental quality. But it likely wasn't an Infinity Stone itself. Something similar, but different.
Elric didn't directly teleport right to the source of the energy. That would be stupid and potentially suicidal. Instead, he appeared quite far away, maintaining a safe distance to observe first.
The moment his body materialized, his eyes were almost blinded by an intense orange light that filled his entire field of vision.
The place was now almost entirely engulfed by orange flames, a sea of fire that burned with cosmic intensity. And the flames were dimming down from time to time, being covered by a void-like thing—a spreading darkness that seemed to consume everything it touched. But just as quickly, the area would be covered by the raging flames again, pushing back against the void.
Taking a careful look, studying the pattern, Elric found out that the void was slowly taking the lead. Inch by inch, moment by moment, it was gaining ground against the flames.
Another portal opened behind him with a distinctive crackle of energy.
"It is very similar to Odin Force," Hela's serious voice sounded from behind him. She'd followed him through, sensing the cosmic-level threat.
Elric already had a guess forming in his mind. Powerful energy with a fiery attribute, operating on a universal scale... "Is it the Phoenix Force?"
"Hey, Hela, lend it some energy," Elric said, already preparing himself. Without waiting for her response, he readied himself to infuse his own energy to help whatever this power was. It was clearly trying to reverse the process, trying to stop the void's expansion.
"Hm, what will your small amount of energy do?" Hela snorted coldly, her voice dripping with disdain.
But still, her hands were very obedient, honestly channeling her divine energy toward the struggling Phoenix Force despite her dismissive words.
As Hela said, their energy was really small compared to this fiery cosmic power—like drops of water added to an ocean. But still, every bit might help. Every contribution could make a difference.
Elric didn't expect much from their contribution, honestly. He planned to just give a little energy and then leave. Do his part and get out before things got worse.
But suddenly, a dramatic change occurred.
The void—which had been expanding little by little, inexorably spreading—suddenly stopped. Just froze in place. And the fire around them became a brilliant, vibrant red, blazing with renewed intensity.
But before they could express any joy, before they could even process this success, it started again.
The red glow started to dim rapidly, the color fading like a dying ember. And the energy around them—which had somehow been containing the expanding void, holding back the annihilation—directly scattered outward. The cohesion broke, and the flames dispersed in all directions almost chaotically.
And the void started to expand again at a crazy speed, faster than before, as if their interference had somehow made things worse.
"What the fuck?!" Elric couldn't help but curse aloud.
It had been fine before they'd done something! Even if the void was still expanding, the Phoenix Force had still been able to fill it up, to maintain some kind of equilibrium. But after they gave their energy, shouldn't things have stayed the same at minimum? Or even gotten better?
But now everything had directly collapsed. The entire delicate balance had shattered.
Looking at the creepy void expanding toward them at alarming speed, Elric's first thought was to leave directly. Just teleport away and forget this ever happened. What happened, happened. He really couldn't do anything now—this was beyond his ability to fix.
But his movement paused.
Looking at the Phoenix Force energy that was now scattered around them, floating slowly in the air like embers from a dying fire, a little greed flashed through his eyes.
Whatever, he thought pragmatically. Even if I leave this energy here, it'll just be devoured by the void in the end. Better if I took it away. At least it won't go to waste.
He directly started to absorb the scattered energy at a crazy speed, his Ōtsutsuki cells activating and pulling in the cosmic power like a black hole.
And with this absorption, it seemed the remaining Phoenix Force energy flowed toward Elric's body willingly, as if recognizing something in him.
Although it was a huge amount of energy—more than he'd ever absorbed at once—his body still hungrily devoured every single bit of it without hesitation or strain.
After devouring almost half of the scattered energy, the void's expansion had already come dangerously close to them. Too close for comfort. The edge of non-existence was only meters away now.
So after thinking about it for a split second, weighing the risk versus reward, he directly left with Hela, teleporting them both back to safety.
So it turned out like this.
After he'd obtained Hagoromo's—the Sage of Six Paths'—power, his Ōtsutsuki cells could now directly absorb energy without relying on any God Tree. The cells themselves had become efficient enough to process raw power.
So after the huge amount of Phoenix Force energy was quickly digested, integrated into his being, he also received some fragmented memories from the previous Phoenix Force host.
The story pieced itself together in his mind:
The previous host of the Phoenix Force had been an alien psychic, a powerful telepathic being from another part of this universe. After finding out that their universe would soon be destroyed through visions granted by the Phoenix Force, the host had quickly come to the antimatter bomb's location, trying to stop the annihilation.
