Storm finally revealed the secret.
"What do we need to do?" Beast asked anxiously.
"Do nothing. I've made a deal with the Oscorp Group. They will do their best to help us resurrect the Professor," Storm said with firm determination.
Wolverine looked at Storm with suspicion. This wasn't like her character.
"Raven also wants the Professor alive," Storm sighed.
"Raven?" Beast's expression grew complex. He knew Raven longer than anyone here. They had met when they were very young.
"Is it really good to pin all our hopes on Oscorp? I mean, we should have other methods. If we can use them, perhaps we can bring Charles back ourselves."
Wolverine still held a grudge against the Ice Demon. This subtle change in his heart might have stemmed from the feedback he sensed from Jean Grey.
"I'll figure something out. After all, I have access to more frontier technology than you do."
Beast was a great scientist himself, not inferior to Stark. Many X-Men inventions came from his hands. Since the Professor's soul was alive, things were manageable.
Suddenly, Beast looked at the collapsed pyramid and opened his mouth but said nothing. They could have researched Apocalypse's transfer ritual.
"Don't think about it. The Professor wouldn't agree," Storm interrupted Beast's thought.
Germany. A small village.
Inside an ice coffin lay the corpse of an old man.
But in the next second, the corpse opened its eyes. The old man's body began to rejuvenate rapidly, showing signs of reversing age.
It stopped after returning to a middle-aged appearance. The features solidified.
"Apocalypse, our protocol has initiated."
Magneto, Erik Lehnsherr, awoke from his slumber. Feeling the powerful ability within his body, he revealed a satisfied expression.
As one of the Four Horsemen, when Apocalypse found him, he had already lost his resistance. Even sensing his powers recovering, he had chosen to give up when facing Apocalypse.
But Apocalypse didn't kill him. Instead, he gave him enough respect.
"Erik, you and I are the same kind. I've seen everything you've done for mutantkind over the years. Although you betrayed me, you betrayed me because of your own emotions."
Apocalypse had looked at Magneto coldly then, as if seeing a pitiful wretch. At that time, Erik was a dying man.
"I competed with Charles all my life. We were best friends and rivals. But no matter what, he saved me. He was my only confidant," Erik had said, his heart like dead ash.
Jean Grey killing Charles was something he hadn't foreseen or wanted to see.
"Our difference is in ideology. His difference with you is also ideology. Apocalypse, come. Do what you want. As a dying man, I have no need to fear you."
"You are wrong, child. Forgive me. In my eyes, you are all my best children. Mutants have reached this step because you've seen the true ugly face of humanity. I reappear before you now only because the time has come," Apocalypse had said calmly, disregarding personal vendettas. To him, there were none.
"So, what do you want?" Magneto had asked.
"I sense an unprecedented crisis. Too many dangers lurk on Earth. For thirty years, I watched Earth silently as an observer. I saw the extinction of mutants. I saw the extinction of all humanity. I saw endless crises."
Apocalypse had smiled brilliantly.
"You should know, I am a god. I simply enjoy the power to rule the world—it is my birthright."
"But to destroy humanity, destroy mutants, and leave only myself on Earth? That is not what I wish to see."
"A god needs endless subjects to submit, numerous warriors to guard him."
"You are all my children. I cannot let you all die."
Apocalypse's emotional words didn't resonate with Magneto. For Erik, his greatest wish was to build a mutant nation—a world without human deception and oppression. A mutant Utopia.
"The Utopia in your heart is also my ideal."
Apocalypse spoke slowly. "You must know, in the three thousand years I ruled, establishing an empire across Eurasia and Africa, the wars that occurred were fewer than those of humanity in the last two centuries."
"Back then, mutants were seen as messengers of gods by the people. They were proud to awaken mutant abilities; it was their glory."
"But you know, human ambition is endless. In the name of freedom, they deprive other species of the basic right to life."
"I have always tried to build my empire into a true Utopia. Charles showed me hope, but now he is dead. Erik, nothing stands between our alliance now."
Hearing Apocalypse's words, Magneto's dead heart regained some ambition.
"Apocalypse, I believe you can find better. I am a cripple now."
"As you are now, yes. But your heart, your will, your ideology—that is what I value. Erik, you have never used your ability correctly. You are the Master of Magnetism, not a metal controller."
"If you had studied advanced physics and become an outstanding scholar, child, you would understand how terrifying your power truly is."
Apocalypse looked at him with appreciation.
"I can feel the pace of crisis approaching. For us mutants, the death knell has rung. I must attempt to change things. But this comeback might greet me with death."
Apocalypse looked grave.
"Who are you worried about? The Ice Demon?"
"No, no. He comes from against the flow of spacetime. His desire for conquest brings him endless ambition. In his eyes, all living beings are merely tools for his desire."
Apocalypse's wise gaze crossed the past, piercing the future.
"I have never seen such a figure. He isn't even a mutant."
"Besides him, I sense extremely strange energy beneath the earth. The meaning of our existence might simply be... nutrients."
"I am a god. The God of Mutants born from humanity."
"But before him... I am nothing!!!"
Apocalypse's calm face showed a trace of anxiety.
"I will keep your words in mind, but I don't understand everything you're saying now," Magneto said gravely.
Apocalypse was the strongest person he'd ever seen besides Jean. Even Jean found it hard to deal with him at times. Winning back then was pure luck of time, place, and people.
"You don't need to understand. But I hope you become my Horseman again, my successor. In the future, at the most critical moment, bring me back from Death's embrace."
Apocalypse spoke heavily to Magneto.
"Do I have a choice?" Magneto performed a knight's salute.
"You won't regret it. After thirty years of recovery, I understand that true leadership comes not from slavery, but from uniting all compatriots to face our dark future."