But in the end, because the host had directly jumped into the middle of the explosion—literally diving into the heart of the matter-antimatter reaction—the Phoenix Force itself was fine, being a fundamental cosmic entity. But the host was directly wiped out, their physical and mental form completely annihilated.
There might have really been a chance to stop it if the host had a single brain cell, Elric thought with exasperation as he processed the memories.
Anyway, after the host was wiped out, their remaining will had still been controlling the Phoenix Force to stop the void's expansion, fighting on pure instinct and determination even after death.
But after Hela and he had provided their energy to support this effort, this hot-headed fool of a residual consciousness—sensing the new power, feeling the fresh influx of energy—had directly jumped into the core of the explosion once again!
Completely wiping himself out for the second time, erasing even the lingering will that had been holding things together.
Elric couldn't help but feel helpless at the sheer stupidity. What kind of idiot made the same fatal mistake twice?
Although he'd directly absorbed a significant portion of the Phoenix Force, it was only about 70% at best. The rest had either been consumed by the void or scattered too far for him to safely retrieve. And he still needed time to properly digest this power, to integrate it fully into his being.
So after thinking about his options, he directly gave up the idea of trying to rescue this universe himself. He really couldn't do it. Even with the Phoenix Force fragment, he wasn't powerful enough to reverse a universe-destroying antimatter reaction.
Back at the X-Mansion, Elric's voice suddenly rang out in Professor X's mind, clear and decisive.
Professor X, okay. You can come to my universe. Gather as many people as you can. We don't have much time.
"Mr. Elric, is..." Charles began, his mental voice filled with hope and disbelief.
Don't worry too much. I can protect you guys, at least. Elric's mental tone was confident but serious. But I also have some conditions. Requirements that are non-negotiable.
Please, say them, Charles responded immediately.
I am a ruler of a country on an Earth in my universe, Elric explained. In the future, my goal is to take control of all of Earth, if not the whole universe eventually. I won't force you to fight for me—that's your choice. But if anyone does something they shouldn't do, if they betray me or threaten my people, I will directly kill them. Do you understand? There will be no second chances, no mercy.
The mental communication carried absolute certainty. This wasn't a threat—it was a statement of fact.
But, Elric continued, I will naturally not help you in vain. I'm not a charity. People who want to join my cause, who want to fight alongside me and help build something—you can't stop them from doing so. That's their choice to make.
And those who don't want to join me, who just want to live peacefully? His tone softened slightly. I will promise them a life as ordinary people in my world. Nothing more, nothing less. A quiet existence, safety, and the chance to rebuild. But just that—no special treatment, no positions of power.
Anyway, if you accept these conditions, you can come to my universe. If not, I'll leave you to your fate here.
"I am happy to follow your lead," Magneto spoke up immediately from his seat, his voice firm and determined. "As long as you give us equal treatment. As long as mutants aren't persecuted, aren't treated as second-class citizens, I'll serve you."
After a little hesitation, weighing the lives of everyone against his principles, Professor X also agreed. "We accept your terms."
There really was no other option. Either death here in a dying universe, or accepting Elric's conditions and living. The choice was obvious when framed that way.
So he naturally agreed, even if it meant placing his people under another's rule.
Nine Realms - Muspelheim
A large yellow portal opened in the dark sky of the fire realm, illuminating the perpetual twilight with its dimensional energy.
Following this gateway, two people slowly walked out of it—Elric and Hela, returning from the X-Men's universe.
Looking at the large crater that almost devoured half of the planet's surface, the massive scar where he and Hela had fought years ago, Elric suddenly felt a little embarrassed.
Sensing the empty area around the battlefield, he noticed that Odin and the Asgardian soldiers seemed to have left. They'd probably cleaned up what they could and returned to Asgard.
Looking at the broken landscape, Hela felt nostalgia hit her hard. It had already been 2 to 3 years since she'd fought with this bastard here, since their first violent encounter.
She'd thought that after coming back to the Nine Realms, she would definitely team up with her father. She'd imagined bringing the whole Asgardian army with her and beating this guy senseless. Capturing him, dragging him back to Asgard, and torturing him until she felt satisfied. Making him pay for every humiliation.
But looking at his back now, watching him survey the damage they'd caused together, she found she couldn't even muster the will to stab him in the back. Couldn't even imagine raising a weapon against him anymore.
Hmm, she rationalized to herself, her mind working to explain away the uncomfortable feeling. I just think that this guy is too useful. Yeah, that's it. This guy is quite strong, and if he agreed to become my subordinate, I could spare him. It's purely pragmatic. Nothing else.
She absolutely wasn't developing any sort of attachment to him. That would be ridiculous.
Completely ridiculous.
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