Apocalypse branded Magneto. And Magneto underwent a transformation.
Now, Magneto had returned to the world from a state of feigned death. His mind churned with their dialogue.
"Apocalypse still died."
"He saw the death crisis, saw the danger of the Conqueror, saw the danger of the Unknown God... but ignored the danger from the Demon."
Magneto had experienced Vincent's power. He knew the young man's terror. His strength increased every moment, breaking the boundaries of understanding.
The Ice Demon lived up to his name. People saw his young face and ignored the demonic danger he posed. Magneto understood it well.
"Raven has become President of Oscorp, following the Demon. For me, this isn't a bad thing."
Magneto knew abandoning Raven had severed their relationship. Vincent taking her in meant he would give Magneto no chances.
"The mutant era faces its most dangerous moment. The Cure has issues; mutants recovering power is only a matter of time. And the boy who could create the Cure was killed by Apocalypse."
"As Apocalypse said, the darkest era has descended. But this is the darkness before dawn. The dawn will reappear. Let me lead mutants to pioneer our own homeland."
Magneto felt the surging power within him. Apocalypse had left him too much. Although it was a power transfer and these abilities weren't originally his, he could control them now.
He could even develop his magnetic control to the extreme.
"Let these children see how disgusting, dark, and evil the human government is."
"Only when the government pushes them to desperation will they accept their Mutant King!!!"
Magneto floated up.
The village church was full of mutants staring at his ice coffin. Magneto's return gave the Brotherhood its backbone again.
Vincent finally cleared his Stark Industries stock.
Holding 100 million shares with a cost basis around $6.75, he sold as the price soared to $102. Stark Industries had successfully broken through to become a trillion-dollar group.
"In the blink of an eye, eight months have passed. Project Insight was terminated by SHIELD."
"SHIELD has ushered in the true Nick Fury era!"
Vincent muttered to himself.
Eight months passed quickly. Vincent returned to normal life. The only annoyance was Storm urging him to create Professor Xavier's clone faster.
Wealth Points: 191,546,750,000 (Available)
Desire Points: 4,637,900,000 (Available)
Bloodlines: Kryptonian (Gene Lock Stage 2), Human (Gene Lock Stage 3)
Talents: Elephant's Strength, Dragon Veins, Bioelectric Field
Abilities:
Ice-Ice Fruit (Tier 3 Origin Peak+)Flame-Flame Fruit (Tier 3 Origin Peak+)Glint-Glint Fruit (Tier 3 Origin Peak+)Divine Dominator (Dominator+)Water Magic (Dominator+)Steel God Body (Dominator+)Super Flight (Peak+)Freeze Breath (Peak+)Heat Vision (Peak+)X-Ray Vision (Peak+)Super Hearing (Peak+)Super Brain (Peak+)Dimensional Pocket (Micro+)
Skills:
Bajiquan (Mastery+)Dragon-Elephant Wisdom (13th Layer Peak+)Omega Beams (Peak)Forging (Atomic+)Enchantment (Atomic+)Mahapadma (Entry+)
Rewards: None
Missions: Purple Blind Box (1), Golden Blind Box (1)
Mission 3 (Man of Steel) completed.
"Since completing Mission 3, Man of Steel upgraded to Steel God Body. My strength hasn't increased, but Desire Points rose by 1.4 billion and Wealth by 110 billion!!"
Vincent was now immovable as a mountain.
He monitored SHIELD's changes. For eight months, SHIELD had been hunting Hydra globally.
"According to the timeline, Thor: The Dark World plot is about to start. The Dark Elves will be summoned back. The Aether is about to emerge."
But Vincent didn't intend to let Jane Foster touch the Aether.
"Oscorp's intelligence network is complete. Super agents unique to Oscorp are distributed globally."
"With Raven and Psylocke's help, I've established a massive organization in this world: Deep Chill!"
And the Ice Demon was the leader of Deep Chill.
The world seemed to have fallen into an unprecedentedly strange silence. But Vincent sensed the turbulent undercurrents in the global dark world.
Many powerful factions moved their operations deeper underground, executing plans while intentionally avoiding Oscorp and Deep Chill. More importantly, avoiding the Ice Demon.
"Playing hide and seek with me?"
"Interesting."
"If I'm the only one playing, what's the fun?"
"I wonder if Thanos has started collecting other stones?"
Vincent closed his computer. Driving his flashy sports car, he arrived at Columbia University.
A blonde, youthful Gwen walked out of campus. Since starting university, Gwen's temperament had become graceful and atmospheric. She wasn't clingy. For years, she continued her life as New York's friendly neighborhood heroine, Spider-Woman constantly making headlines.
"Kept you waiting, honey."
Gwen got in the car and gave Vincent a hot kiss, breaking the hearts of many Columbia elites.
Vincent ignored them, taking Gwen straight to the Long Island estate. They were starting a vacation.
"Is that Vincent Hall?"
"The legendary Ice Demon?"
"The demon who killed my beloved Johnny?"
"Truly a powerful figure."
In a high-rise building far away, a middle-aged man watched Vincent on the road with a very interested expression.
He had once created a Ghost Rider named Johnny Blaze. Johnny's soul should have belonged to him, but someone destroyed him. His soul was missing.
This made him very angry. As a Hell Lord, his authority had never been challenged.
When he descended to the mortal realm to find traces of the Ghost Rider, he found something more fun. The demon opposing God was the culprit who killed his Ghost Rider.
This Hell Lord was even more intrigued.
"If I can ally with him, the mortal world will surely be my pasture!!!"
But he understood clearly that such a powerful Ice Demon might not agree to his request. He might even view him as an invader of his territory.
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